Ep. 1: Life After Donkey Kong (No. 41-50) Aired August 2nd, 2011

Morgan Spurlock begins the series by touching down in sunny Florida. He is traveling to meet Billy Mitchell, star of Seth Gordon’s cult documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Billy is the controversial gamer whom everybody loves to hate, a man of legendary bravado and mullet, a genius of the joystick. But what effect did the film have on his life? Did he mind being cast as the baddie? And is he still the king of Donkey Kong? Morgan is on his way to find out.

But before he gets there, Morgan counts down from No. 50 to 41, gaining insights from a range of directors and commentators, including Kevin Macdonald; Jeffrey Blitz; Seth Gordon; Stacy Peralta; Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman; Donna DeLory; Alex Gibney; Brian Graden; Nanette Burstein; and Henry Rollins.

No. 50 - Spellbound

Every spring since 1925, Scripps Howard newspapers sponsor spelling bees at grade schools across the U.S. Ten million kids competed in 1999. This documentary follows eight of them as they win regional bees and prepare for the national contest in Washington D.C. (IMDb)

No. 49 - Madonna: Truth or Dare

From the rain of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the music performer, from a prayer circle with the dancers before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards. (IMDb)

No. 48 - The Kid Stays in the Picture

The meteoric rise, fall, and rise again of legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans. Adapted from Mr. Evans's tell-all autobiography, the movie takes the audience on an intimate journey into the mind of this Hollywood legend. (IMDb)

No. 47 - One Day in September

The 1972 Munich Olympics were interrupted by Palestinian terrorists taking Israeli athletes hostage. Besides footage taken at the time, we see interviews with the surviving terrorist, Jamal Al Gashey, and various officials detailing exactly how the police, lacking an anti-terrorist squad and turning down help from the Israelis, botched the operation. (IMDb)

No. 46 - Little Dieter Needs to Fly

>In 1966, Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, captured, and, down to 85 pounds, escaped. Barefoot, surviving monsoons, leeches, and machete-wielding villagers, he was rescued. Now, near 60, living on Mt. Tamalpais, Dengler tells his story. (IMDb)

No. 45  - The Decline of Western Civilization: The Metal Years

The documentary follows the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the glam metal sub-genre. Spheeris explores the more famous musicians, including Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne. Serious issues such as drug usage, alcohol abuse, and censorship are tackled, as well as vanity issues like celebrity and sales. (IMDb)

No. 44 - Burma VJ

Using smuggled footage, this documentary tells the story of the 2007 protests in Burma by thousands of monks. (IMDb)

No. 43 - When The Leeves Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts

In August 2005, the American city of New Orleans was struck by the powerful Hurricane Katrina. Although the storm was damaging by itself, that was not the true disaster. That happened when the city's flooding safeguards like levees failed and put most of the city, which is largely below sea level, underwater. This film covers that disastrous series of events that devastated the city and its people. (IMDb)

No. 42 - Catfish

In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shocking product of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue. (IMDb)

No. 41 - The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

In the early 1980s, legendary Billy Mitchell set a Donkey Kong record that stood for almost 25 years. This documentary follows the assault on the record by Steve Wiebe, an earnest teacher from Washington who took up the game while unemployed. (IMDb)

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Don't miss episode 2, Tuesday 9th August at 10pm

Current TV (Sky 183/Virgin 155)

For trailers and excerpts: http://current.com/50docs