Documentary on a decomposing body

bluesdave · 11-04-2004, 05:13 PM

This is from The Guardian yesterday:

Channel 4, no stranger to challenging broadcasting taboos, is about to cross another televisual rubicon by filming the decomposition of a human body.
The broadcaster, which billed the show as a "unique scientific experiment", has in the past featured controversial documentaries showing the first images of aborted foetuses seen on British TV and, two years ago, Britain's first public autopsy for 170 years.

Channel 4 is looking for a volunteer with a terminal illness for the decomposition programme, which has a working title Dust to Dust, and will have to get the consent of the volunteer's family.

The plan is to film the body decomposing, which could take several months, in London's Science Museum, though not in an area open to the public.

Channel 4 defended the project, insisting it could provide forensic scientists with important new information about what happens to the human body after death. At present, decomposition tests are carried out on human bodies in the US but not in the UK - where pigs are used instead - according to the broadcaster.

"We hope experts can learn more about the processes involved and that the data collected by the project can help forensic pathologists in murder investigations," said Simon Andreae, Channel 4's head of science and education.

Dr Richard Shepherd, a senior forensic pathologist and president of the British Association in Forensic Medicine who will lead a team of scientists, said: "This project represents an urgently required step forward for forensic medical research in this country."

Elspode · 11-04-2004, 06:51 PM

We could do this on television here, but we'd have to include a group of people who faced various decomposition-related tasks and challenges. Each week, the others would have to vote on who had to stay in the room with the rotting corpse.

We could call it "Dead Reckoning", or perhaps "The Pustulence Challenge".

Reality TV...its faaaannnntastic!

wolf · 11-05-2004, 01:34 AM

Surely the Brits have dead homeless guys found under bridges too ... much simpler.

Cyber Wolf · 11-05-2004, 06:44 AM

Any links for this? I wonder how they're going to account for the many ways a body could decompose. Is the corpse going to just sit in a sterile room while it comes apart? Will it be a constant humidity? Constant temperature? Will they introduce things like carrion eaters, flies and worms? Bodies come apart in different ways depending on where it's dumped.

Though, at the end, I could possibly watch a documentary like that.

wolf · 11-05-2004, 11:05 AM

Isn't there a documentary on the US Body Farm?

11-04-2004, 05:13 PM	#1
bluesdave Getting older every day Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 308	Documentary on a decomposing body This is from The Guardian yesterday: Channel 4, no stranger to challenging broadcasting taboos, is about to cross another televisual rubicon by filming the decomposition of a human body. The broadcaster, which billed the show as a "unique scientific experiment", has in the past featured controversial documentaries showing the first images of aborted foetuses seen on British TV and, two years ago, Britain's first public autopsy for 170 years. Channel 4 is looking for a volunteer with a terminal illness for the decomposition programme, which has a working title Dust to Dust, and will have to get the consent of the volunteer's family. The plan is to film the body decomposing, which could take several months, in London's Science Museum, though not in an area open to the public. Channel 4 defended the project, insisting it could provide forensic scientists with important new information about what happens to the human body after death. At present, decomposition tests are carried out on human bodies in the US but not in the UK - where pigs are used instead - according to the broadcaster. "We hope experts can learn more about the processes involved and that the data collected by the project can help forensic pathologists in murder investigations," said Simon Andreae, Channel 4's head of science and education. Dr Richard Shepherd, a senior forensic pathologist and president of the British Association in Forensic Medicine who will lead a team of scientists, said: "This project represents an urgently required step forward for forensic medical research in this country." __________________ History is a great teacher; it is a shame that people never learn from it.

11-04-2004, 06:51 PM	#2
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	We could do this on television here, but we'd have to include a group of people who faced various decomposition-related tasks and challenges. Each week, the others would have to vote on who had to stay in the room with the rotting corpse. We could call it "Dead Reckoning", or perhaps "The Pustulence Challenge". Reality TV...its faaaannnntastic! __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

11-05-2004, 01:34 AM	#3
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Surely the Brits have dead homeless guys found under bridges too ... much simpler. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

11-05-2004, 06:44 AM	#4
Cyber Wolf As stable as a ring of PU-239 Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: On a huge rock covered in water, highly advanced moss and 7 billion parasites Posts: 1,264	Any links for this? I wonder how they're going to account for the many ways a body could decompose. Is the corpse going to just sit in a sterile room while it comes apart? Will it be a constant humidity? Constant temperature? Will they introduce things like carrion eaters, flies and worms? Bodies come apart in different ways depending on where it's dumped. Though, at the end, I could possibly watch a documentary like that. __________________ "I don't see what's so triffic about creating people as people and then getting' upset 'cos they act like people." ~Adam Young, Good Omens "I don't see why it matters what is written. Not when it's about people. It can always be crossed out." ~Adam Young, Good Omens

11-05-2004, 11:05 AM	#5
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Isn't there a documentary on the US Body Farm? __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

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