Exploring The COMPETITION Doc: BLAST

If you ever thought science was boring, or lacking the thrills and chills of high adventure than you need to meet Dr. Mark Devlin and his project team of dedicated scientists as they travel the globe attempting to launch a high-altitude balloon that will carry a powerful telescope into the upper atmosphere. If the telescope can launch and land successfully it will hold answers to how this world was created, but if it crashes it will not only destroy years of hard work, but also the reputations of all involved. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the sacrifices greater for this team of scientific pioneers.

So, based on my description above why am I calling BLAST a competition doc?

Here is why:

A competition doc is one in which an individual, or a team of individuals are challenged by a task or a contest.

And, like in the case of BLAST, the competition doc does not have to be about an actual competition, but rather a challenge/task whose finish line is obscured by challenges and obstacles. Sometimes nature is the opposing factor (Lost In La Mancha), and sometimes illness is the wrench being thrown into the works (Warren Zevon: Keep Me in Your Heart).

What most competition docs share in common is:

1. The stakes are high (careers/ reputations are at stake in BLAST).
2. Ideally, more will be gained by pursuing the challenge/ task than by not (the answers to the Universe can be unlocked in BLAST).
3. Those who attempt the challenge/task will be changed by the experience.

There is no shortage of competition-style docs.

Spellbound, Wordplay, Pressure Cooker, Racing Dreams, King of Kong, Mad Hot Ballroom, Word Wars, Pucker Up, Air Guitar Nation and (most recently) The Young Composers Challenge are the titles I can list off the top of my head.

Lastly, and most importantly, what all these docs have in common is they are all populated by interesting characters.

Without engaging, compelling, and charismatic players the competition doc tends to fall flat.