SATURDAY 12 APRIL 2008
SAT 19:00 Meetings with Remarkable Trees (b0074stm)
Series 1
The Yew at Much Marcle
The series looking at significant British trees visits the 2,000-year-old yew tree in a Hereford churchyard which may have been the site of pagan worship.
SAT 19:10 In Search of Medieval Britain (b009vsbp)
North of England
Medieval art historian Dr Alixe Bovey uses the oldest surviving route map of Britain to make a series of journeys through Britain in the Middle Ages. She follows the trail north from York to the hotly-contested Scottish border and uncovers tantalising clues to Medieval Britain's most dangerous war zone.
SAT 19:40 The Book Quiz (b009s76h)
Series 2
Episode 3
Kirsty Wark presents the penultimate first round match of the literary panel game. Tim Yeo MP and journalist Anne McElvoy slug it out against Baroness Margaret Jay and writer David Nicholls for a place in the semi-finals.
SAT 20:10 Earth: The Power of the Planet (b008cykg)
Volcano
Documentary series. Dr Iain Stewart reveals the role natural forces have played in the creation of the planet Earth. The first episode discusses volcanoes. Although they appear to be destructive, volcanoes have been crucial to the development of life on this planet. Iain's journey takes him to Ethiopia to discover lava lakes, to Iceland to scuba dive between continents and to New Zealand to sample some hot springs.
SAT 21:10 Pompeii: The Last Day (b0074c6d)
A reconstruction of the final events leading to one of the worst natural disasters to strike the ancient world. Drawing on contemporary accounts and recent archaeological discoveries, this drama tells the real story of what happened, including the exact cause of the deaths of the 5,000 townspeople.
SAT 22:10 The Best of Youth (b009yy4f)
Episode 1
Drama series telling the story of an Italian family from the 1960s to the present day, set against events in Italian history such as the struggle against the Mafia and the terrorist movements of the 70s and 80s. 1966, and brothers Nicola and Matteo are university students with shared dreams, hopes and friendships. When Matteo gets a job at the local asylum he meets Giorgia, a young patient suffering from a mental illness. He discovers that she's being mistreated and resolves to take her away.
SAT 23:40 Mad Men (b009lt2d)
Series 1
New Amsterdam
Drama series which takes an unflinching look at the world of advertising in 1960s New York. Don teaches Pete a lesson when he oversteps his authority while dealing with a valuable client. At home, Pete is pressured by his new bride to buy their own apartment unit. Betty has a strange babysitting experience.
SAT 00:25 Mad Men (b009pg6v)
Series 1
Five G
Drama series which takes an unflinching look at the world of advertising in 1960s New York. Don's past catches up to him when he wins an award and gets his picture on a prominent industry periodical. Ken makes his colleagues envious when he gets a short story published in a national monthly magazine.
SAT 01:10 Mad Men (b009s6q7)
Series 1
Babylon
Drama series which takes an unflinching look at the world of advertising in 1960s New York. Adultery is the new fashion at the agency - the ladies try on lipstick while their husbands dally. Peggy's ideas get noticed during a pitch meeting and her future begins to look more promising. Don asks Rachel's advice about an ad campaign.
SAT 01:55 10 Things You Didn't Know About... (b0074spx)
Volcanoes
Iain Stewart takes a grand tour of the world's most extraordinary volcanoes. With explosions that dwarf atomic bombs, waves of hot turbulent gas that travel at the speed of sound and rivers of hot molten rock that destroy everything in their path, volcanic eruptions can literally move mountains in minutes and are rightly thought of as among the most destructive and deadly events in nature. But there is far more to volcanoes than death and destruction, because without them the planet would be a very different place - there would be no atmosphere and no life.
SAT 02:55 The Book Quiz (b009s76h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:40 today]
SAT 03:25 In Search of Medieval Britain (b009vsbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:10 today]
SUNDAY 13 APRIL 2008
SUN 19:00 Sacred Music (b009s86s)
Series 1
Bach and the Lutheran Legacy
Four-part documentary series in which Simon Russell Beale explores the flowering of Western sacred music. With music performed by The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers, Beale explores how Martin Luther, himself a composer, had a profound effect on the development of sacred music, re-defining the role of congregational singing and the use of the organ in services. Ultimately, these reforms would shape the world of JS Bach and inspire him to write some of the greatest sacred music.
SUN 20:00 Mozart's Requiem (b0074tn6)
Mozart's Requiem in D Minor, with soloists Carolyn Sampson, Ingeborg Danz, Mark Padmore and Alfred Reiter. Authentic performance expert Philippe Herreweghe conducts his own Orchestre des Champs-Elysees and Collegium Vocale Gent. Part of the 250th anniversary Mozart celebrations.
SUN 21:00 Dear Television (b009wxbw)
Episode 9
Letters cataloguing the preoccupations and passions of television viewers over the last five decades.
SUN 21:10 Washes Whiter (b009wxby)
Big! Big! Big!
Series on the history of British TV commercials looks at the portrayal of men from the 1950s to the 80s and beyond. In the 50s, men were shown as experts and professionals to persuade women and real sporting heroes were used to advertise to men, while it was the businessman and the James Bond action man in the 60s. Men were targeted for personal care products and there were sexist tobacco, beer and lager adverts in the 70s, until New Man emerged in the 80s.
SUN 22:00 Mad Men (b009wxc0)
Series 1
Red in the Face
Drama series which takes an unflinching look at the world of advertising in 1960s New York. When Roger and Don hit the town together, Roger's behaviour puts a strain on their relationship.
SUN 22:45 Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me (b009s7gv)
Candid and poignant drama about the comedian Frankie Howerd and the relationship with his long-term, long-suffering manager, and gay partner, Dennis Heymer. Despite his overtly camp persona, Howerd kept his companionship with Heymer under wraps for 35 years, until his death in 1992. Yet through career disaster, social stigma, illegality, numerous infidelities and Howerd's own deep-seated issues about his homosexuality, their love endured.
SUN 23:45 Who Killed Kirsty MacColl? (b0074qly)
Documentary investigating the mystery behind the death of singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, killed by a speedboat in Mexico in 2000. The boat, travelling at high speed in an area restricted for divers, belonged to one of Mexico's wealthiest businessmen but no-one has been prosecuted over the incident. Kirsty's mother Jean's search for the truth and her attempts to bring those she believes are responsible to justice are documented here.
SUN 00:45 Mozart's Requiem (b0074tn6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
SUN 01:40 Sacred Music (b009s86s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
SUN 02:40 Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me (b009s7gv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:45 today]
MONDAY 14 APRIL 2008
MON 19:00 World News Today (b009wyn9)
The latest news from around the world.
MON 19:30 Jonathan Ross's World of Robin Hood (b007chqj)
Jonathan Ross explores the enduring popularity of a figure who's been celebrated in English life for over 600 years. Ross traces the many reinventions of Robin, from medieval troublemaker to noble protector of the poor and Saxon freedom fighter, and looks at some of incarnations of this archetypal English hero - from Spanish films and German musicals to Canadian cartoons, from Morecambe and Wise to The Muppet Show.
MON 20:30 The Book Quiz (b009wyng)
Series 2
Episode 4
Kirsty Wark presents the literary panel game, as novelist India Knight and critic James Delingpole fight it out against writer Kate Mosse and journalist Rod Liddle for a place in the semi-finals.
MON 21:00 Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press (b009wynj)
Stephen Fry examines the story behind the first media entrepreneur, printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg, to find out why he did it and how, a story which involves both historical enquiry and hands-on craft and technology. Fry travels across Europe to find out how Gutenberg kept his development work secret, about the role of avaricious investors and unscrupulous competitors and why Gutenberg's approach started a cultural revolution. He then sets about building a copy of Gutenberg's press.
MON 22:00 The Name of the Rose (b00dwn6b)
Gripping, atmospheric adaptation of Umberto Eco's classic novel set in the Middle Ages. In a secluded Benedictine monastery, where a council of Dominicans and Franciscans is assembling, a murder is committed. One of the Franciscan delegates, William of Baskerville, turns sleuth to unravel the sinister events.
As he and his apprentice, Adso von Melk, delve deeper and deeper into the case, more dead bodies turn up, and there is an ever-growing sense of corruption. But who or what is The Rose?
MON 00:00 Arena (b0074t5z)
Saints
Documentary looking at the phenomenon of sanctity. The Catholic Church is the only Christian persuasion with an official saint-making process, overseen by the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Hinduism and Buddhism have something akin in the idea of the holy man and the guru and the Islamic Sufi tradition not only recognises Christian saints but actively celebrates them.
MON 01:15 Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press (b009wynj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
MON 02:15 The Book Quiz (b009wyng)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
MON 02:45 Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press (b009wynj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
MON 03:45 Arena (b0074t5z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
00:00 today]
TUESDAY 15 APRIL 2008
TUE 19:00 World News Today (b009wz4p)
The latest news from around the world.
TUE 19:30 Pop Go the Sixties (b0088nyx)
Series 1
The Kinks
Another mind-bendingly colourful nugget of pop mined from the BBC's archive.
TUE 19:35 Batman (b009yy8q)
Series 2
The Devil's Fingers
Fantasy adventure series. The dynamic duo tackle a nefarious concert pianist who is plotting their demise in order to obtain the inheritance.
TUE 20:00 Life in Cold Blood (b008y3g1)
Land Invaders
David Attenborough reveals the surprising truth about the cold-blooded lives of reptiles and amphibians. From steamy jungles to dry deserts, amphibians have taken their first footsteps onto land using their bizarre life histories to break their ties with the water and invade the earth.
This episode delves into the extraordinary and intimate lives of the soft skinned amphibians. This includes the marsupial frogs, a peculiar species where the father carries his young in pouches and then gives birth. It also features warring giant salamanders over a metre long and show-off newts that offer displays just like underwater birds of paradise.
TUE 21:00 Chinese School (b009wz4r)
Young Pioneers
Documentary series about the hopes and dreams of a group of children at three schools in rural China. It's May, and as the heat of summer sets in the senior students face the all-important Gao Kao exams. Their results can mean the difference between poverty and prosperity for their entire family. At Ping Min primary school, Cheng Chao is looking forward to becoming a Young Communist Pioneer. Wu Lin's concern about her country's future sees her researching the polluted river near her school.
TUE 22:00 Goodness Gracious Me (b00b051m)
Series 3
Episode 1
Award-winning British Asian comedy sketch show, starring Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar. Featuring Competitive Mothers, Cheque Please, The Kapoors and more.
TUE 22:30 Becket (b007xh7w)
Powerful historical drama. When Henry II appoints his drinking and wenching companion Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury, he hopes to lessen Church interference. But Becket takes the job seriously and soon the friends come into conflict.
TUE 00:50 Chinese School (b009wz4r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUE 01:50 BBC Proms (b007yp7s)
2007
Mahler's 7th Symphony - Prom 65
Charles Hazlewood introduces Mahler's Seventh Symphony, a colossal journey from darkness to light, performed by the acclaimed San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas.
TUE 03:25 Chinese School (b009wz4r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 16 APRIL 2008
WED 19:00 World News Today (b009wzcq)
The latest news from around the world.
WED 19:30 Pop Go the Sixties (b008bxxs)
Series 1
Nana Mouskouri
A colourful nugget of pop mined from the BBC's archive.
WED 19:35 Batman (b009yyc5)
Series 2
The Dead Ringers
Fantasy adventure series. The Dynamic Duo sing their way out of trouble. Harry is nabbed, but the charges won't stick. Aunt Harriet comes to the rescue.
WED 20:00 A History of Britain by Simon Schama (b0074ky2)
Series 1
Conquest
In nine short hours, William the Conqueror triumphed at the Battle of Hastings - and England was changed forever. Simon Schama recounts the saga of blood, betrayal and ambition that led up to this pivotal battle and describes the profound consequences that followed.
WED 21:00 The Saint and the Hanged Man (b009wzcs)
Rob Brydon narrates a dramatised/animated documentary which reveals the clash at the heart of the Medieval mind - between the reason and the supernatural - using rational process to dissect the divine.
In 1307 the full weight of medieval justice descended on the sleepy town of Hereford. But this court wasn't summoned to prove innocence or guilt. The man on trial wasn't a murderer, or a criminal. In fact he wasn't even alive. This was a holy inquiry, called by the Catholic Church to prove whether a dead English bishop was actually a miracle-worker - and whether he should be made into a saint.
His case comprised several alleged miracles, the most notorious being the spectacular resurrection of a hanged man. A Welsh terrorist executed by the state, hanged twice just to make sure, this wanted criminal somehow came back from the dead. And now a papal court would use all the instruments of legal process - witness statements, forensic evidence, cross examination - to prove whether it was truly a miracle.
WED 22:00 Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! (b0074s9v)
Witty drama adapted from Kenneth Williams's own words in his diaries. It's a spectacular journey inside the mind of one of British radio, TV and film's most popular, peculiar and comic performers. And one of its most tragic, too.
Spanning his entire life, this is the story of Williams's career and private life, a behind-the-scenes look at Williams, not only recreating some of his greatest performances, but also giving a candid and poignant insight into his professional hopes, personal upsets and sexual frustrations of a man who was uncomfortable in his own skin.
The screenplay is rude, arch, uncompromising and hilarious. Michael Sheen delivers a tour-de-force performance as ‘the man of a thousand voices’.
WED 23:20 Kenneth Williams in his Own Words (b0074s9t)
Series of archive clips in which Kenneth Williams tells his own story, from his poverty-stricken upbringing in North London to his life as one of Britain's most famous comedians.
WED 23:50 Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press (b009wynj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
WED 00:50 The Saint and the Hanged Man (b009wzcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WED 01:50 Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! (b0074s9v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
WED 03:10 The Saint and the Hanged Man (b009wzcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 17 APRIL 2008
THU 19:00 World News Today (b009wzvz)
The latest news from around the world.
THU 19:30 In Search of Medieval Britain (b009wzw1)
Wales
Medieval art historian Dr Alixe Bovey uses the oldest surviving route map of Britain to make a series of journeys through Britain in the Middle Ages. She heads west from Gloucester to follow in the footsteps of the huge armies of Edward I into Wales and uncovers evidence of a lawless borderland, a Medieval arms race and clues to the origins of the map itself.
THU 20:00 Himalaya with Michael Palin (b0074qsf)
Bhutan to Bay of Bengal
In Bhutan, Palin finds himself back in the land of yaks for a last look at the high Himalaya. Trekking to Chomolhari base camp he meets a nomad with a penchant for yak songs before heading down to Paro to witness the Buddhist festival or Tsechu. In a bar in Thimphu, he discusses reincarnation and the pursuit of happiness with Benji and Khendum, two of the king's cousins, and en route to Bangladesh is taken by Benji to see the rare black-neck cranes.
On his journey south through Bangladesh, Michael visits the ship-breaking beaches of Chittagong and grid-locked Dhaka. He meets a man who made a fortune in Birmingham in the poultry business, and a woman who lends money only to women. On a 1920s paddle steamer he is serenaded with the words of Bengal's Shakespeare, and he completes his epic Himalayan journey aboard a fishing boat that carries him out into the Bay of Bengal and a westering sun.
THU 21:00 Inside the Medieval Mind (b009s80l)
Knowledge
Leading authority on the Middle Ages, Professor Robert Bartlett, presents a series which examines the way we thought during medieval times.
To our medieval forebears the world could appear mysterious, even enchanted. Sightings of green men, dog heads and alien beings were commonplace. The world itself was a book written by God. But as the Middle Ages grew to a close, it became a place to be mastered, even exploited.
THU 22:00 Crusades (b009wzw5)
Pilgrims in Arms
Former Monty Python star Terry Jones explores the history of the Crusades. He embarks on a journey to discover exactly what happened nine hundred years ago when the Pope instigated a popular campaign to conquer Jerusalem. Following the route of the crusaders through the Byzantine Empire, whose ruler had made the mistake of asking for help against Turkish invaders, he uncovers a tragicomedy of savagery, greed and ignorance.
THU 22:50 Mad Men (b009wxc0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Sunday]
THU 23:35 Chinese School (b009wz4r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
THU 00:35 In Search of Medieval Britain (b009wzw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 01:05 Inside the Medieval Mind (b009s80l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THU 02:05 The Book Quiz (b009wyng)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 on Monday]
THU 02:35 In Search of Medieval Britain (b009wzw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 03:05 Inside the Medieval Mind (b009s80l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 18 APRIL 2008
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b009x03y)
The latest news from around the world.
FRI 19:30 The Chopin Etudes (b0074pnr)
Opus 10, No 6
Pianist Freddy Kempf plays Chopin's Etude in E flat minor, Op 10 no 6.
FRI 19:35 The Creation by Haydn at the Barbican (b009xnyr)
Haydn's sacred oratorio The Creation (Die Schopfung) performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Sir Colin Davis at the Barbican in London. Haydn is at his most ambitious, having been inspired by hearing Handel's Messiah during visits to London. The Creation is divided into three parts: 1 and 2 give an account of the six days of the Creation itself, while 3 introduces us to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Soloists are Sally Matthews, Ian Bostridge and Dietrich Hensche.
FRI 21:30 Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who (b009x040)
Murray Lerner and Paul Crowder's documentary provides a definitive audio-visual record of the legendary British rock band, and follows Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey as they record The Who's first new music in more than 20 years and travel to the Far East for their first-ever live performance in Japan.
FRI 23:30 The Avengers (b00b0xbf)
Series 5
From Venus with Love
Action adventure with bowler-hatted sleuth Steed and the glamorous Emma Peel. Steed and Emma become entangled with a fiendish plot from Venus to turn everyone's hair white.
FRI 00:20 Electric Proms (b009zj8p)
2006
The Who
Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are on blistering form in a session recorded at the Roundhouse in north London, as the grand finale of the BBC's Electric Proms in 2006. The setlist showcases a sprinkling of songs from their new mini-opera Wire and Glass, but it's also packed with big singalong tunes like My Generation, Who Are You, Baba O'Riley and Pinball Wizard.
FRI 01:10 Pop Britannia (b008nkvq)
A Well Respected Man
Three-part documentary series telling the story of British popular music and its place in British culture since the 1950s. In the 60s Britain went pop mad. The architects were a group of artists and entrepreneurs who would prise pop out of the grasp of showbiz interests to create a truly authentic British sound of the Beatles, Stones and Who and at the same time prepared the way for a new, more corporate pop business. With Pete Townsend, Sir George Martin, Bryan Ferry, Sandie Shaw and Lulu.
FRI 02:10 The Creation by Haydn at the Barbican (b009xnyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:35 today]