SATURDAY 04 FEBRUARY 2012

SAT 19:00 Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures (b01bgnmq)
Fugitive from the Fire

It is estimated that 99 per cent of species have become extinct and there have been times when life's hold on Earth has been so precarious it seems it hangs on by a thread.

This series focuses on the survivors - the old-timers - whose biographies stretch back millions of years and who show how it is possible to survive a mass extinction event which wipes out nearly all of its neighbours. The Natural History Museum's professor Richard Fortey discovers what allows the very few to carry on going - perhaps not for ever, but certainly far beyond the life expectancy of normal species. What makes a survivor when all around drop like flies? Professor Fortey travels across the globe to find the survivors of the most dramatic of these obstacles - the mass extinction events.

In episode two, Fortey focuses on the 'KT boundary'. 65 million years ago, a 10km-diameter asteroid collided with the Earth and saw the end of the long reign of the dinosaurs. He investigates the lucky breaks and evolutionary adaptations that allowed some species to survive the disastrous end of the Cretaceous Age when these giants did not.


SAT 20:00 Natural World (b00z7x5h)
2010-2011

The Last Grizzly of Paradise Valley

Canadian wildlife film-maker Jeff Turner returns to his roots and embarks on a beautiful and lyrical exploration of the wildlife around his home in the Cascade Mountains of southwestern British Columbia. Tracking the wildlife through the four seasons of one year, he encounters many animals from his childhood including black bears, a family of osprey, coyotes and mule deer. But the animal he most wants to find and film is one of the few remaining grizzly bears that still survive in these mountains.


SAT 21:00 Borgen (b01bs3t9)
Series 1

Divide and Rule

Though Birgitte is surprised at the defence minister's choice of new fighter jets, she allows him to make public the decision on the government's behalf. When unpleasant surprises surface in the wake of the big plane purchase, the media launch an offensive against members of parliament. Meanwhile, Birgitte becomes more and more controlling both at work and at home, costing her dearly. Katrine is really on her toes but runs into problems with her boss when she acts too arbitrarily.


SAT 22:00 Borgen (b01bs3tc)
Series 1

The First Tuesday in October

Danish political drama series. Birgitte is suffering in the opinion polls before a new year in parliament, while the Labour Party is picking up headway.


SAT 23:00 Top of the Pops (b01bgpm5)
27/01/77

From January 1977, Tony Blackburn introduces David Parton, the New Seekers, the Brothers, Mr Big, Andy Fairweather-Low, Barry Biggs, Status Quo and Julie Covington. Dance sequence from Legs and Co.


SAT 23:35 Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music (b0074sn6)
The Sound of Young America

Landmark music series continues with the story of soul music's greatest svengali - Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records. The former Detroit car production line worker was a man on a mission from an early age to produce music that would appeal equally to black and white audiences. Gordy ransacked Detroit's ghettos for the raw talent that his gifted team of Motown songwriters and producers would turn into the winning pop formula he called 'the Sound of Young America'. Motown became the original 'hit factory', launching the careers of some of the biggest soul superstars including Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. With contributions from the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Martha Reeves, Etta James, Fontella Bass and many others.


SAT 00:35 Horizon (b00vv0w8)
2010-2011

Asteroids - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Famed for their ability to inflict Armageddon from outer space, asteroids are now revealing the secrets of how they are responsible for both life and death on our planet.

Armed with an array of powerful telescopes, scientists are finding up to 3,000 new asteroids every night. And some are heading our way.

But astronomers have discovered that it's not the giant rocks that are the greatest danger - it's the small asteroids that pose a more immediate threat to Earth.

Researchers have explained the photon propulsion that send these rocks across space, and have discovered that some asteroids are carrying a mysterious cargo of frost and ice across the solar system that could have helped start life on Earth.


SAT 01:35 Natural World (b00z7x5h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 02:35 Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures (b01bgnmq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 03:35 Top of the Pops (b01bgpm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]



SUNDAY 05 FEBRUARY 2012

SUN 19:00 Sykes (b00xxq4t)
Series 1

Stranger

Classic comedy. Eric and Hattie are visited by a mysterious stranger who claims that he has returned to honour a childhood promise.


SUN 19:30 Carry On Loving (b007b8yl)
Comedy in which the Carry On gang run a marriage bureau. The proprietors, Sid and Sophie Bliss (Sid James and Hattie Jaques) seem set on matching the most unlikely couples.


SUN 21:00 The Cricklewood Greats (b01bs3ww)
Peter Capaldi embarks upon a personal journey to discover the shocking history of the stars of north London's famous film studios. Including clips from rarely seen films and interviews with Marcia Warren and Terry Gilliam.


SUN 21:45 Hattie (b00xllyq)
Ruth Jones takes on the role of the larger-than-life Carry On actress Hattie Jacques, revealing how her home life was blown apart by a secret sexual liaison with her handsome young driver while she was married to Dad's Army star John Le Mesurier.


SUN 23:10 Son of Babylon (b0170qbz)
Drama in which, a few weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussain in 2003, an elderly woman and her young grandson set off on a long journey across Iraq to look for the woman's son and boy's father, who disappeared at war many years earlier.


SUN 00:35 The Cricklewood Greats (b01bs3ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


SUN 01:20 Sykes (b00xxq4t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SUN 01:50 How the Brits Rocked America: Go West (b01bgqlc)
Stairway to Heaven

The second part of a series celebrating the success of British rock in America looks at how Led Zeppelin spearheaded a British stadium rock assault on the States in the 70s. The Beatles gave the world a glimpse of the future of rock at Shea Stadium in 1965, but it would be Page, Plant and co who would take it to the bank.

With contributions from Paul McCartney and Jimmy Page.


SUN 02:50 The Making of Elton John: Madman Across the Water (b00vs4yv)
Documentary exploring Elton John's childhood, apprenticeship in the British music business, sudden stardom in the US at the dawn of the 70s and his musical heyday. Plus the backstory to the album reuniting him with Leon Russell, his American mentor. Features extensive exclusive interviews with Elton, plus colleagues and collaborators including Bernie Taupin, Leon Russell and others.


SUN 03:50 The Cricklewood Greats (b01bs3ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 06 FEBRUARY 2012

MON 19:00 World News Today (b01bs7f5)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Climbing Great Buildings (b00v2rld)
Lloyd's Building

Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and novice climber, scales Britain's most iconic structures, from the Normans to the present day, to reveal the buildings' secrets and tell the story of British architecture and construction's development over the last 1,000 years.

Jonathan's journey takes him to the Lloyd's Building in the heart of the City of London. Built between 1978 and 1986, it is one of the finest examples of high-tech architecture in Britain and one of the great icons of London.

Aided by top climber Lucy Creamer, Jonathan abseils over 300 feet to reveal how this ultra-modern building was inspired by a Gothic castle. He scales the iconic stainless steel exterior to reveal why it is known as the Inside-Out building, and zip-lines across a sheer drop to investigate the building's humble origins as a coffee shop. He also meets Lord Rogers, one of the greatest architects of his generation and the man behind the audacious building.


MON 20:00 A Century of Fatherhood (b00szwgg)
The New Father

Three-part series which tells the story of the revolution in modern fatherhood in Britain during the last hundred years. Using intimate testimony, rare archive and the latest historical research it reveals the very important, and often misunderstood, role played by fathers.

The final episode reveals how the experience of being a father was transformed between the 1960s and the present day and looks at the lives of a fascinating cross-section of fathers from all walks of life over the past fifty years.

The modern hands-on father has a more intimate relationship with his children than the past, but the sexual revolution and feminism has also made fathers more insecure than ever before. Modern divorce laws have excluded fathers from family life and from the access they want to their children. The anguish felt by many dads was expressed in the Fathers 4 Justice protest movement.


MON 21:00 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01bs7f7)
Series 2

The Zulu Kingdom

We know less about Africa's distant past than almost anywhere else on Earth. But the scarcity of written records doesn't mean that Africa lacks history - it is found instead in the culture, artefacts and traditions of the people. In this series, art historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford explores some of the richest and most vibrant histories in the world, revealing fascinating stories of four complex and sophisticated civilisations: the Kingdom of Asante, the Zulu Kingdom, the Berber Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdoms of Bunyoro & Buganda.

In this episode, Dr Casely-Hayford travels to South Africa to explore the history of one of Africa's most famous kingdoms. Visiting some of the most evocative sites in Zulu history, he examines the origins of the Zulu in the 17th century, their expansion under controversial military leader King Shaka and their brutal encounters with the Boers and the British. He also searches for the secrets behind the Zulu's cultural power and legendary military strength, and why Zulu identity continues to endure.


MON 22:00 San Francisco's Year Zero: We Were Here (b01b65lr)
2011 marks 30 years since AIDS descended. In 1981, the flourishing gay community in San Franscisco was hit with an unimaginable disaster. Through the eyes of those whose lives changed in unimaginable ways, this film tells how their beloved city was changed from a hotbed of sexual freedom and social experimentation into the epicentre of a terrible sexually transmitted 'gay plague'. From their different vantage points as caregivers, activists, researchers, friends and lovers of the afflicted and as people with AIDS themselves, it shares stories which are intensely personal. Speaking to our capacity as individuals to rise to the occasion, this is the story of the incredible power of a community coming together with love, compassion and determination.


MON 23:30 Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War (b019jsls)
Staying Alive

Military historian Saul David explores how wars are really fought - in the backroom of military planning. He begins by looking at how to keep an army fed and housed.


MON 00:30 Jonathan Meades on France (b01b1l63)
Just a Few Debts France Owes to America

'Go home yankee - but take me with you.' The French delude themselves that they are indifferent towards the USA, yet all around them there is blatant evidence of the country's cultural indebtedness to American architecture, American sprawl, American music and American fast food. The Atlantic coast of western France might be the Atlantic coast of the eastern United States. A sort of road movie that contains scenes of musical embarrassment, so be prepared to wince.


MON 01:30 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01bs7f7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 02:30 San Francisco's Year Zero: We Were Here (b01b65lr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


MON 04:00 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01bs7f7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 07 FEBRUARY 2012

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b01bs7jn)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Climbing Great Buildings (b00v2rp7)
Imperial War Museum

Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and novice climber, scales Britain's most iconic structures, from the Normans to the present day, to reveal the buildings' secrets and tell the story of British architecture and construction's development over the last 1,000 years.

The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, built from 2000 and designed by Daniel Libeskind, is an example of a new wave of architectural design that is both dramatic and disturbing, a building that plays with the senses and provokes wonder.

In his final climb of the series, Jonathan, aided by top climber Lucy Creamer, scales over 50 metres up the building to reveal how the museum is designed to reflect war itself. He scales the huge air shard to investigate how the building deliberately disorientates visitors, he finds himself part of the exhibition when he abseils down inside the water shard, and he explores the technological advances that allowed the building, with its 80,000 square feet of aluminium, to be constructed in just two years.


TUE 20:00 Botany: A Blooming History (b0122k8y)
Hidden World

For 10,000 years or more, humans created new plant varieties for food by trial and error and a touch of serendipity. Then 150 years ago, a new era began. Pioneer botanists unlocked the patterns found in different types of plants and opened the door to a new branch of science - plant genetics. They discovered what controlled the random colours of snapdragon petals and the strange colours found in wild maize.

This was vital information. Some botanists even gave their lives to protect their collection of seeds. American wheat farmer Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel peace prize after he bred a new strain of wheat that lifted millions of people around the world out of starvation. Today, botanists believe advances in plant genetics hold the key to feeding the world's growing population.


TUE 21:00 Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures (b01bs7jq)
Frozen in Time

It is estimated that 99 per cent of species have become extinct and there have been times when life's hold on Earth has been so precarious it seems it hangs on by a thread.

This series focuses on the survivors - the old-timers - whose biographies stretch back millions of years and who show how it is possible to survive a mass extinction event which wipes out nearly all of its neighbours. The Natural History Museum's Professor Richard Fortey discovers what allows the very few to carry on going - perhaps not forever, but certainly far beyond the life expectancy of normal species. What makes a survivor when all around drop like flies? Professor Fortey travels across the globe to find the survivors of the most dramatic of these obstacles - the mass extinction events.

In episode three, Fortey looks at the ice age. 2.8 million years ago - triggered by slight changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun and shifts in its ocean currents - the world began to cool. Within a few thousand years much of the planet was shrouded in a dense cloak of ice that would come and go until only 10,000 years ago. We call this age of ice - the Pleistocene Age - and it transformed the hierarchy of nature. This is the story of how a few specialist species that evolved to live in the biting cold survived into the present day.


TUE 22:00 The World Against Apartheid: Have You Heard from Johannesburg? (b01bs7js)
The New Generation

Ten years in the making, this series explores how a violent and racist government was destroyed by the concerted efforts of men and women working on multiple fronts inside and outside South Africa for more than three decades. Featuring archive of the struggle never seen before on television and interviews with the major players, it is one of the most fascinating stories of the last century. In the third episode, in the wake of the Soweto Uprising and the murder of Steve Biko the world's young people take the lead in the anti-apartheid campaign.

The brutal suppression of a youth uprising in the South African township of Soweto and the murder of activist Biko turn South Africa from a country into a cause, a worldwide emblem of injustice. But even as the most powerful western governments refuse to heed Oliver Tambo's calls for cultural and economic boycotts, it is the world's youth that helps turn the tide.


TUE 23:00 Natural World (b00z7x5h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


TUE 00:00 Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures (b01bs7jq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


TUE 01:00 Botany: A Blooming History (b0122k8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:00 The World Against Apartheid: Have You Heard from Johannesburg? (b01bs7js)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


TUE 03:00 Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures (b01bs7jq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 08 FEBRUARY 2012

WED 19:00 World News Today (b01bs8z8)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00psx88)
Series 1

Liverpool to Eccles

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed the public, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.

His journey takes him coast to coast, from Liverpool to Scarborough, beginning on the world's first passenger railway line. On the first leg, Michael learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool, finds out about the first railway fatality and explores the origins of the Eccles cake.


WED 20:00 If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home (b0109gmn)
The Living Room

Lucy Worsley, chief curator of the historic royal palaces, looks at the room that has had more names and been through more changes than any other in the house. She tries out the communal medieval great hall, holds a candlelit tea party in a Georgian drawing room, explores the development of taste in a grand country house, discovers the wonders that gas and electric lighting brought to the Victorian parlour, and experiences leisure 1950s style. Includes interviews with historian Amanda Vickery and writer Adrian Tinniswood.


WED 21:00 The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (b01bywqs)
Series 1

Death at the Opera

Mrs Bradley is asked to give a lecture at her old school and gets involved in murder, illegimate children, lesbianism, spiders and the Mikado.


WED 22:00 Britain's Best Drives (b00hq4fb)
North Yorkshire Moors

Actor Richard Wilson takes a journey into the past, following routes raved about in motoring guides of mid-20th century.

In a classic Morris Minor Traveller, he drives from Scarborough to Whitby via the Yorkshire moors. On the way, he learns about the rise and fall of the British seaside resorts, takes a toll road through the Dalby Forest and checks out the mythical roadside wonder that is the Hole of Horecum.

He finds out how the village of Goathland now lives a double life, and ends up with a carload of goths on their way to visit Whitby Abbey.


WED 22:30 Outnumbered (b015qqlh)
Series 4

Episode 6

As the family tries to get rid of Auntie Angela, another guest comes to stay. Meanwhile, Mum has to decide what to do about Jake's girlfriend, and Ben and Karen discuss dreams, the mafia and trampolining bears.


WED 23:00 Twenty Twelve (b010j64y)
Series 1

Episode 6

The decision to hold equestrian events in Greenwich Park is one of the most controversial choices made by the Olympic authorities. Among the many groups of people who are against it are local residents, led by self-styled maverick film director Tony Ward. Given that it is now over 30 years since he made his one and only successful film, Ward has had a lot of time on his hands to think about how angry he is and to plan his campaign of protest.

It starts with the arrival of an enormous pile of horse manure on the pavement outside the Olympic Deliverance Commission offices and climaxes with a live debate with Head of Deliverance Ian Fletcher on Radio 4's Today programme.

Meanwhile in Ian's personal life, manure of a different kind finally hits the fan. Fortunately his ever-loyal PA Sally is on hand and completely ready to pick up the pieces.


WED 23:30 The Cricklewood Greats (b01bs3ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]


WED 00:15 Borgen (b01bs3t9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


WED 01:15 Borgen (b01bs3tc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Saturday]


WED 02:15 Outnumbered (b015qqlh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]


WED 02:45 Twenty Twelve (b010j64y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]


WED 03:15 The Cricklewood Greats (b01bs3ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]



THURSDAY 09 FEBRUARY 2012

THU 19:00 World News Today (b01bs9g6)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b01bs9g8)
03/02/77

Kid Jensen introduces Gary Glitter, the Real Thing, the Rubettes, Leo Sayer, Boney M, Thin Lizzy and Silver Convention. Dance sequence from Legs and Co.


THU 20:00 Horizon (b014kj65)
2011-2012

Are You Good or Evil?

What makes us good or evil? It's a simple but deeply unsettling question. One that scientists are now starting to answer.

Horizon meets the researchers who have studied some of the most terrifying people behind bars - psychopathic killers.

But there was a shock in store for one of these scientists, Professor Jim Fallon, when he discovered that he had the profile of a psychopath. And the reason he didn't turn out to be a killer holds important lessons for all of us.

We meet the scientist who believes he has found the 'moral molecule' and the man who is using this new understanding to rewrite our ideas of crime and punishment.


THU 21:00 Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War (b01bs9gb)
Stealing a March

Historian Saul David explores how wars are really fought - in the backroom of military planning. He shows how generals have met the challenge of moving armies.


THU 22:00 The Singing Detective (b0074qxv)
Heat

Marlow faces his personal misery of the talking cure with the psychologist who wants to help him with his psychosomatic psoriasis and has actually read Marlow's novel. Nicola, an ambitious and demanding actress, appears in Marlow's hospital ward just as he is thinking about her. Marlow is suspicious of his former wife, and his wretched state exposes his vulnerability. Only the fact that his imagination is running riot keeps him occupied.


THU 23:10 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01bs7f7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


THU 00:10 Top of the Pops (b01bs9g8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 00:45 Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War (b01bs9gb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 01:45 Horizon (b014kj65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 02:45 Great British Railway Journeys (b00psx88)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 on Wednesday]


THU 03:15 Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War (b01bs9gb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2012

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b01bsc3w)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 The Prince and the Composer: A Film about Hubert Parry by HRH The Prince of Wales (b011g941)
Sir Hubert Parry is simultaneously one of Britain's best-known and least-known composers. Jerusalem is almost a national song, regularly performed at rugby grounds, schools, Women's Institute meetings and the Last Night of the Proms, while Dear Lord and Father of Mankind is one of Britain's best-loved hymns. Everyone knows the tunes, yet hardly anyone knows much about the man who wrote them.

In this film, HRH The Prince of Wales, a longstanding enthusiast of Parry's work, sets out to discover more about the complex character behind it, with the help of members of Parry's family, scholars and performers. This feature-length documentary by the award-winning director John Bridcut offers fresh insight into the life and work of Hubert Parry through the unique perspective of HRH The Prince of Wales.


FRI 21:00 How the Brits Rocked America: Go West (b01bsc3y)
We're the Kids in America

The Sex Pistols' American tour of 1978 might not have been a commercial success but it would set the tone and attitude for a new wave of British rock in the USA, while Duran Duran would lead a new pop invasion in the 80s.

With contributions from John Lydon and Robert Smith.


FRI 22:00 Big in America: British Hits in the USA (b01bywsr)
Compilation of British rock 'n' roll acts in performance with tracks that crossed over to the US charts. From The Dave Clark Five to Coldplay, the Brits have rocked America and sometimes even done better across the pond than here - take a bow A Flock of Seagulls, Supertramp and Bush - who are also included here alongside darker British global exports like Black Sabbath and The Cure.


FRI 23:00 Depeche Mode: 101 (b01bywst)
DA Pennebaker's classic verite documentary as alternative/modern rock outfit Depeche Mode break America in 1989. The film follows Depeche Mode preparing for the final concert of their Music for the Masses tour at Pasadena's Rose Bowl, while also following a group of young fans who have won tickets to the concert as they travel to the show by bus across America.

'I'm not sure about this. Let's go home', lead singer Dave Gahan tells the rest of the band before they take the stage in Pasadena. Pennebaker tracks Depeche Mode as their 1987 Music for the Masses album and tour prepares the way for 1990's Violator hit album and tour, which saw the boys from Basildon turn into monsters of rock.


FRI 01:00 How the Brits Rocked America: Go West (b01bsc3y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 02:00 Big in America: British Hits in the USA (b01bywsr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 03:00 The Prince and the Composer: A Film about Hubert Parry by HRH The Prince of Wales (b011g941)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]