SATURDAY 19 JANUARY 2013
SAT 19:00 Lost Land of the Tiger (b00ty6s4)
Episode 3
The climax to the BBC Natural History Unit's wildlife adventure series searching for tigers in the Himalayas.
Following extraordinary rumours of tigers living in the mountains of Bhutan, the expedition shifts to high altitude. Cameraman Gordon Buchanan captures remarkable footage of a snow leopard cub at over 5,000 metres.
Along the Tibetan border, explorer Steve Backshall treks to the mystical Tiger Mountain. Helped by a remote tribe, he has a very close encounter with the world's most elusive predator.
The plight of the endangered tiger brings biologist Dr George McGavin to tears, and the team present their findings to the Bhutanese prime minister. As the expedition culminates, Gordon makes the discovery of a lifetime.
SAT 20:00 A History of Art in Three Colours (b01lng0m)
White
In the Age of Reason, it was the rediscovery of the white columns and marbles of antiquity that made white the most virtuous of colours. For flamboyant JJ Wickelmann and British genius Josiah Wedgwood, white embodied all the Enlightenment's values of justice, equality and reason.
SAT 21:00 Borgen (b01q6pg9)
Series 2
Plant a Tree
Birgitte Nyborg's government is about to negotiate the environmental element of the new reform package called A Common Future. Birgitte wants a multi-party agreement, but must face the reality of parties who cannot and will not compromise. Kasper convinces her that underhand tactics can help win her a majority for the reform, but this has grave consequences for the party. Katrine receives an unusual job offer which puts her personal beliefs to the test. At home, Birgitte's children are clearly affected by their mother's work-related stress; Laura in particular struggles with her absence.
In Danish with English subtitles.
SAT 22:00 Borgen (b01q6pgc)
Series 2
Them and Us
Internal strife among the coalition partners continues as the right wing submits a bill that will lower the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 years. Several Labour Party members support the proposal, leaving Birgitte in the minority in parliament. Kasper takes personal offence to the proposed bill, and when an incident happens to right wing leader Svend Age Madsenn, the proposal receives public suport and the pressure grows on Birgitte. At home, Birgitte struggles to deal with her daughter's illness, and in particular the treatment which is being recommended for her.
In Danish with English subtitles.
SAT 23:00 Top of the Pops (b01pznzn)
05/01/78
Peter Powell introduces the weekly pop chart programme featuring performances from Eddie & the Hot Rods, Terry Wogan, Long Tall Ernie, the Babys, Tonight, the Brotherhood of Man, Julie Covington, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Wings and Legs & Co.
SAT 23:30 Top of the Pops (b01pkjy6)
The Story of 1978
In 1978, Top of the Pops began to turn the credibility corner. As the only major pop show on television, Top of the Pops had enjoyed a unique position in the nation's hearts since the 1960s - the nation's teenagers who were now fed up with the show's predominantly light entertainment blend still tuned in every week in the hope of seeing one of the new young outfits thrown up by punk, new wave and disco. In 1978 it seemed the kids' time had come again for the first time since glam rock. Yet the biggest-selling singles of 1978 were by the likes of Boney M, John Travolta & Olivia Newton John, Rod Stewart, The Bee Gees and Abba.
Punk never quite fitted in with the mainstream - it had been treated with disdain by Top of the Pops and largely ignored by the show. Britain's teenagers had to endure the all-round family entertainment on offer when all they wanted was teenage kicks. Along came a generation of young post-punk and new wave bands armed with guitar and bass, ready to storm the Top of the Pops stage - from The Undertones, The Buzzcocks, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Skids and Ian Dury and the Blockheads to The Boomtown Rats, Elvis Costello, The Jam and Squeeze - some weeks teenagers would get to see one of their bands, very rarely they got two, but there they were on primetime TV.
With contributions from The Boomtown Rats, Squeeze, Boney M, Sham 69, Brian & Michael, The Barron Knights, Mike Read, Kid Jensen, Kathryn Flett, Richard Jobson, Ian Gittins and Legs & Co.
SAT 00:20 Top of the Pops (b01pmbdy)
1978 - Big Hits
A pick 'n' mix of Top of the Pops classics from 1978, when in-yer-face punk and new wave rebellion co-existed with MOR suburban pop, disco fever, soul balladry, reggae and prog rock, and when two mega-successful movie soundtracks in the shape of Grease and Saturday Night Fever squared up on the dancefloor. Featuring shouty Sham 69, the cool rebellion of Ian Dury, Elvis Costello and Blondie, the media-savvy clowning of The Boomtown Rats, Kate Bush's debut with Wuthering Heights, alongside Brotherhood of Man's perky Figaro, Dan Hill's sentimental Sometimes When We Touch and the high camp of Boney M's Rasputin. Bob Marley shares chart space with 10cc's Dreadlock Holiday, and ELO and Manfred Mann's Earth Band keep on rockin'.
SAT 01:20 Sweet Home Alabama: The Southern Rock Saga (b01f1bt0)
An epic 1970s tale about a group of rebel rock bands who rose up from one of the most unpopular, marginalised parts of the USA - the Deep South - and conquered the world.
The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and others that followed did this entirely on their own terms, blending the music of the region - blues, country, rock and roll - with a gung-ho attitude that set the South, and then America, on fire.
Their diverse styles, from juke joint boogie and country-rock honks to cosmic blues blasts, had a huge cultural and political impact, even helping to elect Jimmy Carter as president in 1976.
Their extraordinary adventure is brought to life through vivid period archive and contributions from the survivors of those crazy times, including Gregg Allman, REM's Mike Mills, Doug Gray, Al Kooper, Bonnie Bramlett, Charlie Daniels and other key figures in the movement.
Turn on, tune in, get jukin'...
SAT 02:20 A History of Art in Three Colours (b01lng0m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
SAT 03:20 Top of the Pops (b01pznzn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 today]
SUNDAY 20 JANUARY 2013
SUN 19:00 Timeshift (b01n8hl9)
Series 12
Magnificent Machines: The Golden Age of the British Sports Car
Timeshift sets its rear-view mirror to look back at the golden age of the British sports car. It's the story of how - in the grey austerity of the postwar years - iconic marques like Jaguar, Austin-Healey, MG and Triumph sparked a manufacturing frenzy that helped to democratise speed and glamour.
From the MG Midget, much loved by American GIs, through to the more affordable Austin Healey 'frog-eye' Sprite and the E-Type Jaguar, seen by many as the ultimate sports car, this is a tale of how, for a brief time, Britain was home to two-seater heaven.
SUN 20:00 In Which We Serve (b0074sgt)
This is the story of a ship - the HMS Torrin - from its construction to its participation at Dunkirk and its final sinking in the Battle of Crete. As the ship goes down, the crew remember their homes and loved ones.
Based on true events as recounted to Noel Coward by Lord Mountbatten.
SUN 21:50 Glen Campbell: The Rhinestone Cowboy (b01pwxs8)
In 2011, Glen Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and that he would be bowing out with a final album and farewell tour across Britain and America. This documentary tells Campbell's remarkable life story, from impoverished childhood in Arkansas to huge success, first as a guitarist and then as a singer, with great records like Wichita Lineman and Rhinestone Cowboy. With comments from friends and colleagues, including songwriter Jimmy Webb and Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees, it is a moving story of success, disgrace and redemption as rich as any of the storylines in Campbell's most famous songs.
The peak of Glen Campbell's career was in 1975, when he topped the charts around the world with Rhinestone Cowboy, but his musical journey to that point is fascinating. A self-taught teenage prodigy on the guitar, by his mid-twenties Campbell was one of the top session guitarists in LA, a key member of the band of session players now known as The Wrecking Crew. He played on hundreds of tracks while working for producers like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, including Daydream Believer by The Monkees, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling by The Righteous Brothers, Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra and Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley.
But Campbell always wanted to make it under his own name. A string of records failed to chart until, in 1967, he finally found his distinctive country pop sound with hits like Gentle on My Mind and By the Time I Get to Phoenix. The latter was written by Jimmy Webb, and together the two created a string of great records like Wichita Lineman and Galveston. Campbell pioneered country crossover and opened the way for artists like Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.
By the end of the 1960s, Campbell was the fastest rising star in American pop with his own television show and a starring role in the original version of True Grit. Over the following ten years, he had more success with Rhinestone Cowboy and Southern Nights, but his private life was in turmoil. Divorce, drink and drugs saw this clean-cut all-American hero fall from grace and a tempestuous relationship with country star Tanya Tucker was front-page news.
Despite a relapse in 2003, when he was arrested for drunk driving and his police mug shot was shown around the world, the last two decades have been more settled. He remarried, started a new family and renewed his Christian faith, and was musically rediscovered by a new generation. Like his friend Johnny Cash, he released acclaimed new albums with young musicians, covering songs by contemporary artists like U2 and The Foo Fighters. Therefore the diagnosis with Alzheimer's was all the more poignant, but his dignified farewell has made him the public face of the disease in the USA.
The film includes contributions by many of Campbell's friends and colleagues, including his family in Arkansas, fellow session musicians Carol Kaye and Leon Russell, long-time friend and collaborator Jimmy Webb, former Monkee Mickey Dolenz, broadcaster Bob Harris, lyricist Don Black and country music writer Robert Oermann.
SUN 22:50 Lebanon (b0164s0m)
Set during the 1982 Lebanon War. Four young Israeli soldiers are sent in a tank to search and clear a Lebanese town, a seemingly simple mission that soon turns into a nightmare for the inexperienced unit. From inside the tank, the men witness the horrors of the violence around them as they are ordered to use an internationally forbidden weapon to clear the area of Lebanese citizens. In a situation that they are unable to control, and motivated by fear and instinct, the four try not to lose themselves as they cope with the chaos, heat, technical issues, clashing personalities and a very small living space.
In Hebrew and Arabic with some French and Engish.
SUN 00:15 Country at the BBC (b017zqwb)
Grab your partner by the hand - the BBC have raided their archive and brought to light glittering performances by country artists over the last four decades.
Star appearances include Tammy Wynette, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and, of course, Dolly Parton. All the greats have performed for the BBC at some point - on entertainment shows, in concert and at the BBC studios. Some of the rhinestones revealed are Charley Pride's Crystal Chandeliers from the Lulu Show, Emmylou Harris singing Together Again on the Old Grey Whistle Test and Billie Jo Spears's Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad from the Val Doonican Music Show.
We're brought up to date with modern country hits by kd lang, Garth Brooks, Alison Krauss and Taylor Swift, plus a special unbroadcasted performance from Later...with Jools Holland by Willie Nelson.
SUN 01:45 An Evening with Glen Campbell (b01pyfht)
A special concert recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in 1977, where 80 musicians played new arrangements of Glen Campbell's hit songs.
SUN 03:05 BBC One Sessions (b007cj5l)
Paul Simon
The legendary American singer-songwriter with his six-piece band in an intimate concert from LSO St Luke's in London's Shoreditch. Simon plays songs from throughout his solo career and his 60s heyday with Simon and Garfunkel including You Can Call Me Al, The Only Living Boy in New York, The Boxer and Still Crazy After All These Years, alongside songs from his gold-selling album, Surprise. The band sing jawdropping harmonies, play everything from penny whistle to baritone sax and accordion while Simon sings, plays guitar and conducts the band in front of 250 fans.
MONDAY 21 JANUARY 2013
MON 19:00 World News Today (b01q6lpy)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
MON 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00qgz23)
Series 1
Walsall to Bournville
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, he travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
His journey takes him from Buxton along one of the first railway routes south to the capital, London. This time, Michael meets the queen's saddler in Walsall, learns how to cook an authentic Indian curry in Birmingham and visits Bournville, rumoured to be the best place to live in Britain.
MON 20:00 Art Deco Icons (b00nqc3l)
Casa Del Rio
David Heathcote goes to spend the weekend at Casa Del Rio - a remarkable Art Deco fantasy house hidden away in rural Devon. He uncovers the story of Walter Price, a baker from Devon who went to visit California in the 1930s and who was so impressed by Pickfair - the glamorous residence of Hollywood stars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford - that he decided to create his own Deco mansion back in the Devon countryside, complete with marble staircase built to look like a piano keyboard.
Heathcote explores the house that was the perfect glamorous weekend retreat for Price and his friends and plays with some of the many Deco gadgets that brought glamour into so many people's lives in the 1930s - a perfect toaster, a Bakelite radio and even a cocktail shaker.
The original Pickfair mansion in California was demolished, so Casa Del Rio remains as a rare British example of a Deco fantasy house, built at time when Britain was in love with Hollywood, Art Deco and its glamour.
MON 20:30 Britain on Film (b01q6pzr)
Series 1
War and Peace
Throughout the 1960s, the Rank Organisation produced hundreds of short, quirky documentaries that examined all aspects of life in Britain. Shot on high-quality colour film stock, they were screened in cinemas, but until now very little of the footage has been shown on television. This series draws on this unique archive to offer illuminating and often surprising insights into a pivotal decade in modern British history.
This episode examines Look at Life's coverage of what was the most important political conflict of the era - the Cold War. With international tensions rising, the series recorded the enormous anti-nuclear protests in London; the experiences of British forces stationed in Berlin; and visited Eastern Europe, to observe everyday life for the people living behind the Iron Curtain.
MON 21:00 Lost Kingdoms of South America (b01q6pzt)
The Stone at the Centre
Deep in the Bolivian Andes at the height of 13,000ft stands Tiwanaku, the awe-inspiring ruins of a monolithic temple city. Built by a civilisation who dominated a vast swathe of South America, it was abandoned 1,000 years ago. For centuries it has been a mystery - how did a civilisation flourish at such an altitude and why did it vanish?
Jago Cooper journeys through Bolivia's spectacular landscape to investigate the origins of Tiwanaku and finds evidence of an ancient people with amazing understanding of their environment, whose religion was based on collective effort and ritual beer drinking.
MON 22:00 Storyville (b01q6q14)
Harry Belafonte: Sing Your Song
Storyville: Wonderfully archived and told with a remarkable sense of intimacy, visual style and musical panache, this inspiring biographical documentary surveys the life and times of singer/actor/activist Harry Belafonte.
From his rise to fame as a singer and his experiences touring a segregated country to his provocative crossover into Hollywood, Belafonte's groundbreaking career personifies the American civil rights movement and impacted many other social justice movements.
The film reveals Belafonte as a tenacious hands-on activist who worked intimately with Dr Martin Luther King Jr, mobilised celebrities for social justice, participated in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and took action to counter gang violence, prisons and the incarceration of youth.
MON 23:30 Spies of Warsaw (b01pwvxb)
Episode 2
Classic tale of spying, intrigue and romance, based on the novels of Alan Furst.
Warsaw 1938. French military attache Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier is also a spy on a mission, one which takes him undercover to Czechoslovakia on the trail of the elusive Chaika, a man who can lead him into the heart of the Nazi war machine.
Back in Warsaw, his erstwhile mistress Anna Skarbek is devastated by news of her ex-lover and political refugee and journalist Max Mostov. Heartbroken, she flees to Spain on a League of Nations mission of mercy.
As the Nazi storm clouds gather over Europe, dashing Polish Colonel Anton Pakulski undertakes his own mission, a mission that goes to the heart of protecting the very future of Poland itself.
MON 01:00 Carved with Love: The Genius of British Woodwork (b01pyfd2)
The Glorious Grinling Gibbons
Series about great British woodworkers continues by looking at the life and work of Grinling Gibbons. He isn't a household name, but he is the greatest woodcarver the British Isles has ever produced. Working in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, Gibbons created delightful carved masterpieces for the likes of Charles II and William of Orange. This film explores the genius of the man they called the 'Michelangelo of wood'.
MON 02:00 Britain on Film (b01q6pzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
MON 02:30 Art Deco Icons (b00nqc3l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MON 03:00 Lost Kingdoms of South America (b01q6pzt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 22 JANUARY 2013
TUE 19:00 World News Today (b01q6lq3)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
TUE 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00qgzdd)
Series 1
Coventry to Watford
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, he travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain.
His journey takes him from Buxton along one of the first railway routes south to the capital, London. This time, Michael relives the Coventry Blitz, meets the last farmer with pure-breed Aylesbury ducks in Buckinghamshire and finds out how the trains helped to evacuate millions of children during World War II.
TUE 20:00 Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency (b014jbyr)
The Many and the Few - A Divided Decade
In this final programme, Lucy Worsley examines the backlash against the excesses of the Prince Regent and the elite world he represented, as George finds himself in a Britain on the brink of revolution in the closing years of his Regency. This was a moment when the power of the word - in radical writings and speeches - briefly challenged the power of the sword. Percy Bysshe Shelley, and future wife Mary, openly supported revolutionary ideas and Mary's famous novel Frankenstein can be seen as a vehicle for the fears surrounding the creation of an uncontrollable new industrial world.
Lucy reveals that even Lord Byron was not always the snake-hipped seducer of legend. He and fellow writers and poets were active supporters of the grass roots movement for reform. Byron made an impassioned speech in Parliament in defence of Luddite machine-breakers. New industrial cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester were being established yet, under the archaic electoral system of the day, not one returned an MP. The vote was in fact limited to a small land-owning class. The demands for democratic change were to end in tragedy in Manchester with a bloody massacre of unarmed men, women and children at St Peter's Fields - an event dubbed, with bitter reference to the triumph of Waterloo, as 'Peterloo'.
Lucy also describes the technological changes that transformed the Regency landscape and experiences - she enjoys the thrills of a mail coach ride, complete with armed guard; learns how to operate the world's oldest steam engine; and partakes in the Regency craze of balloon flight.
The programme ends with the Prince Regent finally being crowned as George IV at Westminster Abbey in 1821 while his estranged wife Caroline batters the main doors demanding entry. A colourful ending to a decade of elegance and extravagance.
TUE 21:00 Tales of Winter: The Art of Snow and Ice (b01q6qj6)
Winter was not always beautiful. Until Pieter Bruegel painted Hunters in the Snow, the long bitter months had never been transformed into a thing of beauty. This documentary charts how mankind's ever changing struggle with winter has been reflected in western art throughout the ages, resulting in images that are now amongst the greatest paintings of all time. With contributions from Grayson Perry, Will Self, Don McCullin and many others, the film takes an eclectic group of people from all walks of life out into the cold to reflect on the paintings that have come to define the art of snow and ice.
TUE 22:30 Illuminations: The Private Lives of Medieval Kings (b019jsfg)
What a King Should Know
Dr Janina Ramirez unlocks the secrets of medieval illuminated manuscripts and shows how they gave power to the king and united the kingdom in an age of plague, warfare and rebellion. She discovers that Edward III used the manuscripts he read as a boy to prepare him for his great victory at the battle of Crecy and reveals how a vigorous new national identity bloomed during the 100 Years War with France (1340-1453).
In the British Library's Royal Manuscripts collection she finds out that magnificent manuscripts like the Bedford Hours, taken as war booty from the French royal family, were adapted for the education of English princes. Dr Ramirez also explores how knowledge spread through a new form of book - the encyclopaedia.
TUE 23:30 Borgen (b01q6pg9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Saturday]
TUE 00:30 Borgen (b01q6pgc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Saturday]
TUE 01:30 Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency (b014jbyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
TUE 02:30 Tales of Winter: The Art of Snow and Ice (b01q6qj6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 23 JANUARY 2013
WED 19:00 World News Today (b01q6lqb)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00qgzr9)
Series 1
St Pancras to Westminster
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, he travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain.
His journey takes him from Buxton along one of the first railway routes south to the capital, London. This time, Michael explores one of the grandest railway stations and hotels in the country - St Pancras. He rides the world's first tube line to Smithfield market and climbs up the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament to hear Big Ben chime.
WED 20:00 Sissinghurst (b00hvvg9)
Episode 1
Documentary series about the attempts of writer Adam Nicolson and his wife Sarah Raven to bring farming back into the heart of the estate and garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, their historic home which is owned by the National Trust and was moulded into its present form by Nicolson's grandmother Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson back in the 1930s.
Adam and Sarah have big ideas about how to change the management of the place, to regain a sense of its authentic atmosphere and rural life, but they are under no illusions as to the amount of control they will have.
An important aspect of the plan is to enable the farm to provide fresh produce that will be served in the National Trust restaurant. Finally, after some 50 meetings they get the green light, but for Sarah, acting as consultant on the restaurant, things don't go as smoothly as she'd hoped.
Meanwhile Adam is halfway through researching his latest book - a history of Sissinghurst. He introduces us to the rich cultural milieu of his grandmother Vita who, aside from creating the most influential garden of the 20th century, had affairs with 45 other women.
WED 20:30 Nature's Microworlds (b01q7fs8)
Canada's Coastal Forests
Steve Backshall pulls apart the pieces of Canada's remarkable coastal forest to reveal why this ancient sylvan environment is not only home to some of the largest trees on Earth, but also some of the greatest aggregations of top predators in North America. He untangles the complex relationships between the seasons, the landscape and the wildlife to discover what might be fuelling this forest's prolific productivity and supporting eagles, bears and wolves. In this complex coastal system, the secret to success comes in a remarkable annual event.
WED 21:00 Timeshift (b01q9vhy)
Series 12
The Joy of (Train) Sets
The Model Railway Story: From Hornby to Triang and beyond, this documentary explores how the British have been in love with model railways for more than a century. What began as an adult obsession with building fully engineered replicas became the iconic toy of 50s and 60s childhood. With unique archive and contributions from modellers such as Pete Waterman, this is a celebration of the joys of miniaturisation. Just don't call them toy trains!
WED 22:00 Bob Servant (p00wwyrl)
Independent
Launch Day
Bob Servant launches his political campaign with controversial results. A radio appearance leads to a home visit from the police and protests from local dog owners. Bob's campaign lies in tatters, but will he make a humbling on-air apology?
WED 22:30 The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse (b00x9b7w)
The extraordinary story of comedian Bob Monkhouse's life and career, told through the vast private archive of films, TV shows, letters and memorabilia that he left behind.
WED 00:00 Timeshift (b012zmy7)
Series 11
All the Fun of the Fair
Timeshift explores rarely seen images from the University of Sheffield's National Fairground Archive to ride back to the origins of the fairground. From the sideshows, the freak shows and early hand-powered rides to the arrival of steam and electricity, the story of fairs is the tale of one of our first forms of popular entertainment.
The film shows how fairgrounds often provided the only entertainment to rapidly expanding industrial towns. It looks at how, from the 50s, the fairground was the site of youth rebellion, and why we are still entranced by these travelling carnivals that arrive overnight and then vanish just as mysteriously.
WED 01:00 Timeshift (b0135kkp)
Series 11
When the Circus Comes to Town
Roll up! Roll up! Join Timeshift under the big top for unique access to the University of Sheffield's National Fairground Archive which tells the story of the circus. From Billy Smart to Gerry Cottle and Archaos to Cirque du Soleil, the documentary captures the appeal of this enduring mass entertainment. Find out what a josser is, discover why clowns are one of the few acts to achieve lasting celebrity and marvel at the sheer spectacle of some of the biggest circuses of all time.
In an age when almost every form of popular entertainment owes something to the circus, this is a nostalgic journey into the origins of one of the ultimate expressions of human athleticism and showmanship.
WED 02:00 Nature's Microworlds (b01q7fs8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
WED 02:30 Bob Servant (p00wwyrl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
WED 03:00 Timeshift (b01q9vhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 24 JANUARY 2013
THU 19:00 World News Today (b01q6lqh)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b01q6xrs)
26/01/78
David 'Kid' Jensen introduces the weekly pop chart programme featuring performances from the Rich Kids, Althea & Donna, Gordon Giltrap, Terry Wogan, Yellow Dog, Gallagher & Lyle, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Baccara, Wings and Legs & Co.
THU 20:00 She-Wolves: England's Early Queens (b01dpqtx)
Jane, Mary and Elizabeth
In the medieval and Tudor world there was no question in people's minds about the order of God's creation - men ruled and women didn't. A king was a warrior who literally fought to win power then battled to keep it. Yet despite everything that stood in their way, a handful of extraordinary women did attempt to rule medieval and Tudor England. In this series, historian Dr Helen Castor explores seven queens who challenged male power, the fierce reactions they provoked and whether the term 'she wolves' was deserved.
Helen looks at what happened when England was faced not just with inadequate kings, but no kings at all. In 1553, for the first time in English history all the contenders for the crown were female. In the lives of these three Tudor queens - Jane, Mary and Elizabeth - she explores how each woman struggled in turn with wearing a crown that was made for a male head. Elizabeth I seemed to show that not only could a woman rule, but could do so gloriously. But at what cost?
THU 21:00 Carved with Love: The Genius of British Woodwork (b01q6xrv)
The Divine Craft of Carpentry
This series about the history of British woodworking concludes by looking at the Middle Ages, a golden era. Sponsored by the monarchy and the church, carvers and carpenters created wonders that still astound us today, from the magnificent roof of Westminster Hall to the Coronation Chair, last used by Elizabeth II but created 700 years ago. The film also shows how this precious legacy was nearly destroyed during the fires of the Reformation.
THU 22:00 Lost Kingdoms of South America (b01q6pzt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
THU 23:00 Timeshift (b016pwgw)
Series 11
Of Ice and Men
Timeshift reveals the history of the frozen continent, finding out why the most inhospitable place on the planet has exerted such a powerful hold on the imagination of explorers, scientists, writers and photographers.
Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest place on the globe. Only a handful of people have experienced its desolate beauty, with the first explorers setting foot here barely a hundred years ago.
From the logbooks of Captain Cook to the diaries of Scott and Shackleton, from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner to HP Lovecraft, it is a film about real and imaginary tales of adventure, romance and tragedy that have played out against a stark white backdrop.
We relive the race to the Pole and the 'Heroic Age' of Antarctic exploration, and find out what it takes to survive the cold and the perils of 'polar madness'. We see how Herbert Ponting's photographs of the Scott expedition helped define our image of the continent and find out why the continent witnessed a remarkable thaw in Russian and American relations at the height of the Cold War.
We also look at the intriguing story of who actually owns Antarctica and how science is helping us reimagine a frozen wasteland as something far more precious.
Interviewees include Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Francis Spufford, Huw Lewis-Jones, Sara Wheeler, Henry Worsley, Prof David Walton and Martin Hartley.
THU 00:00 Tales of Winter: The Art of Snow and Ice (b01q6qj6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
THU 01:30 Top of the Pops (b01q6xrs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 02:00 Glen Campbell: The Rhinestone Cowboy (b01pwxs8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:50 on Sunday]
THU 03:00 Carved with Love: The Genius of British Woodwork (b01q6xrv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 25 JANUARY 2013
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b01q6lqn)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (b014hsbn)
2011
Hooray for Hollywood
A celebration of the Golden Age of Hollywood film musicals performed by John Wilson who, returning to the Proms for a third season, conducts his hand-picked, high-octane orchestra and a line-up of star soloists.
Hooray for Hollywood takes us from the dawn of the 'talkies' and the birth of the movie musical through to the 1960s. There are excerpts from 42nd Street, Top Hat, Strike Up the Band, Swing Time and Shall We Dance, with a special tribute to the RKO films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
FRI 21:30 imagine... (b011rqt7)
Autumn 2010
Ray Davies - Imaginary Man
As the creative powerhouse behind hugely influential band The Kinks, Ray Davies was responsible for writing some of the best-loved songs of the 60s, including pop classics You Really Got Me, Tired of Waiting For You, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Sunny Afternoon and Waterloo Sunset. Alan Yentob meets Davies, a unique talent who describes with rare candour his troubled relationship with fame and the vicissitudes of his career. They also discuss a new album of Klassic Kinks Kollaborations which is near completion and features musical luminaries such as Bruce Springsteen, Mumford and Sons and Metallica.
FRI 22:45 Arena (b00wbp64)
Dave Brubeck - In His Own Sweet Way
Three young men who emerged in the 1950s - Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Dave Brubeck - not only captured the public's imagination, but in their own unique way determined the evolution of jazz as we know it today.
This Clint Eastwood co-produced documentary tells Dave Brubeck's personal story, tracing his career from his first musical experiences to the overwhelming success of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the iconic status he and his varied forms of musical expression have achieved.
It is told with contemporary interviews, vintage performances, previously unseen archive and additional performances filmed especially for the documentary. The story is also told by Dave and Iola Brubeck, both in their own words and by musical example. Contributors include Bill Cosby, Jamie Cullum, Yo-Yo Ma, George Lucas and Eastwood himself.
In 2009 Brubeck was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, with Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen, Grace Bumbry and Mel Brooks. He played with his sons for President Obama at the White House, and 55 years ago became the first jazz musician to appear on the cover of Time magazine. His classic Take Five is as familiar today as in 1959 when it was a Top 10 hit all over the world.
Brubeck has an unlikely origin for a jazz giant, growing up on a ranch in Monterey, California. Monterey resident Clint Eastwood introduced Brubeck and his Cannery Row Suite at the 2006 Monterey Jazz Festival and each were so inspired by the success of the event they agreed to move forward with this full-length documentary together.
FRI 00:20 1959: The Year that Changed Jazz (b00jf64y)
1959 was the seismic year jazz broke away from complex bebop music to new forms, allowing soloists unprecedented freedom to explore and express. It was also a pivotal year for America: the nation was finding its groove, enjoying undreamt-of freedom and wealth; social, racial and upheavals were just around the corner; and jazz was ahead of the curve.
Four major jazz albums were made, each a high watermark for the artists and a powerful reflection of the times. Each opened up dramatic new possibilities for jazz which continue to be felt: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue; Dave Brubeck, Time Out; Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um; and Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz to Come.
Rarely seen archive performances help vibrantly bring the era to life and explore what made these albums vital both in 1959 and the 50 years since. The programme contains interviews with Lou Reed, Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden, Herbie Hancock, Joe Morello (Brubeck's drummer) and Jimmy Cobb (the only surviving member of Miles' band), along with a host of jazz movers and shakers from the 50s and beyond.
FRI 01:20 Omnibus (b00nnmf8)
Ronnie Scott and All That Jazz
Documentary celebrating the founding of Ronnie Scott's Jazz club in 1959. Scott, a rising young saxophone player, opened a club where he and his friends could play the music they liked. Over the following years, the club had its ups and downs, reflecting the changes in attitudes to jazz and the social life of surrounding Soho.
Now Ronnie Scott's is known throughout the world as the hearbeat of British jazz. In this tribute, Omnibus talks to some of Ronnie's greatest admirers including Mel Brooks, the Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP and writer Alan Plater, and features rare archive footage of some of the club's historic performances by Zoot Sims, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald.
FRI 02:20 imagine... (b011rqt7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:30 today]
FRI 03:30 Top of the Pops (b01q6xrs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 on Thursday]