SATURDAY 21 DECEMBER 2013

SAT 19:00 Horizon (b03k3881)
Comet of the Century: A Horizon Special

It was hoped that Comet ISON could be the brightest and most spectacular comet for a generation. After travelling towards the sun for ten thousand years, it appeared to have been disintegrated by the heat and tidal forces of the sun in early December 2013.

But ISON's tail of vapourised gas and water, hundreds of millions of kilometres long, may give insights into some of the greatest mysteries of science. It could help explain the origins of the solar system, whether earth's water was delivered on comets and even whether we are alone in the universe.


SAT 20:00 Shipwrecks: Britain's Sunken History (b03lytyp)
Civilising the Sea

Shipwrecks are the nightmare we have forgotten - the price Britain paid for ruling the waves from an island surrounded by treacherous rocks. The result is a coastline that is home to the world's highest concentration of sunken ships. But shipwrecks also changed the course of British history, helped shape our national character and drove innovations in seafaring technology, as well as gripping our imagination.

The terrible toll taken by shipwrecks was such that in the winter of 1820 some 20,000 seaman lost their lives in the North Sea alone. That's 20 jumbo jets. But in the final part of his series, maritime historian Sam Willis tells the stirring story of how the Victorians were finally driven into action, finding various ingenious solutions - from rockets that could fire rescue lines aboard stricken vessels to lifejackets, lifeboats and the Plimsoll Line, which outlawed overloading.

In Africa, he traces the legend of the Birkenhead Drill - the origin of 'women and children first'. Decorum even in disaster was the new Victorian way and it was conspicuously on hand to turn history's most iconic shipwreck - Titanic - into a tragic monument to British restraint.


SAT 21:00 Papillon (b007bw8d)
Sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Devil's Island prison camp for a murder he did not commit, Henri 'Papillon' Charriere's only passion is to escape. To this end he offers to watch over forger Louis Dega, for the man has money. But the jungle and years of brutality lie between Papillon (the butterfly) and freedom. Prison drama based on a true story.


SAT 23:25 When Albums Ruled the World (b01qhn70)
Between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s, the long-playing record and the albums that graced its grooves changed popular music for ever. For the first time, musicians could escape the confines of the three-minute pop single and express themselves as never before across the expanded artistic canvas of the album. The LP allowed popular music become an art form - from the glorious artwork adorning gatefold sleeves, to the ideas and concepts that bound the songs together, to the unforgettable music itself.

Built on stratospheric sales of albums, these were the years when the music industry exploded to become bigger than Hollywood. From pop to rock, from country to soul, from jazz to punk, all of music embraced what 'the album' could offer. But with the collapse of vinyl sales at the end of the 70s and the arrival of new technologies and formats, the golden era of the album couldn't last forever.

With contributions from Roger Taylor, Ray Manzarek, Noel Gallagher, Guy Garvey, Nile Rodgers, Grace Slick, Mike Oldfield, Slash and a host of others, this is the story of When Albums Ruled the World.


SAT 00:55 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 01:55 Shipwrecks: Britain's Sunken History (b03lytyp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 02:55 Horizon (b03k3881)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



SUNDAY 22 DECEMBER 2013

SUN 19:00 Whisky Galore! (b00ml4yv)
Classic Ealing comedy about a whisky-laden ship that runs aground off the coast of the Outer Hebrides during the Second World War.

The local islanders have depleted their supply of the amber nectar and are overjoyed at the thought of stocking up again. But it is Sunday, and the teetotallers object to making free with the unexpected cargo.


SUN 20:20 Wild (b0078yx9)
2005-06 Shorts

The Rabbits of Skomer

Documentary about the wild rabbits which live on sea cliffs on the Pembrokeshire coast alongside seabirds like puffins and seagulls. They come in many shades, owing to their intriguing history, and each spring the island of Skomer itself is transformed by wild flowers, creating one of Britain's most beautiful natural spectacles. The green and brown island turns blue and pink for a couple of spectacular weeks under a carpet of bluebells and red campion.


SUN 20:30 The Fir Tree (b03mv09c)
Inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale, this remarkable Danish film tells the story of a Christmas tree from a most unusual angle - through the 'voice' of the tree itself. The tree has big ambitions, doing everything it can to grow so tall that it reaches the sky. Featuring extraordinary photography, the film follows the adventures of its life from sapling to maturity, culminating in a triumphal Christmas Day. Along the way, viewers experience the natural - and human - world from a strangely moving perspective.


SUN 21:00 Timeshift (b03mp53s)
Series 13

The Ladybird Books Story: The Bugs that Got Britain Reading

To millions of people, Ladybird books were as much a part of childhood as battery-powered torches and warm school milk. These now iconic pocket-sized books once informed us on such diverse subjects as how magnets work, what to look for in winter and how to make decorations out of old eggshells. But they also helped to teach many of us to read via a unique literacy scheme known as 'key words'. Ladybird books were also a visual treat - some of the best-known contemporary illustrators were recruited to provide images which today provide a perfect snapshot of the lost world of Ladybirdland: a place that is forever the gloriously ordinary, orderly 1950s.


SUN 22:00 John Denver: Country Boy (b03j4cz2)
Documentary exploring the private life and public legacy of John Denver, America's original country boy. With exclusive accounts from those closest to him, the man behind the music is revealed in an intimate profile in his 70th birthday anniversary year.


SUN 23:00 The Many Faces of... (b018nvwc)
Series 1

Les Dawson

Les Dawson was one of Britain's all time great comedy talents, best known as a comedian but also a talented musician, writer and actor. This programme traces his career, with familiar favourite TV clips and some rare gems from the archives. Together with interviews from friends, relatives and colleagues, the programme unpicks the secrets of his enduring legacy nearly 20 years after his untimely death.

After 'discovery' on the Opportunity Knocks talent show in the 60s, he quickly became a regular face on TV, hosting comedy-led variety shows like Sez Les and The Les Dawson Show. His trademarks were short, pithy jokes, usually targeting his wife or mother in law, long verbose monologues and, perhaps most famously, piano recitals that went hilariously off key.

His reputation attracted guest appearances from some unexpected fans like John Cleese and Shirley Bassey, and he created an overweight dance troupe, The Roly Polys.

The programme shows how his career unfolded and illustrates the different facets of his comedy genius. John Cleese remembers their unlikely friendship, modern comedy stars Robert Webb and Russell Kane talk about his inspiration and Dawson's widow Tracy recalls their marriage and his joy at being a father late in life.


SUN 00:00 Legends (b00fzv3y)
Roy Orbison - The 'Big O' in Britain

Roy Orbison was the best singer in the world. That's what Elvis Presley said, and he should know.

To mark the 20th anniversary of Orbison's death, this programme celebrates the extraordinary talent of 'The Big O' and his relationship with his most loyal and enduring fans, British musicians and the British public. Through a combination of interview and archive, it charts Orbison's career in Britain, from the sell-out tour with the Beatles that sky-rocketed him to international superstardom, right up to the collaboration with lifelong friend George Harrison on the Travelling Wilburys project in the late 1980s. Effortlessly cool, musically sophisticated, Orbison was a rock and roll legend, whose legacy continues to captivate both the listeners and performers of today.


SUN 01:00 The Andy Williams Christmas Show (b00phmjh)
It being the season of goodwill and bad jumpers, it is time to relive the best moments from a number of snowy Christmases that came to the NBC Studios in California between 1962 and 1974 for Andy Williams's annual yuletide songfest. With guest appearances from the Osmond Brothers and the Williams Family.


SUN 01:30 The Andy Williams Show (b00n5bt9)
Duets

Compilation of the best duets selected from crooner Andy Williams's private archive of his weekly 1960s variety show on NBC. The show attracted the cream of the crop from the world of showbiz, from Bing Crosby and Ray Charles to Johnny Mathis and Ella Fitzgerald, who were more than happy to share the microphone with the king of easy listening.

Including Over the Rainbow with Judy Garland, and Andy at the piano with Ray Charles for What'd I Say.


SUN 02:30 The Fir Tree (b03mv09c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


SUN 03:00 The Bridge (b01gmbvb)
Series 1

Episode 1

A woman is found murdered in the middle of Oresund Bridge, exactly on the border between Sweden and Denmark. Saga Noren from Malmo CID and Martin Rohde from the Copenhagen police department are called to the scene. What at first looks like one murder turns out to be two. The bodies have been brutally cut off at the waist and joined together - the torso of a high-profile Swedish politician and the lower body of a Danish prostitute. The Swedish and Danish police need to cooperate in a race against the clock, desperately searching for a murderer determined to go beyond all moral limits to get his message across.

In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles.



MONDAY 23 DECEMBER 2013

MON 19:00 Timeshift (b03fv7sl)
Series 13

Full Throttle: The Glory Days of British Motorbikes

Timeshift returns with an exploration of the British love of fast, daring and sometimes reckless motorbike riding during a period when home-grown machines were the envy of the world. From TE Lawrence in the 1920 to the 'ton-up boys' and rockers of the 1950s, motorbikes represented unparalleled style and excitement, as British riders indulged their passion for brands like Brough Superior, Norton and Triumph.

But it wasn't all thrills and spills - the motorbike played a key role during World War II and it was army surplus bikes that introduced many to the joy and freedom of motorcycling in the 50s, a period now regarded as a golden age. With its obsession with speed and the rocker lifestyle, it attracted more than its fair share of social disapproval and conflict.

Narrated by John Hannah.


MON 20:00 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b0077mnv)
Series 2

Conduct Unbecoming

Classic sitcom. When faced with a fight, Terry has a golden rule: 'Do unto others as they would do unto you - but do it first'.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b03mp5y2)
Series 8

Board Gamers v Bakers

Three board game aficionados take on a trio of bakers in the series finale, competing to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random.

So join Victoria Coren Mitchell if you want to know what connects: Windows Freecell Game #11982, WOPR's Global Thermonuclear War, Kobayashi Maru and Pac-Man Level #256.


MON 21:00 Len Goodman's Dance Band Days (b03n2sck)
Len Goodman takes a step back in time to the heyday of British dance bands, a golden age of music that laid the foundations for 20th-century pop. In the years between the wars, band leaders such as Bert Ambrose and Jack Hylton were household names and the country danced its socks off. It was a time of radio and records, when Britain absorbed black American music and gave it a unique twist.

Many of the bands played in the posh society hotels of London's West End. Some were making big money and enjoying the high life. They were also keen to broadcast to the nation via the new BBC. Len discovers that 'Auntie' had a tricky relationship with the bands - though they formed a key part of the corporation's entertainment output, during the 1920s and 1930s there were concerns about the influence of American culture, song-plugging and commercialisation.

Crooning was also developed as a new style of singing, thanks in part to the development of better microphones. But this new 'intimate' form of singing did not impress everyone at the corporation. Despite the BBC's concerns the vocalists continued to enjoy huge success and fame, as did the bands. Len follows the story of vocalist Al Bowlly, a man of huge talent who attracted great public adoration. Al was killed in London's blitz and buried in a mass grave - a sad and symbolic moment in the history of dance bands.

Len discovers how we went dance band crazy and asks why, within just two decades, our love affair with this music began to fall flat.


MON 22:00 Perry Como's Christmas Show (b03mp5y4)
Perry Como's Christmas Show from 1974 represents the beloved crooner's decades-long association with holiday television specials that entertained tens of millions of viewers from the 1950s through the 1990s. Unseen anywhere since its one and only CBS-TV broadcast on December 17, 1974, it features the host with special musical guests the Carpenters along with Olympic skating star Peggy Fleming and comedy great Rich Little.

Both Perry and the Carpenters are embraced for their top-selling Christmas music and among the popular favourites featured on this colourful spectacular are Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Como), Toyland (Como), Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (the Carpenters), Sleep Well Little Children (Como and Karen Carpenter) and Carol of the Bells" (Richard Carpenter). Additionally, they team up for a medley of each other's million-selling hits, including Close to You, It's Impossible, And I Love You So and We've Only Just Begun.

Peggy Fleming performs a beautifully choreographed ice skating production of The Christmas Waltz and the entire cast join together for It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas in a scene that recreates the Currier & Ives-style Christmases of old. Perry closes the show with his elaborate Story of Christmas presentation, singing traditional carols including The First Noel, O Come All Ye Faithful and Silent Night, followed by an encore of O Holy Night.

The type of old-fashioned, star-studded and lavishly-produced family TV special that gives viewers a warm, nostalgic glow during the holidays.


MON 22:55 Arena (b00rs3w6)
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century

Arena explores the rise of the legendary crooner Frank Sinatra from his early family background to overwhelming showbusiness success. Interviews with friends, family and associates reveal a star-studded career in music and film alongside a fascinating private life of four marriages, liaison with the Kennedy family, Las Vegas business interests and an alleged association with the mafia.


MON 00:30 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b0077mnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


MON 01:00 Only Connect (b03mp5y2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 01:30 Len Goodman's Dance Band Days (b03n2sck)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 02:30 The Bridge (b01gmbvd)
Series 1

Episode 2

The murderer makes his presence known and chooses sharp-witted tabloid journalist Daniel Ferbe to act as middle man to communicate with the outside world. The murder on the bridge was only the beginning, and the purpose of that heinous act was to draw attention to the unpleasant truths and problems in society that most turn a blind eye to, the first one being that 'we are not all equal before the law'. Saga and Martin now realise they are dealing with a ruthless killer.

In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles.



TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER 2013

TUE 19:00 The Titfield Thunderbolt (b03mv97b)
Ealing comedy about a group of villagers and their battle to preserve the local railway line by running it themselves, an enterprise that goes well until they are sabotaged in a midnight raid by the rival bus company. Undaunted, they wheel out the Thunderbolt, an ancient exhibit in the village museum. Now all that remains is to put on a satisfactory run for the stickler of a government inspector.


TUE 20:20 Wild (b00793wd)
2006-07 Shorts

Robins of Eden

A seasonal tale of how the Garden of Eden really was invaded not by a bad snake, but by one of the nation's favourite little birds. The Eden Project is an architectural wonder, a world of different habitats created in a single Cornish quarry, and probably the unlikeliest place to find the robin. So why have they set up home in one of our top tourist attractions?


TUE 20:30 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b0077ndq)
Series 2

The Shape of Things to Come

The death of disreputable old Uncle Jacob is received by the Collier family with a mixture of regret and relief. The funeral gives Bob an insight into his future.


TUE 21:00 Top of the Pops (b008ptfg)
Christmas 1978

Noel Edmonds presents a special Top of the Pops from 1978, with Darts, Abba, Boney M, Brotherhood of Man, Father Abraham, Bee Gees, Brian and Michael, Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, Wings, Showaddywaddy, Rose Royce, Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta and Legs and Co.


TUE 22:00 The Richest Songs in the World (b01pjrt5)
Mark Radcliffe presents a countdown of the ten songs which have earned the most money of all time - ten classic songs each with an extraordinary story behind them. Radcliffe lifts the lid on how music royalties work and reveals the biggest winners and losers in the history of popular music.


TUE 23:30 The Carpenters at the BBC (b00cgxtq)
The Carpenters' debut BBC concert, recorded on their first British tour in September 1971. They perform hits including Close to You, Superstar and We've Only Just Begun, together with the odd Beatles' tune and a Bacharach/David medley. Karen's drumming and Richard's keyboards get instrumental support from their five-piece touring band and a 26-piece orchestra conducted by Johnny Pearson.


TUE 00:05 The Joy of the Single (b01nzchs)
Do you remember buying your first single? Where you bought it? What it was? The thrill of playing it for the first time? What it sounded like? How it maybe changed your life? Lots of us do. Lots of us still have that single somewhere in a dusty box in the attic, along with other treasured memorabilia of an adolescence lost in music and romance. The attic of our youth.

The Joy of the Single is a documentary packed with startling memories, vivid images and penetrating insights into the power of pop and rock's first and most abiding artefact - the seven-inch, vinyl 45-rpm record, a small, perfectly formed object that seems to miraculously contain the hopes, fears, sounds and experiences of our different generations - all within the spiralling groove etched on its shiny black surface, labelled and gift-wrapped by an industry also in its thrall.

In the confident hands of a star-studded cast, the film spins a tale of obsession, addiction, dedication and desire. The viewer is invited on a journey of celebration from the 1950s rock 'n' roll generation to the download kids of today, taking in classic singles from all manner of artists in each decade - from the smell of vinyl to the delights of the record label, from the importance of the record shop to the bittersweet brevity of the song itself, from stacking singles on a Dansette spindle to dropping the needle and thrilling to the intro.

Featuring contributions from Noddy Holder, Jack White, Richard Hawley, Suzi Quatro, Holly Johnson, Jimmy Webb, Pete Waterman, Norah Jones, Mike Batt, Graham Gouldman, Miranda Sawyer, Norman Cook, Trevor Horn, Neil Sedaka, Paul Morley, Rob Davies, Lavinia Greenlaw, Brian Wilson and Mike Love.


TUE 01:05 Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities (b03lyyrc)
Episode 3

Simon discovers surprises in Istanbul as it rose to become the imperial capital and Islam's most powerful city. Visiting the great mosques and palaces built by the Ottoman emperors, he tells the stories behind them - of royal concubines, murderous bodyguards and sultans both the powerful and the depraved. He shows how the Christians, Muslims and Jews of the city once co-existed before the waves of nationalist rebellions brought the Ottoman empire to its knees. In the 20th century the ancient capital was once more transformed by the new secular vision of Ataturk.


TUE 02:05 Perry Como's Christmas Show (b03mp5y4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Monday]


TUE 03:00 The Bridge (b01h221w)
Series 1

Episode 3

In Copenhagen, several homeless people have been poisoned. The perpetrator wants to draw attention to the problem of the increased number of people falling through the cracks of society. A homeless man is kidnapped and the only thing that can stop the murderer from killing him is a large sum of money from four landlords. So what is the price of a human being after all?

In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles.



WEDNESDAY 25 DECEMBER 2013

WED 19:00 Arena (b01pqhfp)
Sister Wendy and the Art of the Gospel

The arresting sight of Sister Wendy Beckett, all teeth and glasses, burst on to our screens in the 1990s. An instant star, she travelled the world in her habit telling us the story of Christian art and painting but revealing little of her own extraordinary story. Arena goes in search of the 'real' Wendy, who, at 82, talks frankly, humorously, and profoundly about her life and spirituality for the first time.

Wendy's story, inseparable from that of the Gospel, is told alongside her selection of paintings by the greatest old masters, revealing the emotional insights they have given her. In this film, we hear for the first time of Wendy's personal journey to God, her insights on prayer and suffering, and her reflections on the contemporary world. Above all, she connects us to the art that has helped her to know herself and her faith.


WED 20:00 The Royal Ballet: Don Quixote (b03mp7b4)
Carlos Acosta presents his first work for The Royal Ballet - an entertaining new dance adaptation of the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Carlos brings to life the adventures of the bumbling knight Don Quixote and his ever-faithful squire Sancho Panza with help of leading West End designers and Ludwig Minkus's score is re-imagined with on-stage flamenco guitars and castanets. Introduced by a look behind the scenes with The Royal Ballet Company, this production establishes Carlos as an exciting choreographic talent.


WED 22:15 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b007894q)
A Special Christmas Edition

Bob and Thelma are determined to enjoy the Christmas festivities to the full. Terry passes his driving test and drives Bob and Thelma to a Christmas party as their minicab driver, and waits for them outside. Inevitably, Terry creates a problem or two for Bob which starts the season off on quite the wrong foot.


WED 23:00 Top of the Pops (b01pl8lq)
25/12/77

Noel Edmonds and David 'Kid' Jensen present the festive pop charts from 1977 with performances from Showaddywaddy, Deniece Williams, Hot Chocolate, Baccara, Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, Leo Sayer, Manhattan Transfer, David Soul, ABBA, Space, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Rogers and Wings.


WED 23:50 Top of the Pops (b008ptfg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 00:50 The Richest Songs in the World (b01pjrt5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Tuesday]


WED 02:20 The Fir Tree (b03mv09c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Sunday]


WED 02:50 The Bridge (b01h221y)
Series 1

Episode 4

The homeless man's survival becomes a race against time and depends completely on the four landlords' willingness to pay what the murderer demands. Saga and Martin have understood that they are dealing with someone who has really thought through his crimes, planning them down to the smallest detail. They wonder if they can catch the murderer off balance by doing something he doesn't expect.

In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles.



THURSDAY 26 DECEMBER 2013

THU 19:00 Norman Wisdom: His Story (b00vhmqq)
From street urchin to knight of the realm - the story of Norman Wisdom, who used to be one of the biggest film stars in the UK, portraying a man who rarely stepped out of character in public, and whose highly individual comic style hid the private tragedy of his early life.

The actor's life story is told through the people who knew him well - his son and daughter Nick and Jacqui Wisdom, his daughter-in-law Kim, film director Stephen Frears, actors Ricky Tomlinson, Leslie Phillips and Honor Blackman, and singer Dame Vera Lynn.


THU 20:00 Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice (b00wylng)
Shot mainly using spy cameras, this film gets closer than ever before to the world's greatest land predator.

Icebergcam, Blizzardcam and Snowballcam are a new generation of covert devices on a mission to explore the Arctic islands of Svalbard in Norway. Backed up by Snowcam and Driftcam, these state-of-the-art camouflaged cameras reveal the extraordinary curiosity and intelligence of the polar bear.

The cameras are just a breath away when two sets of cubs emerge from winter maternity dens. They also capture the moment when the sea ice breaks away from the island in the spring. As one set of mother and cubs journey across the drifting ice in search of seals, the other is marooned on the island with very little food. How they cope with their different fates is captured in revelatory close-up detail.

The cameras also follow the bears as they hunt seals, raid bird colonies, dive for kelp and indulge in entertaining courtship rituals. Icebergcam even discovers their little-known social nature as seven bears share a washed-up whale carcass.

Often just a paw's swipe from the play-fighting and squabbling bears, the spy cameras face their most challenging subject yet. When their curious subjects discover the cameras, they are subjected to some comical-but-destructive encounters.

As the film captures its intimate portrait of polar bears' lives, it reveals how their intelligence and curiosity help them cope in a world of shrinking ice.


THU 21:00 Great American Rock Anthems: Turn it up to 11 (b03n2w37)
It's the sound of the heartland, of the midwest and the industrial cities, born in the early 70s by kids who had grown up in the 60s and were now ready to make their own noise, to come of age in the bars, arenas and stadiums of the US of A. Out of blues and prog and glam and early metal, a distinct American rock hybrid started to emerge across the country courtesy of Alice Cooper, Grand Funk Railroad et al, and at its very heart is The Great American Rock Anthem.

At the dawn of the 70s American rock stopped looking for a revolution and started looking for a good time; enter the classic American rock anthem - big drums, a soaring guitar, a huge chorus and screaming solos. This film celebrates the evolution of the American rock anthem during its glory years between 1970 and 1990 as it became a staple of the emerging stadium rock and AOR radio and then MTV.

From School's Out and Don't Fear the Reaper to Livin' on a Prayer and Smells Like Teen Spirit, these are the songs that were the soundtrack to teenage lives in the US and around the world, anthems that had people singing out loud with arms and lighters aloft.

Huey Morgan narrates the story of some of the greatest American rock anthems and tracks the emergence of this distinct American rock of the 70s and 80s. Anthems explored include School's Out, We're an American Band, Don't Fear the Reaper, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, I Love Rock 'n' Roll, Eye of the Tiger, I Want to Know What Love Is, Livin' on a Prayer and Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Contributors include: Alice Cooper, Dave Grohl, Butch Vig, Meat Loaf, Todd Rundgren, Richie Sambora, Blue Oyster Cult, Survivor, Toto and Foreigner.


THU 22:00 Christmas '77 with the Sex Pistols (b03ncggy)
Looking back to Christmas 1977 with an irreverent portrait of the times, featuring unseen footage of The Sex Pistols. Director Julien Temple presents a unique insight into the tradition and transgression of Christmas. Featuring interviews and 70s archive, framing The Sex Pistols' last UK concert with Sid Vicious, for the children of striking firemen in Huddersfield on Christmas Day 1977.


THU 23:00 Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10 (b01nwfxs)
Documentary chronicling our ever-changing love affair with the British singles chart on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary. From the first NME chart in 1952, via Pick and Top of the Pops to home-taping the Radio One chart show and beyond, we have measured out our lives to a wonderful churn of pop driven, unbeknownst to us, by a clandestine world of music biz hustle. Featuring contributions by 60 years of BBC chart custodians from David Jacobs to Reggie Yates, chart fans Grace Dent and Pete Paphides and music biz veterans Jon Webster and Rob Dickins.


THU 00:30 Ultimate Number Ones (b01nwfxv)
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the UK chart, from the vaults of the BBC archive comes a selection of hits that attained the toppermost of the poppermost prize and made it to number one in the hit parade. From across the decades, we applaud the most coveted of all chart positions with smash hits and classics from The Bee Gees, T. Rex, Donna Summer, John Lennon, Culture Club, The Spice Girls, James Blunt, Rihanna, Adele and many more.


THU 01:30 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01jzy37)
Rock 'n' Roll Revisited - Get It On

A love of 50s rock 'n' roll runs through the pop of the 70s like a stripe through a stick of rock. This episode celebrates the rock 'n' roll revivalism and 50s retro leanings that characterise the decade from glam to AOR and all points in between. Revisiting the theatrical performances and fashions you'd be talking about in the playground the next day, from the likes of E.L.O, T-Rex, 10cc, Alvin Stardust, Mott the Hoople and Meatloaf's epic 1978 performance of Paradise by the Dashboard Light.


THU 02:00 Great American Rock Anthems: Turn it up to 11 (b03n2w37)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 03:00 The Bridge (b01hdbtb)
Series 1

Episode 5

The murderer has groomed a number of schizophrenic people over a long period of time, convincing them to commit carefully synchronised violent crimes in Malmo and Copenhagen on the same day. With the third truth, the murderer wants to highlight the cutbacks within mental health care, which has been reduced to 'a pat on the back and a jar of pills'. Saga and Martin manage to find a break in the case, a teenage girl who has run away from home. Could she be the witness that ultimately leads them to the murderer?

In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles.



FRIDAY 27 DECEMBER 2013

FRI 19:00 The Chopin Etudes (b0074qgh)
Opus 25, No 10

Pianist Freddy Kempf plays Chopin's Etude in B minor, Op 25 no 10.


FRI 19:05 BBC Proms (b03b3hfs)
2013

Proms on Four: The Film Music Prom

Neil Brand presents a special night of music from the movies, with war and science-fiction looming large. Keith Lockhart conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in Walton's largely-rejected original score for Battle of Britain, Bond composer David Arnold's Independence Day end titles, and Richard Strauss and Ligeti as used by Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Also, possibly the most famous film music ever - John Williams's Star Wars, a world premiere of Giacchino's music for Star Trek: Into Darkness and much more.


FRI 21:00 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
Between 1974 and 1982 ABBA plundered the Anglo-Saxon charts but divided critical opinion. This documentary explores how they raised the bar for pop music as a form and made us fall in love with the sound of Swedish melancholy. A saga about the soul of pop.


FRI 22:00 ABBA at the BBC (b03lyzpr)
If you fancy an hour's worth of irresistible guilty pleasures from Anni-Frid, Benny, Bjorn and Agnetha, this is the programme for you. ABBA stormed the 1974 Eurovision song contest with their winning entry Waterloo, and this programme charts the meteoric rise of the band with some of their greatest performances at the BBC.

It begins in 1974 with their first Top of the Pops appearance, and we even get to see the band entertaining holidaymakers in Torbay in a 1975 Seaside Special. There are many classic ABBA tunes from the 1979 BBC special ABBA in Switzerland, plus their final BBC appearance on the Late Late Breakfast show in 1982.

This compilation is a must for all fans and includes great archive interviews, promos and performances of some of ABBA's classics including Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, Thank You for the Music, SOS, Fernando, Chiquitita and many more.


FRI 23:00 Agnetha: ABBA and After (b02x9zwc)
In this documentary, the BBC have exclusive access to Agnetha Faltskog, 'The Girl with the Golden Hair' as the song goes, celebrating her extraordinary singing career which began in the mid-60s when she was just 15. Within just two years, she was a singing sensation at the top of the charts in Sweden.

Along came husband Bjorn Ulvaeus and the phenomenal band ABBA that engulfed the world in the 70s, featuring Agnetha's touching voice and striking looks. Agnetha lacked confidence on stage as the global demand for the group grew and grew, while being away from her young children caused her great turmoil.

With special behind-the-scenes access to the making of her comeback album, the film follows this reluctant star - the subject of much tabloid speculation since she retreated from the stage post-ABBA - as she returns to recording aged 63. Included in the film is her first meeting with Gary Barlow, who contributes a duet to the new album.

The programme features interviews with Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Gary Barlow, Tony Blackburn, Sir Tim Rice and record producers Peter Nordahl and Jorgen Elofsson.


FRI 00:00 Disco at the BBC (b01cqt74)
A foot-stomping return to the BBC vaults of Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test and Later with Jools as the programme spins itself to a time when disco ruled the floor, the airwaves and our minds. The visual floorfillers include classics from luminaries such as Chic, Labelle and Rose Royce to glitter ball surprises by The Village People.


FRI 01:00 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 02:00 ABBA at the BBC (b03lyzpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 03:00 Agnetha: ABBA and After (b02x9zwc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]