The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Looking more like a skip than a boat, the LCVP, or Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel, won't win any prizes for beauty. Yet the craft did more to win World War II than any other piece of machinery. There were once over 20,000 of these little boats, but only a handful remain. Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe puts one of them through its paces and finds out how the boat was developed for one momentous day in 1944.
Classicist Dr Michael Scott looks at the dramatic decline of Athens and the remarkable triumph and transformation of theatre. During the 4th century BC Athens would lose its Empire, its influence and even its democracy. But theatre, that most Athenian of inventions, would thrive, spreading throughout the Greek world and beyond and giving rise to a new kind of comedy, one so popular and prevalent that it is still at the heart of comedy today.
In the last of the series, Danny Baker celebrates British rock as it enters the dance decade of the 90s. Along with author and musician Louise Wener, comedian Josie Long, journalist Alexis Petridis and a slew of great archive, the era of Britpop and Madchester is brought to life.
With the help of a couple of morris dancers, Danny Baker showcases performances by rockin' Brits such as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, Radiohead, Happy Mondays and Portishead.
Comedy drama about Parvez, a gentle, secular Pakistani cab driver living in Britain who forms a close bond with a young prostitute Bettina. As Parvez's son Farid drifts towards fundamentalist Islam and rejects his father, Parvez seeks solace and advice from Bettina. Soon their friendhsip itself is threatened when Farid's group decide they need to clean up the town.
Documentary presented by Professor Simon Schaffer which charts the amazing and untold story of automata - extraordinary clockwork machines designed hundreds of years ago to mimic and recreate life.
The film brings the past to life in vivid detail as we see how and why these masterpieces were built. Travelling around Europe, Simon uncovers the history of these machines and shows us some of the most spectacular examples, from an entire working automaton city to a small boy who can be programmed to write and even a device that can play chess. All the machines Simon visits show a level of technical sophistication and ambition that still amazes today.
As well as the automata, Simon explains in great detail the world in which they were made - the hardship of the workers who built them, their role in global trade and the industrial revolution and the eccentric designers who dreamt them up. Finally, Simon reveals that these long-forgotten marriages of art and engineering are actually the ancestors of many of our most-loved modern technologies, from recorded music to the cinema and much of the digital world.
By the start of the 70s, the Windrush generation of immigrants who came to the UK from the Caribbean and West Indies were an established part of the British population and their influence and culture permeated UK society.
This second programme rejoices and revels in the reggae music exported from Jamaica and the home-grown reggae-influenced sounds that sprouted from the cities of England. Reggae's dominance of the UK charts is celebrated with performances from Ken Boothe, Dave and Ansel Collins, Steel Pulse, Althea and Donna, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Janet Kay, Susan Cadogan and The Specials.
THURSDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2014
THU 19:00 World News Today (b03v002s)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 The Sky at Night (b03vg99x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Sunday]
THU 20:00 Ever Decreasing Circles (b036d6fw)
Series 2
The Tea Party
The residents of a retirement home pay a visit to Martin and Ann. How will they keep their guests entertained?
THU 20:30 Britain on Film (b01qsqcy)
Series 1
End of Empire
This episode focuses on films examining the changing shape of the British Empire. At a time when many of its former colonies were achieving independence, Look at Life sent its film crews as far afield as Aden, Malaysia and Ascension Island to record the efforts made by Britain to manage the transition from imperial rule to the leadership of an emerging Commonwealth.
THU 21:00 The Brits Who Built the Modern World (b03vrz4f)
The Freedom of the Future
How an exceptional generation of British architects, led by Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, conquered the globe with their high-tech vision.
The first episode includes glimpses of some of their most stunning recent work, such as London's new 'Cheesegrater' skyscraper, Spaceport America and the KK100 skyscraper in China (the tallest tower ever built by a British architect), before looking in detail at some of their revolutionary projects from the 1960s and 70s.
Foster, Rogers, Nicholas Grimshaw, Michael Hopkins and Terry Farrell were born within six years of each other in the 1930s; shaped by both the optimism of the postwar years and the sixties counterculture, these pillars of today's establishment began their careers as outsiders and radicals. Rogers and his collaborators tell the story of one of the most influential buildings of the 20th century - the Pompidou Centre in Paris - the result of a contest he didn't want to enter and no-one ever thought they would win.
Other early projects featured include Norman Foster's glassy Willis Faber & Dumas Headquarters in Ipswich, Farrell & Grimshaw's corrugated aluminium tower block next to Regent's Park in London and the industrial-style Hopkins House in Hampstead.
THU 22:00 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.
THU 23:00 Dreaming the Impossible: Unbuilt Britain (p01cyrf9)
Glass Houses
Using her investigative skills to uncover long-forgotten and abandoned plans, architectural investigator Dr Olivia Horsfall Turner explores the fascinating and dramatic stories behind some of the grandest designs that were never built.
Technology has always been a driving force behind new ideas. Olivia explores how architects and designers have been inspired by the exciting possibilities presented by new technology to produce groundbreaking and controversial urban plans.
In 1855, visionary designer Sir Joseph Paxton proposed an ambitious plan to build a fantastic, futuristic ten-mile glass girdle circling the centre of London. It had only recently become possible to produce large sheets of cheap but strong plate glass and Paxton was inspired by its potential. With this exciting new technology at his fingertips, Paxton believed he could create a bright and pollution-free environment for Londoners as well as solve the capital's terrible congestion problems.
His spectacular glass 'Great Victorian Way' would connect the city to the West End, link rich and poor areas and cross the Thames three times. Contained in this magnificent glass structure were shops, houses, hotels, a pedestrian walkway, a road for carriages and eight lines of elevated pneumatic railway.
There was huge support for Paxton's scheme and Parliament passed a bill sanctioning construction, but the Great Victorian Way was never built. The 'Great Stink' took hold of London in 1858, spreading a cholera epidemic and so sanitation became the city's most pressing priority. Instead of creating a spectacular crystal boulevard the money was spent on a very different type of technology - the building of London's sewerage system.
A century later, London's congestion problems remained unsolved with the motor car having taken over roads designed for horse and carriage. In 1961, the architect Geoffrey Jellicoe proposed a solution directly inspired by Joseph Paxton's use of glass, in his radical new urban scheme for the green belt around London. Jellicoe took Paxton's idea of transforming the transport infrastructure even further, proposing a 'glass city' in which all cars would drive along rooftops, freeing the ground below for pedestrians.
With both these groundbreaking designs, Paxton and Jellicoe were seeking to harness technology to create bright and light cities, free of pollution and congestion, and utilising the most progressive forms of transport of the day.
Contributors include: Brett Steele, Eric Kuhne, Kate Colquhoun, Isobel Armstrong, Theodora Wayte, Lord Norman Foster, Charlie Burke, David Martlew, John Minnis, Hal Moggridge, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe and Kathryn Moore.
THU 00:00 Brian Pern (b03v0svc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Monday]
THU 00:30 The Sky at Night (b03vg99x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Sunday]
THU 01:00 Ever Decreasing Circles (b036d6fw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THU 01:30 Britain on Film (b01qsqcy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
THU 02:00 Horizon (b00vv0w8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
THU 03:00 The Brits Who Built the Modern World (b03vrz4f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2014
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b03v002y)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b03bv1bv)
Series 6
Episode 2
Music co-directors, Shetland fiddle virtuoso Aly Bain, dobro ace Jerry Douglas and their all-star house band, host a gathering of the cream of Nashville, Irish and Scottish talent in a spectacular new location overlooking the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
This programme features Virginian Mary Chapin Carpenter, Maura O'Connell from County Clare in Ireland and Hebridean Julie Fowlis. Tim O'Brien adds some Appalachian bitter-sweet.
FRI 20:00 Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies (b03b965y)
Pop Goes the Soundtrack
Composer Neil Brand explores how, in the second half of the 20th century, composers and film-makers embraced jazz, pop and rock to bring fresh energy and relevance to film scores.
He shows how in the 1960s, films as diverse as the James Bond movies, spaghetti westerns and Disney's musicals drew on the talents of pop arrangers and composers like John Barry, Ennio Morricone and the Sherman Brothers to create unforgettable soundtracks. But the role of the film composer would subsequently be challenged by directors like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, who showed that a soundtrack consisting of carefully chosen pop songs could be as effective as a specially written one.
Neil's journey sees him meet leading film-makers and composers including Martin Scorsese and composers Richard Sherman (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book), Lalo Schifrin (Bullitt) and David Arnold (Casino Royale).
FRI 21:00 Neil Sedaka: King of Song (b03v2yxt)
Neil Sedaka is one of the most successful American singer-songwriters of the last century. A classically trained musician, he won a scholarship to the Juilliard School at the age of nine and four years later he embarked on a writing career that would see him create some of the most perfect pop songs of all time. Throughout his career he wrote, recorded and sang a number of instantly recognisable and memorable tunes, as well as delivering a string of hits as a songwriter for other artists.
This documentary portrait film tells the story of Neil Sedaka's life and career, in which he had two distinct periods of success. Between 1958 and 1963 he sold over 25 million records, but then his career nose-dived after the Beatles and the British Invasion hit the USA. Leaving his homeland, he found success in the UK in the early 1970s and relaunched his career before returning to the US and achieving new stardom with songs like Solitaire and Laughter in the Rain.
Neil gives great insight into how he created catchy classics like Calendar Girl, (Is This the Way to) Amarillo, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen and Stupid Cupid, amongst many others.
FRI 22:00 Neil Sedaka Says: All You Need Is the Music (b00pwstt)
During a career which was originally designed to make him a classical pianist, the musical achievements and statistics of singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka have made him a compelling figure in contemporary music, with 600 songs written and 20 million records sold. The hits from his early rock 'n' roll days to his later, more lyrical age are all included in this special one-man show from the 1980s.
FRI 22:45 Kings of Rock and Roll (b007c95q)
A journey back to the 1950s for a look at the wildest pop music of all time in a film that tells the stories of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, giants from an era when pop music really was mad, bad and dangerous to know.
The programme features the artists themselves, alongside people like Bill Haley's original Comets, The Crickets, Buddy Holly's widow Maria Elena, Jerry Lee Lewis's former wife Myra Gail and his sister, Chuck Berry's son and many more, including June Juanico, Elvis's first serious girlfriend.
Other contributors include Tom Jones, Jamie Callum, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard, Joe Brown, Marty Wilde, Green Day, Minnie Driver, Jack White of The White Stripes, The Mavericks, Jools Holland, Hank Marvin, Fontella Bass, John Waters and more.
Elvis's pelvis was just the start. Who had to change the lyrics to their biggest hit because the originals were too obscene? Who married their 13-year-old cousin? Who used lard to get their hair just right? And what happened on the day the music died?
FRI 23:45 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00llh2f)
Part III
Compilation of classic archive performances from the guitar gods of the late 60s and 70s. Status Quo appear playing Pictures of Matchstick Men on Top of the Pops in 1968, The Who perform Long Live Rock in the Old Grey Whistle Test studio, Dire Straits play Tunnel of Love and Lynyrd Skynyrd bring a taste of the Deep South with Sweet Home Alabama. The show also features rare performances from George Benson, Leo Kottke, Link Wray and Tom Petty.
FRI 00:45 Neil Sedaka: King of Song (b03v2yxt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 01:45 Neil Sedaka Says: All You Need Is the Music (b00pwstt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
FRI 02:35 Kings of Rock and Roll (b007c95q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:45 today]