The Amazon rainforest is the epitome of a last great wilderness under threat from modern man. It has become an international cause celebre for environmentalists as powerful agricultural and industrial interests bent on felling trees encroach ever deeper into virgin forest. But the latest evidence suggests that the Amazon is not what it seems.
As more trees are felled, the story of a far less natural Amazon is revealed - enormous man-made structures, even cities, hidden for centuries under what was believed to be untouched forest. All the time archaeologists are discovering ancient, highly fertile soils that can only have been produced by sophisticated agriculture far and wide across the Amazon basin. This startling evidence sheds new light on long-dismissed accounts from the very first conquistadors of an Amazon teeming with people and threatens to turn our whole notion of wilderness on its head. And if even the Amazon turns out to be unnatural, what then for the future of wilderness?
Lucy Worsley investigates the dark and revealing history of our curious relationship with killing. She explores notorious real-life crimes from the first half of the 19th century, finding out how these murders were transformed into popular entertainments.
Following the savage attack on Kimberley, the noose tightens around the criminal activities of Karen's girl gang. But as the police start to close in, they strike again. Meanwhile, it's time to find out whether Josephine's audacity has paid off in her defence of Gilou. The Ziani case runs into trouble when it confronts the machinations of covert international 'diplomacy'.
Roban can't stand to see Tarek Ziani elude his charges and tries to bring him down using the Crime Unit's investigation into a luxury vehicle racket. But Gilou's dealings with a prominent police informant threaten the outcome of the operation. Laure's team pulls out all the stops to find the little girl kidnapped by Karen's gang, as a ransom is demanded in exchange for her freedom. Will the girl be saved? And will the culprit for the double murder of Sandrine and Lucie Jaulin be brought to justice?
Charlie Brooker and guests take a satirical look at everything from Fifty Shades of Grey, Eat Well for Less and 4D cinemas to the economy, Greek austerity and the horror of ISIS.
Plus Jake Yapp squeezes an episode of Dinner Date into 106 seconds and internet star Zeb tackles the issue of privacy.
There is a new kind of weather to worry about and it comes from our nearest star.
Scientists are expecting a fit of violent activity on the sun, which will propel billions of tonnes of superheated gas and pulses of energy towards our planet. They have the power to close down our modern technological civilisation - in 1989, a solar storm cut off the power to the Canadian city of Quebec.
Horizon meets the space weathermen who are trying to predict what is coming our way, and organisations like the National Grid, who are preparing for the impending solar storms.
In summer 2013, the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way was getting ready to feast.
A gas cloud three times the size of our planet strayed within the gravitational reach of our nearest supermassive black hole. Across the globe, telescopes were being trained on the heart of our galaxy, some 27,000 light years from Earth, in the expectation of observing this unique cosmic spectacle.
For cosmic detectives across the Earth, it was a unique opportunity. For the first time in the history of science, they hoped to observe in action the awesome spectacle of a feeding supermassive black hole.
David 'Kid' Jensen presents chart hits of the week, with performances from the Revillos, Kenny Rogers, Azymuth, John Foxx, Madness, Rupert Holmes, the Ramones, Jon & Vangelis, Billy Ocean and the Specials, and a dance sequence by Legs & Co.
It's a time for guilty pleasures, for courtship, for declarations of love, for looking someone in the eye and whispering sweet nothings, accompanied by a compilation of some of the greatest and squishiest love songs from the likes of Celine Dion, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, Jason and Kylie, 10cc and Lionel Richie, all from the Top of the Pops era. If Hot Chocolate and Chaka Khan don't get the temperatures rising, then nothing will.
SUNDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2015
SUN 19:00 The Great War (b0074p2f)
Why Don't You Come and Help?
David Lloyd George struggled to modernise Britain. As minister of munitions he was faced with an industrial capability severely lacking. In some key fields, Britain even relied on German imports. With the help of American equipment Lloyd George was able to drag British industry into the twentieth century, and from 1916 Britain was able to produce all the war materials the troops needed.
SUN 19:40 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?
SUN 19:50 Wild (b007cs2w)
2006-07 Shorts
Shearwater Island
How thousands of strange nocturnal birds make their home on the tiny island of Bardsey in north Wales, and an exploration of the rich history of the island itself.
SUN 20:00 Simon Rattle: London 2015 (b052vb0b)
Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic
In one of the highlights of the British cultural calendar, Sir Simon Rattle brings the mighty Berlin Philharmonic to London for a week-long residency. Over three evenings at the Barbican in the historic heart of the capital, they perform a complete Sibelius symphony cycle, and here Kirsty Wark introduces the climax of that cycle, featuring symphonies 5, 6 and 7.
SUN 21:40 Goodbye First Love (b01k4d36)
15-year-old Camille and 19-year-old Sullivan are in love for the first time. But Sullivan has decided to set sail for Latin America on a journey of self-discovery, leaving Camille behind. Consumed by romantic melancholy and longing for Sullivan, Camille struggles to move on. She eventually finds a purpose in life and is able to develop new emotional ties, when Sullivan suddenly reappears in her life four years later.
In French with English subtitles.
SUN 23:30 Wonders of the Solar System (b00rz5ys)
Original Series
Aliens
Professor Brian Cox visits some of the most stunning locations on earth to describe how the laws of nature have carved natural wonders across the solar system.
Brian descends to the bottom of the Pacific in a submarine to witness the extraordinary life forms that survive in the cold, black waters. All life on Earth needs water so the search for aliens in the solar system has followed the search for water.
Soaring above the dramatic Scablands of the United States, Brian discovers how the same landscape has been found on Mars. And it was all carved out in a geological heartbeat by a monumental flood.
Armed with a gas mask, Brian enters a cave in Mexico where bacteria breathe toxic gas and leak concentrated acid. Yet relatives of these creatures could be surviving in newly discovered caves on Mars.
But Brian's sixth wonder isn't a planet at all. Jupiter's moon Europa is a dazzling ball of ice etched with strange cracks. The patterns in the ice reveal that, far below, there is an ocean with more potentially life-giving water than all the oceans on Earth.
Of all the wonders of the solar system forged by the laws of nature, there is one that stands out. In the final episode of this series, Brian reveals the greatest wonder of them all.
SUN 00:30 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01jk1b8)
Soul: Keep On Keeping On
Imported American soul was big news in the UK in the 1970s. Before the Brits developed their own brand of soul, American performers were here demonstrating how it was done and being appreciated by all and sundry. The series continues with classic performances from the kings and queens of soul, including Aretha Franklin, Billy Preston, The Tams, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, The Stylistics, Gil Scott-Heron and The Jacksons.
SUN 01:00 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.
SUN 02:00 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.
SUN 02:45 You've Got a Friend: The Carole King Story (b0461chb)
Documentary telling, in her own words, the story of Carole King's upbringing in Brooklyn and the subsequent success that she had as half of husband-and-wife songwriting team Goffin and King for Aldon Music on Broadway.
It was during this era in the early 1960s that they created a string of pop hits such as Take Good Care of My Baby for Bobby Vee, The Locomotion for Little Eva and Will You Love Me Tomorrow for the Shirelles, which became the first number one hit by a black American girl group. They also wrote the era-defining Up on the Roof for the Drifters and the magnificent Natural Woman for Aretha Franklin.
By 1970 Carole was divorced from songwriting partner Gerry Goffin and had moved to Los Angeles. It was here that she created her classic solo album Tapestry, packed with delightful tunes but also, for the first time, her own lyrics, very much sung from the heart. The album included It's Too Late, I Feel the Earth Move and You've Got a Friend and held the record for the most weeks at number one by a solo female artist for nearly 20 years. It became a trusted part of everyone's record collection and has sold over 25 million copies to date.
The film features some wonderful unseen material and home movies, and narrates her life as an acclaimed singer-songwriter. To date, more than 400 of her compositions have been recorded by over 1,000 artists, resulting in 100 hit singles.
More recently, in 2013, Carole was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library of Congress for her songwriting, whilst in 2014 Broadway production Beautiful, which tells her life story during the Goffin and King era, has received rave reviews.
Nowadays Carole King would see herself as an environmental activist as much as a songwriter, and she is to be found constantly lobbying congress in defence of the wildlife and ecosystems of her beloved Idaho.
MONDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2015
MON 19:00 World News Today (b052tpkg)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
MON 19:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (b01rj1lt)
Series 1 - Reversions
Switzerland: Part 2
Following in the footsteps of early 20th-century travellers, on the second part of this journey Michael Portillo uses his 1913 railway guide to explore Switzerland, whose remarkable railways helped make it a favourite with Edwardian tourists. On this leg he heads for the glorious Alps and learns how astonishing engineering feats conquered the most challenging peaks before taking in the striking beauty of Lake Lucerne. Michael's journey ends with a spectacular ascent by train to Europe's highest station, perched atop Switzerland's dramatic Jungfraujoch mountain.
MON 20:00 A303: Highway to the Sun (b0116ly6)
The A303 is the road that passes Stonehenge on the way to the beaches of Devon and Cornwall. On the way, it whisks drivers through 5,000 years of remarkable moments in British history. And it is the star of this film made for armchair travellers and history lovers.
Writer Tom Fort drives its 92-mile length in a lovingly restored Morris Traveller. Along the way he has many adventures - he digs up the 1960s master plan for the A303's dreams of superhighway status, meets up with a Neolithic traveller who knew the road like the back of his hand, gets to know a section of the Roman 303, uncovers a medieval murder mystery and discovers what lies at the end of the Highway to the Sun.
MON 21:00 Asylum (b052vc14)
Project Siren
Having failed with Ludo, MI6 try to lure Dan out of the embassy by setting up an internet-based honey trap. Meanwhile, the CIA have placed a mole in the embassy who is leaking staff secrets and framing Dan for it. As a result the staff start acting extremely secretively, so Ludo, who is eagerly awaiting his birthday, starts expecting a huge surprise party. Birthday plans have to be put on hold though, as MI6 and the CIA get closer to Dan, so Ludo and Dan's hapless lawyer Lorna has to intervene.
MON 21:30 Bob Servant (b04tqzh2)
Series 2
Court
When arch-nemesis Hendo becomes a love rival, Bob takes drastic action that lands him in court. Defending himself, with a support team of Frank and washed-up lawyer Objection McNally, Bob finds himself in serious danger. Can he convince the jury of his innocence?
MON 22:00 Storyville (b052vc16)
Love Hotel
Through remarkable access, this documentary explores daily life inside a Japanese 'love hotel'. In this intimate portrait, we meet the everyday people who frequent the fantasy-themed rooms for refuge, privacy and play - a married couple visit to keep a spark alive in their relationship, two gay lawyers have nowhere else to stay and a popular dominatrix runs a thriving business.
Pay by the hour or the night and order sexy underwear, condoms or anything else imaginable. Anything goes at the Angelo Love Hotel in Osaka, run by manager Ozawa and his efficient staff. Small living spaces, long work hours and the need for privacy drive 2.8 million Japanese a day to visit 'love hotels'. But now, these unique establishments are fighting to stay afloat against the 'entertainment police' who are shutting them down for what conservative groups deem to be overly risqué elements.
A rare glimpse into a world destined to disappear.
MON 23:15 Wild Boys: The Story of Duran Duran (b007bqdj)
Duran Duran came out of Birmingham and conquered the world during the 1980s. Originally a New Romantic band in full make-up and cossack pants, they rapidly became bedroom pin-ups for a generation of teenage girls.
Led by Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor, Duran Duran dominated the British and American charts in the mid-1980s with classic singles such as Rio, Save a Prayer and Wild Boys. Pioneers of the MTV-style promo video - from the X-rated Girls on Film to Raiders of the Lost Ark spoof Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran were the 80s equivalent of The Beatles in America and outsold Spandau Ballet and Wham! in their pomp.
Sixty million records later, Le Bon and Rhodes are seen touring America with their Pop Trash project from the early 2000s. The documentary reflects on the heady heights of Duran Duran's career, the cracks in their make-up plus the effects of sex, drugs and fame on ordinary boys from working-class backgrounds.
Apart from the key Durannies - Le Bon, Rhodes and John Taylor - the programme also features celebrity interviews with Debbie Harry, Yasmin Le Bon, Duran Duran managers Paul and Michael Berrow, Claudia Schiffer, Nile Rodgers and Lou Reed.
MON 00:05 The Strange Case of the Law (b01kg409)
Presumed Innocent
Although England had a well-developed legal system by the 19th century, the trial process was stacked against the defendant. Crimes like theft and damage to property could be punished by death, but trials were often over in minutes and most defendants had no-one to put their case other than the judge himself.
Harry Potter explores the incredible transformation that enshrined fairness in English court procedure and put the defence on an equal footing with the prosecution. It was a change shaped by seismic shifts in English society, from the Industrial Revolution to the rise of the popular press. Above all, it saw the emergence of the star turn of the courtroom drama - the defence barrister. Harry's journey involves spies, forgery, fraud and murder, and a visit to the set of drama series Garrow's Law.
MON 01:05 Wallander (b00g2j5f)
Series 1
Before the Frost
New policewoman Linda Wallander is waiting for her first big case at Ystad police station and her father, Inspector Kurt Wallander, is getting on her nerves. When her childhood friend Anna mysteriously disappears she is thrown in at the deep end and soon needs her father's help on a fascinating and very dangerous investigation.
In Swedish with English subtitles.
MON 02:30 Asylum (b052vc14)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
MON 03:00 Bob Servant (b04tqzh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:30 today]
MON 03:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (b01rj1lt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2015
TUE 19:00 World News Today (b052tpkm)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
TUE 19:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (b01rj3bq)
Series 1 - Reversions
Amsterdam to Northern France Part 1
Michael Portillo continues his railway adventure which takes him across the heart of Europe. Steered by his 1913 railway guide, Michael journeys through a prosperous pre-war Europe of emperors, kings, pomp and elegance. He experiences the dazzling cities of the pre-war Low Countries and tastes the delicacies of Brussels before travelling to the French sector of the western front where, from 1914, the trains carried a new cargo of artillery shells, and the Edwardian tourists of 1913 were replaced by soldiers facing the horrors of the trenches.
TUE 20:00 Digging for Britain (b052vcbd)
Series 3
North
Professor Alice Roberts and archaeologist Matt Williams present 2014's most outstanding archaeology from the north of Britain.
Sitting in the heart of the Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, the Ness of Brodgar houses a 5,000-year-old temple at the heart of a sacred landscape, built out of stone over hundreds of years.
We catch the unearthing of a Roman altar dedicated to Jupiter that was originally carved in the 2nd century, when Maryport was part of the coastal defences linked to Hadrian's Wall.
11,000 years ago, Flixton in Yorkshire was an island used by our very earliest ancestors, and it has preserved vital clues about their world and the wild horses they hunted and ate.
In Ardnamurchan, a 5,000-year-old cemetery - housing burials from the Bronze and Iron Ages... and an intact Viking boat burial.
A Tudor-era aristocrat's feasting hall is revealed... and how one night the revelry came to a very abrupt end.
One of the richest hoards of Pictish treasure ever found reveals the metalworking secrets of the mysterious tribes who ruled Dark Ages Scotland.
TUE 21:00 A Timewatch Guide (b052vcbg)
Series 1
Roman Britain
Using years of BBC history archive film, Dr Alice Roberts explores how our views and understanding of Roman Britain have changed and evolved over the decades.
Along the way she investigates a diverse range of subjects from the Roman invasion, through Hadrian's Wall, the Vindolanda tablets and the eventual collapse of Roman rule. Drawing on the work of archaeologists and historians throughout the decades, Alice uncovers how and why our views of this much-loved period of our history have forever been in flux.
TUE 22:00 The Man who Discovered Egypt (b01f13f4)
Documentary about English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, the pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology. Ancient Egypt was vandalised by tomb raiders and treasure hunters until this Victorian adventurer took them on. Most people have never heard of him, but this maverick undertook a scientific survey of the pyramids, discovered the oldest portraits in the world, unearthed Egypt's prehistoric roots - and in the process invented modern field archaeology, giving meaning to a whole civilisation.
TUE 23:00 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.
TUE 00:00 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01jv6sd)
Disco - Ain't No Stopping Us Now
Disco was all pervasive in the mid and early 70s. And while towards the end of the decade punk stole the headlines, disco still had the high street. Everyone was into it and getting down on it at the local discotheque. Join us in a celebration of all things disco including performances by The Jacksons, Thelma Houston, Sylvester, Carl Douglas, George McCrae, Sister Sledge, McFadden and Whitehead, Eruption and Gloria Gaynor.
TUE 00:25 Wallander (b00lqbgh)
Series 1
The Village Idiot
When a harmless former asylum resident holds up a bank for money and then blows himself up, Wallander, Linda and the Ystad team are forced to dig for leads to find reasons. Who could have persuaded him to do it, and why? Was the explosion an accident? The answers are unexpected.
In Swedish with English subtitles.
TUE 02:00 Digging for Britain (b052vcbd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
TUE 03:00 A Timewatch Guide (b052vcbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2015
WED 19:00 World News Today (b052tpks)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (b01rj3xf)
Series 1 - Reversions
Amsterdam to Northern France Part 2
Using his 1913 railway guide, in the second part of his journey through the low countries and France, Michael Portillo travels to the French sector of the western front. From 1914, trains carried a new cargo of artillery shells, and the Edwardian tourists of 1913 were replaced by soldiers facing the horrors of the trenches.
Michael also visits the forest of Compiegne to hear how, after four years of conflict, the Armistice was finally signed in a railway carriage.
WED 20:00 African Railway (b00s6bgw)
In a moving and often funny documentary, award-winning film-maker Sean Langan is off to east Africa to ride the rails of the Tazara railroad, whose passenger and goods trains travel through spectacular scenery and a game park teeming with wild animals.
The railway was built by the Chinese just after independence to link Zambia's copper belt to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, and once carried the region's hopes and dreams. But now it is in crisis. Every day there are derailments, trains running out of fuel and mechanical breakdowns.
Langan meets the train crews, controllers and maintenance crews who battle to keep it going - and at Tazara HQ he is on the track of Tazara's elusive Chinese railway advisors to find out why it is in such a parlous state.
WED 21:00 Infested! Living with Parasites (b03vrwj8)
Dr Michael Mosley explores the bizarre and fascinating world of parasites by turning his body into a living laboratory and deliberately infesting himself with them. He travels to Kenya to give himself a tapeworm - a parasite that can grow to many metres inside the human gut. He also encounters lice, leeches and the deadly malaria parasite, before swallowing a pill-camera to reveal what is growing within him. By the end of his infestation Michael learns a new-found respect for these extraordinary creatures, which can live off and even take control of their hosts for their own survival.
WED 22:00 Storyville (b052ymqg)
The Great Sex Addict Heist: The Dog
An extraordinary portrait of eccentric New Yorker John Wojtowicz, the inspiration behind Al Pacino's character in the iconic 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon. Director Sidney Lumet's daylong saga, in which Wojtowicz took a bank hostage in the hopes of raising money for his trans lover's gender confirmation surgery, hardly exaggerated the actual 1972 event, but only captured one piece of a much larger story.
Filmed over a ten-year period, the documentary chronicles wider aspects of Wojtowicz's life in the years leading up to his death. With jaw-dropping honesty, Wojtowicz describes how his excessive libido led him to have multiple female and male lovers, his own interviews interweaving with gripping archive footage of the robbery, 70s-era interviews and the early gay liberation movement. It all combines to create a larger-than-life persona - by turns lover, husband, soldier, activist, mama's boy and bank robber.
WED 23:30 Sex: A Horizon Guide (b039vj9x)
Sex is a simple word for a very complex set of desires. It cuts to the core of our passions, our wants, our emotions. But when it goes wrong, it can be the most painful thing of all. Professor Alice Roberts looks through 45 years of Horizon archive to see how science came to understand sex, strived to solve our problems with it and even helped us to do it better. Can science save the day when sex goes wrong?
WED 00:30 Asylum (b052vc14)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
WED 01:00 Bob Servant (b04tqzh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:30 on Monday]
WED 01:30 Wallander (b00lvfc1)
Series 1
The Brothers
The army is in Ystad all week for a training exercise, and Wallander is called to the site of a grim and premeditated double murder, with emotional resonance for him. As the murders continue, Wallander and his team investigate deeper and are forced to concede there may be a link with the troops.
WED 03:00 Infested! Living with Parasites (b03vrwj8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2015
THU 19:00 World News Today (b052tpky)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b052zxhk)
Steve Wright presents chart hits of the week, with performances from the Tourists, Cliff Richard, the Chords, the Regents, Queen, the Selecter, AC/DC, the Buggles and the Specials, and a dance sequence by Legs & Co.
THU 20:00 Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines (p01f51z4)
Pain
Pain has a profound effect on our bodies - when we are experiencing it, millions of nerve cells deep within our brains are firing, telling us 'it hurts' - and for centuries the challenge has been to find something that will lessen or even switch off these sensations to bring us relief. Dr Michael Mosley discovers just what pain is, why we want to control it and how we ultimately did it when the discovery of morphine, the world's first pharmaceutical, at the beginning of the 19th century led to a 200-year journey of scientific breakthrough, discovery and self-experimentation.
THU 21:00 Saints and Sinners: Britain's Millennium of Monasteries (b052zxhm)
Episode 1
Dr Janina Ramirez explores how monasteries evolved from a cult of extreme isolation and self-deprivation into powerhouses of Anglo-Saxon art, industry and learning.
Janina begins her journey on the desolate rock of Skellig St Michael off the east coast of Ireland, home to the oldest surviving monastery in the British Isles. She investigates the harsh lives led by these early monks, and tells the story of the arrival of hermetic Irish monasticism in Anglo-Saxon Northumberland. Monasteries such as Lindisfarne and Whitby became beacons of civilisation and literature in the barbaric Anglo-Saxon world, creating wondrous works of art including the Lindisfarne Gospels and St Cuthbert's pectoral cross.
A rival form of regimented, communal monasticism was imported into southern Britain from Rome, and Janina reveals the holy struggle that ensued between these two opposing monastic ideals. The victors would transform the culture and landscape of England, until they too were destroyed by a new wave of barbarian invaders.
THU 22:00 A Timewatch Guide (b052vcbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
THU 23:00 Digging for Britain (b052vcbd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
THU 00:00 Top of the Pops (b052zxhk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 00:40 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 01:10 Wallander (b00lxx7x)
Series 1
The Overdose
Original Swedish TV adaptation of Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander detective series.
When an abandoned baby is found in a car, Kurt Wallander oversees a large operation to find the missing father. Meanwhile, Linda is visiting a school all week to educate the pupils about the dangers of drugs. When a girl at the school has an overdose, the team begin to see connections between the two cases.
In Swedish with English subtitles.
THU 02:40 Saints and Sinners: Britain's Millennium of Monasteries (b052zxhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2015
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b052tpl3)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Sounds of the Sixties (b0074qbw)
Original Series
1967-68: The Pop Boom
By now Top of the Pops was an established part of the pop scene, and a group's appearance on the show was essential to a single's success. With footage of the Bee Gees, the Rolling Stones and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich amongst others.
FRI 20:00 Daniil Trifonov: Piano Sensation (b052yq1c)
Portrait of pianist and composer Daniil Trifonov, who is generating the most extravagant praise from several of the world's top musicians, including Martha Argerich, Valery Gergiev and Christian Thielemann.
FRI 21:00 Hello Quo (b03hy6vp)
You don't sell 128 million albums worldwide without putting in the graft and Status Quo are, quite possibly, the hardest-working band in Britain. Alan G Parker's documentary Hello Quo, specially re-edited for the BBC, recounts the band's epic story from the beginning - when south London schoolmates Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster formed their first band with big ambitions of rock 'n' roll domination, quickly adding drummer John Coghlan and guitarist Rick Parfitt.
The film tells the story of Quo's hits from their unusually psychedelic early hit, Pictures of Matchstick Men, followed by a run through their classics from Down Down to Whatever You Want.
The band laughs off the constant ribbing about only using three chords and the film explores how Quo's heads-down boogie defined UK rock in the early 70s. Fender Stratocaster in hand, Quo have stood their ground and never shifted, but they have managed to adapt to scoring pop hits over five decades.
The original members of the 'frantic four' tell their story of a life in rock 'n' roll, alongside interviews from some prominent Quo fans, such as Paul Weller, whose first gig was the Quo at Guildford Civic Hall, to Brian May, who waxes lyrically about the opening riff to Pictures of Matchstick Men, while even Sir Cliff plays homage to the denim-clad rockers.
FRI 22:20 Status Quo: Live and Acoustic (b052yq1f)
Throughout Status Quo's six decades of rockin' and double denim, they have notched up 65 hit singles, sold over 100m records worldwide and have spent 415 weeks in the British singles chart, so it's no wonder Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt were awarded OBEs in 2010 for their services to music. And now, in a rare departure from their usual heads-down and boogie approach, they've gone acoustic!
Autumn 2014 saw the release of their 31st studio album and, in a complete departure from their usual rock sound, they transformed many of their legendary songs into acoustic, stripped-down versions. To celebrate this unique enterprise, they then performed many of the songs live at north London's legendary Roundhouse. Sitting down!
This concert features many of their classic tracks including Pictures of Matchstick Men, Down Down, What You're Proposing, Whatever You Want, Marguerita Time, Rockin' All Over the World and many more, performed with a string section, percussion, accordion, backing vocals and a front line of five acoustic guitars. Throughout the show Francis and Rick reminisce about taking this bold step and remind us of some of the stories behind some of their classic songs.
FRI 23:20 Acoustic at the BBC (b0141mz1)
A journey through some of the finest moments of acoustic guitar performances from the BBC archives - from Jimmy Page's television debut in 1958 to Oasis and Biffy Clyro.
Highlights include:
Neil Young - Heart of Gold
David Bowie - Starman
Oasis - Wonderwall
Donovan - Mellow Yellow
Joan Armatrading - Woncha Come on Home
Bert Jansch, Johnny Marr and Bernard Butler - The River Bank
Joni Mitchell - Chelsea Morning
Biffy Clyro - Mountains.
FRI 00:20 Hello Quo (b03hy6vp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 01:40 Status Quo: Live and Acoustic (b052yq1f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:20 today]
FRI 02:40 Acoustic at the BBC (b0141mz1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:20 today]