B4

RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/

SATURDAY 12 DECEMBER 2009

SAT 19:00 The Art of Russia (b00p90g8)
Out of the Forest

Series in which art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon presents the incredible story of Russian art - its mystery and magnificence - until now untold on British television.

He explores the origins of the Russian icon from its roots in Byzantium and the first great Russian icon, Our Lady of Vladimir, to the masterpieces of the country's most famous icon painter Andrei Rublev.

At the same time as being epic and awe-inspiring, and producing brilliant art, medieval Russia could be a terrifying place. Criss-crossing the epic landscape, Andrew visits the monastery founded by Ivan the Terrible, where Ivan's favourite forms of torture found inspiration in religious art.

One man would shine a light into Russia's 'dark' ages - Peter the Great who, surprisingly, took as his inspiration Deptford in South London.

SAT 20:00 The Poisoner (b00brj1r)
Episode 1

Drama based on the true story of the Black Widow poisoner in 1940s France. Marie Besnard's husband dies with stomach pains, after telling his mistress he has been poisoned. Rumours fly as Marie seems to be overly fond of her young German helper, Ady, and a witch hunt ensues as some jealous people have their own reasons for wanting Marie to be guilty. As the accusations increase the local graveyard becomes a busy place. Radio reporter Simone hears about the accusations and decides to cover the trial.

SAT 21:35 Wallander (b00pfs6y)
Series 1

Blood Line

Following an argument with her lover on her boat, a woman is found dead. Wallander and the Ystad police investigate - their enquiries lead them to a farm commune and to an old friend of Linda's.

In Swedish with English subtitles.

SAT 23:05 Storyville (b0074srv)
Gimme Shelter

Documentary by Albert and David Maysles recalling the events surrounding a free concert by the Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway outside San Francisco in 1969. Worried about the security, the Stones asked the Hell's Angels to keep order for them, but the day ended tragically as violence broke out and a fan was killed.

SAT 00:40 The Art of Russia (b00p90g8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

SAT 01:40 The Poisoner (b00brj1r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

SAT 03:15 Storyville (b0074srv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:05 today]

SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER 2009

SUN 19:00 A History of Christianity (b00p90kk)
God in the Dock

Diarmaid MacCulloch's own life story makes him a symbol of a distinctive feature about Western Christianity - scepticism, a tendency to doubt which has transformed both Western culture and Christianity.

In the final programme in the series, he asks where that change came from. He challenges the simplistic notion that faith in Christianity has steadily ebbed away before the relentless advance of science, reason and progress, and shows instead how the tide of faith perversely flows back in.

Despite the attacks of Newton, Voltaire, the French Revolutionaries and Darwin, Christianity has shown a remarkable resilience. The greatest damage to Christianity was actually inflicted to its moral credibility by the two great wars of the 20th century and by its entanglement with Fascism and Nazism. And yet it is during crisis that the Church has rediscovered deep and enduring truths about itself, which may even be a clue to its future.

SUN 20:00 Games Britannia (b00p90d8)
Dicing with Destiny

Three-part series presented by historian Benjamin Woolley about popular games in Britain from the Iron Age to the Information Age, in which he unravels how an apparently trivial pursuit is a rich and entertaining source of cultural and social history.

In part one, Woolley investigates how the instinct to play games is both as universal and elemental as language itself and takes us from 1st-century Britain to the Victorian era.

Ancient and medieval games were not just fun, they were fundamental, and often imbued with prophetic significance. By the late Middle Ages this spiritual element in games began to be lost as gaming became increasingly associated with gambling. Dice and card games abounded, but a moral backlash in Victorian times transformed games into moral educational tools.

This was also the era in which Britain established the world's first commercial games industry, with such classics as the Staunton Chess Set, Ludo and Snakes and Ladders leading the way, all adaptations of original games from other countries.

In the case of Snakes and Ladders, what once represented a Hindu journey to enlightenment was transformed into a popular but banal family favourite, and Woolley sees this as the perfect analogy for how the sacred energy which once imbued games had become gradually drained away by commercialisation.

SUN 21:00 How Do You Solve a Problem Like Lolita? (b00pcnng)
Documentary following writer and broadcaster Stephen Smith on the trail of Vladimir Nabokov, the elusive man behind the controversial novel and 1962 film, Lolita.

The journey takes him from the shores of Lake Geneva to Nabokov's childhood haunts in the Russian countryside south of St Petersburg to the streets of New York City and a road trip through the anonymous world of small-town America.

Along the way Smith meets fellow Nabokov admirer Martin Amis and puts in a cheeky visit to Playboy's literary editor who is publishing an extract of Nabokov's last work.

SUN 22:00 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00pcnnj)
AS Byatt

Mark Lawson talks to AS Byatt after her Man Booker Prize nomination for her novel The Children's Book. Byatt talks about her passion for literature and how she has managed to combine family life with the solitary world of a writer.

SUN 23:00 For Art's Sake - The Story of Ballets Russes (b00p90nl)
Celebrating the achievements of Ballets Russes under Diaghilev's guidance and their continuing influence on dance, art and music today.

The English National Ballet perform extracts from two Ballets Russes' masterpieces, Les Sylphides and Scheherazade, as well as a new version by David Dawson of the iconic Nijinsky ballet Afternoon Of A Faun.

Karl Lagerfeld talks about the influence of Coco Chanel and the design legacy of the Ballets Russes. The music from the period is discussed by great French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, who is joined by prolific English composer and broadcaster Howard Goodall.

Ninety-five-year-old Frederick Franklin recounts what it was like to see the scandalous ending of Nijinsky's Afternoon Of A Faun, while dancers, musicians, writers, critics, stylists and historians paint a vivid portrait of this unique dance company and discuss the legacy of Diaghilev's genius on the creative arts.

SUN 00:00 How Do You Solve a Problem Like Lolita? (b00pcnng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

SUN 01:00 Games Britannia (b00p90d8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

SUN 02:00 A History of Christianity (b00p90kk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

SUN 03:00 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00pcnnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

MONDAY 14 DECEMBER 2009

MON 19:00 World News Today (b00pcnp6)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

MON 19:30 Morning in the Streets (b00d30nz)
Denis Mitchell's 1959 documentary is full of evocative images of a Liverpool still recovering from the post-war gloom.

This BBC film won the award for the best television documentary film in the Italia Prize Contest, 1959.

MON 20:00 James May's Top Toys (b0078znc)
A celebration of the toys which have survived across the decades, presented by a man who still plays with them.

When James May was three, his father gave him a toy car for Christmas, and a life behind the wheel and under a bonnet became his destiny. Forty-two-year-old James takes us on a tour of his childhood mind as he rifles through his boy toy favourites which include Meccano, Lego, Scalectrix, Airfix and, his all time number one toy, the train set. His love of engineering and building things has shaped the ingredients of his entire toy cupboard. There's not a microchip in sight. He still plays with his toys - still loves building things with his various sets. Each toy prompts a story - a history told via archive, anecdote and obsessive collector.

MON 21:00 Games Britannia (b00pf0rr)
Monopolies and Mergers

Three-part series presented by historian Benjamin Woolley about popular games in Britain from the Iron Age to the Information Age, in which he unravels how an apparently trivial pursuit is a rich and entertaining source of cultural and social history.

In part two, Woolley traces the surprising political and social impact that board games have had in Britain over the last 200 years. It was the British who developed the idea of the board game as an instrument of moral instruction and exported it to America. There, it was adapted to promote the American Dream of free enterprise and economic success.

This crusading element in board games is perhaps best exemplified by the best-selling game in history - Monopoly - which celebrated wealth and avarice in the wake of the Great Depression. Ironically, this most capitalist of games was derived from a radical socialist game first published in Britain in 1913.

Woolley goes on to trace the development of board games through their post-war heyday, when together with Cluedo and Scrabble, Monopoly formed a holy trinity of British family favourites that endures to this day.

Now in the information age, board games have evolved to include fantasy role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons - an American invention. The British continue to produce niche political games like War on Terror which plays on satire, but mainstream British games designers have joined the computer games revolution.

MON 22:00 Storyville (b00pft7f)
The Age of Stupid

Drama-documentary-animation hybrid starring Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, watching archive footage from 2008 and asking why climate change wasn't stopped before it was too late.

MON 23:30 Comedy Songs: The Pop Years (b00g8t17)
Documentary tracing the modern history of the comedy pop song from the birth of the charts in 1952 to its reinvention in the new millennium.

We discover that George Martin was the missing link between the Goons and the Beatles, that the Barron Knights invented the parody song and that the Two Ronnies were not big fans of Not the Nine O'Clock News.

Almost everyone appears in the comedy song's chequered history of peaks and troughs, from the 1960s satire boom to the 1970s golden period of Monty Python and Billy Connolly and on through the wilderness years of 1980s novelty naffness and the genre's redemption in alternative comedy and the likes of Victoria Wood and Alexei Sayle.

MON 01:00 Timeshift (b00g8t15)
Series 8

The Comic Songbook

Documentary which celebrates Britain's rich and much-loved tradition of comic songs, from Noel Coward's Mad Dogs and Englishmen to Benny Hill's Ernie, and reveals the skill involved in creating them.

Contributors include Monty Python's Michael Palin and Terry Jones, Neil Innes, Bill Oddie, the Now Show's Mitch Benn, producer Cameron Mackintosh, Nicholas Parsons, Ed Stewart and Kit and the Widow.

MON 02:00 Games Britannia (b00pf0rr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

MON 03:00 Comedy Songs: The Pop Years (b00g8t17)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:30 today]

TUESDAY 15 DECEMBER 2009

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00pcnqw)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

TUE 19:30 World of a Child: Kamal Hussein (b00pcnqy)
Documentary about an immigrant child at play in Cardiff's Tiger Bay in the 1960s, seen from his point of view.

TUE 20:00 Life (b00pcm3h)
Primates

Primates are just like humans - intelligent, quarrelsome, family-centred.

Huge armies of Hamadryas baboons, 400 strong, battle on the plains of Ethiopia to steal females and settle old scores. Japanese macaques in Japan beat the cold by lounging in thermal springs, but only if they come from the right family. An orangutan baby fails in its struggle to make an umbrella out of leaves to keep off the rain. Young capuchins cannot quite get the hang of smashing nuts with a large rock, a technique their parents have perfected. Chimpanzees, humans' closest relatives, have created an entire tool kit to get their food.

TUE 21:00 Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play (b00pf049)
Moving Indoors

Two-part series which tells the story of children's outdoor games in 20th-century Britain.

The mid to late 1950s are generally considered to be the highpoint of children's outdoor play. The benefits of the welfare state, better health care for children and an improving standard of living all helped create a final heyday of the singing street. All the traditional outdoor games - and new ones - were thriving in the cities and the countryside.

However, outdoor play was to dramatically change from the late 1950s onwards. Mass car ownership and the advent of 'stranger danger' made the streets more perilous, while the coming of mass television provided a rival attraction - one that was favoured by all parents, as it was safe.

Television's influence inspired a new generation of children's games that were grafted onto the old. Popular songs, fashions, adventure programmes and news stories such as the conquest of space were all turned into a myriad of games and rhymes that reflected the modern world.

Even in the multilingual playgrounds of today, traditional games are still played, some of them with origins stretching back centuries. But they are complemented and enriched by Afro-Caribbean hip-hop raps, role plays that have been adapted from modern TV shows and dance steps from the latest music fashions.

TUE 22:00 The Environment Debate (b00pft7c)
A panel of invited guests discuss the issues surrounding Fanny Armstrong's film The Age of Stupid, which explores the effects of climate change.

TUE 22:30 We Need Answers (b00ph5yn)
Series 2

Poetry, God, Politics and Geography

Anarchic comedy game show in which celebrity guests answer questions set by the public. Mark Watson hosts, Tim Key is in the question master's chair and Alex Horne provides expert analysis from a booth. Two celebrities battle it out to be crowned the winner and avoid the shame of donning 'The Clogs of Defeat'.

Comedienne and comic actress Miranda Hart competes against poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan.

The rules are simple - contestants must match their answer to the one given by a text answering service. Questions range from 'Can Miranda lick a cloud?' to 'Does Ian's internal monologue rhyme?'.

The show also features a cunning physical challenge which pits the contestants against each other. Miranda and Ian see who is best at judging a minute ... with buckets on their heads.

TUE 23:00 All About Thunderbirds (b008lz78)
Documentary telling the story of enduring 1960s children's animated marionette show, Thunderbirds. Creator Gerry Anderson, as well as cast, crew and fans, reveal how space travel and new technology promised an exciting future, as Thunderbirds captured the spirit of the age. There's a look at how Gerry's team created futuristic special effects from their humble studios in Slough and why the show was axed after just 32 episodes. Contributors include the voice of Lady Penelope, Sylvia Anderson.

TUE 00:00 The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen (b008l40d)
Documentary tracing the career of Irwin Allen, the man responsible for hit 1960s sci-fi TV series Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, Land of the Giants and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, as well as blockbuster disaster films The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. Lost in Space stars June Lockhart and Bill Mumy host generous servings of clips, behind-the-scenes footage, outtakes and cast reminiscences.

TUE 01:30 Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play (b00pf049)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

TUE 02:30 We Need Answers (b00ph5yn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]

TUE 03:00 Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play (b00pf049)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 16 DECEMBER 2009

WED 19:00 World News Today (b00pcnrv)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

WED 19:30 Versailles Stories (b0074sjz)
Marketing Marie-Antoinette

Series exploring the history and modern evolution of one of France's great palaces through the stories of the people who work there today.

A massive fundraising effort is needed to finance one of the chateau's biggest ever restoration projects, the Petit Trianon. This exquisite small palace and its surrounding gardens were developed as a haven where Queen Marie-Antoinette could escape the stiff formality of the main chateau.

WED 20:00 Russia: A Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby (b00c0gy9)
National Treasures

Jonathan Dimbleby continues his Russian odyssey.

Siberia is Russia's treasure chest. Jonathan visits an emerald mine and then makes his way down to the great city of Ekaterinburg, built to protect and exploit reserves of iron ore found in the mountains.

Alcoholism is a huge problem in Russia, often because of home-made poison liquor sold on the estates in cities like Ekaterinburg. Jonathan goes on a raid with a crime-busting group founded by an ex-alcoholic.

Ekaterinburg is also the place where the last tsar and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks. In woods near the city Jonathan comes across an archaeologist who has just unearthed what he thinks are the bones of two of the imperial children, thus solving the puzzle of what had become of them.

The modern treasure on which Russia prospers is oil. Jonathan takes the train north towards the Arctic Circle to Nizhnevartovsk where BP are co-owners of a huge oilfield. Most people just come for the wages - there is not much to do besides drill for oil.

The team then takes a river boat to the beautiful old city of Tomsk. They set out for the logging camps in the taiga north of town in a tank-like tracked carrier. Out in the forest Jonathan meets a climate change scientist who warns that vast quantities of methane gas are starting to seep out of the melting bogs - potentially lethal to the world's atmosphere.

Next stop is Akademgorodok, a purpose-built city for some of the brainiest people in Russia. Jonathan finds himself trying to master the controls of a computer game designed by scientists whose day job is to design the guidance systems for spacecraft.

Finally, he heads into the Altai mountains to find the reindeer herdsmen who sell antlers to be ground up as aphrodisiacs.

WED 21:00 The Art of Russia (b00pdzdp)
Roads to Revolution

Andrew Graham-Dixon explores how Russia changed from a feudal nation of aristocratic excess to a hotbed of revolution at the beginning of the 20th century, and how art moved from being a servant of the state to an agent of its destruction.

From monuments that celebrate the absolutism of the tsars to the epic Russian landscape as inspiration; from the design and construction of gold and glittering palaces to the minutiae of diamond-encrusted Faberge eggs; and eventually to the stark and radical paintings of the avant-garde, the journey through Russian art history is one of extraordinary beauty and surprise.

WED 22:00 Flight of the Conchords (b008bxvw)
Series 1

What Goes on Tour

Comedy series about Kiwi folk musicians Bret and Jemaine as they to try to make it big New York. Murray tells the boys he's got them a gig in Central Park, and so begins a legendary warm-up tour of hotel lounges, featuring debauchery, leather suits and even Murray swearing. Features the song Mermaid.

WED 22:25 We Need Answers (b00ph5yn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 on Tuesday]

WED 22:55 Wallander (b00pfs6y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:35 on Saturday]

WED 00:25 How Do You Solve a Problem Like Lolita? (b00pcnng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]

WED 01:25 The Art of Russia (b00pdzdp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

WED 02:25 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00pcnnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Sunday]

WED 03:25 We Need Answers (b00ph5yn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 on Tuesday]

THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER 2009

THU 19:00 World News Today (b00pcnsm)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

THU 19:30 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00npjt1)
Episode 5

It is the day of the festival. The showman's wagon is revealed in all its glory and festivalgoers have a chance to see work in progress. With the cottage and the mill completed, Griff and George reflect on George's first job as an architectural designer.

THU 20:00 Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play (b00pf049)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]

THU 21:00 The Christmas Session (b00pcnsp)
BBC Four celebrates merry midwinter in unique style, with an exhilarating blend of folk tradition and burlesque fun. Energetic 11-piece Bellowhead and Mercury-nominated alternative folkies The Unthanks get together with the impressive young singers Thea Gilmore and Lisa Knapp, plus other special guests.

Steered by genial host Paul Sartin, the assembled artists perform seasonal songs of their own alongside yuletide favourites, ranging from folk ballads and carols to parlour songs and carousing dance numbers, with everyone coming together for a final knees-up.

Filmed at the atmospheric Shoreditch Town Hall, the setting evokes an old music hall combined with a festive Victorian family parlour, bedecked with garlands, period lamps and fireplace. Even the audience are dressed up in old-fashioned finery and prove themselves ready to kick up their heels.

THU 22:00 A Child's Christmases in Wales (b00pgr8x)
One-off period comedy, peeping into the lives of a south Wales family's Christmases across the 1980s, written by comedian Mark Watson and inspired by a Dylan Thomas short story. Christmas in this household may be a less than poetic affair, but it is just as eventful. So much changes across a decade in any family, and yet so much manages to remain the same.

THU 23:00 Crooked House (b00vgfmw)
When schoolteacher Ben unearths an old door knocker in the garden of his new home, the curator suggests it may come from the now-demolished house, reputed to be haunted. Ben prompts the curator to tell him stories about the house's past.

It's 1786, and Joseph Bloxham is a self-made man and something of a star in fashionable coffee-house society. Some though, like the sceptical Noakes, take a dim view of his shady business ethics. Bloxham has used his ill-gotten gains to buy the old Geap Manor, paying no heed to the warnings of Noakes and his friend Duncalfe, but when Bloxham starts to hear ghastly sounds in the newly-installed panelling of his drawing room it seems he might have more than just a mouse hiding in his wainscoting.

THU 23:30 The Thick of It (b00pd5w4)
Series 3

Episode 8

Award-winning political comedy.

As the election looms and the Opposition eye the prize, the word around the Westminster Village is that Malcolm Tucker is running out of both options and friends. He may have bitten off more than he can chew with Steve Fleming, but when an offer of help appears from an unlikely direction, Malcolm starts to set his finest trap yet.

THU 00:00 A Child's Christmases in Wales (b00pgr8x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

THU 01:00 Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play (b00pf049)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]

THU 02:05 Crooked House (b00vgfmw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]

THU 02:35 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00npjt1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

THU 03:05 The Christmas Session (b00pcnsp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

FRIDAY 18 DECEMBER 2009

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00pcnt4)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

FRI 19:30 The Orson Welles Sketchbook (b00pgv42)
Episode 1

Series of talks by Orson Welles, illustrated by his own sketches. Part of the BBC Christmas 2009 season.

FRI 19:45 In the Spirit of Diaghilev (b00pcnt6)
A performance from London's Sadler's Wells as part of special programming celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Ballets Russes.

In The Spirit of Diaghilev features three new works commissioned by Sadler's Wells, along with specially filmed interview content from some of today's most acclaimed choreographers - including Wayne McGregor, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Russell Maliphant - who share their thoughts on the enduring influence of Diaghilev and the remarkable collaborative spirit of the Ballets Russes.

The performances involve collaborations with artists and filmmakers Jane and Louise Wilson, acclaimed composer Nitin Sawhney and costumes by leading fashion designer Hussein Chalayan.

The programme also offers viewers a unique opportunity to take a look behind the scenes at the new works in rehearsal. It is a BBC Wales Music / Axiom International Films co-production, in association with Sadler's Wells.

Part of the BBC Christmas 2009 season.

FRI 21:00 Riot at the Rite (b00790ph)
Drama based on the events in Paris in 1913, when the opening performance of Stravinsky's controversial ballet The Rite of Spring provoked a riot in the theatre that will be remembered as arguably the most scandalous premiere in the history of the arts.

Masterminded by the Russian impresario, Sergei Diaghilev and choreographed by his lover, the dancer Nijinsky, the ballet changed the course of musical and cultural history, as well as the lives of everyone involved.

FRI 22:30 The Roxy Music Story (b00djn0s)
Profile of the 1970s glam band Roxy Music, who reformed after 25 years to make a new album. The film traces the musical development of the group from 1972 up to the present day, as we discover how they influenced a generation of musicians such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Duran Duran and U2 and why they are still a musical force to be reckoned with today.

Featuring interviews with band members Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay, Paul Thomson, Eddie Jobson and Gary Tibbs, plus fans including Bono, Siouxsie Sioux, Nile Rodgers of Chic, John Taylor of Duran Duran and Alison Goldfrapp.

FRI 23:25 Crooked House (b00gf5l2)
Something Old

When schoolteacher Ben unearths an old door knocker in the garden of his new home, the curator suggests it may come from the now-demolished house, reputed to be haunted. Ben prompts the curator to tell him stories about the house's past.

In the 1920s, Lady Constance de Momery presides over a costume ball for her grandson, but all is not as it seems and when young heir to the estate Felix de Momery announces his engagement to sweetheart Ruth, his friends Billy and Katherine seem far from pleased.

Is the happy couple's destiny inextricably linked with another tragic wedding day many years ago and does the sight of a ghostly bride in a grave-stained wedding dress explain why there has not been a wedding at Geap Manor since then?

FRI 23:55 We Need Answers (b00ph5yn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 on Tuesday]

FRI 00:25 Only Connect (b00mg97h)
Series 2

Episode 8

Quiz show presented by Victoria Coren in which knowledge will only take you so far, as patience and lateral thinking are also vital.

In the final, the three leading lights of the Cambridge Quiz Society take on the combined knowledge of a team whose field of reference stretches far beyond the touchline of their beloved rugby pitch, as they try to draw together the connections between elements which, at first glance, seem utterly random.

What connects Spock, Lisa Simpson, Brachiosaurus and Adolf Hitler?

FRI 00:55 Transatlantic Sessions (b0084lmp)
Series 3

Episode 6

Folk musicians come together in what have been called 'the greatest backporch shows ever'. Features Cara Dillon with Paul Brady, Darrell Scott, Aly Bain, Jerry Douglas, Michael McGoldrick, Donal Lunny and Bruce Molsky.

FRI 01:25 For Art's Sake - The Story of Ballets Russes (b00p90nl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Sunday]

FRI 02:25 Riot at the Rite (b00790ph)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

A Child's Christmases in Wales 22:00 THU (b00pgr8x)

A Child's Christmases in Wales 00:00 THU (b00pgr8x)

A History of Christianity 19:00 SUN (b00p90kk)

A History of Christianity 02:00 SUN (b00p90kk)

All About Thunderbirds 23:00 TUE (b008lz78)

Comedy Songs: The Pop Years 23:30 MON (b00g8t17)

Comedy Songs: The Pop Years 03:00 MON (b00g8t17)

Crooked House 23:00 THU (b00vgfmw)

Crooked House 02:05 THU (b00vgfmw)

Crooked House 23:25 FRI (b00gf5l2)

Flight of the Conchords 22:00 WED (b008bxvw)

For Art's Sake - The Story of Ballets Russes 23:00 SUN (b00p90nl)

For Art's Sake - The Story of Ballets Russes 01:25 FRI (b00p90nl)

Games Britannia 20:00 SUN (b00p90d8)

Games Britannia 01:00 SUN (b00p90d8)

Games Britannia 21:00 MON (b00pf0rr)

Games Britannia 02:00 MON (b00pf0rr)

Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play 21:00 TUE (b00pf049)

Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play 01:30 TUE (b00pf049)

Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play 03:00 TUE (b00pf049)

Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play 20:00 THU (b00pf049)

Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play 01:00 THU (b00pf049)

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Lolita? 21:00 SUN (b00pcnng)

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Lolita? 00:00 SUN (b00pcnng)

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Lolita? 00:25 WED (b00pcnng)

In the Spirit of Diaghilev 19:45 FRI (b00pcnt6)

James May's Top Toys 20:00 MON (b0078znc)

Life 20:00 TUE (b00pcm3h)

Mark Lawson Talks To... 22:00 SUN (b00pcnnj)

Mark Lawson Talks To... 03:00 SUN (b00pcnnj)

Mark Lawson Talks To... 02:25 WED (b00pcnnj)

Morning in the Streets 19:30 MON (b00d30nz)

Only Connect 00:25 FRI (b00mg97h)

Return to Pembrokeshire Farm 19:30 THU (b00npjt1)

Return to Pembrokeshire Farm 02:35 THU (b00npjt1)

Riot at the Rite 21:00 FRI (b00790ph)

Riot at the Rite 02:25 FRI (b00790ph)

Russia: A Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby 20:00 WED (b00c0gy9)

Storyville 23:05 SAT (b0074srv)

Storyville 03:15 SAT (b0074srv)

Storyville 22:00 MON (b00pft7f)

The Art of Russia 19:00 SAT (b00p90g8)

The Art of Russia 00:40 SAT (b00p90g8)

The Art of Russia 21:00 WED (b00pdzdp)

The Art of Russia 01:25 WED (b00pdzdp)

The Christmas Session 21:00 THU (b00pcnsp)

The Christmas Session 03:05 THU (b00pcnsp)

The Environment Debate 22:00 TUE (b00pft7c)

The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen 00:00 TUE (b008l40d)

The Orson Welles Sketchbook 19:30 FRI (b00pgv42)

The Poisoner 20:00 SAT (b00brj1r)

The Poisoner 01:40 SAT (b00brj1r)

The Roxy Music Story 22:30 FRI (b00djn0s)

The Thick of It 23:30 THU (b00pd5w4)

Timeshift 01:00 MON (b00g8t15)

Transatlantic Sessions 00:55 FRI (b0084lmp)

Versailles Stories 19:30 WED (b0074sjz)

Wallander 21:35 SAT (b00pfs6y)

Wallander 22:55 WED (b00pfs6y)

We Need Answers 22:30 TUE (b00ph5yn)

We Need Answers 02:30 TUE (b00ph5yn)

We Need Answers 22:25 WED (b00ph5yn)

We Need Answers 03:25 WED (b00ph5yn)

We Need Answers 23:55 FRI (b00ph5yn)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b00pcnp6)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b00pcnqw)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b00pcnrv)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b00pcnsm)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b00pcnt4)

World of a Child: Kamal Hussein 19:30 TUE (b00pcnqy)