Tommy Cooper was a national comedy institution whose catchphrases still remain in the language today. This bumbling giant with outsized feet and hands, whose mere entrance on stage had audiences erupting with uncontrollable laughter, was born in Caerphilly in 1921, where a statue is now erected in his honour - unveiled by Sir Anthony Hopkins.
This programme looks at the life and art of the man in the fez, whose clumsy, fumbling stage magic tricks hid a real talent as a magician. His private life was complicated and often difficult, but as far as his audiences were concerned, he was first and foremost a clown whose confusion with the mechanisms of everyday life made for hilarious viewing.
The first trophy of this year's competition is up for grabs as five singers battle it out for the coveted Song Prize. Petroc Trelawny presents extensive coverage with special guest Sir Thomas Allen and Josie D'Arby backstage.
A Russian cellist is subject to a bomb attack following a performance in Ystad. It turns out that she is a witness in a murder prosecution against a member of the Russian mafia. The member in question is no less than the son of the big boss Leb Munchin himself.
Wallander and the Ystad police suddenly find themselves in the midst of a war against a powerful international enemy whose methods are merciless.
The air we breathe, and all the food we eat, is created from water, sunlight, carbon dioxide and a few minerals. That's it, nothing else. It sounds simple, but this process is one of the most fascinating and complicated in all of science. Without it there could be no life on earth. It's that important.
For centuries people believed that plants grew by eating soil. In the 17th century, pioneer botanists began to make the connection between the growth of a plant and the energy from the sun. They discovered how plants use water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce sugars - how, in fact, a plant grows.
The process of photosynthesis is still at the heart of scientific research today. Universities across the world are working hard to replicate in the lab what plants do with ruthless efficiency. Their goal is to produce a clean, limitless fuel and if they get it right it will change all our lives.
From the year that sculpted pop, Tony Blackburn introduces the Glitter Band, New Edition, JJ Barrie, Our Kid, Cliff Richard, Mud, Thin Lizzy, Dolly Parton and the Rolling Stones.
1964 saw the birth of a very British institution. Spanning over four decades, Top of the Pops has produced many classic moments in pop culture.
Digging deep within the darkest depths of the BBC's archive, this compilation offers some memorable performances from 1964 through to 1975 from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Status Quo, Procol Harum, Stevie Wonder, Queen and The Kinks, and opens the vintage vaults to rare performances from Stealers Wheel, Julie Driscoll, Peter Sarstedt and The Seekers.
The nation grew up with Top of the Pops and it was always a talking point, but 35 years ago a particular kind of Top of the Pops programme and tone held sway. This documentary explores Top of the Pops in 1976 - as a barometer of the state of pop and light entertainment TV.
It celebrates the power of the programme and observes British society of the mid 70s, British TV and the British pop scene. In 1976, glam was over and nothing had replaced it - the charts belonged to Showaddywaddy, Brotherhood of Man and the Wurzels, all to be found on Top of the Pops hosted by the Radio 1 DJs. If you wanted rock you looked to the Old Grey Whistle Test, while outside the charts a new scene was rumbling.
Contributors include Tony Blackburn, David 'Diddy' Hamilton, Paul Morley, Toyah Willcox, Showaddywaddy, Brotherhood of Man, the Wurzels and Dave Haslam.
SUNDAY 19 JUNE 2011
SUN 19:00 Hammond Meets Moss (b00sfptv)
Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond and motor racing legend Sir Stirling Moss share the same life-altering experience - they had their lives changed forever by terrible car accidents.
The pair recovered quickly from their respective physical injuries, but the acquired brain injuries of those major impacts meant their minds took much longer to heal. Why should brain tissue take so much longer to repair itself than skin and bone, and what kind of trauma does the organ go through when trying to 'reboot' itself?
In an engaging and intimate conversation punctuated by some extraordinary medical insights and archive footage of both of their accidents, the two men exchange their experiences.
SUN 20:00 The Car Show (b00j4d3d)
Documentary which explores the ways that cars have been presented on television in the motoring programmes that have tapped into our collective subconscious.
It looks at the classic motoring magazine shows of the 1960s and 70s like Wheelbase, which showcased some of the world's latest innovations and spawned the next generation of programming such as the original Top Gear with Angela Rippon and Noel Edmonds.
The film investigates how more recent motoring programmes changed to accommodate society's view of the car. The new Top Gear and shows such as Panic Mechanics and Stars in Fast Cars reflect a shift away from the traditional car review show towards a more topical, aspirational and spectacular viewing experience.
SUN 21:00 A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (b00vjm4v)
The American Scream
Three-part series in which League of Gentleman star, Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss celebrates the greatest achievements of horror cinema.
Mark explores the explosion of American films of the late 1960s and 70s which dragged horror kicking and screaming into the present day. With their contemporary settings and uncompromising content, films like Night of the Living Dead and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre remain controversial. But Mark argues that these films - often regarded as only being for hardcore fans with strong stomachs - have much to offer. Made by pioneering independent filmmakers, they reflected the social upheavals of American society and brought fresh energy and imagination to the genre.
Mark gets the inside story from a roster of leading horror directors, including George A Romero, whose Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead turned zombies into A-list monsters; Tobe Hooper, director of the notorious Texas Chain Saw Massacre; and John Carpenter, whose smash hit Halloween triggered the slasher movie boom.
Mark also celebrates the other great horror trend of the era - a string of satanically-themed Hollywood blockbusters, including Rosemary's Baby, the Exorcist and the Omen. Along the way Mark visits the Bates Motel, gets mobbed by zombies and finds out what happened to Omen star David Warner's decapitated head.
SUN 22:00 Day of the Dead (b0078qh1)
Zombies threaten the future of humankind in the third instalment in George A Romero's gruesome Living Dead series.
Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race, but tension inside the base is reaching breaking-point, and the zombies are gathering outside. Definitely not for the squeamish.
SUN 23:35 Festivals Britannia (b00wmdqs)
Continuing the critically acclaimed Britannia music series for BBC Four, this documentary tells the story of the emergence and evolution of the British music festival through the mavericks, dreamers and dropouts who have produced, enjoyed and sometimes fought for them over the last 50 years.
The film traces the ebb and flow of British festival culture from jazz beginnings at Beaulieu in the late 50s through to the Isle of Wight festivals at the end of the 60s, early Glastonbury and one-off commercial festivals like 1972's Bickershaw, the free festivals of the 70s and 80s and on through the extended rave at Castlemorton in 1992 to the contemporary resurgence in festivals like Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and Reading in the last decade.
Sam Bridger's film explores the central tension between the people's desire to come together, dance to the music and build temporary communities and the desire of the state, the councils and the locals to police these often unruly gatherings.
At the heart of the documentary is an ongoing argument about British freedom and shifts in the political, musical and cultural landscape set to a wonderful soundtrack of 50 years of great popular music which takes in trad jazz, Traffic, Roy Harper, the Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, Orbital and much more.
Featuring rare archive and interviews with Michael Eavis, Richard Thompson, Acker Bilk, Terry Reid, the Levellers, Billy Bragg, John Giddings, Melvin Benn, Roy Harper, Nik Turner, Peter Jenner, Orbital, amongst others.
SUN 01:05 Glastonbury (b00wyn9g)
1997
Radiohead
Arguably one of the greatest sets at the Glastonbury Festival in its entire 40 years started when Oxford's Radiohead took to the Pyramid Stage on Saturday June 28th 1997. They had released their seminal album OK Computer two weeks earlier to huge acclaim and this performance features many of its tracks, including Paranoid Android, Karma Police and No Surprises, as well as earlier songs such as The Bends.
SUN 02:05 Glastonbury (b00wv3j8)
Pulp at Glastonbury 1995
Back in June 1995, the Stone Roses were booked to headline the main stage at Glastonbury but pulled out at the last minute. Pulp stepped in and their performance is widely regarded as one of the best in the festival's history. The set features many of the songs that made them one of the darlings of Britpop, including Do You Remember the First Time, Sorted for E's & Wizz, Babies and, of course, Common People.
SUN 03:05 Glastonbury (b00tmwsj)
2010
Hello Glastonbury!
Filmmaker Rachel Davies's documentary follows three unsigned acts playing Glastonbury 2010. This is the Glastonbury experience through the first-time eyes of DME, Celt Islam and Lettie as they prepare for the big gig on the BBC Introducing stage. What does playing Glastonbury mean to them and how will they fare? With special guest appearances from Corinne Bailey Rae, Mumford & Sons, Plan B and Laura Marling, and featuring headline performances from Gorrillaz and Muse.
MONDAY 20 JUNE 2011
MON 19:00 World News Today (b0122k4f)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
MON 19:30 Born to Be Wild (b00ccfft)
Mammals
All over Britain, there is a secret army of dedicated people. They spend millions of hours watching over our wildlife. In the first of this six-part series, mammal watchers come under the spotlight. Mammal enthusiasts have to be truly dedicated, because most of our furry creatures are extremely difficult to see. Many are elusive and fast moving, so it takes real skill just to find them. We go into the rafters of a haunted mansion to spot bats, into the depths of a wood to discover a sleepy dormouse, stand out in the pouring rain to catch a glimpse of a brown hare - and for the elusive otter, our poor naturalist has to be content with its poo.
Britain has a long tradition of amateur naturalists taking to the wilds to pursue their passions. Due to them, we have the best-known wildlife of any country on Earth. Our mammal watchers are playing their part, each providing unique information about their beloved animal.
MON 20:00 The Bear Family and Me (b00x9yfv)
Spring
This series follows wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan as he spends a year with a family of wild black bears.
Gordon arrives in the forests of Minnesota in spring just as the bears are coming out of their dens. Before he can start filming he faces a major challenge - to earn the bears' trust. He must overcome his own fear - black bears have a dangerous reputation and attack more people than any other bear in the world. But once he meets Lily, an easy-going young mother bear, and her cub Hope, Gordon is smitten.
MON 21:00 Treasures of Heaven (b012248j)
Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the ancient Christian practice of preserving holy relics and the largely forgotten art form that went with it, the reliquary. Fragments of bone or fabric placed inside a bejewelled shrine, a sculpted golden head or even a life-sized silver hand were, and still are, objects of religious devotion believed to have the power to work miracles. Most precious of all, though, are relics of Jesus Christ, and the programme also features three reliquaries containing the holiest of all relics - those associated with the Crucifixion.
The story of relics and reliquaries is a 2,000-year history of faith, persecution and hope, reflected in some of the most beautiful and little-known works of art ever made. Featuring interviews with art historian Sister Wendy Beckett and Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum.
MON 22:00 Vatican: The Hidden World (b00tr2p3)
With unprecedented access to the Vatican and the people who live and work there, this is a unique profile of the heart of the Catholic Church and the world's smallest sovereign state.
Archivists reveal the Vatican's secrets, including the signed testimony of Galileo recorded by the Inquisition. A cardinal journeys deep below St Peter's Basilica to inspect the site claimed to be the tomb of the saint himself, and curators share a private viewing of Michelangelo's extraordinary decoration of the Sistine Chapel.
An intriguing behind-the-scenes look at the workings of one of the world's most powerful and mysterious institutions.
MON 23:00 Rosslyn Chapel: A Treasure in Stone (b00v3y5s)
The exquisite Rosslyn Chapel is a masterpiece in stone. It used to be one of Scotland's best-kept secrets, but it became world-famous when it was featured in Dan Brown's the Da Vinci Code.
Art historian Helen Rosslyn, whose husband's ancestor built the chapel over 550 years ago, is the guide on a journey of discovery around this perfect gem of a building. Extraordinary carvings of green men, inverted angels and mysterious masonic marks beg the questions of where these images come from and who the stonemasons that created them were. Helen's search leads her across Scotland and to Normandy in search of the creators of this medieval masterpiece.
MON 00:00 Rubicon (b011wzrf)
A Good Day's Work
Under pressure to identify Kateb, Will asks Kale to have Tanya reinstated to his team. While they are busy examining all the gathered evidence, Will visits Katherine in her apartment and explains that he has found more evidence about her late husband. Truxton Spangler searches Will's office and is horrified by what he discovers.
MON 00:45 The Bear Family and Me (b00x9yfv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MON 01:45 Vatican: The Hidden World (b00tr2p3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
MON 02:45 Treasures of Heaven (b012248j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 21 JUNE 2011
TUE 19:00 World News Today (b0122k8w)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
TUE 19:30 Art Deco Icons (b00nf06g)
Claridge's
The Art Deco movement swept through Britain in the 1930s, bringing a little glamour to everyone's life. In this series, architectural historian David Heathcote explores and enjoys four of the best examples of Art Deco in Britain.
Heathcote checks into Claridge's Hotel in London's Mayfair and explores the Art Deco makeover of the 1930s, which transformed the old Victorian hotel into a fashionable destination for the rich and famous.
He enjoys the glamour of the Deco fumoir which made smoking sexy and glamorous, even for women, and samples the cocktail bar with Guy Oliver, the man whose job it is to renovate and restore the hotel's glamorous 1930s image.
Heathcote then settles into a perfect Art Deco bath complete with glass panels, bubble bath and two bell pulls - one for the maid and the other for the butler.
TUE 20:00 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00z8tp8)
Episode 1
Exclusive behind-the-scenes series which follows English National ballet on their 60th anniversary and reveals the complexities of staging world class ballet.
The ballet world is traditionally one of poise, serenity and calm, but this raw and enlightening series follows the company over one of its toughest and most dramatic years to date - from the extravagant production of Swan Lake and the battles of Romeo and Juliet to the turbulent creation of a brand new Christmas Nutcracker. Every production must be an artistic and commercial success and the dancers and staff are under increasing pressure to deliver in the present financial climate.
Told through the eyes of the very people who make this physically challenging art form beautiful, this is the revealing truth of the dancers' lives - from injury and exhaustion to accolades and elation. All in the pursuit of perfection.
From the rehearsal room to the boardroom to the magical big night performances - the fruition of months of hard work that make it all worthwhile - it follows the main players within English National Ballet over an industry-defining year. From the dancers to the artistic director via the choreographers and the management behind the scenes, it goes deep inside a modern arts institution.
In the first episode, we follow the production of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall and its enormous cast of new and experienced dancers longing for recognition. When choreographer Derek Deane puts his reputation on the line by casting a talented but inexperienced young dancer with a world-class guest ballerina, the challenge is on. Derek demands absolute perfection, and all the dancers are under pressure to meet his high standards.
TUE 21:00 Botany: A Blooming History (b0122k8y)
Hidden World
For 10,000 years or more, humans created new plant varieties for food by trial and error and a touch of serendipity. Then 150 years ago, a new era began. Pioneer botanists unlocked the patterns found in different types of plants and opened the door to a new branch of science - plant genetics. They discovered what controlled the random colours of snapdragon petals and the strange colours found in wild maize.
This was vital information. Some botanists even gave their lives to protect their collection of seeds. American wheat farmer Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel peace prize after he bred a new strain of wheat that lifted millions of people around the world out of starvation. Today, botanists believe advances in plant genetics hold the key to feeding the world's growing population.
TUE 22:00 Who Killed the Honey Bee? (b00jzjys)
Bees are dying in their millions. It is an ecological crisis that threatens to bring global agriculture to a standstill. Introduced by Martha Kearney, this documentary explores the reasons behind the decline of bee colonies across the globe, investigating what might be at the root of this devastation.
Honey bees are the number one insect pollinator on the planet, responsible for the production of over 90 crops. Apples, berries, cucumbers, nuts, cabbages and even cotton will struggle to be produced if bee colonies continue to decline at the current rate. Empty hives have been reported from as far afield as Taipei and Tennessee. In England, the matter has caused beekeepers to march on Parliament to call on the government to fund research into what they say is potentially a bigger threat to humanity than the current financial crisis.
Investigating the problem from a global perspective, the programme makers travel from the farm belt of California to the flatlands of East Anglia to the outback of Australia. They talk to the beekeepers whose livelihoods are threatened by colony collapse disorder, the scientists entrusted with solving the problem, and the Australian beekeepers who are making a fortune replacing the planet's dying bees. They also look at some of the possible reasons for the declining numbers - is it down to a bee plague, pesticides, malnutrition? Or is the answer something even more frightening?
TUE 23:00 Feasts (b00kk4wc)
India
Series in which food writer and presenter Stefan Gates immerses himself in some of the most extraordinary feasts and festivals on earth. By joining ordinary people in these strange and wonderful distillations of their culture and beliefs, he hopes to gain a revelatory insight into how the world thinks and feels.
Stefan makes a journey across India to discover how feasts and celebration divide - and bring together - a turbulent nation that can be riven by religious tension and extremes of wealth.
He is shocked to see how much extravagance and social engineering there is in an expensive showpiece Rajasthani Hindu wedding, yet how little emotion is actually expressed. These events are spectacular, and the scale is terrifying for a father of two young daughters.
In Kerala, Stefan experiences the bewildering festival of Onam, a Hindu celebration that brings this massive state of millions of people together, Hindu and Christian, rich and poor alike. Over several days he joins almost all of the entire 32m population in sitting down to exactly the same meal - an 11-portion feast eaten with fingers from a banana leaf.
Stefan joins in the Pulikali, the tiger dance, and is apparently he first westerner ever to take part. It is the most physically uncomfortable, gruesome day of his life. He has his body hair shaved off with a dry razor, then spends five hours being painted with several layers of household gloss paint, holding on to two sticks to keep his arms outstretched as he dries out. He is then covered in a sweaty, sticky mask and a pair of bordello pants, and packed off into the streets to join his team in dancing like a maniac around the baking-hot streets of the city of Thrissur for four hours.
TUE 00:00 Botany: A Blooming History (b0122k8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUE 01:00 Who Killed the Honey Bee? (b00jzjys)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
TUE 02:00 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00z8tp8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
TUE 03:00 Botany: A Blooming History (b0122k8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 22 JUNE 2011
WED 19:00 World News Today (b0122n6n)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 The Beauty of Maps (b00s3v0t)
Medieval Maps - Mapping the Medieval Mind
Documentary series charting the visual appeal and historical meaning of maps.
The Hereford Mappa Mundi is the largest intact Medieval wall map in the world and its ambition is breathtaking - to picture all of human knowledge in a single image. The work of a team of artists, the world it portrays is overflowing with life, featuring Classical and Biblical history, contemporary buildings and events, animals and plants from across the globe, and the infamous 'monstrous races' which were believed to inhabit the remotest corners of the Earth.
The Mappa Mundi, meaning 'cloth of the world', has spent most of its long life at Hereford Cathedral, rarely emerging from behind its glass case. The programme represents a rare opportunity to get close to the map and explore its detail, giving a unique insight into the Medieval mind. This is also the first programme to show the map in its original glory, revealing the results of a remarkable year-long project by the Folio Society to restore it using the latest digital technology.
The map has a chequered history. Since its glory days in the 1300s it has languished forgotten in storerooms, been dismissed as a curious 'monstrosity', and controversially almost sold. Only in the last 20 years have scholars and artists realised its true depth and meaning, with the map exerting an extraordinary power over those who come into contact with it. The programme meets some of these individuals, from scholars and map lovers to Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry, whose own work, the Map of Nowhere, is inspired by the Mappa Mundi.
WED 20:00 Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession (b00s2wvh)
Windows on the World
In a series about the extraordinary stories behind maps, Professor Jerry Brotton uncovers how maps aren't simply about getting from A to B, but are revealing snapshots of defining moments in history and tools of political power and persuasion.
Visiting the world's first known map, etched into the rocks of a remote alpine hillside 3,000 years ago, Brotton explores how each culture develops its own unique, often surprising way of mapping. As Henry VIII's stunning maps of the British coastline from a bird's-eye view show, they were also used to exert control over the world.
During the Enlightenment, the great French Cassini dynasty pioneered the western quest to map the world with greater scientific accuracy, leading also to the British Ordnance Survey. But these new scientific methods were challenged by cultures with alternative ways of mapping, such as in a Polynesian navigator's map which has no use for north, south and east.
As scientifically accurate map-making became a powerful tool of European expansion, the British carved the state of Iraq out of the Middle East. When the British drew up Iraq's boundaries, they had devastating consequences for the nomadic tribes of Mesopotamia.
WED 21:00 The Wonder of Weeds (b01224kv)
Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins celebrates the humble and sometimes hated plants we call weeds. He discovers that there is no such thing as a weed, botanically speaking, and that in fact what we call a weed has changed again and again over the last three hundred years. Chris uncovers the story of our changing relationship with weeds - in reality, the story of the battle between wilderness and civilisation. He finds out how weeds have been seen as beautiful and useful in the past, and sees how their secrets are being unlocked today in order to transform our crops.
Finally, Chris asks whether, in our quest to eliminate Japanese Knotweed or Rhododendron Ponticum, we are really engaged in an arms race we can never win. We remove weeds from our fields and gardens at our peril.
WED 22:00 Nurse Jackie (b00ylq1l)
Series 2
Candyman
Drama series about a no-nonsense New York nurse. Cooper makes New York Magazine's Top 25 Doctors list, giving him reason to gloat and flabbergasting most of the staff. Jackie faces new challenges at home and at work with Grace's escalating anxiety and Jackie's increasingly conspicuous drug abuse. Eddie breaks boundaries and gets too close for comfort.
WED 22:25 What Darwin Didn't Know (b00h6sbt)
Documentary which tells the story of evolution theory since Darwin postulated it in 1859 in 'On the Origin of Species'.
The theory of evolution by natural selection is now scientific orthodoxy, but when it was unveiled it caused a storm of controversy, from fellow scientists as well as religious people. They criticised it for being short on evidence and long on assertion and Darwin, being the honest scientist that he was, agreed with them. He knew that his theory was riddled with 'difficulties', but he entrusted future generations to complete his work and prove the essential truth of his vision, which is what scientists have been doing for the past 150 years.
Evolutionary biologist Professor Armand Marie Leroi charts the scientific endeavour that brought about the triumphant renaissance of Darwin's theory. He argues that, with the new science of evolutionary developmental biology (evo devo), it may be possible to take that theory to a new level - to do more than explain what has evolved in the past, and start to predict what might evolve in the future.
WED 23:55 Wallander (b00s77mb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Saturday]
WED 01:25 Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession (b00s2wvh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
WED 02:25 The Beauty of Maps (b00s3v0t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 02:55 The Wonder of Weeds (b01224kv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 23 JUNE 2011
THU 19:00 World News Today (b0122njk)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b0122njm)
Noel Edmonds looks at highlights of the weekly 1976 pop charts and introduces the Surprise Sisters, the Real Thing, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Flintlock, Osibisa, Archie Bell and the Drells, Bryan Ferry, the Wurzels and Ruby Flipper.
THU 20:00 Apples: British to the Core (b011wz53)
Horticulturalist Chris Beardshaw uncovers the British contribution to the history of our most iconic fruit. He reveals the 'golden age', when the passion and dedication of Victorian gardeners gave us more varieties than anywhere else in the world. Chris also finds out how the remarkable ingenuity of a small group of 20th-century British scientists helped create the modern mass-market apple.
THU 21:00 Unnatural Histories (b0122njp)
Amazon
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?
THU 22:00 Rubicon (b0122njr)
Wayward Sons
Devastated by the attack in his apartment, Will returns to API knowing that Kateb is preparing to strike somewhere on mainland USA, as his team desperately try to determine where. Kale and Maggie help Will to move Katherine to a safe house. Spangler receives an envelope from Atlas MacDowell containing an incriminating photograph.
THU 22:45 Treasures of Heaven (b012248j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
THU 23:45 Unnatural Histories (b0122njp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THU 00:45 Top of the Pops (b0122njm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 01:25 Apples: British to the Core (b011wz53)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THU 02:25 Treasures of Heaven (b012248j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
THU 03:25 Unnatural Histories (b0122njp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 24 JUNE 2011
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b0122m14)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Sacred Music: The Story of Allegri's Miserere (b00g81g7)
Simon Russell Beale tells the story behind Allegri's Miserere, one of the most popular pieces of sacred music ever written. The programme features a full performance of the piece by the award-winning choir the Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers.
FRI 20:00 Glastonbury (b012543x)
2011
BB King
Mark Radcliffe introduces a performance by blues legend BB King from the Pyramid Stage on day one of the Glastonbury Festival.
FRI 21:00 Glastonbury (b012543z)
2011
Morrissey
Mark Radcliffe introduces Morrissey's performance from the Pyramid Stage.
FRI 22:00 Glastonbury (b0125441)
2011
Jimmy Cliff
Mark Radcliffe introduces highlights from the legendary Jamaican reggae star Jimmy Cliff's set on the West Holts Stage.
FRI 22:30 Glastonbury (b0125443)
2011
U2 Live - Part 2
Live coverage continues of the Dublin band's first appearance at the Glastonbury Festival.
FRI 23:05 The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (b00xf8k7)
During the 1940s, 50s and 60s, Sister Rosetta Tharpe played a highly significant role in the creation of rock & roll, inspiring musicians like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. She may not be a household name, but this flamboyant African-American gospel singing superstar, with her spectacular virtuosity on the newly-electrified guitar, was one of the most influential popular musicians of the 20th century.
Tharpe was born in 1915, close to the Mississippi in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. At the age of six she was taken by her evangelist mother Katie Bell to Chicago to join Roberts Temple, Church of God in Christ, where she developed her distinctive style of singing and guitar playing. At the age of 23 she left the church and went to New York to join the world of show business, signing with Decca Records. For the following 30 years she performed extensively to packed houses in the USA and subsequently Europe, before her death in 1973.
In 2008 the state governor of Pennsylvania declared that henceforth January 11th will be Sister Rosetta Tharpe Day in recognition of her remarkable musical legacy.
FRI 00:05 Legends (b00vv0zz)
Roll over Beethoven - The Chess Records Saga
Chicago's Chess Records was one of the greatest labels of the post-war era, ranking alongside other mighty independents like Atlantic, Stax and Sun. From 1950 till its demise at the end of the 60s, Chess released a myriad of electric blues, rock 'n' roll and soul classics that helped change the landscape of black and white popular music.
Chess was the label that gave the world such sonic adventurers as Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf and Etta James. In this documentary to mark the label's 60th anniversary, the likes of Jimmy Page, Mick Hucknall, Public Enemy's Chuck D, Paul Jones and Little Steven, as well as those attached to the label such as founder's son Marshall Chess, pay tribute to its extraordinary music and influence.
The film reveals how two Polish immigrants, Leonard and Phil Chess, forged friendships with black musicians in late 1940s Chicago, shrewdly building a speciality blues label into a huge independent worth millions by the end of the 1960s. Full of vivid period detail, it places the Chess story within a wider social and historical context - as well as being about some of the greatest music ever recorded, it is, inevitably, about race in America during these tumultuous times.
FRI 01:05 Chuck Berry in Concert (b0074rbc)
Legendary rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry performs at the BBC Television Theatre in 1972. Johnny B Goode, Roll Over Beethoven and Nadine are just some of the highlights of this concert, shown in an extended cut. This version includes, for the first time, an epic rendition of My Ding-a-Ling that carries all before it and raises innuendo to an art form.
FRI 02:05 Blues Britannia: Can Blue Men Sing the Whites? (b00kc752)
Documentary telling the story of what happened to blues music on its journey from the southern states of America to the heart of British pop and rock culture, providing an in-depth look at what this music really meant to a generation of kids desperate for an antidote to their experiences of living in post-war suburban Britain.
Narrated by Nigel Planer and structured in three parts, the first, Born Under a Bad Sign, focuses on the arrival of American blues in Britain in the late 50s and the first performances here by such legends as Muddy Waters, Sonnie Terry and Brownie McGhee.
Part two, Sittin' on Top of the World, charts the birth of the first British blues boom in the early 60s, spearheaded by the Rolling Stones and groups such as the Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, the Animals and the Pretty Things.
The final section, Crossroads, looks at the next, more hardcore British blues boom of the mid-to-late 60s, with guitarists Eric Clapton and Peter Green and the international dominance of their respective bands, Cream and Fleetwood Mac.
Featuring archive performances and interviews with Keith Richards, Paul Jones, Chris Dreja, Bill Wyman, Phil May, John Mayall, Jack Bruce, Mick Fleetwood, Ian Anderson, Tony McPhee, Mike Vernon, Tom McGuinness, Mick Abrahams, Dick Taylor, Val Wilmer, Chris Barber, Pete Brown, Bob Brunning, Dave Kelly and Phil Ryan.
FRI 03:35 Sacred Music: The Story of Allegri's Miserere (b00g81g7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 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 History of Horror with Mark Gatiss
21:00 SUN (b00vjm4v)
Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet
20:00 TUE (b00z8tp8)
Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet
02:00 TUE (b00z8tp8)
Apples: British to the Core
20:00 THU (b011wz53)
Apples: British to the Core
01:25 THU (b011wz53)
Art Deco Icons
19:30 TUE (b00nf06g)
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World
19:30 SAT (b0122jjl)
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World
02:30 SAT (b0122jjl)
Blues Britannia: Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?
02:05 FRI (b00kc752)
Born to Be Wild
19:30 MON (b00ccfft)
Botany: A Blooming History
22:30 SAT (b011wz4q)
Botany: A Blooming History
21:00 TUE (b0122k8y)
Botany: A Blooming History
00:00 TUE (b0122k8y)
Botany: A Blooming History
03:00 TUE (b0122k8y)
Chuck Berry in Concert
01:05 FRI (b0074rbc)
Day of the Dead
22:00 SUN (b0078qh1)
Feasts
23:00 TUE (b00kk4wc)
Festivals Britannia
23:35 SUN (b00wmdqs)
Glastonbury
01:05 SUN (b00wyn9g)
Glastonbury
02:05 SUN (b00wv3j8)
Glastonbury
03:05 SUN (b00tmwsj)
Glastonbury
20:00 FRI (b012543x)
Glastonbury
21:00 FRI (b012543z)
Glastonbury
22:00 FRI (b0125441)
Glastonbury
22:30 FRI (b0125443)
Hammond Meets Moss
19:00 SUN (b00sfptv)
Legends
00:05 FRI (b00vv0zz)
Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession
20:00 WED (b00s2wvh)
Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession
01:25 WED (b00s2wvh)
Nurse Jackie
22:00 WED (b00ylq1l)
Rosslyn Chapel: A Treasure in Stone
23:00 MON (b00v3y5s)
Rubicon
00:00 MON (b011wzrf)
Rubicon
22:00 THU (b0122njr)
Sacred Music: The Story of Allegri's Miserere
19:30 FRI (b00g81g7)
Sacred Music: The Story of Allegri's Miserere
03:35 FRI (b00g81g7)
The Art of Tommy Cooper
19:00 SAT (b007hzl2)
The Bear Family and Me
20:00 MON (b00x9yfv)
The Bear Family and Me
00:45 MON (b00x9yfv)
The Beauty of Maps
19:30 WED (b00s3v0t)
The Beauty of Maps
02:25 WED (b00s3v0t)
The Car Show
20:00 SUN (b00j4d3d)
The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe
23:05 FRI (b00xf8k7)
The Wonder of Weeds
21:00 WED (b01224kv)
The Wonder of Weeds
02:55 WED (b01224kv)
Top of the Pops
23:30 SAT (b011wh1d)
Top of the Pops
00:10 SAT (b00zwrn5)
Top of the Pops
01:40 SAT (b00zwrn7)
Top of the Pops
19:30 THU (b0122njm)
Top of the Pops
00:45 THU (b0122njm)
Treasures of Heaven
21:00 MON (b012248j)
Treasures of Heaven
02:45 MON (b012248j)
Treasures of Heaven
22:45 THU (b012248j)
Treasures of Heaven
02:25 THU (b012248j)
Unnatural Histories
21:00 THU (b0122njp)
Unnatural Histories
23:45 THU (b0122njp)
Unnatural Histories
03:25 THU (b0122njp)
Vatican: The Hidden World
22:00 MON (b00tr2p3)
Vatican: The Hidden World
01:45 MON (b00tr2p3)
Wallander
21:00 SAT (b00s77mb)
Wallander
23:55 WED (b00s77mb)
What Darwin Didn't Know
22:25 WED (b00h6sbt)
Who Killed the Honey Bee?
22:00 TUE (b00jzjys)
Who Killed the Honey Bee?
01:00 TUE (b00jzjys)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b0122k4f)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b0122k8w)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b0122n6n)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b0122njk)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b0122m14)