The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on BBC 4 Contact

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



SATURDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2012

SAT 19:00 Decisive Weapons (b0077dqn)
Series 1

T34: The Queen of Tanks

The story of the Soviet T34 tank, the manufacture of which heralded the largest industrial migration in history. In 1941, the Soviets faced almost certain defeat by the Germans, until the arrival of the Red Army's ultra-secret new tank, the T-34. In the hands of those who built and then drove it, this was the tank that led the fightback, all the way to Hitler's bunker in 1945.


SAT 19:30 Decisive Weapons (b0077c6j)
Series 1

The Bell Huey - Vietnam War Horse

The Bell-Huey helicopter was designer and built for air mobility, the rapid transport of troops and the provision of gun and rocket support. It gave the Americans an early advantage in the jungles of South Vietnam, but the North Vietnamese soon learned to lure the Hueys to the places they wanted to fight. Through such films as Apocalypse Now, the Huey came to symbolise the American involvement in the Vietnam conflict.


SAT 20:00 Sinatra Sings (b0192r0w)
Ol' Blue Eyes in concert in his 1960s, 70s and 80s prime from a variety of US TV specials and in the recording studio. Sinatra the great swinger, saloon singer and balladeer sings classics like That's Life, Moonlight in Vermont, Fly Me to the Moon, Young at Heart and Theme from New York, with some reminiscences from Frank's third child, Tina.


SAT 21:00 Inspector Montalbano (b01cc6mz)
The Voice of the Violin

When the naked dead body of a young woman is found in a villa outside Vigata, Montalbano discovers that she had recently bought the villa and was in the process of restoring it using her wealthy husband's money. When the case is taken from Montalbano and given to rival inspector Panzacchi from nearby Montelusa, Panzacchi draws some easy conclusions and the investigation risks going badly off course. Will a proud Montalbano stick his neck out to regain control of the case or will he allow his incompetent colleagues to pin the murder on the wrong suspect?

In Italian with English subtitles.


SAT 22:45 Storyville (b00jwcr6)
The Jazz Baroness

Documentary, made by her great niece, about the British Jewish baroness who fell in love with the jazz genius Thelonious Monk.

Pannonica Rothschild was born with everything, got married and had five children, but one track by a man she had never met inspired her to leave and start a new life in America.

Helen Mirren is the voice of 'Nica', while Sonny Rollins, TS Monk Jr, the Duchess of Devonshire, Quincy Jones, Lord Rothschild, Roy Haynes, Chico Hamilton and others appear as themselves.


SAT 00:10 Sinatra Sings (b0192r0w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 01:10 The Sky at Night (b08sl9jj)
Age of the Infrared

Space telescopes such as Herschel and Spitzer are peering at the dusty, dark cosmos and with their infrared eyes they can see the cold parts of the sky where stars are being born. Sir Patrick Moore discusses why the infrared is full of hidden delights, whilst Dr Chris North talks to Dr Amy Mainzer about NASA's infrared WISE telescope.


SAT 01:40 Horizon (b00nslc4)
2009-2010

Who Is Afraid of a Big Black Hole?

Black holes are one of the most destructive forces in the universe, capable of tearing a planet apart and swallowing an entire star. Yet scientists now believe they could hold the key to answering the ultimate question: what was there before the big bang?

The trouble is that researching black holes is next to impossible. They are by definition invisible and there is no scientific theory able to explain them. Horizon meets the astronomers and theoretical physicists who, despite these obvious obstacles, are attempting to image a black hole for the very first time and get ever closer to unlocking its mysteries. It is a story that goes into the heart of a black hole and to the very edge of what is thought to be known about the universe.


SAT 02:40 Jo Brand on Kissing (b01c2xww)
Following on from her popular exploration of crying, Jo Brand is back - and this time she has got a bee in her bonnet about kissing. Jo is convinced that the kiss has lost its value - we are either air kissing people we have never even met before or snogging each other's faces off in public. Either way Jo has had enough of it and decides it is time to find out whether the kiss really is 'kisstory'. Along the way she meets some voracious kissers in our closest animal relatives, the bonobo monkeys, learns a bit about the history and science of 'locking lips' and discovers the beauty of the kiss in some rather extraordinary oral sculptures.

Then Jo starts to realise that she needs to figure out her own relationship with the kiss. Visiting her mother uncovers some clues as to Jo's phobia of public kissing. Maybe the key is to find someone she really wants to kiss - and perfect her technique a bit while she's at it. A drama workshop proves decidedly awkward, but a few tips from an American kissing guru and Jo is well on her way to tracking down her mystery man. But what then?


SAT 03:40 Decisive Weapons (b0077dqn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 04:10 Decisive Weapons (b0077c6j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]



SUNDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2012

SUN 19:00 Sir John Dankworth at the BBC (b00tp21y)
With an introduction from his widow Dame Cleo Laine, this programme pays tribute to Sir John Dankworth, jazz musician, big band leader and composer for TV and film.

Featuring a wide variety of performances from the BBC archive, it includes John playing saxophone in the company of his hero Duke Ellington from Monitor 1958, an appearance with his orchestra at the Royal Variety Performance 1962, classic tracks from the series Jazz 625 including John's band accompanying Cleo Laine, and Cleo and John's 2007 performance on Later with Jools Holland.

Information captions give background details about the tunes played and John's illustrious career. John, who died in February 2010, was a pioneer of modern British jazz and an ambassador for all genres of British music.


SUN 20:00 Jazz Piano Gold (b01cc76p)
A real treat for anyone who loves listening to the tinkling of the jazz piano, with classics from Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Abdullah Ibrahim, Stan Tracey and Jacques Loussier to Duke Ellington, Return to Forever and Herbie Hancock. The performances are culled from cult classic programmes such as Jazz 625, Show of the Week, Late Night Line Up, Love You Madly, Birdland, The Late Show and Later... with Jools Holland, and date from 1964 to 2009. Be it bebop, swing or contemporary, Jazz Piano Gold is a must for all jazz piano fans.


SUN 21:00 Barbara Thompson: Playing Against Time (b01cc76r)
For over forty years, virtuoso saxophonist/composer Barbara Thompson has been Britain's most brilliant and best-known female jazz musician. Her original compositions and soaring flute and saxophone improvisations have attracted large and enthusiastic audiences beyond the confines of contemporary jazz. She has released many albums and toured regularly throughout Europe, mainly with her own band Paraphernalia. But in 1997, the same year that she received an MBE for her services to music, disaster struck. Barbara was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Playing Against Time is a feature-length documentary about Barbara's inspiring and creative struggle with this disease, whose physical effects are particularly cruel, and visible, in the life of an improvising jazz musician.

Funded by a grant from the Wellcome Trust, the film has been made at intervals across a period of five years, beginning in 2005 with Barbara still performing with Paraphernalia on a 'farewell' European tour. After which, apart from one remarkable filmed appearance with her band at Ronnie Scott's in 2008, Barbara has put most of her carefully-managed energies into writing music for others to play.

Encouraged and supported by her husband, the virtuoso jazz-rock drummer Jon Hiseman, the film follows her progress during this period, interweaving medical and musical sequences as she struggles to sustain an active musical life, while seeking out and investigating new drugs and treatments for a disease for which a cure seems tantalisingly close. The film has been made with the full co-operation and participation of Barbara and Jon, both of whom talk about their experience with eloquence and humour. We also see several sequences showing Barbara at the height of her powers from Jazz, Rock and Marriage, an earlier documentary about Barbara and her husband, made by Mike Dibb for BBC2 in 1979.

Playing Against Time is an unusual and enlightening exploration of Parkinson's disease as seen through music, and about the increasing importance of music and rhythm in our neurological understanding and treatment of this and other degenerative diseases. The film includes important medical contributions from Professor Ray Chaudhuri, Barbara's specialist consultant and a major authority on the disease, and Professor Tip Aziz, the UK's foremost authority on deep brain stimulation.

Barbara's compositions range across the jazz/classical divide, from orchestral to choral and chamber groups, from the serious to the playful. In this film we watch her as she moves with ease from playing along with fellow Parkinson's sufferers singing bitterly humorous songs about their condition, to her working with the virtuoso tuba player James Gourlay on a challenging new Tuba Duo and Concerto, to workshopping one of her dynamic saxophone quartets with students from the Royal Northern College of Music.

Early in 2010, after long delays caused by NHS funding problems, Barbara was at last fitted with a new system of intravenous drug delivery which has enabled her to control her condition to the extent of allowing her (at least for a while) to return to the European stage. Playing Against Time thus ends on a cautiously optimistic note, with Barbara appearing with her husband Jon's veteran rock band Colosseum in an open air venue in Vienna, where she triumphantly belts out saxophone solos to a hugely enthusiastic audience.


SUN 22:15 Barbara Thompson in Concert (b01chx5k)
Footage of Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia at the Bracknell Jazz Festival in 1979 and a performance from her farewell tour in 2005.


SUN 22:30 Lourdes (b017zngc)
Moving drama about a wheelchair-bound woman who makes a pilgrimage to Lourdes to relieve her sense of isolation.

In French with English subtitles.


SUN 00:05 Jazz Piano Gold (b01cc76p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SUN 01:05 Barbara Thompson: Playing Against Time (b01cc76r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


SUN 02:20 Barbara Thompson in Concert (b01chx5k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:15 today]


SUN 02:35 Transatlantic Sessions (b015frjm)
Series 5

Episode 1

The best of Nashville, Ireland and Scotland in a format that affords a unique insight into the sheer joy of making music. Recorded in an old hunting lodge at Glen Lyon near Aberfeldy in the Perthshire Highlands, top vocal and instrumental exponents of the country and Celtic traditions gather to rehearse and play together with no audience except themselves and a resident house band.

Music co-directors are Nashville's Jerry Douglas and Shetland's Aly Bain and artists include Phil Cunningham, Donal Lunny, Mike McGoldrick, Danny Thompson, Donald Shaw, John Doyle, John McCusker, James Mackintosh, Eric Bibb, Dirk Powell, Kathleen MacInnes, Sarah Jarosz, Russ Barenberg, Nollaig Casey, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush and Alison Krauss.

Leavening the intimacy of the music-making is a strong element of Highland scenic photography, while a greater emphasis on informal backstage conversations and stories serves to highlight the series' historic qualities of collaboration and performance.


SUN 03:05 Storyville (b01c2wnv)
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Nominated for a 2011 Academy Award, this documentary tells the remarkable story of a young American environmentalist involved with the Earth Liberation Front - a group the FBI came to describe as America's 'number one domestic terrorism threat'.

For years, the ELF - operating in separate anonymous cells without any central leadership - had launched spectacular attacks against dozens of logging companies they accused of destroying the environment. In December 2005, Daniel McGowan was arrested by federal agents in a nationwide sweep of radical environmentalists involved with the ELF.

Part coming-of-age tale, part thriller, the film interweaves a verite chronicle of Daniel as he faces life in prison, with a dramatic recounting of the events that led to his involvement with the group.



MONDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2012

MON 19:00 World News Today (b01cc78y)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00pszd7)
Series 1

Filey to Scarborough

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain. This leg of the journey takes him from Liverpool to Scarborough.

Michael goes birdwatching on the wild cliffs of Flamborough Head, learns to decipher traditional knitting patterns in Filey and meets one of the oldest residents of the Victorian seaside resort of Scarborough - a 4,000-year-old skeleton called Gristhorpe Man.


MON 20:00 Timeshift (b0135kkp)
Series 11

When the Circus Comes to Town

Roll up! Roll up! Join Timeshift under the big top for unique access to the University of Sheffield's National Fairground Archive which tells the story of the circus. From Billy Smart to Gerry Cottle and Archaos to Cirque du Soleil, the documentary captures the appeal of this enduring mass entertainment. Find out what a josser is, discover why clowns are one of the few acts to achieve lasting celebrity and marvel at the sheer spectacle of some of the biggest circuses of all time.

In an age when almost every form of popular entertainment owes something to the circus, this is a nostalgic journey into the origins of one of the ultimate expressions of human athleticism and showmanship.


MON 21:00 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01cc84j)
Series 2

Bunyoro & Buganda

We know less about Africa's distant past than almost anywhere else on Earth. But the scarcity of written records doesn't mean that Africa lacks history - it is found instead in the culture, artefacts and traditions of the people. In this series, art historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford explores some of the richest and most vibrant histories in the world, revealing fascinating stories of four complex and sophisticated civilisations: the Kingdom of Asante, the Zulu Kingdom, the Berber Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdoms of Bunyoro & Buganda.

Casely-Hayford travels to Uganda to explore the rise and fall of two great kingdoms. For centuries Bunyoro was the region's dominant power, using history and mythology to make a claim on the land. But its position was challenged by the rapid rise of Buganda, a neighbouring kingdom that had once been a collection of cultivators on the shores of Lake Victoria. Casely-Hayford goes in search of the fascinating reasons for the dramatic reversal of fortunes, and how one kingdom used the arrival of Europeans to its own advantage.


MON 22:00 Storyville (b01cc84n)
The Love of Books - A Sarajevo Story

Documentary which tells the story of a group of men and women who risked their lives to rescue a library - and preserve a nation's history - in the midst of the Bosnian war. Amid bullets and bombs and under fire from shells and snipers, this handful of passionate book-lovers safeguarded more than 10,000 unique, hand-written Islamic books and manuscripts - the most important texts held by Sarajevo's last surviving library.


MON 23:00 Timewatch (b00790p2)
2005-2006

The Secret History of Genghis Khan

Documentary looking at the Secret History of the Mongols, said to have been written by Genghis Khan's adopted son, which reveals a very different man to the brutal butcher of Western legend. Not just a womaniser, but a devoted husband. Not just a warrior, but a politician. Not just a conqueror, but a legislator. A man who wanted the lessons he had learnt - good and bad - to be passed onto his successors. Within its pages lies the inside story of how an illiterate nomad inspired his successors to conquer the largest land empire the world has ever seen.


MON 23:50 Decisive Weapons (b0077bl6)
Series 2

The Soul of the Samurai - the Japanese Sword

This programme looks into the origins and history of the samurai sword, considering the processes and engineering that went into its design and making, and its importance as a weapon in battle when repelling the Mongol invasions.


MON 00:20 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01cc84j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 01:20 Timeshift (b0135kkp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


MON 02:20 Storyville (b01cc84n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


MON 03:20 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01cc84j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2012

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b01cc8p9)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World (b00q2ly2)
Series 1

Heart of Oak

Historian Dan Snow charts the defining role the Royal Navy played in Britain's struggle for modernity - a grand tale of the twists and turns which thrust the people of the British Isles into an indelible relationship with the sea and ships.

Heart of Oak opens with a dramatic retelling of 16th- and 17th-century history. Victory over the Armada proved a turning point in the nation's story as tiny, impoverished England was transformed into a seafaring nation, one whose future wealth and power lay on the oceans. The ruthless exploits of Elizabethan seafaring heroes like Francis Drake created a potent new sense of national identity that combined patriotism and Protestantism with private profiteering.

At sea and on land, Snow shows how the navy became an indispensable tool of state, weaving the stories of characters like Drake, God's republican warrior at sea Robert Blake, and Samuel Pepys, administrator par excellence, who laid the foundations for Britain's modern civil service.

With access to the modern navy and reconstructed ships of the time, Snow recounts the navy's metamorphosis from a rabble of West Country freebooters to possibly the most complex industrial enterprise on earth.


TUE 20:30 Timothy Spall: All at Sea (b01cl52j)
Message in a Bottle

Timothy Spall and his wife Shane are back on board their beloved barge the Princess Matilda as they conclude their trip around the British coast.

Tim takes on Rattray Head in the face of a huge storm. This is the equivalent of Land's End for Scotland and the point where they head south for the first time. The North Sea soon becomes the new enemy as he and Shane struggle to cope with this unrelenting force of nature.

On land they find wonderful Scottish towns - Peterhead, Eyemouth and Stonehaven - but it is the town of Banff that resonates most. They fall in love with it and are sad to leave it behind as they pursue their odyssey of circumnavigating Britain. At the end of the episode, they eventually reach the English sea border, where they launch a message in a bottle.


TUE 21:00 How to Build... (b00t0yx9)
Series 1

A Jumbo Jet Engine

As Boeing's 787 Dreamliner makes its inaugural flight, Rolls-Royce engineers celebrate the performance of its revolutionary Trent 1000 jet engines. They're the latest in a family of sophisticated aero engines that have driven Rolls-Royce to become world leaders in the market for jumbo jet engines.

This is the story of the thousands of people who design, build and test engines at Rolls-Royce's manufacturing plants in Derby and across the UK, making Rolls-Royce a central part of life for the people who work there.

Exploring some of the astonishing technology behind the engines' advanced components, the programme meets the skilled engineers who design and build them, and experience the ups and downs of life on the assembly line.


TUE 22:00 The World Against Apartheid: Have You Heard from Johannesburg? (b01cc8pf)
Free at Last

Ten years in the making, this series explores how a violent and racist government was destroyed by the concerted efforts of men and women working on multiple fronts inside and outside South Africa for more than three decades. Featuring archive of the struggle never seen before on television and interviews with the major players, it is one of the most fascinating stories of the last century. In this final episode, the campaign to free Nelson Mandela ignites a worldwide crusade which brings apartheid to an end.

Faced with growing international isolation, the apartheid government tries to convince the world of the merit of its piecemeal reforms even as it savagely struggles to suppress open revolt. Three generations join together as the United Demographic Front, mounting a fierce campaign of defiance, demand the freedom of ANC leader Nelson Mandela. Caught between an unstoppable internal mass movement and ongoing international pressure, the apartheid regime is finally forced to the negotiating table and at last lifts the decades-long ban on the ANC. After 27 years in prison Mandela is released, sparking a global celebration as he tours the world to thank all. After 30 years in exile Oliver Tambo is finally able to return to South Africa, but the struggle has taken a heavy toll on him and he will die one year before his comrade Nelson Mandela is elected the first black president of a democratic South Africa.


TUE 23:00 More Than Just a Game (b00st947)
South African docudrama chronicling the true life story of the Makana Football Association. Imprisoned on the notorious Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was also held, a group of political activists rise above incarceration by creating their own fully functioning football league.


TUE 00:30 Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World (b00q2ly2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 01:30 Timothy Spall: All at Sea (b01cl52j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


TUE 02:00 The World Against Apartheid: Have You Heard from Johannesburg? (b01cc8pf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


TUE 03:00 How to Build... (b00t0yx9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


TUE 04:00 Timothy Spall: All at Sea (b01cl52j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]



WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2012

WED 19:00 World News Today (b01cc96n)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00q2p2l)
Series 1

Preston to Morecambe

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, he travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain.

Michael's second epic journey takes him north, from Preston to Scotland, on one of the first railways to cross the border. On this first leg, he explores the origins of the temperance movement in Preston, samples the attractions of Blackpool, a resort made by the railways, and takes a walk across Morecambe Bay with the official keeper of the sands.


WED 20:00 If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home (b010p5z5)
The Bedroom

Lucy Worsley, chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces, focuses on the bedroom - a room which people now think of as one of the most private in the house and yet started for most as a noisy, busy communal space. From spending the night in a Tudor farmhouse to recreating a bedtime 'bundling' courtship ritual, and from being publicly dressed as Queen Caroline in Hampton Court to experiencing the glamour of the 1930s boudoir, Lucy discovers that birth, marriage and death have all played a big part in the story of the bedroom.


WED 21:00 The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (b01cc96r)
Series 1

Laurels Are Poison

Mrs Bradley tries to solve the mysterious murder of her friend's relative who is found poisoned in her garden, while chauffeur George confronts some skeletons in his closet.


WED 22:00 Britain's Best Drives (b00j0gsq)
North Cornish Coast

Actor Richard Wilson takes a journey into the past, following routes raved about in motoring guides of 50 years ago.

Richard struggles to get to grips with a retro VW camper van as he drives the coast road from St Ives to Land's End.

He learns of St Ives's 1950s abstract art heyday and meets a 95-year-old painter still at work in Porthmeor Studios. He discovers why DH Lawrence was expelled from the county, hears legends of Cornish mermaids and gets to know his van on a blustery clifftop campsite.


WED 22:30 Lowdown (b01cc96v)
Bonk, Bonk, Who's There?

Rugged A-list actor Oliver Barry is in town and Alex has an interview with him, but it doesn't go well. When Barry gets caught in a sting by paparazzi and Alex and Bob help him escape they find themselves becoming friends with him. But it's also a second chance for them to get the dirt.


WED 22:55 Old Jews Telling Jokes (b017j5jw)
Episode 2

In the fine tradition of American Jewish humour, a group of pensioners from all walks of life gather together to tell their favourite jokes. Remember, laugh loud. They don't hear so good.


WED 23:25 Sex and the Sitcom (b00zwnt0)
How has the sitcom responded to the sexual revolution?

From Hancock's Half Hour in the 50s, through 70s sitcoms like Up Pompeii! and Reggie Perrin to contemporary comedies like Him & Her, this documentary explores sexual frustration as an enduring sitcom theme, the changing role of women and the British love of innuendo.

Why did Butterflies cause such a stir in the 80s? Did Men Behaving Badly really capture the sexual politics of the 90s? And how did the permissive society affect Terry and June?

The film looks at the changing language of sitcom, contrasts British comedy with its more liberal American counterpart, and asks whether the modern sitcom recognises any taboos at all.

Contributors include sitcom stars Leslie Phillips, Lesley Joseph, Wendy Craig, and writers David Nobbs, Simon Nye and Jonathan Harvey.


WED 00:25 Inspector Montalbano (b01cc6mz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


WED 02:10 Lowdown (b01cc96v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]


WED 02:40 Old Jews Telling Jokes (b017j5jw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:55 today]


WED 03:10 Britain's Best Drives (b00j0gsq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


WED 03:40 Great British Railway Journeys (b00q2p2l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]



THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2012

THU 19:00 World News Today (b01cd87w)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b01cc6n1)
17/02/77

Featuring the Moments, the Brothers, Les Gray, Thelma Houston, the Rubettes, Leo Sayer and Mr Big. Dance sequence from Legs and Co.


THU 20:00 Horizon (b00hr6bk)
2008-2009

Can We Make a Star on Earth?

Professor Brian Cox takes a global journey in search of the energy source of the future. Called nuclear fusion, it is the process that fuels the sun and every other star in the universe. Yet despite over five decades of effort, scientists have been unable to get even a single watt of fusion electricity onto the grid.

Brian returns to Horizon to find out why. Granted extraordinary access to the biggest and most ambitious fusion experiments on the planet, Brian travels to the USA to see a high-security fusion bomb-testing facility in action and is given a tour of the world's most powerful laser. In South Korea, he clambers inside the reaction chamber of K-Star, the world's first supercooled, superconducting fusion reactor, where the fate of future fusion research will be decided.


THU 21:00 Catholics (b01cl83g)
Priests

Filmed over six months and with extraordinary access, an intimate behind-the-scenes portrait of Allen Hall in London, one of only three remaining Roman Catholic seminaries in Britain.

This is the first of a new three-part series directed by award-winning filmmaker Richard Alwyn about being Catholic in Britain today. Each film - one about men, one about women, one about children - reveals a different Catholic world, showing Catholicism to be a rich but complex identity and observing how this shapes people's lives.

As the Catholic priesthood struggles to recover from the scandal of child abuse, numbers of men applying to join have fallen greatly. Just 19 men were ordained in England and Wales in 2010. In this first film, Alwyn meets the men who still feel themselves called to this role, including funk band roadie turned first-year student, Rob Hunt. A cradle Catholic, Rob ignored his faith for years before deciding his life was veering off course. With little education, he thought he had as much chance of becoming a priest as becoming an astronaut. Today, surrounded by boxsets of The Sweeney, he is adapting to seminary life.

Andrew Gallagher is in his final year at Allen Hall. Now 30, he previously worked in a City law firm, but felt he couldn't ignore a lifelong calling - at school, his nickname was Priest.

The film follows the seminarians through a timetable which ranges from Biblical Greek to lessons on how to live a celibate life. Everything builds towards priestly ordination when the seminarians believe they will be fundamentally altered as human beings, only then able to celebrate the Eucharist and perform the act that is central to Catholic life, the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

'I will give you shepherds after my own heart', said the prophet Jeremiah, stating God's chosen method for guiding His people. This film brings rare and moving insight into those who believe themselves to be God's shepherds in the 21st Century.


THU 22:00 The Singing Detective (b0074qy4)
Clues

Marlow as a child visits London, but is not impressed. A film option on Marlow's novel thickens the plot. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.


THU 23:10 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01cc84j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


THU 00:10 Top of the Pops (b01cc6n1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 00:45 Horizon (b00hr6bk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 01:45 How to Build... (b00t0yx9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


THU 02:45 Decisive Weapons (b0077bl6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:50 on Monday]


THU 03:15 Catholics (b01cl83g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2012

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b01cd9c6)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 The Best of British Music at the Proms (b01c95pw)
Petroc Trelawny presents a compilation from the treasure trove of best-loved pieces of music written by British composers performed at the Royal Albert Hall at the BBC Proms. The works include Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March no 1, The Dam Busters by Eric Coates, Young Person's Guide by Britten and Dido's Lament by Purcell. The performances are taken from the Proms over the last decade with leading conductors and artists including Sarah Connolly, Sir Thomas Allen, Paul Watkins, Harry Christophers, Edward Gardner, Trevor Pinnock and John Wilson.


FRI 20:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b015r5qf)
Series 5

Episode 2

The best of Nashville, Ireland and Scotland in a format that affords a unique insight into the sheer joy of making music. Recorded in an old hunting lodge at Glen Lyon near Aberfeldy in the Perthshire Highlands, top vocal and instrumental exponents of the country and Celtic traditions gather to rehearse and play together with no audience except themselves and a resident house band.

Music co-directors are Nashville's Jerry Douglas and Shetland's Aly Bain and artists include Mike McGoldrick, Bela Fleck, Donal Lunny, Phil Cunningham, Danny Thompson, Donald Shaw, John Doyle, John McCusker, James Mackintosh, Sarah Jarosz, Sam Bush, Russ Barenberg, Nollaig Casey, Dirk Powell, Sharon Shannon, Jim Murray, Declan O'Rourke and Amos Lee.

Leavening the intimacy of the music-making is a strong element of Highland scenic photography, while a greater emphasis on informal backstage conversations and stories serves to highlight the series' historic qualities of collaboration and performance.


FRI 21:00 ArtWorks Scotland (b0140v4c)
Gerry Rafferty: Right Down the Line

Gerry Rafferty, who died in January 2011, was one of Scotland's best loved singer/songwriters, famous around the world for hits such as Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle With You.

This ArtWorks Scotland film, narrated by David Tennant, tells the story of Rafferty's life through his often autobiographical songs and includes contributions from Gerry's daughter Martha and brother Jim, friends and colleagues including Billy Connolly, John Byrne and Joe Egan, admirers such as Tom Robinson and La Roux, and words and music from Rafferty himself.


FRI 22:00 Gerry Rafferty Remembered (b01d0s66)
Ricky Ross presents highlights from a special Celtic Connections 2012 concert in memory of Paisley-born singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. Singers paying a musical tribute include Paul Brady, Ron Sexsmith, Barbara Dickson, The Proclaimers, Rab Noakes, Jack Bruce and James Vincent McMorrow.


FRI 23:30 Singer-Songwriters at the BBC (b00vfhy7)
Series 1

Episode 4

Compilation which unlocks the BBC vaults to explore the burgeoning singer-songwriter genre that exploded at the dawn of the 1970s and became one of the defining styles of that decade.

Featuring songs from Donovan, Gerry Rafferty, James Taylor, Elton John, Mickey Newbury, Tom Paxton, John Prine, Melanie, Jesse Winchester, Steve Forbert, Chris Rea, Carole King and others.

Programme sources include The Old Grey Whistle Test, In Concert, Top of the Pops, One in Ten and Cilla!


FRI 00:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b015r5qf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


FRI 01:00 ArtWorks Scotland (b0140v4c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 02:00 Gerry Rafferty Remembered (b01d0s66)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 03:30 Singer-Songwriters at the BBC (b00vfhy7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:30 today]




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

ArtWorks Scotland 21:00 FRI (b0140v4c)

ArtWorks Scotland 01:00 FRI (b0140v4c)

Barbara Thompson in Concert 22:15 SUN (b01chx5k)

Barbara Thompson in Concert 02:20 SUN (b01chx5k)

Barbara Thompson: Playing Against Time 21:00 SUN (b01cc76r)

Barbara Thompson: Playing Against Time 01:05 SUN (b01cc76r)

Britain's Best Drives 22:00 WED (b00j0gsq)

Britain's Best Drives 03:10 WED (b00j0gsq)

Catholics 21:00 THU (b01cl83g)

Catholics 03:15 THU (b01cl83g)

Decisive Weapons 19:00 SAT (b0077dqn)

Decisive Weapons 19:30 SAT (b0077c6j)

Decisive Weapons 03:40 SAT (b0077dqn)

Decisive Weapons 04:10 SAT (b0077c6j)

Decisive Weapons 23:50 MON (b0077bl6)

Decisive Weapons 02:45 THU (b0077bl6)

Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World 19:30 TUE (b00q2ly2)

Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World 00:30 TUE (b00q2ly2)

Gerry Rafferty Remembered 22:00 FRI (b01d0s66)

Gerry Rafferty Remembered 02:00 FRI (b01d0s66)

Great British Railway Journeys 19:30 MON (b00pszd7)

Great British Railway Journeys 19:30 WED (b00q2p2l)

Great British Railway Journeys 03:40 WED (b00q2p2l)

Horizon 01:40 SAT (b00nslc4)

Horizon 20:00 THU (b00hr6bk)

Horizon 00:45 THU (b00hr6bk)

How to Build... 21:00 TUE (b00t0yx9)

How to Build... 03:00 TUE (b00t0yx9)

How to Build... 01:45 THU (b00t0yx9)

If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home 20:00 WED (b010p5z5)

Inspector Montalbano 21:00 SAT (b01cc6mz)

Inspector Montalbano 00:25 WED (b01cc6mz)

Jazz Piano Gold 20:00 SUN (b01cc76p)

Jazz Piano Gold 00:05 SUN (b01cc76p)

Jo Brand on Kissing 02:40 SAT (b01c2xww)

Lost Kingdoms of Africa 21:00 MON (b01cc84j)

Lost Kingdoms of Africa 00:20 MON (b01cc84j)

Lost Kingdoms of Africa 03:20 MON (b01cc84j)

Lost Kingdoms of Africa 23:10 THU (b01cc84j)

Lourdes 22:30 SUN (b017zngc)

Lowdown 22:30 WED (b01cc96v)

Lowdown 02:10 WED (b01cc96v)

More Than Just a Game 23:00 TUE (b00st947)

Old Jews Telling Jokes 22:55 WED (b017j5jw)

Old Jews Telling Jokes 02:40 WED (b017j5jw)

Sex and the Sitcom 23:25 WED (b00zwnt0)

Sinatra Sings 20:00 SAT (b0192r0w)

Sinatra Sings 00:10 SAT (b0192r0w)

Singer-Songwriters at the BBC 23:30 FRI (b00vfhy7)

Singer-Songwriters at the BBC 03:30 FRI (b00vfhy7)

Sir John Dankworth at the BBC 19:00 SUN (b00tp21y)

Storyville 22:45 SAT (b00jwcr6)

Storyville 03:05 SUN (b01c2wnv)

Storyville 22:00 MON (b01cc84n)

Storyville 02:20 MON (b01cc84n)

The Best of British Music at the Proms 19:30 FRI (b01c95pw)

The Mrs Bradley Mysteries 21:00 WED (b01cc96r)

The Singing Detective 22:00 THU (b0074qy4)

The Sky at Night 01:10 SAT (b08sl9jj)

The World Against Apartheid: Have You Heard from Johannesburg? 22:00 TUE (b01cc8pf)

The World Against Apartheid: Have You Heard from Johannesburg? 02:00 TUE (b01cc8pf)

Timeshift 20:00 MON (b0135kkp)

Timeshift 01:20 MON (b0135kkp)

Timewatch 23:00 MON (b00790p2)

Timothy Spall: All at Sea 20:30 TUE (b01cl52j)

Timothy Spall: All at Sea 01:30 TUE (b01cl52j)

Timothy Spall: All at Sea 04:00 TUE (b01cl52j)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b01cc6n1)

Top of the Pops 00:10 THU (b01cc6n1)

Transatlantic Sessions 02:35 SUN (b015frjm)

Transatlantic Sessions 20:30 FRI (b015r5qf)

Transatlantic Sessions 00:30 FRI (b015r5qf)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b01cc78y)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b01cc8p9)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b01cc96n)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b01cd87w)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b01cd9c6)