SATURDAY 12 MAY 2012

SAT 19:00 South Pacific (b00l5jl0)
Strange Islands

Flightless parrots, burrowing bats, giant skinks and kangaroos in trees; on the isolated islands of the South Pacific, the wildlife has evolved in extraordinary ways. But island living can carry a high price, for when new species arrive all hell breaks loose. And there lies a puzzle - why do animals perfectly adapted to island life simply give up the ghost? The answer is revealed by the remarkable stories of some unlikely animals that survived on tiny islands off the coast of New Zealand. The human history of the region is further evidence that, however idyllic it may appear, life on a South Pacific island may never be very far from catastrophe.


SAT 20:00 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01bgndm)
Series 2

The Kingdom of Asante

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.

In this episode, Dr Casely-Hayford travels to Ghana in West Africa, where a powerful kingdom once dominated the region. Asante was built on gold and slaves, which ensured its important place in an economy that linked three continents. He reveals how this sophisticated kingdom emerged from the unlikely environment of dense tropical forest and how it was held together by a shared sense of tradition and history - one deliberately moulded by the kingdom's rulers.


SAT 21:00 The Bridge (b01hr5s3)
Series 1

Episode 7

The murderer's fifth and final truth is the public's indifference to child labour, with millions of children being exploited daily in order to produce goods as cheaply as possible. Since they are not our own children we don't care, but when a school bus full of children disappears, suddenly we sit up and take notice. To save the children, the murderer demands that five large companies which benefit indirectly from child labour should be set on fire by the general public. Saga increasingly suspects that the perpetrator is one of their own - a police officer.

In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:00 The Bridge (b01hr5s5)
Series 1

Episode 8

After many suspicions and one witness statement, Saga and Martin arrest and question a fellow officer. He turns out to have an alibi for all the crimes, but is he really innocent? The murderer is finished now, having succeeded in doing what he set out to do - to open people's eyes to the problems of society. Saga, however, believes that this is not the end of his plan and that there is more to come.

In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles.


SAT 23:00 Parkinson: The Interviews (b01hr5s7)
Series 1

Orson Welles

Michael Parkinson recalls a rare interview with the brilliant film-maker and actor Orson Welles.


SAT 23:40 Do We Really Need the Moon? (b00yb5jp)
The moon is such a familiar presence in the sky that most of us take it for granted. But what if it wasn't where it is now? How would that affect life on Earth?

Space scientist and lunar fanatic Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock explores our intimate relationship with the moon. Besides orchestrating the tides, the moon dictates the length of a day, the rhythm of the seasons and the very stability of our planet.

Yet the moon is always on the move. In the past, it was closer to the Earth and in the future it will be farther away. That it is now perfectly placed to sustain life is pure luck, a cosmic coincidence. Using computer graphics to summon up great tides and set the Earth spinning on its side, Aderin-Pocock implores us to look at the Moon afresh: to see it not as an inert rock, but as a key player in the story of our planet, past, present and future.


SAT 00:40 The Sky at Night (b08slwrh)
Moore Marathon

The Sky at Night celebrates 55 years with the second of its special programmes. Sir Patrick picked out 55 objects in the April sky and asked viewers to take part in his Moore Marathon. He finds out how everyone got on, with help from the team.


SAT 01:10 A Civil Arrangement (b01hddk5)
Alison Steadman stars in a delightful monologue that is funny, fraught and fiery, but not always civil. Isobel evaluates her relationship with her uncompromising husband and her difficult daughter as she helps plan the latter's gay civil ceremony.


SAT 01:40 The Many Faces of... (b00wylqq)
Series 1

Alison Steadman

A documentary in which Alison Steadman talks about her impressive career, featuring archive clips, both treasured and rarely seen, weaved together with sincere testimony from friends and colleagues.

The programme contains footage and stills from programmes such as Gavin and Stacey, Abigail's Party, Newshounds, Nuts in May and her early appearances in Frost's Weekly. It progresses from her earliest appearances on screen to what drove her choices, for good or ill, and their consequences.


SAT 02:40 Lost Kingdoms of Africa (b01bgndm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 03:40 South Pacific (b00l5jl0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]