The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Black holes are the beating heart of galaxies. It seems that they are pivotal in their evolution, but they also have a destructive side. A dust cloud more massive than the size of the Earth is on a doomed course, as it careers towards the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Chris Lintott talks to the Astronomer Royal about this cataclysmic encounter.
The years after the Civil War and the Restoration of Charles II marked the end of the medieval and the beginning of the modern age. These were exciting times for women and some rose to prominence like never before. Some had remarkably modern attitudes and ambitions and achieved wealth, celebrity and power that still seems outstanding even by 21st century standards. But, at the same time, they faced a world that was still predominantly male, misogynistic and positively medieval in its outlook.
In the first episode, Dr Lucy Worsley investigates the lives of women at the top - the king's mistresses at the royal court. When Charles and his entourage returned from exile, they came back with a host of continental ideas. Some of the women at court gained unprecedented political influence and independence. Amongst a fascinating cast of female characters, the most astonishing were Charles II's own mistresses - the royalist Barbara Villiers, the French spy Louise de Keroualle and the infamous Cockney actress Nell Gwynn.
Lucy examines the lives of these women, discovering how their fortunes were shaped by the Restoration and how their stories reflect the atmosphere of these extraordinary years. Along her journey, Lucy gets the full mistress make-over, takes to the dance floor and treads the corridors of power. As she discovers, these women were key Restoration players, but, as mistresses, were they truly in charge of their own destinies or were they simply part of the world's oldest profession?
Documentary presented by Professor Simon Schaffer which charts the amazing and untold story of automata - extraordinary clockwork machines designed hundreds of years ago to mimic and recreate life.
The film brings the past to life in vivid detail as we see how and why these masterpieces were built. Travelling around Europe, Simon uncovers the history of these machines and shows us some of the most spectacular examples, from an entire working automaton city to a small boy who can be programmed to write and even a device that can play chess. All the machines Simon visits show a level of technical sophistication and ambition that still amazes today.
As well as the automata, Simon explains in great detail the world in which they were made - the hardship of the workers who built them, their role in global trade and the industrial revolution and the eccentric designers who dreamt them up. Finally, Simon reveals that these long-forgotten marriages of art and engineering are actually the ancestors of many of our most-loved modern technologies, from recorded music to the cinema and much of the digital world.
Gibraltar has been at the centre of a fiercely-contested diplomatic dispute that has stretched over the centuries. In the summer of 2010, director Ana Garcia returned home to Gibraltar to get married. Coming back to this most unique of British territories, she found herself compelled to find out more about the history of her family and her birthplace. As she prepares for her wedding, we are taken on a very personal journey that uncovers the inspiring story of how a small community has fought for its home and identity.
Dallas Campbell looks back through almost 50 years of the Horizon archives to chart the scientific breakthroughs that have transformed our understanding of the universe. From Einstein's concept of spacetime to alien planets and extra dimensions, science has revealed a cosmos that is more bizarre and more spectacular than could have ever been imagined. But with every breakthrough, even more intriguing mysteries that lie beyond are found. This great journey of discovery is only just beginning.
THURSDAY 05 SEPTEMBER 2013
THU 19:00 World News Today (b039j8sb)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 BBC Proms (b039ktf7)
2013
Proms on Four: Orchestras of the World - Sinfonica di Milano
Making their Proms debut, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Guiseppe Verdi are joined by Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja to celebrate the bicentenary of Verdi's birth with a feast of his arias. With their Chinese-American conductor Xian Zhang, the orchestra also take us on a lovelorn trek through the Alps in Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony, based on a poem by Lord Byron.
THU 21:30 Wild (b00jd9yx)
Scotland
Otters, Puffins and Seals
Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan explores his native Mull and some of the nearby islands, filming otters, deer, puffins, seals and a minke whale.
THU 21:40 Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe (b0079238)
The Land of My Mother
Francesco da Mosto visits the south and Sicily, home of his mother's family for more than 500 years. Easter celebrations in the south involve the streets running red with celebrants' blood and the locals indulging in frantic dances to ward off the threat of the tarantula.
On Sicily, the brooding majesty of Etna terrifies Francesco as he stares into the volcano, but there's beauty and art at the Villa Bagheria and an explosion of baroque decadence at Noto. Finally for Francesco, there's an emotional reunion with his family, who have come down from Venice.
THU 22:40 Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth (b039kr77)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
THU 23:40 Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields (b007t0w9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Tuesday]
THU 00:40 Storyville (b01nyz3p)
From the Sea to the Land Beyond: Britain's Coast on Film
Made from over 100 years of BFI archive footage, From the Sea to the Land Beyond offers a poetic meditation on Britain's unique coastline and the role it plays in our lives. With a soundtrack specially created by Brighton-based band British Sea Power, award-winning director Penny Woolcock's film offers moving testimony to our relationship to the coast - during wartime, on our holidays and as a hive of activity during the industrial age.
THU 01:55 The Secret Life of Waves (b00y5jhx)
Documentary maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves. In an elegant and original film, he finds that waves are not made of water, that some waves travel sideways, and that the sound of the ocean comes not from water but from bubbles. Waves are not only beautiful but also profoundly important, and there is a surprising connection between the life cycle of waves and the life of human beings.
THU 02:55 Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe (b0079238)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:40 today]
FRIDAY 06 SEPTEMBER 2013
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b039j8sh)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (b039l32h)
2013
Proms on Four: Friday Night at the Proms - National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
The National Youth Orchestra under conductor Vasily Petrenko are joined by the National Youth Choir, the Irish Youth Chamber Choir, Codetta and a line-up of international soloists to perform Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the Choral, and new commission Frieze by British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, based on ideas from the Choral Symphony. Introduced by Simon Russell Beale.
FRI 21:15 The Joy of Disco (b01cqt72)
Documentary about how a much-derided music actually changed the world. Between 1969 and 1979 disco soundtracked gay liberation, foregrounded female desire in the age of feminism and led to the birth of modern club culture as we know it today, before taking the world by storm. With contributions from Nile Rodgers, Robin Gibb, Kathy Sledge and Ian Schrager.
FRI 22:15 TOTP2 (b007v15w)
Boogie Fever: A TOTP2 Disco Special
Get your dancing shoes on for a show of disco mania as Steve Wright and the TOTP2 team take you back to the dancefloor for some boogie fever. The Bee Gees are here in all their glory, along with Gloria Gaynor, Liquid Gold, Sylvester, The Village People, The Weather Girls and The Three Degrees.
There's classic dance fodder from Chic, George McCrae, Hi-Tension, Heatwave, The JALN Band, Earth Wind and Fire, Tina Charles, The Gibson Brothers and Edwin Starr, disco pop from Blondie, Yazz, Boney M and Linx, while Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Infernal bring the story up to date.
And then there's the Disco Duck. Sorry...
FRI 23:45 Queens of Disco (b0074thh)
Graham Norton profiles the leading ladies of the disco era, including Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, Grace Jones, Chaka Khan, Madonna and 'honorary disco queen' Sylvester. Includes contributions from the queens themselves, plus Antonio 'Huggy Bear' Fargas, choreographer Arlene Phillips, songwriters Ashford and Simpson, disco artists Verdine White from Earth, Wind and Fire, Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters and Nile Rodgers of Chic.
FRI 00:45 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01gymg9)
Reggae - Stir it Up
By the start of the 70s, the Windrush generation of immigrants who came to the UK from the Caribbean and West Indies were an established part of the British population and their influence and culture permeated UK society.
This second programme rejoices and revels in the reggae music exported from Jamaica and the home-grown reggae-influenced sounds that sprouted from the cities of England. Reggae's dominance of the UK charts is celebrated with performances from Ken Boothe, Dave and Ansel Collins, Steel Pulse, Althea and Donna, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Janet Kay, Susan Cadogan and The Specials.
FRI 01:15 The Joy of Disco (b01cqt72)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:15 today]
FRI 02:15 TOTP2 (b007v15w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:15 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 Poet's Guide to Britain
19:00 SUN (b00ktrbw)
A Poet's Guide to Britain
03:20 SUN (b00ktrbw)
Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth
21:00 TUE (b039kr77)
Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth
02:30 TUE (b039kr77)
Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth
22:40 THU (b039kr77)
BBC Proms
19:30 SUN (b039kjdh)
BBC Proms
19:30 THU (b039ktf7)
BBC Proms
19:30 FRI (b039l32h)
Britain on Film
20:00 TUE (b01qsqcy)
Britain on Film
01:00 TUE (b01qsqcy)
Crash Test Dummies: A Smashing History
22:00 MON (b039dyl5)
Definitely Dusty
22:20 SAT (b00780bt)
Definitely Dusty
01:20 SUN (b00780bt)
Dusty Springfield at the BBC
23:20 SAT (b01qyvw7)
Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe
21:40 THU (b0079238)
Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe
02:55 THU (b0079238)
Gibraltar: My Rock
22:00 WED (b039ksm9)
Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls
20:00 WED (b01j2fcq)
Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls
01:20 WED (b01j2fcq)
How It Works
20:00 MON (b01g98vb)
How It Works
01:00 MON (b01g98vb)
Lost Kingdoms of South America
21:00 MON (b01pwtqy)
Lost Kingdoms of South America
02:30 MON (b01pwtqy)
Lost Kingdoms of South America
22:50 WED (b01pwtqy)
Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams
21:00 WED (b0229pbp)
Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams
02:20 WED (b0229pbp)
Nature's Microworlds
19:30 MON (b01lndd2)
Nature's Microworlds
02:00 MON (b01lndd2)
Nature's Microworlds
19:30 TUE (b01lycdq)
Nature's Microworlds
01:30 TUE (b01lycdq)
Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields
22:00 TUE (b007t0w9)
Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields
23:40 THU (b007t0w9)
Point Blank
21:00 SAT (b016bxx9)
Precision: The Measure of All Things
19:00 SAT (b033664m)
Precision: The Measure of All Things
03:00 SAT (b033664m)
Queens of Disco
23:45 FRI (b0074thh)
Shirley Bassey at the BBC
00:20 SAT (b01psct4)
Sounds of the 70s 2
00:45 FRI (b01gymg9)
Stories from the Dark Earth: Meet the Ancestors Revisited
23:00 TUE (b01sgx9m)
Storyville
00:40 THU (b01nyz3p)
TOTP2
22:15 FRI (b007v15w)
TOTP2
02:15 FRI (b007v15w)
The Final Frontier? A Horizon Guide to the Universe
23:50 WED (p00yjn1x)
The Joy of Disco
21:15 FRI (b01cqt72)
The Joy of Disco
01:15 FRI (b01cqt72)
The Secret Life of Waves
01:55 THU (b00y5jhx)
The Sky at Night
19:30 WED (b08kbhq4)
The Sky at Night
00:50 WED (b08kbhq4)
The Somme: Secret Tunnel Wars
00:00 TUE (b01skvnh)
Tiger - Spy in the Jungle
20:00 SAT (b009x107)
Tiger - Spy in the Jungle
02:00 SAT (b009x107)
Tiger - Spy in the Jungle
23:00 MON (b009x107)
Top of the Pops
01:20 SAT (b039gsjl)
Tribe
00:00 MON (b007ybjd)
What Do Artists Do All Day?
20:30 TUE (b0392hqq)
What Do Artists Do All Day?
02:00 TUE (b0392hqq)
Wild
21:30 THU (b00jd9yx)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b039kl77)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b039j8rv)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b039j8s5)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b039j8sb)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b039j8sh)
Youssou N'Dour: Voice of Africa
02:20 SUN (b0395mzx)
imagine...
23:50 SUN (b01kkn74)