The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Steve Backshall goes beneath the surface of Australia's Great Barrier Reef to discover the crucial conditions that allowed a tiny coral building block to create the largest living structure on the planet. He unravels the complex mosaic of reef environments to reveal the key to the microworld's success, but discovers that life on this coast is not always easy. Nutrient-poor water, enormous storms and rising seas should make it impossible for such a vibrant ecosystem to exist here, so what allows the Great Barrier Reef to not only survive but flourish as the largest reef on Earth?
Dr Lucy Worsley, historian and Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, explores the ordinary as well as the extraordinary lives of women in the home. This was an age when respectable women were defined by their marital status as maids, wives or widows. If they fell outside these categories they were in danger of being labelled whores or, at worst, witches.
While history has left many women voiceless over the centuries, Lucy discovers that in the Restoration a surprising number of women were beginning to question their roles in relationship to their husbands, their position in the home, their attitudes to sex and, most importantly, the expectation to produce children.
Meeting a host of experts and experiencing what life was like behind closed doors, Lucy explores whether their lives changed for better or worse during the second half of the 17th century.
Sex is a simple word for a very complex set of desires. It cuts to the core of our passions, our wants, our emotions. But when it goes wrong, it can be the most painful thing of all. Professor Alice Roberts looks through 45 years of Horizon archive to see how science came to understand sex, strived to solve our problems with it and even helped us to do it better. Can science save the day when sex goes wrong?
Artist Lachlan Goudie presents a highly personal documentary, inspired by his father, in which he investigates why witches have cast such a powerful spell over generations of artists.
From early woodcuts of shrieking hags to Victorian depictions of the seductive sorceress, our familiar stereotypes of the witch have been conjured up from artists' imaginations and in The Art of Witchcraft, Lachlan marvels at the enduring power of their imagery, reveals the role that some artists played in fuelling the hysteria of the witch trials and argues that the witch in art offers a vivid commentary on changing attitudes to sex, superstition and the supernatural.
THURSDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2013
THU 19:00 World News Today (b039vgbp)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b03b45h2)
Paul Burnett presents the weekly pop chart show featuring the Buzzcocks, Leo Sayer, Stephen Bishop, the Three Degrees, Abba, David Essex, 10cc and a Legs & Co dance sequence.
THU 20:00 Nelson's Caribbean Hell-hole: An Eighteenth Century Navy Graveyard Uncovered (b01s6gjx)
Human bones found on an idyllic beach in Antigua trigger an investigation by naval historian Sam Willis into one of the darkest chapters of Britain's imperial past. As archaeologists excavate a mass grave of British sailors, Willis explores Antigua's ruins and discovers how the sugar islands of the Caribbean were a kind of hell in the age of Nelson.
Sun, sea, war, tropical diseases and poisoned rum.
THU 21:00 Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies (b03b45h4)
The Big Score
In a series celebrating the art of the cinema soundtrack, Neil Brand explores the work of the great movie composers and demonstrates their techniques. Neil begins by looking at how the classic orchestral film score emerged and why it's still going strong today.
Neil traces how in the 1930s, European-born composers such as Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold brought their Viennese training to play in stirring, romantic scores for Hollywood masterpieces like King Kong and The Adventures of Robin Hood. But it took a home-grown American talent, Bernard Herrmann, to bring a darker, more modern sound to some of cinema's finest films, with his scores for Citizen Kane, Psycho and Taxi Driver.
Among those Neil meets are leading film-makers and composers who discuss their work, including Martin Scorsese and Hans Zimmer, composer of blockbusters like Gladiator and Inception.
THU 22:00 The Ipcress File (b0074sv0)
Spy thriller in which intelligence agent Harry Palmer is plunged into the shabby and treacherous world of counter-espionage as he uncovers a bizarre brain drain among scientists. Based on the novel by Len Deighton.
THU 23:45 Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth (b039vj0v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
THU 00:45 Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields (b007tqcr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Tuesday]
THU 01:45 Top of the Pops (b03b45h2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 02:25 Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies (b03b45h4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2013
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b039vgbv)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (b03b3hfs)
2013
Proms on Four: The Film Music Prom
Neil Brand presents a special night of music from the movies, with war and science-fiction looming large. Keith Lockhart conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in Walton's largely-rejected original score for Battle of Britain, Bond composer David Arnold's Independence Day end titles, and Richard Strauss and Ligeti as used by Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Also, possibly the most famous film music ever - John Williams's Star Wars, a world premiere of Giacchino's music for Star Trek: Into Darkness and much more.
FRI 21:30 The Joy of Easy Listening (b011g614)
In-depth documentary investigation into the story of a popular music genre that is often said to be made to be heard but not listened to. The film looks at easy listening's architects and practitioners, its dangers and delights, and the mark it has left on modern life.
From its emergence in the 50s to its heyday in the 60s, through its survival in the 70s and 80s and its revival in the 90s and beyond, the film traces the hidden history of a music that has reflected society every bit as much as pop and rock - just in a more relaxed way.
Invented at the dawn of rock 'n' roll, easy listening has shadowed pop music and the emerging teenage market since the mid-50s. It is a genre that equally soundtracks our modern age, but perhaps for a rather more 'mature' generation and therefore with its own distinct purpose and aesthetic.
Contributors include Richard Carpenter, Herb Alpert, Richard Clayderman, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jimmy Webb, Mike Flowers, James Last and others.
FRI 23:00 The Andy Williams Show (b00n5bt9)
Duets
Compilation of the best duets selected from crooner Andy Williams's private archive of his weekly 1960s variety show on NBC. The show attracted the cream of the crop from the world of showbiz, from Bing Crosby and Ray Charles to Johnny Mathis and Ella Fitzgerald, who were more than happy to share the microphone with the king of easy listening.
Including Over the Rainbow with Judy Garland, and Andy at the piano with Ray Charles for What'd I Say.
FRI 00:00 The Andy Williams Show (b00n806r)
Solo
A collection of the original American Idol's greatest hits and special performances from his weekly variety show, broadcast in the United States on NBC between 1962 and 1971. Including classic tracks Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses and Music To Watch Girls By.
FRI 00:30 Carole King and James Taylor: Live at the Troubadour (b00sftvw)
Carole King and James Taylor reunited at the intimate Hollywood venue in concert in 2007 to play their era-defining hits, nearly four decades after they first performed at the Troubadour in November 1970, a year before their Tapestry and Sweet Baby James' albums stormed the American charts. King and Taylor are backed by the Section, the same band that propelled those albums into homes around the world.
James Taylor had released his first album on the Beatles' Apple label, Carole King was struggling to forge a new solo career after being one half of Goffin-King, one of the great Brill Building songwriting partnerships of the early 60s. Their musical friendship blossomed with Taylor's support for King and his cover of her song You've Got a Friend. The Troubadour became the centre of a new singer-songwriter culture that also featured the likes of Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and many more.
FRI 01:30 The Joy of Easy Listening (b011g614)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:30 today]
FRI 03:00 The Andy Williams Show (b00n5bt9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
10 Things You Didn't Know About...
20:00 SAT (b008s99l)
10 Things You Didn't Know About...
01:20 SAT (b008s99l)
10 Things You Didn't Know About...
22:00 MON (b008s99l)
10 Things You Didn't Know About...
01:30 MON (b008s99l)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
20:00 TUE (b007hzf0)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
01:45 TUE (b007hzf0)
Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth
21:00 TUE (b039vj0v)
Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth
02:45 TUE (b039vj0v)
Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth
23:45 THU (b039vj0v)
BBC Proms
19:30 FRI (b03b3hfs)
Britain on Film
20:30 TUE (b036f8nw)
Britain on Film
01:15 TUE (b036f8nw)
Carole King and James Taylor: Live at the Troubadour
00:30 FRI (b00sftvw)
Ford's Dagenham Dream
20:00 SUN (b00j0gnm)
Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls
20:00 WED (b01jcc8b)
Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls
01:00 WED (b01jcc8b)
Jeff Lynne Acoustic: Live from Bungalow Palace
00:50 SAT (b01n709z)
Lost Kingdoms of South America
21:00 MON (b01q6pzt)
Lost Kingdoms of South America
02:30 MON (b01q6pzt)
Lost Kingdoms of South America
22:30 WED (b01q6pzt)
Mr Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne and ELO
23:00 SAT (b01n3yf4)
Mud, Sweat and Tractors: The Story of Agriculture
19:00 SAT (b00jwcb1)
Mud, Sweat and Tractors: The Story of Agriculture
02:50 SAT (b00jwcb1)
Mud, Sweat and Tractors: The Story of Agriculture
19:00 SUN (b00jzjs4)
Mud, Sweat and Tractors: The Story of Agriculture
03:00 SUN (b00jzjs4)
Nature's Microworlds
19:30 MON (b01m42rx)
Nature's Microworlds
01:00 MON (b01m42rx)
Nature's Microworlds
19:30 TUE (b01q7fs8)
Nature's Microworlds
02:15 TUE (b01q7fs8)
Nature's Microworlds
19:30 WED (b01qchb0)
Nature's Microworlds
00:30 WED (b01qchb0)
Nelson's Caribbean Hell-hole: An Eighteenth Century Navy Graveyard Uncovered
20:00 THU (b01s6gjx)
Pavlopetri - The City Beneath the Waves
20:00 MON (b015yh6f)
Pavlopetri - The City Beneath the Waves
00:00 MON (b015yh6f)
Pavlopetri - The City Beneath the Waves
23:30 WED (b015yh6f)
Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields
22:00 TUE (b007tqcr)
Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields
00:45 THU (b007tqcr)
Queens of Disco
02:00 SUN (b0074thh)
Requiem for Detroit?
21:00 SUN (b00rkm3y)
Requiem for Detroit?
00:00 TUE (b00rkm3y)
Rock Family Trees
00:00 SAT (b0074smh)
Secret Knowledge
22:00 WED (b039hlp0)
Secret Knowledge
02:00 WED (b039hlp0)
Sex: A Horizon Guide
21:00 WED (b039vj9x)
Sex: A Horizon Guide
02:30 WED (b039vj9x)
Silent Souls
22:15 SUN (b016lr9y)
Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies
21:00 THU (b03b45h4)
Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies
02:25 THU (b03b45h4)
Stories from the Dark Earth: Meet the Ancestors Revisited
23:00 TUE (b01skwfd)
TOTP2
00:30 SUN (b007v15w)
The Andy Williams Show
23:00 FRI (b00n5bt9)
The Andy Williams Show
00:00 FRI (b00n806r)
The Andy Williams Show
03:00 FRI (b00n5bt9)
The Ipcress File
22:00 THU (b0074sv0)
The Joy of Disco
23:30 SUN (b01cqt72)
The Joy of Easy Listening
21:30 FRI (b011g614)
The Joy of Easy Listening
01:30 FRI (b011g614)
The Sky at Night
02:20 SAT (b08kbhq4)
The Young Montalbano
21:00 SAT (b03b3brl)
Top of the Pops
19:30 THU (b03b45h2)
Top of the Pops
01:45 THU (b03b45h2)
Tribe
23:00 MON (b007yyky)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b039vg8t)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b039vgbc)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b039vgbj)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b039vgbp)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b039vgbv)