SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER 2015

SAT 00:00 Simon Bovey - Cold Blood (b007jv49)
The Antarctican
The struggle at the South Pole continues.
Having witnessed the destruction of the Ellsworth Research Centre and the death of several of their colleagues, the survivors prepare to flee...
Conclusion of Simon Bovey's 5-part sci-fi thriller set in 2015 stars Tim McMullan as Bowers, Tom Mannion as Commander Taft, Stuart McLoughlin as Max Bellingfield, Ndidi Del Fatti as Anaya and Helen Longworth as Deborah.
Director: Marc Beeby
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2005.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b00763ln)
Series 2
The Lark Ascending
Tasmin Little, Iona Brown and Allan Stephenson reflect on the impact of Ralph Vaughan Williams's most English of works.
Series about music that makes the hairs stand up on the back of our necks.
Producer: Rosie Boulton
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2001.
SAT 01:00 Kingsley Amis - Affairs of Death (b06jtqpg)
Pope Leo's had something on his conscience for 900 years - the confessions of a Scottish King: King Macbeth.
Stars Peter Jeffrey as Pope Leo IX, Ken Stott as Macbeth, Olivier Pierre as Hildebrand and Kim Wall as Desiderius.
Written by Kingsley Amis and dramatised by John Scotney.
Producer: Jane Morgan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1987.
SAT 01:30 Skip (b00sgbl8)
The secret life of the rubbish skip. They are such a familiar sight on our streets that most of us take the common-or-garden skip for granted.
But to some people they are the focal point of their lives, whether for survival, inspiration for art, or the subject of a university Garbology degree. And what is our fascination with not only keeping an eye on what other people put in them, but also maybe having a rummage, or best of all, spiriting away a discarded piece of treasure?
Writer and gardening expert Alys Fowler, herself no stranger to "liberating" skipped curios for her garden and home, builds a picture of our behaviour in and around these metal Aladdin's caves and unearths amusing and amazing tales to add to skip folklore of recent years.
Forget the old floorboards and broken sofas, afficionados see skips as a source of everything from priceless antiques to free food. And if your community needs affordable extra amenities such as a swimming pool or skateboard park, there's an artist who has created these very things - from old skips.
As Alys looks in a fresh way at skips throughout the land, what secrets and treasures are they about to reveal?
Producer: Neil Cargill
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:00 Kingsley Amis - Lucky Jim (b00sp3dx)
Episode 5
Lecturer Jim Dixon is preoccupied about losing his job whilst preparation for the summer ball begins. Read by Martin Jarvis.
SAT 02:15 Noise: A Human History (b01rdzx0)
The Rise of the Shamans
Around the world charismatic individuals claim the ability to change the weather, heal illness and help crops grow. Professor David Hendy explains how sound - and its manipulation - is central to the shaman's power.
David introduces the eerie rituals of Siberian reindeer herders as they summon spirits, before coming closer to home to hear a mysterious singing angel high in the facade of Wells Cathedral.
30-part series made in collaboration with the British Library Sound Archive.
Producer: Matt Thompson.
A Rockethouse production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2013.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01dvzpc)
Grazia Deledda - Reeds in the Wind
Episode 5
Grazia Deledda's powerful story of love, poverty, honour and retribution set in the rugged landscape of 1900's Sardinia. Dramatised by Linda Marshall Griffiths from a translation by Martha King.
Giacinto's behaviour is causing trouble for the Pintor sisters. Noemi disapproves of his relationship with Grixenda and there are rumours that Giacinto is gambling. Will Efix's attempts to put things right work?
EFIX.....John Lynch
NOEMI.....Charlotte Emmerson
ESTER.....Deborah McAndrew
RUTH/KALLINA.....Kathryn Hunt
GIACINTO.....Matthew McNulty
PREDU.....Conrad Nelson
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b00wgznx)
Bettany Hughes - The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life
Episode 5
Written by Bettany Hughes.
Socrates lived in a city that nurtured the key ingredients of contemporary civilisation - democracy, liberty, science, drama, rational thought- yet, as he wrote nothing in his lifetime, he himself is an enigmatic figure. "The Hemlock Cup" tells his story, setting him in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean that was his home, and dealing with him as he himself dealt with the world.
The Spartans break down Athenian walls and Socrates is barred from associating with the city's youth. His card is marked.
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Reader: Bettany Hughes
Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 RD Blackmore - Lorna Doone (b00sp1f1)
Episode 3
When Lorna is taken to London, John fears he’s lost her forever. Meanwhile Carver Doone has murderous plans....
Starring Alison Pettit and David Schofield.
Conclusion of RD Blackmore’s popular and enduring romance set on 17th century Exmoor.
John Ridd …. David Schofield
Lorna Doone …. Alison Pettit
Mother …. Janet Dale
Carver Doone …. Kim Durham
Jeremy Stickles …. Graham Padden
Tom Faggus …. Cornelius Garrett
Lizzie Ridd …. Sunny Ormonde
Annie Ridd …. Katherine Mount
Gwenny …. Susan Jeffrey
Charlie Doon …. David Perks
Counsellor Doone …. Graham Colclough
King James …. Jonathan Wyatt
Dramatised by Barry Letts.
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Brian Lighthill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in in September 1997.
SAT 04:00 The 3rd Degree (b00z58bg)
Series 1
Stirling
Coming this week from the University of Stirling, host Steve Punt puts questions to students and lecturers of Psychology, Marketing, and English Studies. So if you've got a notion as to who lived at 7 Eccles Street, what is James Bond's family motto, or why on earth a marketer might use a 'semantic cognitive differential tangent' then listen in...
"The 3rd Degree" is a funny, lively and dynamic new quiz show aimed at cultivating the next generation of Radio 4 listeners whilst delighting the current ones. It's recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz. Being a Radio 4 programme, it of course meets the most stringent standards of academic rigour - but with lots of facts and jokes thrown in for good measure.
Together with host Steve Punt, the show tours the (sometimes posh, sometimes murky, but always welcoming!) Union buildings, cafés and lecture halls of six universities across the UK.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow & Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and Lady Gaga... In addition, the Head-to-Head rounds, in which students take on their Professors in their own subjects, were particularly lively, and offered plenty of scope for mild embarrassment on both sides...
The resulting show is funny, fresh, and not a little bit surprising, with a truly varied range of scores, friendly rivalry, and moments where students wished they had more than just glanced at that reading list...
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 04:30 Albert and Me (b007jsbh)
Series 1
Spanner in the Works
Single dad Bryan's son Albert is starting nursery - what could possibly go wrong?
Stars Richard Beckinsale as Bryan Archer, Pat Coombs as Mum/Albert and John Comer as Dad. With John Junkin as Harry.
Written by Jim Eldridge.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1977.
SAT 05:00 The Change (b0076p6t)
Series 3
Episode 4
With George's big birthday looming, he gets two surprises - one from his wife and the other from his mother.
Carol …. Lynda Bellingham
George …. Philip Jackson
Violet ...... Marcia Warren
Maureen …. Maureen Beattie
Ken …. James Vaugnan
Sonia …. Emma Kennedy
Jerry …. Barnaby Kay
Dave …. Mark Powley
Nurse ...... Rosie Armstrong
Series 3 of the sitcom about a married couple's attempts to smooth over their singularly troubled midlife funk - Carol is hormonal and 15-stone George is a transvestite. Onlookers can't quite agree on the nature of their dynamic.
Written by Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie.
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2004.
SAT 05:30 Shedtown (b01pw3lq)
Series 2
'Til Press Do Us Part
Who hasn't thought about running away from it all at some time or other?
Throwing caution to the wind, wrenching oneself out of a long established orbit to head for the deep space of the unknown?
In series two of Shedtown, our wooden 'man-cave', icon of escape and isolation - the shed - continues to be a symbol of possibility and change.
Episode 2:
As William weds his blushing, boiler-suited, berk of a bride, old Johnny Edwards takes a turn for the worse.
Barry............................Tony Pitts
Jimmy..........................Stephen Mangan
Eleanor.........................Ronni Ancona
Johnny..........................Alan Leith
Colin.............................Johnny Vegas
Deborah........................Emma Fryer
William.........................Adrian Manfredi
Diane...........................Rosina Carbone
Dave............................Shaun Dooley
Father Michael.............James Quinn
Wes............................Warren Brown
Nell.............................Eleanor Samson
Narrator.......................Maxine Peake
Music..........................Paul Heaton and Jonny Lexus
Written and Directed by Tony Pitts
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 Miss Marple (b007jvht)
The Body in the Library
Dolly Bantry, mistress of Gossington Hall, is enjoying a pleasant doze when suddenly her dreams take a strange turn.
The housemaid Mary is telling her there's a body in the library. As she wakes up, it turns out to be true. But who is the strange young blonde woman sprawled on the library floor?
Enter St Mary Mead's famous resident sleuth...
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars June Whitfield as Miss Marple.
Miss Jane Marple ..…. June Whitfield
Colonel Melchett ..…. Richard Todd
Dolly Bantry ..…. Pauline Jameson
Colonel Bantry ..…. Jack Watling
Sir Henry Clithering ..…. Graham Crowden
Conway Jefferson ..…. John Hartley
Inspector Slack ..…. John Baddeley
Adelaide Jefferson ..…. Priyanga Elan
Mark Gaskell ..…. Harry Myers
George Bartlett ..…. Ben Crowe
Josie Turner ..…. Elizabeth Conboy
Basil Blake ..…. Giles Fagan
Dinah Lee ..…. Tilly Gaunt
Florence Small ..…. Eleanor Hodson
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1999.
SAT 07:30 Lucinda Lambton's Elevations and Revelations (b0075y5m)
Lucinda's Rectory
The architectural historian visits a favourite 19th-century rectory, her own house. With Dan Cruickshank. From September 2000.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b01nk1d0)
Time Travel: The Politics of Time
As we prepare to put the clocks back tonight, Sean Street travels back in time through archive recordings to explore the ways in which we have tried to control time itself - from its standardisation in the 19th century, brought about by the railways, to modern day political decisions about time-zones and when Summer Time should start and end.
Most of us remember we get an extra hour in bed tonight - but when we get up for work on Monday morning will it be lighter or darker? Why do we bother to change the clocks? Should we change our time-zone and join Central European Time and consign GMT to the past? And what exactly is time? Can it be controlled or does it control us as it marches on relentlessly making us older day by day? All these ideas have been debated throughout the years, but are we any nearer being able to define or explain what time is?
With help from curators at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Sean Street's journey into past recordings takes him backwards and forward across the many time-zones of Russia, into China's single time-zone, to Venezuela's deliberately political adoption of a half-hour time-zone and to Samoa, who recently travelled forward in time by losing a whole day.
However, if you want to experience Time Travel yourself, listen to the repeat of this programme tonight on BBC Radio 4 Extra which starts and ends at 1am in the hour the clocks go back!
Producer: Andy Cartwright
A Soundscape production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 09:00 Comedy Greats (b007jtk4)
The 1960s
Episode 2
Decade by decade, Barry Cryer showcases some of the funniest and finest shows ever broadcast by the BBC.
Six more favourites plucked from the groovy 1960s schedules of the BBC Light Programme:
* Whack-O!
From 15/03/1962
Crooked headmaster Professor Jimmy Edwards holds auditions for Chiselbury School's charity concert in aid of a retiring teacher. With Vera Lynn. From March 1962.
* The Men From the Ministry
Series 2 (2/13) Something about a Soldier
The bumbling civil servants find a 20-year-old demob letter. Stars Richard Murdoch, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Norma Ronald and Warren Mitchell. From August 1965.
* The Ken Dodd Show
From 19/07/1964
The King of Knotty Ash offers tips for nude photography and the hunt for a Scottish lake-bound monster. With Judith Chalmers, John Laurie and Patricia Hayes. From July 1964.
* Steptoe & Son
Series 1 (11/13) The Lead Man Cometh
The rag and bone men get an irresistible offer. Adapted from TV with Wilfrid Brambell, Harry H Corbett and Leonard Rossiter. From September 1966.
* The Embassy Lark
Series 1 (6/13) A Trip to London
The staff of the British Embassy panic over the expiry of their lease in Tratvia. Stars Derek Francis, Frank Thornton and Francis de Wolff. From April 1966
* Round the Horne
Series 4 (12/16)
Kenneth Horne makes Fleet Street headlines, and calls round to Julian and Sandy's 'Bona Private Detective Agency'. With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden. From May 1968.
Produced and scripted by Peter Reed
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in May 2003.
SAT 12:00 To the Manor Born (b007jpzw)
The Rhythms of the Earth
Cash-strapped Lady of the Manor, Audrey fforbes-Hamilton has been forced to sell her beloved Grantleigh Estate when her husband died.
With her butler Brabinger in tow, they've decamped to the tiny Old Lodge cottage.
From this vantage point, Audrey is set to keep a close and disapproving eye on the estate's new owner, the nouveau-riche Richard DeVere, a wholesale foods magnate of Czech descendent.
She must educate the new squire into the ways of the Lord of the Manor...
Starring Penelope Keith and Keith Barron.
Adapted for radio by Peter Spence from his BBC TV script.
Audrey fforbes-Hamilton …. Penelope Keith
Richard DeVere …. Keith Barron
Marjory Frobisher …. Angela Thorne
Brabinger …. Nicholas McArdle
Mrs Polouvicka …. Margery Withers
Ned …. Frank Middlemass
First piloted for BBC radio, but whisked off to BBC TV before it ever appeared, before finally arriving home in 1997.
Producer: Jane Berthoud
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1997.
SAT 12:30 Huddwinks (b00b1p9r)
Series 2
The Curse of the Smollett's Curse!
Melissa and Compton win a holiday, but spurn Herne Bay for an adventure in ancient Egypt. Stars Roy Hudd. From June 1988.
SAT 13:00 Virginia Baily - Early One Morning Omnibus (b06j2gqb)
Episode 2
Italy 1943. Chiara and Cecilia are living with their grandmother in a remote farmhouse, where they shelter passing deserters and Daniele, the small Jewish boy Chiara saved from the Nazis.
30 years later, Chiara has lost touch with her troubled adoptive son, but is preparing to host Welsh teenager, Maria, who claims to be Daniele's daughter.
Greta Scacchi, Juliet Aubrey and Sophie Melville star in Miranda Emmerson's dramatisation of Virginia Baily's powerful novel, which moves between Nazi-occupied Italy and Rome, 1973.
Omnibus of the last five of ten parts.
Narrator.....Greta Scacchi
Chiara.....Juliet Aubrey
Maria.....Sophie Melville
Cecilia.....Alex Tregear
Daniele.....Adam Thomas Wright
Gennaro/ Adult Daniele.....Cesare Taurasi
Simone/ Nonna.....Jessica Turner
Antonio.....David Hounslow
Gabriele.....David Acton
Tommaso/ Nazi officer/ Brian.....Felix Auer
Edna.....Amelia Lowdell
Barry/ Goffredo.....Chris Pavlo
Gianni.....Sam Dale
Director: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2015.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b06knlbp)
John Thomson
The actor chooses the theme from the TV series 'Rupert the Bear' and 'Life Is Just A Game' by bass virtuoso Stanley Clarke.
SAT 14:15 Peter Tinniswood (b007v0zr)
The Last Obit
Billie Whitelaw stars as an obituarist living in her own very particular world, in a monologue written especially for her by Peter Tinnswood.
Having spent years writing obituaries for the Morning Telegraph, Millicent Doris Clayton's mind wanders as she prepares her final piece before taking retirement. Epitaphs and judgments on the famous, the notorious and the undeserving have passed through her office. She is a middle-aged spinster. So who will prepare Millicent's own obituary? And what will it say?
Directed by Enyd Williams. First heard on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b01nk1d0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Miss Marple (b007jvht)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Lucinda Lambton's Elevations and Revelations (b0075y5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Doctor Who (b06knp8c)
Doing Time
The Doctor does time on the prison planet Folly. Can he endure a year in solitary?
Peter Davison is the Fifth Doctor with his companion Nyssa played by Sarah Sutton.
This episode is one of four generated by Big Finish Productions' 2010 'Opportunity for New Writers' contest, which attracted around 1200 entries,
Peter Davison played the Fifth Doctor on BBC TV from 1981 to 1984.
Sarah Sutton played Nyssa between 1981 and 1983. She was first seen on 'The Keeper of Traken' - Traken being Nyssa's home planet, when she starred with the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)
Written by Rick Briggs.
Original music composed by Richard Fox and Lauren Yason.
Directed by Ken Bentley
Producer: David Richardson
A Big Finish production.
SAT 18:30 The Routemasters by Andrew McGibbon (b007jnry)
3. On the Buses
Bernie is kidnapped by Hildegard and then escapes to the 24th century. Raymond discovers his true identity...
Starring Amanda Donohoe as Hilderghast, Andrew McGibbon as Raymond, Karl Minns as the Conductor, Owen Evans as Bernie, Nick Romero as the Driver, Andy Mulligan as Herr Grubberman, Dan Freedman as Kunitrol, Alex Lowe as the interpolator and Sophie Aldred as Spikea.
Written by Andrew McGibbon. Additional material by Rob Colley and Kevin Greening.
Theme by Ozzy Temple and other music by Nick Romero.
Producer: Julian Mayers
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
SAT 19:00 Comedy Greats (b007jtk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better (b00dhg7k)
Series 2
Humility
The comedian ponders the virtue of living more modestly. With poetry and songs by Tim Key and Tom Basden. From September 2008.
SAT 22:30 Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive (b00d10m3)
Series 4
Episode 2
A master chef and his cooks whip up a frenzy of topical comedy. With Dave Gorman, Simon Evans and Will Smith. From August 2008.
SAT 23:00 Saturday Night Fry (b007jt12)
Episode 6
Stephen Fry serves up a final portion of witty banter and sketches.
With Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law.
Written by Stephen Fry with additional material by Ian Brown and James Hendrie.
Producer: Dan Patterson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1988.
SAT 23:30 The Problem With Adam Bloom (b018zvmk)
Series 3
Reading
Adam Bloom investigates his fear of reading aloud. Just what is the point of books?
After very negative but funny experiences at school, the comedian managed to avoid reading a book for much of his adult life. But he does find one novel that inspires him to start reading again.
Written by and starring Adam Bloom.
With Rob Rouse, Hattie Hayridge and Stefano Polini.
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2005.