SATURDAY 30 JANUARY 2016

SAT 00:00 The Laxian Key (b007k30w)
Episode 4
Evans the Welsh vigilante aims to senselessly bomb the planetary decontaminationists for melting Earth.
Stephen Hawking once warned us that our species could soon be wiped out by plagues, asteroids and our tendency to destroy ourselves. The solution, he suggested, was for us to colonise other planets. But Chris Larner and David Gilbert's sci-fi comedy sees the truth as a little more complicated.
The Laxian Key shows how, as soon as Man steps onto another planet, he promptly fouls it up just as he did earth. The heroes of this wonderfully wacky tale are two interplanetary decontaminationists.
CAST:
Arnold …. Chris Larner
Gregor …. Mark Bonner
Evan …. Trevor Cooper
Office …. Alex Lowe
Ferngraum …. Sam Dale
Jo …. Christine Kavanagh
Dolores …. Virge Gilchrist
Virtual Newsreader …. Bethan Walker
with Paul Biggin, Emma Noakes and Joseph Kloska
Music by Mark Stevens and Chris Larner
Producer: Peter Kavanagh
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in February 2007.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b0076m94)
Series 4
Stand By Me
Singer-songwriter Ben E King talks about writing the classic song in his bedroom on a cheap guitar,
It was recorded by Marc Bolan and John Lennon, and was featured in a film.
Those reflecting on its lasting emotional power are:
Raynold Gideon
Bruce Evans
Jason Toynbee
Steve Brosnihan
Alan Clayson
Reader: Kerry Shale
Series about music that makes the hairs stand up on the back of our necks.
Producer: Lucy Lunt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.
SAT 01:00 R Austin Freeman - Thorndyke, Forensic Investigator (b01r7bhp)
Series 2
Rex v Burnaby
At first glance it looked like a simple bullion robbery, but Thorndyke's investigations reveal that nothing is as it first appeared. Read by William Gaminara.
John Thorndyke, barrister and doctor of medicine, possesses an armoury of skills that equip him as the first scientifically plausible "forensic" detective. R. Austin Freeman, his creator, was himself a medic with an extensive knowledge of forensic medicine, and the solutions to the puzzles are completely plausible. In fact the scientific detail and authenticity of Thorndyke's investigations go much further than anything in the Holmes stories, though Freeman was happy to acknowledge his debt to Arthur Conan Doyle:
"A fellow doctor, Conan Doyle, had made a brilliant and well-deserved success by the creation of the immortal Sherlock Holmes. Considering that achievement, I asked myself whether it might not be possible to devise a detective story of a slightly different kind; one based on the science of Medical Jurisprudence, in which, by the sacrifice of a certain amount of dramatic effect, one could keep entirely within the facts of real life, with nothing fictitious excepting the persons and the events. I came to the conclusion that it was, and began to turn the idea over in my mind."
Thorndyke's work-life stretches over four decades from the early 1900s until the Second World War, a period during which Freeman wrote more than 20 novels and several collections of short stories, from which the six in this series are selected.
The reader William Gaminara is best known as pathologist Leo Dalton in the BBC's long-running series 'Silent Witness'.
Producer: John Taylor
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Fiction Factory and first broadcast in 2013.
SAT 01:30 Bandits of the Blitz (b00tmtj8)
With Britain at war and London under siege from the Luftwaffe, everyone's pulling together. Or are they? Whilst bombs rained down and long-suffering Brits helped each other, some people were simply helping themselves - stealing, looting, and making money on the black market.
The Second World War created vast opportunities for crime. Warehouses were robbed, army stores rifled and forgers kept busy providing false identity documents, ration books and clothing coupons. Looters, stealing anything of value, cleaned out blitzed houses.
The blackout and bombing provided perfect cover for safe cracking and Post Office raids. Professional criminals thrived. People like Billy Hill, who despite prison terms used his wartime muscle to become, in his words, "Boss of Britain's Underworld".
Complex emergency rules left normally-law-abiding citizens facing the courts. Shopkeepers who fell foul of the tangle of red tape faced heavy fines.
Even as the war ended, rationing continued, and the black market flourished. Presenter Duncan Campbell unearths once-secret papers that put Billy Hill at the centre of London's organized crime in the 1950s.
Using archive accounts and talking to people who were there, Campbell tells the tale of crime on the home front. With interviews from Billy Hill's son, Justin Hill, former jewel thief Peter Scott, veteran ex police officers, and historians and academics.
Presenter Duncan Campbell is a former crime correspondent for the Guardian.
Producer: Liz Carney
A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2010.
SAT 02:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03q9ng3)
Episode 15
Richard has been shot and, as events escalate, not everyone will get out alive. Donna Tartt thriller concluded by William Hope. From April 1995.
SAT 02:15 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05vhh4d)
Basavana: A Voice in the Air
A portrait of Basavana, the radical poet and religious guru from the 12th century, whose words have inspired many other Indian poets, writers and dramatists. Professor Sunil Khilnani tells the story of a man whose deceptively simple verses protest against the immorality of the caste system and proclaim the intrinsic value of people who happen to be born poor. "His verses ... are what best explain him. They have a directness that reveals to us a free thinker, social reformer and religious evangelist who sometimes struggled to resist worldly temptations," says Professor Khilnani. Basavana was an inspiration to his followers yet his life came to a bitter end. His teachings are kept alive by a substantial religious community called the Lingayats who are concentrated in Northern Karnataka.
Produced by Mark Savage
Researcher: Manu Pillai
Readings by Sagar Arya
Listeners can catch up with the series and see the list of remarkable Indians featured on the Radio 4 website.
SAT 02:30 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767g1)
Episode 5
Can Andrea and married Philip manage to keep their affair secret?
Stan Barstow’s gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960s, dramatised by his partner Diana Griffiths.
Agnes.........Naomi Radcliffe
Andrea...............Deborah Mcandrew
Philip..................Robert Glenister
Landlord.............Geoff Hinsliff
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SAT 02:45 Rukhsana Ahmad - Freedom's Daughter (b007jybp)
Episode 5
Nehru is released from jail, while Indira Gandhi's political views are developing. Read by Nina Wadia. and Paul Bhattacharjee.
SAT 03:00 Charles Dickens (b01b3fqd)
Little Dorrit
Episode 5
After her father's death Little Dorrit is still in Italy when the newly-married Fanny has a strange visit from Mr Merdle.
Arthur is struck by disaster and Mrs Clennam is forced to reveal the family secret at last.
Conclusion of Charles Dickens's masterpiece of social satire and imprisonment.
Starring Sir Ian McKellen as Charles Dickens.
Recorded on location in London.
Charles Dickens ...... Ian McKellen
Arthur Clennam ...... Julian Wadham
Mrs Clennam ...... Margaret Tyzack
Little Dorrit ...... Jasmine Hyde
Fanny Dorrit ...... Indira Varma
John Chivery ...... Ben Crowe
Flintwinch ...... Ioan Meredith
Mr Pancks ...... Philip Joseph
Mr Doyce ...... Jonathan Keeble
Mr Merdle ...... Kenneth Cranham
Chivery ...... Gordon Reid
Dramatised by Doug Lucie.
Music by Mia Soteriou
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2001.
SAT 04:00 The 3rd Degree (b01fhrjh)
Series 2
Queen Mary, University of London
Coming this week from Queen Mary, University of London, "The 3rd Degree" is a funny, lively and dynamic 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 (b0480vfp)
Series 2
Casual Labour
Single dad Bryan is sacked and advertises for work in a local shop window.
Stars Robert Lindsay and Pat Coombs.
Single parent Bryan Archer struggles to find work while raising his baby son, Albert.
Bryan Archer ...... Robert Lindsay
Mum/Albert ...... Pat Coombs
Mrs Willis ...... Diana King
Fred ...... Harry Fowler
Vikkie ...... Sherrie Hewson
Mr Graham ...... Douglas Blackwell
Mrs Weston ...... Frances Jeater
Amateur Photographer ...... John Tordoff.
Incidental music by Max Harris.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1983.
SAT 05:00 1834 (b011vffj)
London
Trapped in 19th-century Macclesfield, bored 21st-century Jason heads to London, but is waylaid by a mint-popping highwayman...
In Jim Poyser's riotous comedy of transportation and delight, Jason is now Tarquin, third son of Lord Belport with faithful valet, Ned.
Jason Slater ...... Michael Begley
Ned ...... Joe Caffrey
Hoskins ...... Kenneth Alan Taylor
Lord Belport ...... Mark Chatterton
Millicent ...... Julia Rounthwaite
Henry ...... James Nickerson
Highwayman ...... Toby Hadoke
Duke of Cranmere ...... John Craig
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2003.
SAT 05:30 So Wrong It's Right (b01j5nws)
Series 3
Episode 3
Charlie Brooker hosts the comedy panel show about the wrong side of life. Guests Father Ted and IT Crowd writer Graham Linehan, comedian Matthew Crosby and Sony-award winning podcaster Helen Zaltzman compete to suggest the best in bad ideas.
So Wrong It's Right sees Charlie ask three guests a number of questions testing their powers of creativity and revealing the best embarrassing stories from their lives. This week, the panel's worst experiences with a stranger and the best ideas for the worst new gadget are just two of the challenges faced by the panel.
Can anyone top Helen's nomination for most annoying modern irritant, 'constructed reality TV'? And will anyone beat Graham Linehan's suggestion for a terrible new gadget, the 'exciting ladder'?
The host of So Wrong It's Right, Charlie Brooker, also presents BBC4s acclaimed Newswipe and Screenwipe series, and is an award winning columnist for The Guardian. He also won Best Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards 2009.
Produced by Aled Evans
A Zeppotron Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 Colin Davis - Thin Boy (b06z61l1)
"Who is the sane one," asked the philosopher Bertrand Russell, "the man who cracks up because of Hiroshima, or the rest of us who remain unaffected by it?"
On 10 December, 1957, Claude "Buck" Eatherly, ex-509th Squadron, USAF, stood trial for robbing post offices. He pleaded not guilty by virtue of insanity....
Colin Davis's biographical play stars Peter Whitman as Claude Eatherly, Peter Marinker as the Writer, Bob Sherman as Colonel Tibbetts, Serretta Wilons as Eatherly's Woman, Bill Wallis as Dr McElroy and Nigel Anthony as Dr Constantine.
Producer: Andy Jordan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
SAT 07:30 Tony Hawks's Guide to the Guides (b0075vhy)
Tea Shops
Comedian and writer Tony Hawks tests the guide books that claim to help us navigate our way around our holidays.
Kicking off this 6-part series, Tony goes in search of that very British creation, the tea-room.
Should it be milk or tea in first to make the very best cuppa? Armed with his guide, Tony's tea tour takes in the delights of Dorset. But what is it that writers think of in order establish real tea-room credibility for guide-readers, including the needs of visitors from abroad?
Producer: Lucy Willmore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b017l87m)
Rebuilding Britain for the Baby Boomers
Maxwell Hutchinson analyses the great push to re-build post war Britain.
In the 1990's architect and broadcaster Maxwell Hutchinson began recording interviews with the men who re-built Britain after World War 2. These idealists - then in their eighties- told how they'd returned from war to a country ravaged by the Luftwaffe, determined to design a country fit for heroes . Many were graduates of the left-leaning Architectural Association and brought their radical ideas, influenced by le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, to building social housing for slum clearance families ; hospitals for the infant NHS; schools for the children of the Butler Education act; and bold new tower blocks that would transform the city skyline. Most of them worked for local authorities and saw their profession as a public service. These "duffle-coated pip-squeaks" as they were known, included Sir Phillip Powell ,Sir Andrew Derbyshire , Ivor Smith, Peter Smithson , the father of Brutalism; Lord Esher and Jim Cadbury Brown. Many have since died. Using these interviews, plus newsreel and contemporary archive , this programme captures that idealism and reflects the later disillusionment when modernism - and architects - fell out of fashion.
2011 was the fiftieth anniversary of Parkhill Flats, Sheffield. It was seen as the embodiment of the modernist movement - streets in the sky to replace the grim terraces bulldozed after the war to give families indoor lavatories, central heating and airy balconies. At first the families couldn't believe their luck - they loved their modern new homes. But as the building began to show cracks, and the community spirit failed to translate from slum-terrace to deck access, Parkhill Flats became a by-word for all that was rotten in the state of post war architecture. It wasn't long before residents starting chucking their rubbish over the balconies, and the flats became the new slums. Peter Smithson, once blamed the residents of his much criticised development, Robin Hood Gardens (a sister project to Parkhill) for letting the building go to rack and ruin; for "painting their doors purple" and not applying "the minor arts of occupation".
Parkhill Flats - the largest listed building in Europe - is undergoing extensive renovation by the trendy developers Urban Splash; so the story of this emblematic building, which Sheffielders love and loathe in equal measure, is still a talking point. Maxwell Hutchinson goes back to Parkhill to see the renovation, talk to former residents and find out if the post-war dream of the young architects who designed this colossal building can be revived.
SAT 09:00 Comedy Controller (b01r9rh7)
Colin Murray
'Radio is my companion'. Presenter, writer, producer Colin Murray is such an enthusiast that he plans his travel around certain radio shows or stocks up with podcasts for the car journey.
Colin's selection includes some of his comedy and radio heroes: Desert Island Discs with castaway Mel Brooks 01/07/1978; Alan Partridge in Knowing Me, Knowing You 05/01/1993; Mark Thomas The Manifesto 02/07/2009; grammar boffins in Many a Slip 05/05/1964; BBC Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle presenter Gerry Anderson and Stewart Lee in Chain Reaction 20/01/2005.
SAT 12:00 The Motion Show (b00768f5)
Series 3
Episode 1
Debates galore over the North/South divide, glorious failure – and blowing your own trumpet.
Graeme Garden chairs the quirky battle of words and wit.
With Steve Punt, Simon Fanshawe, Dan Gaster and Jenny Eclair.
Producer: Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000
SAT 12:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b016r51y)
Series 2
Dr Chaotica and the Rise of the Atomic Man-Bees
A BBC producer struggles to make a radio soap set in the unimaginably futuristic world of 2008.
Suspicious deaths provoke mixed reactions.
Series two of Christopher William Hill's sitcom set in 1962.
Nigel Lavery ...... Peter Bowles
Sylvia Hann ...... Cheryl Campbell
Godfrey Winnard ..... John Fortune
Sir Angus McNairn ...... Gary Waldhorn
Hugo Kellerman ...... Joseph Kloska
Douglas Bennings ...... Jon Glover
Keith Wood ...... Sam Pamphilon
Mrs Tinkler ...... Rachel Atkins
Graham Tinkler ...... Lloyd Thomas
Delivery Boy ...... Alex Lamipekun
Producer: Liz Webb
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2008.
SAT 13:00 November Dead List (b06z66tg)
Series 2 Omnibus
DCI Greave investigates a series of murders in rural Norfolk. Gritty psychological crime drama starring Lia Williams.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b06z67z6)
James Naughtie
Broadcaster James Naughtie chooses 'Mrs Jamieson's Favourite' played by Aly Bain and Schubert's Sonata for Arpeggione.
SAT 14:15 Robin Brooks - The Romantics (b06z68nc)
Robin is a dreamer
He can't stop himself travelling back in time to hold imaginary conversations about the early 19th-century poets, Shelley, Keats and Byron, with people who were close to them.
But his domestic life goes tragically wrong. Can he bring himself back to the real world long enough to save it?
Robin Brooks's play stars Christopher Timothy as Robert, Edward de Souza as Edward, Robin Brooks as Shelley, Jonathan Adams as Byron and Nicholas Murchie as Keats and Theresa Streatfeild as Gillian.
Director: Tim Gebbels
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b017l87m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Colin Davis - Thin Boy (b06z61l1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Tony Hawks's Guide to the Guides (b0075vhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Planet B (b00y90wz)
Series 3
The Pirate Islands
Medley and Kip must battle island inhabitants to save Planet B. Virtual reality saga by Penelope Skinner. Stars Claire Harry.
SAT 18:30 Ghost Zone (b007jtzr)
Episode 2
After the mysterious explosion in the Scottish Highlands, the small advance party of rescuers face a hostile reception from locals on arrival at the devastated village of Inchbrae.
Can they unearth what's caused the massive cloud of radioactive dust?
Sci-fi thriller written by Marty Ross.
Stars Simon Tait as Dan Collins, Gayanne Potter as Jill Logan, Joanna Tope as Dr Beth Granger, Sandy Neilson as Captain Cairns, Lesley Hart as Heather Logan, Finlay McLean as PC McBain/Driver and Stevie Hannan as Lt Hopridge/Jamie/Voice-off.
Producer: Bruce Young
Made for BBC 7 by BBC Scotland and first broadcast in 2004.
SAT 19:00 Comedy Controller (b01r9rh7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Colin Hoult's Carnival of Monsters (b037j6vl)
Series 1
Episode 4
Master character comedian Colin Hoult presents his much anticipated debut comedy series for BBC Radio 4. Enter the Carnival of Monsters, a bizarre and hilarious world of sketches, stories and characters, presented by the sinister Ringmaster.
Meet such monstrous yet strangely familiar oddities as: Thwor - the mighty (but Leeds-based) god of Thwunder; Len Parker - Nottingham-born martial arts and transformers enthusiast; Anna Mann - outrageous star of such forgotten silver screen hits such as 'Rogue Baker', 'Who's For Turkish Delight' and 'A Bowl For My Bottom'; and many more.
Writers Guild Award-winner Colin Hoult is best known for his highly acclaimed starring roles in 'Being Human', 'Life's Too Short', and 'Russell Howard's Good News', as well as his many hit shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He has also appeared and written for a number of Radio 4 series including 'The Headset Set' and 'Colin and Fergus' Digi-Radio'.
'Lewis Carol meets The League Of Gentlemen . A beautifully staged masterclass in character comedy' - Time Out
'Comic gold' - Metro
'Delightfully funny' - The Telegraph
Produced by Sam Bryant.
SAT 22:30 Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard (b00yz2hw)
Series 2
Merlin's Visit
Written by David Kay & Gavin Smith.
Step into the magically mundane world that is the life of 21st century wizard Mordrin McDonald. An isolated 2000-year-old sorcerer with enough power in his small finger to destroy a town, yet not even enough clout to get his bins emptied on time by the local council. Even for such a skilful sorcerer - modern life is rubbish!
Mordrin is deadpan, dry and makes delicious jams. He initially set up as a plc for income tax relief, but has found it a useful vehicle to help him bolster his Wizard skill set and his range of services. (Even a wizard has to diversify). He's been running Fruity Potions from his cave for the past few years, in between completing the odd quest as instructed by the Wizard Council. In the past his services were to help kings in battles of good and evil, or as he prefers to put it, 'assisting with neighbour disputes.'
This week Mordrin has to prepare for the visit of Merlin to Blairochil, and eyeing an opportunity for a promotion, pulls out all the stops.
Cast:
Mordrin: David Kay
Geoff: Gordon Kennedy
Heather: Hannah Donaldson
Bernard The Blue: Jack Docherty
Lord Cumnock: Michael McKenzie
Policeman: Jonny Austin
Producer/Director: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 22:45 Warhorses of Letters (b01pcqkr)
Series 2
Episode 4
It's the eve of Waterloo and our two heroes face the prospect of seeing each other face to face, if only it was not across a battlefield. And is Marengo's life at risk from another more immediate enemy?
The continuing romantic correspondence between two of history's most important horses: Napoleon's mount Marengo and the Duke of Wellington's own Copenhagen.
Marengo ..... Stephen Fry
Copenhagen ..... Daniel Rigby
Narrator ..... Tamsin Greig
Written by Robbie Hudson and Marie Phillips.
Producer: Gareth Edwards.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2012.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b070d59j)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight Arthur Smith chats to 'Beasts'.
SAT 23:00 Pleased to Meet You (b0124y89)
Pilot
90-something good-time girl Dora Dale shares wild tales of her star-strewn past.
Betraying confidences and breaking unwritten rules galore, the friend of the stars reveals some surprising and salacious secrets.
Written by and starring Martin Kelner and Jake Yapp.
Made for BBC7 and first broadcast in November 2005.
SAT 23:30 The Big Booth (b007jv50)
Series 2: The Big Booth Too
Episode 3
Boothby Graffoe meets a man with a replacement tongue and a man in a washing machine.
More guitar-flavoured songs and surreal laughs from Boothby Graffoe.
With Stephen Frost , Vivienne Soan, Big Al, Jim Sweeney and guitarist Antonio Forcione.
Written by Boothby Graffoe and Dave Thompson.
Producer: Lucy Armitage
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2001.