Please email Rich Deakin <
rdeakin@glos.ac.uk> if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*
Saturday 16 MayChannel 4 - Lionheart: The Crusade - "A charismatic Arab leader threatens to arm and unite the Muslim world. The West sends a massive task force to the Middle East to eliminate him. The world watches.It's 1189 AD, and this is the Third Crusade. It will become the most dramatic of all the epic mediaeval military campaigns. Leading the Arab world is Saladin, a wily empire builder who has brilliantly out-manoeuvred the Christian forces already in the Middle East. Against him comes the Crusader army, led by Richard the Lionheart of England, a fearless warrior and dazzling strategist, with a brutality towards Muslims that knows no restraint. In a series of dramatic sieges and set piece battles at Acre and Arsouf, the Crusaders fight their way onwards towards the holy city of Jerusalem. As the Crusade reaches its climax, the battle between Richard and Saladin becomes ever more personal. This dramatic, feature-length documentary uses expert analysis and stunning reconstructions to tell the story."
BBC4 - Arena: Dylan Thomas - From Cradle to Grave - "Author and broadcaster Nigel Williams examines the work and the legend of one of the most famous poets of the 20th century, Dylan Thomas.
Born in 1914, Thomas was an unruly and undisciplined child who was interested only in English at school and was determined from childhood to become a poet. Little did he know that he would eventually become world-renowned.
Cited by Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Van Morrison and other cultural icons as a profound influence, Thomas occupies the space more readily associated with the likes of James Dean and Jack Kerouac, both of whom he preceded.
But it was his death that truly made him a legend. Did Dylan Thomas really die after drinking 18 straight whiskies at The White Horse in New York? Was he a genius or a sponging, womanising drunk?
The film unravels the myth by tracing the poet's biography backwards, from his much written about, much lied about death to the heart of the Dylan Thomas story and his beginnings in a quiet street in suburban Swansea."
BBC4 - Ian Hislop's Changing of the Bard - "Ian Hislop takes an amused and affecting look at one of the most peculiar offices in the British establishment, that of Poet Laureate. Its 341-year history produces a gloriously eccentric picture of who we are, how we are ruled, what we want to say about ourselves and just how hard it is to do that in verse.
We know that Poets Laureate write about Royal Weddings but Hislop discovers a whole lot more, such as 534, John Masefield's brilliant poem on the launch of the Queen Mary from the Clydebank shipyards and Nicholas Rowe's New Year's Ode for 1716 dedicated to the Princess of Wales's labour pains. There was Colley Cibber, the Laureate so ashamed of his poor output he adopted a pseudonym and wrote poems attacking himself, and Alfred Tennyson, who wrote the nation's favourite laureate poem, Charge of the Light Brigade.
The film also throws light on the shadowy process by which the appointment is made. Lord Gowrie, the arts minister in Mrs Thatcher's cabinet, reveals how Ted Hughes came to be her choice for Laureate, when many people were still damning him for his wife Sylvia Plath's suicide.
A visit to the National Archive unearths a hilarious list by C P Duff, a top civil servant, ranking the poets of the day for the benefit of one very confused prime minister, and Candida Lycett Green reveals to Ian just how much whisky it took before her father, John Betjeman, could summon up a poem to celebrate Princess Anne's wedding.
Ian gets to the bottom of the bizarre tradition of the payment in sherry (650 bottles of the stuff), and after trying a glass or two himself, poetic inspiration strikes and he concludes the film with his very own ode to Carol Ann Duffy, our newest Poet Laureate."
BBC2 - The Violent Highway - "The Highway, London E1, runs through the heart of the London borough of Tower Hamlets, which has twice the national average for violent crime. This programme looks at the history of violence in this single British street.
Bringing the past to life with an innovative combination of animation and observational documentary, the film recreates key incidents taken from 300 years of muggings, wife-beatings, pub brawls and serial killings. Historians, psychologists, residents of The Highway and former gang members discuss whether we are more or less violent than we used to be, and what this street can reveal about the violence in all of us.
The story of this street, which was formerly known as the Ratcliffe Highway, tells a wider story of Britain and our grim fascination with bloodshed. Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle are among many writers who visited the Ratcliffe Highway in their efforts to understand the underbelly of violence in Britain. But it was when it became the site of the first Victorian serial killings in 1811 that the Highway became really famous. PD James revisits the street to explain why the Ratcliffe murders captured the terrified imagination of the nation - and still fascinate her today.
Interwoven with these tales from The Highway's bloody past are stories of violence on the street today. One former criminal tells us of a vicious samurai sword attack. Another explains the impulses that made him attack first and ask questions later. We may be less violent than we used to be but knife crime is on the rise - and our fear of violence shows no sign of abating. As this provocative and powerful film demonstrates, perhaps violence is not just part of our history - it is part of our nature too."
Sunday 17 MayBBC4 - The Addictions of Sin: WH Auden in His Own Words - "To commemorate the centenary of the birth of one of Britain's most influential and best-loved poets, this film combines dramatisations of telling events in the life of WH Auden with interviews from the TV and radio archives and extracts from Auden's poetry, notebooks, letters and journals."
BBC4 - Tell Me the Truth about Love - "Documentary film looking at the poetry of W H Auden, revealing how it came not just from inspiration but from a rigorous scientific analysis of love itself. When he died in 1973, he left behind some of the greatest love poems of the 20th century. Most of his unpublished material was destroyed, apart from two short journals and a series of jottings, containing diagrams and notes about the nature of love.
Monday 18 MayBBC4 - The Narnia Code - "Documentary examining claims that CS Lewis's Narnia Chronicles contain a hidden meaning.
CS Lewis wrote the Narnia Chronicles over 50 years ago, yet they are more popular today than ever. When they were first published, many critics thought them little more than childish scribblings, replete with random characters and unexplained events. Even Lewis's good friend JRR Tolkien thought them confused and misconceived.
Other scholars were sure there was something more, something hidden beneath the stories. Although many tried, none could find this secret key of Narnia - until now. Dr Michael Ward, a young academic and expert in all things Lewisian, claims he has found the answer at last: he has discovered the Narnia Code.
Using dramatisations of Lewis's early life and career, the programme travels the world, from the Mid-West of modern America to the battlefields of the First World War, meeting experts, testing evidence and uncovering surprising questions and ideas that still challenge readers today.Documentary examining claims that CS Lewis's Narnia Chronicles contain a hidden meaning.
CS Lewis wrote the Narnia Chronicles over 50 years ago, yet they are more popular today than ever. When they were first published, many critics thought them little more than childish scribblings, replete with random characters and unexplained events. Even Lewis's good friend JRR Tolkien thought them confused and misconceived.
Other scholars were sure there was something more, something hidden beneath the stories. Although many tried, none could find this secret key of Narnia - until now. Dr Michael Ward, a young academic and expert in all things Lewisian, claims he has found the answer at last: he has discovered the Narnia Code.
Using dramatisations of Lewis's early life and career, the programme travels the world, from the Mid-West of modern America to the battlefields of the First World War, meeting experts, testing evidence and uncovering surprising questions and ideas that still challenge readers today."
BBC2 - The Trouble With Working Women - 1/2 - ' Why Cant A Woman Succeed Like A Man?' - "The first of two provocative programmes presented by newsreader and mum-of-three Sophie Raworth, and reporter and father-of-three Justin Rowlatt.
In a competitive mood from the off, Justin and Sophie explore the thorny issue of what we really think of women at work. Why is it that men still dominate the top jobs? Can women have it all? Has gender equality gone too far? And what - if anything - is holding women back?
In search of answers, Sophie and Justin track down a businesswoman who refuses to employ females of child-bearing age, go head-to-head on a testosterone-fuelled trading floor, meet an entrepreneur who went back to work four days after giving birth, head for the MET's shooting range, try to get into a breast milk fridge, and quiz a professor who is overseeing the world's largest study into the effects of child care.
There are plenty of arguments along the way, but Sophie and Justin do manage to reach a conclusion... "
ITV 1 - Tears, Lies and Videotape - "Programme looking at the behaviour of some notorious criminal liars, including Shannon Matthews' mother Karen, Gordon Wardell, Tracie Andrews, Ian Huntley and Fadi Nasri. Some appeared distraught at press conferences to appeal for help, and fooled the nation. Now psychologists Professor David Canter of Liverpool University and Professor Paul Ekman from the University of California examine the footage, and investigate whether it was possible to tell that these people were lying. Were the signs there all along?"
BBC4 - Storyville: The Baby and the Buddha - "Nati Baratz's documentary chronicles a former disciple's search for his reincarnated Tibetan master.
After 26 years of isolated meditation in a mountain cave, Lama Konchog became one of the greatest Tibetan masters of our time. When he passed away in 2001 at 84, the Dalai Lama instructed his shy, devoted disciple Tenzin Zopa to search for his master's reincarnation. This 'unmistaken child' must be found within four years, before it becomes too difficult to remove him from his parents' care.
Tenzin entered the service of Lama Konchog at the age of seven, at his own request, and was with his master continuously for 21 years. The loss of his teacher leaves Tenzin bereft and he is further unsettled by the unexpected responsibility of carrying out the highly secretive search for his spiritual father, who is now expected to be embodied in a little boy and may be anywhere in the world.
His search crosses countries, passing through mountains and villages that appear to have remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Assisted by astrology, signs from dreams and the whispers of villagers, Tenzin travels by helicopter, mule and foot. When he comes upon an apparent contender, the documentary accompanies Tenzin and his young charge through the mysterious procedures that may confirm the reincarnation.
While the film brings to light a rarely seen aspect of the Buddhist faith, the true revelation is Tenzin's journey as a man. We come to know him as modest and shy, but with an impish sense of humour. He appears to be of another time and place, yet lives profoundly in the present. Alone on his quest, he is only able to share his thoughts and feelings with filmmaker Baratz. Tenzin's simple honesty and unselfconsciousness make the viewer a privileged partner in his passage."
Tuesday 19 MayBBC2 - The Trouble with Working Women - 2/2 - 'Why Can't a Woman Earn As Much As a Man?' - "In the second of two provocative programmes, we look at pay, asking why there is still a pay gap several decades after the Equal Pay Act. Presenters Sophie Raworth and Justin Rowlatt want to find out why the average pay gap is 17 per cent. And it is not just professional curiosity; as parents of girls, the pair really want to know.
On their journey Sophie and Justin meet professionals, mums and academics, and do some of their own tests, asking whether it is just sexism at play or if there are more complex reasons. Could it be that women are actually choosing to earn less? And they find some shocking facts: in the US thin women earn more than fat women; girls who go to single-sex schools go on to earn more; and hundreds of thousands of women in the UK are illegally being paid less than their male counterparts.
The programme also features specially commissioned surveys that throw new light on the debate. There are plenty of arguments along the way, but Sophie and Justin do manage to reach a conclusion."
Wednesday 21 MayBBC2 - Why Poetry Matters - "Griff Rhys Jones launches the BBC's Poetry Season on BBC Two with a personal, passionate and illuminating celebration of the power of verse.
Why Poetry Matters, a one-off documentary, explores poetry in all its diverse forms – what it means to Griff himself, how integral it is to life and why we all need it... "
BBC4 - Poetry Please - "A behind the scenes look at the world's longest running poetry request programme, following the programme-makers, presenter Roger McGough and ordinary listeners of the Radio 4 show. Poets, actors and famous fans including Rick Stein, Kenneth Cranham, Andrew Sachs, Andrew Motion, Tim Pigott-Smith and David Blunkett also share their insights on the secret of its success."
BBC4 - Feasts - 1 of 3 'India' - "Series in which food writer and presenter Stefan Gates immerses himself in some of the most extraordinary feasts and festivals on earth. By joining ordinary people in these strange and wonderful distillations of their culture and beliefs, he hopes to gain a revelatory insight into how the world thinks and feels.
Stefan makes a journey across India to discover how feasts and celebration divide - and bring together - a turbulent nation that can be riven by religious tension and extremes of wealth.
He is shocked to see how much extravagance and social engineering there is in an expensive showpiece Rajasthani Hindu wedding, yet how little emotion is actually expressed. These events are spectacular, and the scale is terrifying for a father of two young daughters.
In Kerala, Stefan experiences the bewildering festival of Onam, a Hindu celebration that brings this massive state of millions of people together, Hindu and Christian, rich and poor alike. Over several days he joins almost all of the entire 32m population in sitting down to exactly the same meal - an 11-portion feast eaten with fingers from a banana leaf.
Stefan joins in the Pulikali, the tiger dance, and is apparently he first westerner ever to take part. It is the most physically uncomfortable, gruesome day of his life. He has his body hair shaved off with a dry razor, then spends five hours being painted with several layers of household gloss paint, holding on to two sticks to keep his arms outstretched as he dries out. He is then covered in a sweaty, sticky mask and a pair of bordello pants, and packed off into the streets to join his team in dancing like a maniac around the baking-hot streets of the city of Thrissur for four hours."
Friday 22 MayBBC1 - Panorama: Stem Cells and Miracles - "The current affairs programme follows a British family to China as they pin their hopes on a new stem cell therapy to give their daughter sight.
As evidence mounts that some treatments offered abroad are bogus, will the child's eyesight improve, or are they destined for disappointment?"
BBC4 - The Night James Brown Saved Boston - "April 5th 1968, the morning after the assassination of Martin Luther King. America's inner cities had begun to implode and in Boston there is a fragile peace. The mayor is about to cancel a long-scheduled James Brown concert to avoid confrontation - a potentially incendiary move - but he has a change of heart and asks if there is 'something James Brown can do to help'. This documentary tells the story of that night, with rarely footage of the concert and reminiscences from those in attendance."
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* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.
