Sunday 30th August
ITV1 - Wuthering Heights - 1/2 (concludes Monday 30th) - "Leading screen and television writer Peter Bowker has adapted the world famous love story of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights for ITV1.
The haunting and gothic novel is a shocking and passionate portrayal of ungoverned love and cruelty across desolate landscapes with two of the most memorable lovers in literature. Tom Hardy plays dark and brooding Heathcliff alongside newcomer Charlotte Riley as Cathy. Acclaimed television actress Sarah Lancashire takes on the role of housekeeper Nelly, while Andrew Lincoln is Edgar, Cathy’s forlorn husband. Burn Gorman stars as Cathy’s brother Hindley, and Kevin R. McNally plays Mr Earnshaw... "
Monday 31st August
Yesterday - The Glencoe Massacre - "Examining one of the most emotive yet misunderstood events in Scottish history. Despite popular belief, the massacre of Glencoe was not a typical clash between two highland clans."
Tuesday 1st September
More4 - True Stories: The Shock Doctrine - "The Shock Doctrine is the latest documentary from acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom, co-directed by Mat Whitecross. Based on Naomi Klein's bestselling book, The Shock Doctrine argues that America's 'free market' policies have come to dominate the world through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries.
Both the film and the book argue that governments all over the world exploit natural disasters, economic crises and wars to push through radical free market policies. Klein calls this 'disaster capitalism' and in her view, disaster capitalism is as effective as psychiatric shock therapy at wiping our collective memory.
The film concludes that the result is often catastrophic for ordinary people and hugely beneficial to big corporations. The documentary also adds to Klein's thesis - which was written before the recent market turmoil - and includes an analysis of how the financial world got into its current troubled state."
Wednesday 2nd
BBC2 - This World: Gypsy Child Thieves - "Across Europe children are being forced onto the streets to beg and steal. They come from one of the poorest communities in Europe - the Romanian Gypsies.
For centuries Gypsies have lived on the margins of society and faced brutal discrimination. Many have resorted to stealing and begging to survive.
But in the last 20 years, organised crime has taken over. And since 2007, when Romania joined the EU, Gypsy children have been trafficked and exploited on a much larger scale.
In an attempt to understand what is happening to these children Romanian film-maker Liviu Tipurita embarks on a journey through Europe which takes him inside the closed world of the Gypsy community, and talks to the authorities and institutions meant to be dealing with this disturbing phenomenon.
In Spain eight-year-olds robbing grown men at cash machines have become a common sight.
In Madrid, Tipurita films distraction thieves as they try to steal big sums of money from customers who then fight back.
The Spanish police say they make up a third of all the under 17-year-olds they have to deal with in the city.
In Italy, where Gypsies face a shocking tide of racism, a major police investigation found enslaved children locked in a shack like animals.
Two years on, Tipurita's investigation finds out that the elaborate police operation has not saved them from a life of crime.
In an attempt to trace the roots of the problem and the origins of this exploitation within the Gypsy community, Tipurita travels to his native Romania, home to the largest Gypsy population in the world.
He meets up with one of the most powerful leaders of the Gypsy underworld, for whom stealing is a profession that has been passed from generation to generation, and who provides a special insight into the history of Gypsy crime.
This World asks whether these children are the victims of a culture of crime and a wider society that seems to have abandoned them. And raises a question - will anyone save them from the hands of their exploiters?"
BBC1 - The Muslim Tommies - "
Much has been made of the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalists to the security of Britain. But what is often forgotten is that Muslims have fought on behalf of Britain for hundreds of years; thousands have lost their lives in the process.
Using simple reconstructions, this film gives voice to some of the Muslim soldiers who fought in the trenches of France during the First World War as part of the Indian Corps. Censors office reports from the time included many translated letters which document what life was like on the front line.
The letters contain fascinating but often heart-breaking details about the religious practices, sense of identity, hopes, fears, injuries and brave actions of the soldiers from 1914 - 1918."
Five - World War One in Colour - "Documentary series narrated by Kenneth Branagh, in which the latest computer technology is used to tell the story of World War I with colour images. The Great War was supposed to be over by Christmas, but dragged on for four years of stalemate, leaving cities and landscapes devastated, ten million soldiers dead and another 20 million mentally and physically scarred."
Thursday 3rd
ITV1 - Outbreak - "Outbreak is the story of events hour by hour on September 3rd, 1939, the day that would change the world forever. It was the day that saw the bombing of Warsaw, the birth of Britain’s first war baby, the shock of the first air raid sirens and the torpedoing of innocent civilians aboard a passenger ship. Famous Brits with vivid recollections of the day include Dame Vera Lynn, Richard, Lord Attenborough, Tony Benn, George Cole, Betty Driver and Sir Peter Blake. They all recall how they heard the news the country was going to war, and how they were affected by the dramatic change in the country’s circumstances... "
Friday 4th
BBC1 - Hardcore Profits - 2 part series - "Tim Samuels explores how in the 21st century, pornography has never been more profitable or more pervasive. Tim sees how pornography is now piped into people's lives via new technologies and how this is creating powerful new revenue streams for supposedly 'family friendly' mobile phone and credit card companies.
Tim discovers how the Internet has spawned 'Porn 2.0'. He travels to the US headquarters of a porn website with millions of users, and has the opportunity to get 'hands on' with their latest porn technology.
Tim finds out that the spread of porn is having far-reaching consequences. On porn sets in LA, Tim sees that condoms are rarely used, and in Africa, he finds that these American condom-free movies can undermine safe sex education, increasing the risk of HIV infections."
Channel 4 - First Cut: The Boy Who Was Born a Girl - "Jon is a typical teenage boy in all respects except one: he was born a girl.
Brought up as Natasha for 15 years, Jon can remember feeling male since he was only five years old. Having grown up always feeling different to the girls in school, it was impossible to identify as female.
Jon eventually confided in his mother Luisa, who supported him in seeking help from his GP and subsequently a gender specialist. He has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition that affects over 100 British children every year, and is embarking on an extraordinary journey of transition.
Director Julia Moon follows mother and son through the first three months of Jon's life-changing treatment as the testosterone pushes his female body into male puberty.
For Jon the changes that follow are things he's always wanted. But for Luisa, this means coming to terms with the enormous loss of her daughter."
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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.
