Off-air recordings for week 30th Jan - 5th Feb 2010

Please email Rich Deakin rdeakin@glos.ac.uk ,or fchmediaservices@glos.ac.uk if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

Wednesday 3rd

More4 - Haiti's Killer Quake: Why It Happened - "On 12 January 2010 a massive earthquake rocked the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The ensuing devastation has created what could become the biggest humanitarian crisis of the past decade.
This timely documentary looks at what happened and why, using 3D graphics and location footage to pick apart the mechanics of the quake itself. Looking deeper into the earth's crust, the programme uncovers the immense tectonic forces that led to the quake.
In the first ten years of the 21st century earthquakes have claimed over half a million lives, all from a total of less than 15 minutes of ground movement. The programme examines these events to find out what they reveal about the Haiti quake.
But ultimately earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do. Poor construction and overcrowded cities caused the vast majority of deaths. Could Haitians have constructed buildings that would have survived the quake?
It's a question of immense importance for the whole region as geologists believe that the current quake is just one of a sequence of huge tremors that will hit the Caribbean within the next 40 years.
What's in store for the region and will geologists ever be able to predict these catastrophes?"

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* This applies to staff members and students 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.

Off-air recordings for week 23-29 January 2009

Please email Rich Deakin rdeakin@glos.ac.uk ,or fchmediaservices@glos.ac.uk if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

Sunday 24th

Channel 4 - The Bible: A History - new 7 part series - "The Bible: A History tells the story of the most influential book ever written: a collection of over 60 books which tell the story of the creation of the world, the birth of mankind, the promise of a homeland for the Jewish people and the remarkable life of Jesus Christ, before culminating in a terrifying vision of the end of the world.
Since its origins thousands of years ago in the Middle East, the Bible has crossed continents, created and healed divisions and ignited controversy.
This series explores the origins, ideas and influence of seven sections of the Scriptures, tracing how they came into existence and how they have shaped the world we live in today.
Each film is written and presented by a prominent figure with a particular interest or experience relevant to the part of the Bible being examined. They offer a personal interpretation of some of the best-known aspects of this ancient book, which still guides the lives of millions of believers across the globe."

More4 - Captive for 18 Years: The Jaycee Lee Dugard Story - "In June 1991, Jaycee Lee Dugard was waiting at the bus stop on her way to school in South Lake Tahoe when a man and a woman pulled up in a grey Ford saloon, jumped out, bundled her into the car and drove off. The kidnap was witnessed by Jaycee Lee's stepfather, who chased in vain after the car.
Eighteen years later, on 24 August 2009, an investigation began that would lead to an astounding discovery: Jaycee Lee Dugard was alive and for the last 18 years had been held captive by a notorious sex offender.
Jaycee Lee had given birth to two daughters, fathered by the sex offender, Phillip Garrido. Jaycee Lee and her daughters had been kept in a maze of tents and sheds in the back garden of Garrido's home in Antioch, California.
Featuring interviews with some of those closest to the young Jaycee, including family members, classmates and her headmistress, Cutting Edge also meets the neighbours and business associates of her captor Philip Garrido, and the investigators involved in her case, to piece together one of the most incredible missing person stories of all time.
The programme includes an interview with Carl Probyn, Jaycee Lee's stepfather, who witnessed the kidnap. He was the prime suspect in the case for 18 years. His marriage to Jaycee Lee's mother broke up; his life, to all intents and purposes, was ruined.
He reveals his story from the day he saw his stepdaughter kidnapped: his anguished 911 call to the police, how the events of the day changed his life forever, and the joy and sadness that engulfed him when he heard she'd been found alive and well."

Monday 25th

BBC4 - Shooting The War - 3 part series - "‘Shooting the War’ produced by Bristol based indie Available Light, shows WW 2 in Britain and Germany as it has rarely been seen: through the lens of home movie makers. Some of these amateur film enthusiasts were soldiers who took their cameras to the front line and filmed men at war; others who stayed at home recorded everyday life on the home front. At first, they filmed the novelty of war.
But they did more. German and British home movie makers at the front lines filmed the horrors of war alongside the mundane and the monotony of life as a soldier or airman. Those who stayed at home continued to film even when death and destruction came to their own doorsteps.
These remarkable amateur films and the stories of the fighting men, women and children in them, take us into the heart of the wartime experiences of ordinary people and show us how they survived these extraordinary times."

Wednesday 27th

BBC2- Munro: Mountain Man - "Little more than 100 years ago, Scottish mountains standing at more than 3,000 feet were virtually unknown. Today they are familiar terrain to many thousands of climbers, thanks to Victorian adventurer Hugh Munro's determination to list the high peaks which now define the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
This documentary tells the story of the magnificent peaks that bear his name and the people who have been possessed by them.
The birth of this obsession - now known as Munrobagging - is a twisting tale of intrigue, which presenter Nicholas Crane unravels high on the ridges and pinnacles of some of Scotland's most spectacular mountains."

BBC2 - Natural World: The Chimp Cam Project - "Wildlife documentary. How does a chimpanzee see the world? A research project at Edinburgh Zoo is designed to answer just that question in an innovative new way - by training chimps to use video touch screens and giving them a special chimp-proof camera.
How will they react to tools which in evolutionary terms are a few million years ahead of them? As chimp specialist Betsy Herrelko finds out, trying to communicate with chimps using video technology has its trials and tribulations as power struggles, bites and fights get in the way of the hairy chimp directors. However, by the end of the programme we are privileged to see the world's first film shot by chimpanzees."

BBC2 - Tsunami: Five Years On - "The Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 was just the beginning, for those who survived. A massive earthquake caused a tidal wave that killed a quarter of a million people, but many millions more found their lives changed forever. This documentary tells the powerful story of how the survivors have tried to rebuild their lives; such as the mother in Thailand who is fighting property developers to protect the memory of her drowned daughter."

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* This applies to staff members and students 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.

Off-air recordings for week 16-22 January 2010

Please email Rich Deakin rdeakin@glos.ac.ukor fchmediaservices@glos.ac.uk if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*


Saturday 16th


BBC 2 - The Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia - "In the First World War, T.E Lawrence helped to unite feuding Arab tribes into a formidable guerrilla army which helped to topple the Ottoman Empire. But today Lawrence has an extraordinary new relevance. His experiences of defeating a foreign military occupation, and of leading an insurgency, have led to him being held up as the man who cracked fighting in the Middle East... Drawing a comparison between Lawrence's experience and today, Rory explains how Lawrence came to the conclusion that foreign military interventions in the Middle East are fundamentally unworkable. He concludes, 'Looking at Iraq and Afghanistan today I believe very strongly that Lawrence's message would not have been do it better, do it more sensitively, but don't do it at all.'."



Monday 18th



BBC 2 - A History of the World: A Culture Show Special - "A special edition of The Culture Show marking the start of a landmark project in which the BBC and the British Museum focus on the span of human history through one hundred objects held at the museum.
This programme, presented by Mishal Husain from the British Museum, profiles all the elements of the project which includes one hundred programmes on Radio 4, a massive online factor, as well as programmes on CBBC and coverage from the BBC right across the country.
It examines in detail some of the objects featured on the British Museum's list. Sir David Attenborough examines the oldest object on the list, a stone hand axe almost two million years old; while Mishal Husain finds out more about the famous statue of Ramessess II.
Matthew Collings looks at a number of objects that illustrate the role of royalty through the course of human history, including a macabre depiction in stone of a Mayan blood-letting ceremony from 1300 years ago."


Tuesday 19th


BBC 2 - Obama and Me - "It has been quite a year for America's first black president.
Promising change and appealing for unity, Barack Obama won his way into two wars and the worst recession since the 1930s. But his freshman year soon became a bitter battle over cash, colour and capitalism.
Across the USA, This World has followed the lives of ordinary Americans, among them a reformed gangster and the wife of a US air force captain.
They voted for Obama and had high hopes for his presidency; but how have their lives been changed in Obama's first year? Can the president deliver on the huge promise of his candidacy, or will their hopes be dashed?
One year on, they give their verdict. "


BBC 2 - How Earth Made Us - new 5 part series - "Iain Stewart tells the epic story of how the planet has shaped our history. With spectacular images, surprising stories and a compelling narrative, the series discovers the central role played in human history by four different planetary forces.
In this first episode Iain explores the relationship between the deep Earth and the development of human civilisation. He visits an extraordinary crystal cave in Mexico, drops down a hole in the Iranian desert and crawls through seven-thousand-year-old tunnels in Israel.
His exploration reveals that throughout history, our ancestors were strangely drawn to fault line, areas which connect the surface with the deep interior of the planet. These fault lines gave access to important resources, but also brought with them great danger."


Wednesday 20th


BBC 2 - Obama's First year: Reality Bites - "Gavin Esler presents a Newsnight special looking back at the drama and battles of Barack Obama's first year in office. Can the new president live up to his promise to bring change to America and to the world?"


Thursday 21st


BBC 4 - Time - "Series in which Michio Kaku goes on an extraordinary exploration of the world in search of time.
In the opening part he asks whether time comes from within our minds and bodies or from outside? He travels to Los Angeles to find fish with an extraordinarily precise sense of time, and meets a family whose body clocks force them to wake at 4am every day.
Michio undergoes a brain scan that reveals an area of the brain devoted to detecting the passing of time. But can this sense be altered by fear - an experiment where people free-fall 100-feet backwards is undertaken to find out. Michio also meets a man who, with no memory and no sense of time, is unable to lead a normal life."


BBC 4 - Chemistry - a Volatile History - "Series in which Jim Al-Khalili traces the story of how the elements, the building blocks that make up our entire world, were discovered and mapped. He follows in the footsteps of the pioneers who cracked their secrets and created the new science of chemistry. The belief that were only four elements - earth, fire, air and water - persisted until the 19th Century. Al-Khalili looks at the alchemists who began questioning this, revealing the red herrings and rivalries which dogged progress."

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* This applies to staff members and students 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.

Off-air recordings for week 9-15 January 2010

Please email Rich Deakin <rdeakin@glos.ac.uk> or <fchmediaservices@glos.ac.uk> if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

Monday 11th

BBC 2 - The British Family - 1/4 'Marriage' - "Kirsty Young begins a history of how British families have changed since the Second World War by looking at marriage.
Using vibrant archive footage and bittersweet interviews, she examines how, from the 1940s to the late 1960s, marriage was transformed from a sometimes stifling institution into a more equal relationship. She discovers that although many marriages are now happier, the growing tide of divorce continues unstemmed."

Tuesday 12th

BBC 2 - Simon Schama on Obama's America - 2-parts - "Simon Schama considers potential strategies for Obama's inherited conflict in Afghanistan and asks whether President Obama will act decisively to rein in Wall Street."

BBC 4 - The Diary of Anne Frank - 5 part dramatisation - "The rights to The Diary Of Anne Frank rarely become available. The BBC and Darlow Smithson Productions have worked closely with the Anne Frank-Fonds, the charitable foundation promoting social and cultural projects in the spirit of Anne Frank, to ensure complete authenticity for the drama."

BBC 4- Lost Kingdoms of Africa - 4 part series (Missed part 1) - "Four-part series in which British art historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford explores the pre-colonial history of some of Africa's most important kingdoms.The African continent is home to nearly a billion people. It has an incredible diversity of communities and cultures, yet we know less of its history than almost anywhere else on earth.But that is beginning to change. In the last few decades researchers and archaeologists have begun to uncover a range of histories as impressive and extraordinary as anywhere else in the world.The series reveals that Africa's stories are preserved for us in its treasures, statues and ancient buildings - in the culture, art and legends of the people.The first episode looks at Nubia, in what is now northern Sudan, a kingdom that dominated a vast area of the eastern Sahara for thousands of years. Its people were described as barbarians and mercenaries, and yet Nubia has left us with some of the most spectacular monuments in the world.Casely-Hayford traces the origins of this fascinating kingdom back to 10,000 BC. He explores how it developed and what happened to it and its people, discovering that its kings once ruled Ancient Egypt and that it was defeated not by its rivals but by its environment."

Wednesday 13th

BBC 2 - Horizon - Why Do Viruses Kill? - "Just months ago, the world stood in fear of an emerging new disease that threatened to kill millions. A new flu variant H1N1 had arrived. In the UK alone, 65,000 deaths were predicted. Yet to date, these dire warnings have not materialised.
If this latest pandemic has taught anything, it is just how little is understood about the invisible world of viruses. But that has not stopped scientists trying.
Horizon follows the leading researchers from across the world, who are attempting to unravel the many secrets of viruses to understand when and why they kill."

Thursday 14th

BBC 2 - Jimmy's Global Harvest 2/4 - "Jimmy Doherty sets out to discover if the world's farmers will be able to feed us in the future.
Demand for food is expected to double within the next 40 years. Yet we can only grow food on four per cent of the earth's surface, the climate is changing and resources like water and fuel are under threat. Jimmy meets the men and women who claim to have new techniques and new technologies that will help meet these challenges."

Channel 4 - Kevin McCloud: Slumming It - 2-parts - "As part of Channel 4's Indian Winter season, Kevin McCloud discovers a world of curious juxtapositions in one of the most extreme urban environments on earth: Dharavi, Mumbai.
Having heard bigwig architects, planners and even Prince Charles claiming that Dharavi has the answers to some of the biggest problems facing our Western cities, Kevin embarks on a journey to lift the lid on this place himself. With a million people crammed into one square mile, Dharavi is one of the most densely populated places on earth. It is also one of Asia's biggest slums.
As a way of experiencing the good and bad of Dharavi first hand, Kevin decides to live, work, sleep, eat and wash there, and he's terrified at the prospect of doing so. In the first programme, as Kevin enters Dharavi he finds open sewers, rats and hazardous chemicals everywhere. However, he also discovers that it is a highly organised place with thousands of tiny industries.
To understand Dharavi, Kevin fully immerses himself in the environment, living and working with the locals, sampling life in the pottery area and discovering the extraordinary sense of spirit and community despite the hardships. He explores this industrious square mile, meeting bakers, cobblers and suitcase manufacturers, all thriving as part of the 15,000 one-room industries contained in this slum. But, despite the area's apparent successes, Kevin finds Dharavi is to be redeveloped and razed to the ground."

ITV 1 - Real Crime with Mark Austin: Tobin - Portrait of a Serial Killer - "As Peter Tobin faces sentencing for the murder of Dinah McNicol, Mark Austin speaks to criminologists, psychologists and those who have come face-to-face with the man to deduce whether Tobin is Britain's worst serial killer. The programme examines Tobin's past to see what drove the man to become a monster, talking to his two ex-wives and the women he befriended in the months before he killed Angelika Kluk. It also explores the first crime he was convicted of - the double rape of two young girls in 1993."

Friday 15th

BBC 4 - The Secret of Life of Chaos - "Chaos theory has a bad name, conjuring up images of unpredictable weather, economic crashes and science gone wrong. But there is a fascinating and hidden side to Chaos, one that scientists are only now beginning to understand.
It turns out that chaos theory answers a question that mankind has asked for millennia - how did we get here?
In this documentary, Professor Jim Al-Khalili sets out to uncover one of the great mysteries of science - how does a universe that starts off as dust end up with intelligent life? How does order emerge from disorder?
It's a mindbending, counterintuitive and for many people a deeply troubling idea. But Professor Al-Khalili reveals the science behind much of beauty and structure in the natural world and discovers that far from it being magic or an act of God, it is in fact an intrinsic part of the laws of physics. Amazingly, it turns out that the mathematics of chaos can explain how and why the universe creates exquisite order and pattern.
And the best thing is that one doesn't need to be a scientist to understand it. The natural world is full of awe-inspiring examples of the way nature transforms simplicity into complexity. From trees to clouds to humans - after watching this film you'll never be able to look at the world in the same way again."

BBC 2- Empire of the Seas: How The Navy Forged the Modern World - new 4 parts - " Historian Dan Snow charts the defining role the Royal Navy played in Britain's struggle for modernity - a grand tale of the twists and turns which thrust the people of the British Isles into an indelible relationship with the sea and ships.
Heart of Oak opens with a dramatic retelling of 16th and 17th-century history. Victory over the Armada proved a turning point in the nation's story as tiny, impoverished England was transformed into a seafaring nation, one whose future wealth and power lay on the oceans. The ruthless exploits of Elizabethan seafaring heroes like Francis Drake created a potent new sense of national identity that combined patriotism and Protestantism with private profiteering.
At sea and on land, Snow shows how Navy became an indispensable tool of state, weaving the stories of characters like Drake, God's Republican Warrior at sea Robert Blake, and Samuel Pepys, administrator par excellence, who laid the foundations for Britain's modern civil service.
With access to the modern Navy and reconstructed ships of the time, Snow recounts the Navy's metamorphosis from a rabble of West Country freebooters to the most complex industrial enterprise on earth."

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* This applies to staff members and students 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.