Tuesday 24 August 2010

Off-air recordings for week 28 August - 3 September 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.*

Saturday 28th August

BBC4 - Storyville: When The Levees Broke - A Requiem in Four Acts - Acts One & Two (Acts3&4 on Wednesday 1st September) - "Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke is, we should be clear, one of the most important cultural events of the strange historical moment we inhabit. Imagine that the president of the most powerful country in the world takes a notion that it is his obligation to spread democracy across the world. One result is a catastrophic war in a far-off country. Another, less comprehensible, collateral effect is the bizarre oversight displayed by George Bush in relation to the destruction of New Orleans. This is at the heart of Lee's marvellous film – that one watches the progress of destruction and hears the remarkable array of African American voices, while realising that something larger is at stake. What is explored is the real, not the feigned, attitude of the rich and powerful towards the poor of the world. As one might expect, Lee understands the depth of the neglect visited on the poor of America.
But his narrative has a much larger reach. It does suggest that when it comes to disaster, nobody cares terribly. They may appear to care, like the ineffable Barbara Bush, who astounds us, commenting on the poor of New Orleans who have come to Texas, with the sublime remark that they probably aren't used to the Texan standard of living. But as Spike Lee shows, such concern is skin deep, or non-existent. Everyone should watch When the Levees Broke, for the way in which it announces the real state of the world in relation to calamity - the film is an elegy for the lost culture of New Orleans, and it is a damning portrait of Bush's America. In the end, however, it is most impressive as a warning from the edge of our new century: we had better care."

Monday 30th August

BBC1 - Panorama: Britain's Disappearing Wildlife - "How would you feel about a world where the seas were almost empty, the skies silent of wildlife, and there weren't even enough bugs to pollinate our crops? That's a vision of Britain predicted by some if our rich mixture of wildlife continues to shrink - from butterflies and bumblebees to skylarks and red squirrels.
So far in 2010 the UK has missed two international targets aimed at halting the decline in some of our best-loved native species. As Panorama finds, there's more at stake than simply protecting the beauty of nature - the future of our food supply could be under threat."

BBC4 - Upgrade Me - "Poet and gadget lover Simon Armitage explores people's obsession with upgrading to the latest technological gadgetry.
Upgrade culture drives millions to purchase the latest phones, flatscreen TVs, laptops and MP3 players. But is it design, functionality, fashion or friends that makes people covet the upgrade, and how far does the choice of gadgets define identity? Simon journeys across Britain and to South Korea in search of answers."

Tuesday 31st August

Channel 4 - The Hunt for Britain's Sex Traffickers - 3-part series (parts 2&3 on Wednesday and Thursday) - "In 2007 the government tasked Britain's 55 police forces to tackle the trafficking of women into the country for sex.
This first programme documents the initial stage of the operation, in which the police raid brothels across the UK and use victims' testimonies to garner intelligence about the criminal networks that run them.
The film follows Detective Constable Andy Leigh as he gathers evidence through covert filming, information from local estate agents and liaison with other forces to build a picture of what's happening across the nation.
All brothels under surveillance are raided at the same time to maximise the amount of evidence from victims, customers and the brothel managers. What emerges is a tale of innocent women, brought and sold into sexual slavery.
The evidence enables the police to take their first steps up the ladder from the brothel managers to the criminal masterminds responsible for the illicit trade."

More4 - True Stories: Cocaine Cowboys - "Billy Corben's astonishing story, showing in the True Stories strand, tells of the sudden rush of cocaine into the then sleepy Miami in the 1970s and 1980s.
Colombian drug lords and Cuban and American gangsters realised that America had developed a taste for the drug but the authorities were slow on reacting to the threat. There was profit for all with, initially, very little risk attached.
The story is told through three key characters; Jon Roberts, who claims to have imported over $2-billion worth of cocaine, pilot Mickey Munday, who personally flew in some 10 tons and the chillingly attractive Jorge `Rivi' Ayala, enforcer and assassin for Colombian `grandmother' Griselda Blanco.
With a score by Jan Hammer, this is the true story behind the films Scarface and Blow, when money and mobs ruled Miami."

Wednesday 1st September

BBC2 - The Tony Blair Interview with Andrew Marr - "The BBC has secured the first major political interview with Tony Blair since the year he stood down as Prime Minister.
Andrew Marr will conduct the exclusive one-hour interview with the former PM which will run on BBC Two on Wednesday 1 September at 7pm.
Andrew says: "Having the chance to speak to the former PM for an hour is a remarkable opportunity to learn more about what he was trying to achieve in office and how with hindsight he now regards his record."
This will be the BBC's first major retrospective interview about Blair's time in Number 10 since 2007 and will coincide with the launch of his memoirs."

BBC4 - Churches: How to Read Them - 6-part series - "Presenter Richard Taylor explains how churches were originally simple buildings intended to protect the altar and the most important Christian rite of all, the Eucharist. He visits Britain's finest early medieval churches to untangle the mystery of why the Anglo-Saxons and Normans seem to have been unwilling to shake off their pre-Christian past and to have continued to fill their sacred buildings with mysterious pagan images. An ancient book in an Oxford library helps Richard find an answer."

Thursday 2nd September

ITV1 - Real Crime with Mark Austin: Yvonne Fletcher - Justice Betrayed - "On April 17th 1984, Yvonne Fletcher, a young female constable, was murdered as she policed a demonstration outside the Libyan embassy. A gunman opened fire from the building and PC Fletcher was shot in the back and fatally wounded. Her murder triggered a political and diplomatic storm but no-one has ever been brought to account for her death. Over quarter of a century later, the family and friends of PC Yvonne Fletcher are still asking who killed her and questioning why they can’t be brought to justice. For the first time, Real Crime pieces together the crucial events leading up to and following the murder of Yvonne Fletcher. Formerly unseen evidence featured in the programme suggests that there may have been sufficient evidence to mount a prosecution for conspiracy to murder against two Libyans - Mohammed Matouk and Abdulgader Baghdadi. Following eye witness evidence, police diagrams and photographs, the programme outlines their alleged movements on the day of the shooting. The former British ambassador to Libya, Oliver Miles, describes how he was summoned to a late night meeting in Tripoli with Libyan government officials just over twelve hours before Yvonne Fletcher was shot. He tells the programme: “They told me that there was a demonstration planned for the following morning outside the Libyan office in London and that I was to get it stopped. I said, ‘You must be joking. You have demonstrations outside my embassy from time to time. The same thing will happen in London.’ They said, ‘You don’t understand, this is different. This is very important. We are giving you a really serious message. You must have it stopped.’” The documentary also includes incredible eye witness accounts of the shooting. Yvonne Fletcher’s friend and colleague, John Murray, was standing just a few feet away when she was shot. He describes how he cradled her head in the street and then took her in an ambulance to hospital. "

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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.

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Off-air recordings for week 21-27 August 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.*

Sunday 22nd

BBC1 - Mountain Gorilla - 3-part series - "Patrick Stewart narrates a landmark three-part series on the world's last mountain gorillas.
The largest gorilla family in the world is starting the perilous journey down to feed on the fresh shoots of bamboo. They run the risk of being caught in illegal snares and Cantsbee, the dominant silverback, will have his work cut out keeping them all safe, especially those closest to him.
Meanwhile on the other side of the Rwandan volcanoes a young gorilla has been deserted by her mother. She turns to her silverback father for guidance and protection, but is he up to the job?
In Uganda, Marembo the teenage silverback has come of age. He has lived 15 years under the watchful eye of dominant silverback Rukina but now feels it is time to make the break on his own."

More4 - The Raoul Moat Tapes: Inside the Mind of a Killer - "Raoul Moat was Britain's most wanted man, and for a week the hunt for him dominated the news.
With access to hours of audio recordings that Moat made over two years, detailing his battles with the police and authorities, Cutting Edge provides an in-depth examination into his disturbed mental state.
Using first-hand testimony, excerpts from the tapes and expert psychological analysis, Cutting Edge asks what drove this fugitive gunman to kill. Featuring interviews with friends, relatives and neighbours who have known him for years, the film provides an insight into his character traits and motivations.
Providing a forensic examination of the events leading up to Moat's murderous rampage, Cutting Edge unpicks the speculation and myths surrounding the killer whose suicide sparked a wave of sympathy and tributes online.
The film explores Moat's childhood with an absent father; how he came to terms with his new step-father and later became estranged from his mother - despite the fact that they lived close to each other.
The film builds a picture of Moat as a steroid user and body-building obsessive but also as a father. Drawing on new information and insights, Cutting Edge looks at the events that shaped Moat the murderer and how his actions have affected those who survive him."

Monday 23rd

BBC1 - Panorama: Please Don't Take Our Child - "Each year around 20,000 children have their futures decided by the family courts. Baby William Ward was one of them. His parents Jake and Victoria were investigated by police and social services when they were unable to explain a serious injury to their three-month-old son. It took them two years to clear their names and a further three years to win the right to speak completely openly about what happened to their family.
Panorama's Darragh MacIntyre reports on the case of this ordinary couple and their extraordinary fight to open up the world of the family courts."

ITV1 - Real Crime with Mark Austin: Murder of a Father - "Murder of a Father – Garry Newlove - Real Crime with Mark Austin In August 2007 the nation was shocked by the brutal death of Garry Newlove who was punched and kicked to death in front of his three daughters outside his home in Warrington, Cheshire. The 47-year-old was attacked when he confronted a drunken gang of yobs who were vandalising his wife’s car and his death sparked a national debate about antisocial behaviour, its extent and its causes. Now, in an exclusive interview with Mark Austin for Real Crime, his widow, Helen, and the couple’s three daughters have come together to speak in detail about what happened the night Garry was killed. His daughters were the main witnesses and watched their father being beaten to death. They have never spoken before about exactly what they saw, and have said they will never speak about it again. The officers who investigated Garry’s murder tell Real Crime about the hunt for his killers. They also describe the problems caused by youths drinking in public. And Helen talks about a future without her beloved Garry and her campaign to keep anti-social behaviour at bay and her husband’s memory alive. Chief constable Peter Fahy talks about the area in Warrington where Garry and Helen lived with their three daughters, Zoe, then 18, Danielle, then 15 and Amy, then 12. He says: “The problems in Warrington weren’t terribly different from lots of other places in Cheshire…young males, drinking too much and then indulging in anti social behaviour and damage after they’d been drinking.” Helen speaks to Mark Austin about the street they lived in and reveals that she had spoken to Garry about moving house. Her daughters also say that they didn’t feel safe living in the area. Helen says: “He [Garry] was sick and tired of weekends having to go to the front door, look out if your car was fine, sick of coming out on a Saturday or Sunday when you are doing your gardens and having bags full of litter, of cans of lager. There was a guy one day who was actually urinating up the fence. It had come to a stage where we said, ‘Look, we really need to get away from here.’” As Helen and her three daughters describe Garry, they reveal intimate family photographs, including pictures of Helen and Garry’s wedding and pictures of the girls when they were younger, to illustrate the story of a family man who always put his wife and children first. Helen talks about Garry’s earlier battle with stomach cancer and says she always admired him. She adds: “He carried on working, he never…claimed or anything he still wanted to provide for his family and I truly admired him for that.” Using reconstructions and in-depth interviews with Helen, Zoe, Danielle and Amy, Real Crime tells the tragic story of the night that started off as a normal Friday at home and ended in Garry’s brutal murder... "

Wednesday 25th

BBC1 - Middle Eastenders - "Documentary exploring the real stories of Muslim immigrants to the UK, focusing on the centenary of the East London Mosque and the 4,000 people who worship there. Featuring contributions from Baroness Uddin of Bethnal Green, historians, trustees and worshippers, the programme chronicles the high and lows of the institutions's history and its efforts to become a centre for integration, promoting harmony among Christians, Jews and Muslims. "

More4 - The God Delusion - 2-part series - "Professor Richard Dawkins, Chair of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford and world-renowned evolutionary biologist, is no stranger to controversy.
His outspoken views on religion and his championing of evolutionary theory have earned him the nickname 'Darwin's Rottweiler', an epithet he wears with pride.
In this controversial two-part series, Dawkins describes God as the most unpleasant fictional character of all and launches a wholehearted attack on religion as the cause for much of the pain and suffering in the world."

Thursday 26th

Channel 4 - Hurricane Katrina: Caught on Camera - "Over three days in August 2005, a cataclysmic storm brought flooding and disaster to the Gulf Coast of America, leaving over 1,800 people dead in Louisiana and Mississippi.
In New Orleans chaos ensued as the rising water broke through the city's levees, leaving 80% of the city under water and thousands sheltering at the city's Superdome, without food or water, seemingly beyond help from the authorities.
While 90% of the population fled New Orleans, others stayed behind. Many were unable to leave, and some - including amateur cameramen, news crews, government agencies and storm-chasers - captured the unfolding chaos.
Weaving together more than 100 sources, many of them never seen before on network television, Hurricane Katrina: Caught on Camera reconstructs events as they happened, through the eyes of the people who experienced them.
The documentary, from the Emmy Award-winning team behind 102 Minutes that Changed America, captures the storm and its aftermath with raw images of fear, grief and anger, alongside moments of humour, courage and relief.
As the tempest bears down on the city, families desperately try to ride out the storm, while their houses fill with water, and inside the Superdome, the wind smashes through the roof and water pours in.
But even after the worst of Katrina passes, the water continues to rise, forcing people to take to their roofs and leaving the overwhelmed emergency services attempting to help survivors.
As the situation at the Superdome continues to deteriorate, the world's greatest super-power is reduced to Third World conditions, and people desperate for food and water turn to looting.
Timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the storm, this is a riveting portrait of a defining moment in American history."

BBC2 - E Numbers: an Edible Adventure - 3-part series - "Blighted with a notorious reputation, E numbers are often considered to be one of the demons of modern food production. In this three-part series food writer Stefan Gates sets out to separate the facts about these food additives from the fiction, beginning with colours. He discovers why these chemicals don't just affect the look of our food but its taste as well, reveals why eating monosodium glutamate could be no worse for us than eating cheese or mushrooms, and demonstrates how judicious use of E numbers can even get veg-hating kids to eat their brussels sprouts."


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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.

Friday 13 August 2010

Off-air recordings for week 14-20 August 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.*

Saturday 14th

BBC1 - Secret Britain - 4-part series - "Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury embark on an epic adventure to unlock the astonishing beauty of Secret Britain. They start in the far South West of England, and the first leg of their journey takes them all the way to Dover across some of the most crowded parts of the UK. Yet even here there are hidden corners and forgotten stories. Matt explores Britain's only desert, while Julia goes off the beaten track to discover the shady green world of Dorset's holloways."

Monday 16th

BBC1 - Panorama: Death in the Med - "As controversy over Israel's blockade of Gaza still rages, Jane Corbin asks what really happened on the Mavi Marmara, when Israeli commandos seized the ship and nine people died. Panorama has exclusive new video and interviews with Israeli soldiers and activists involved."

Tuesday 17th

BBC4 - The Making of King Arthur - "Poet Simon Armitage traces the evolution of the Arthurian legend through the literature of the medieval age and reveals that King Arthur is not the great national hero he is usually considered to be. He's a fickle and transitory character who was appropriated the the Normans to justify their conquest, he was cuckolded when French writers began adapting the story and it took Thomas Malory's masterpiece of English literature, Le Mort d'Arthur, to restore dignity and reclaim him as the national hero we know today."

BBC4 - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - "Poet Simon Armitage goes on the trail of one of the jewels in the crown of British poetry, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written about 600 years ago by an unknown author. The poem has got just about everything - it is an action-packed adventure, a ghost story, a steamy romance, a morality tale and the world's first eco-poem.
Armitage follows in the footsteps of the poem's hero, Gawain, through some of Britain's most beautiful and mystical landscapes and reveals why an absurd tale of a knight beheading a green giant is as relevant and compelling today as when it was written."

Wednesday 18th

BBC2 - This World: Surviving Haiti - "The earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January caused death and destruction on a massive scale. Tens of thousands were killed instantly, thousands of others were buried under the rubble and a lucky few were dug out alive.
Filmed over the six months after the disaster, This World follows four of the few who were rescued from a death beneath the rubble: a three-year-old child, a musician, a student and a family whose daughter was rescued after nine days.
Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, was ill-equipped to cope with a catastrophic earthquake. But as the months pass, the film shows that life for its survivors is hard, but not without moments of hope."

Thursday 19th

BBC2 - Natural World: The Himalayas - "Documentary looking at the wildlife of the most stunning mountain range in the world, home to snow leopards, Himalayan wolves and Tibetan bears.
Snow leopards stalk their prey among the highest peaks. Concealed by snowfall, the chase is watched by golden eagles circling above. On the harsh plains of the Tibetan plateau live extraordinary bears and square-faced foxes hunting small rodents to survive. In the alpine forests, dancing pheasants have even influenced rival border guards in their ritualistic displays. Valleys carved by glacial waters lead to hillsides covered by paddy fields containing the lifeline to the East, rice. In this world of extremes, the Himalayas reveal not only snow-capped mountains and fascinating animals but also a vital lifeline for humanity."

BBC2 - Digging for Britain - 4-part series - "Great Britain might be a small country but it has a huge history. Everywhere you stand, there are worlds beneath your feet – and every year hundreds of excavations bring lost treasures to the surface.
These amazing historical excavations are the subject of Digging For Britain, a landmark four-part history series for BBC Two.
Presented by Dr Alice Roberts, Digging For Britain reveals some of the newest finds, research and social history: from excavating the new temple near Skara Brae to preparations for the first sailing of a Bronze Age ship; from uncovering new truths about the richest ever find of Anglo-Saxon treasure to uncovering Shakespeare's first theatre. "

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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.

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Off-air recordings for week 7-13 August 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.*

Sunday 8th

BBC4 - Women's Institute - 3-part series - "This three-part observational documentary series tells the stories and reveals the lives of a formidable group of women who are holding communities together across Britain."

Monday 9th

BBC4 - Visions of the Future - 3-part series - "In this new three-part series, leading theoretical physicist and futurist Dr Michio Kaku explores the cutting edge science of today, tomorrow, and beyond. He argues that humankind is at a turning point in history. In this century, we are going to make the historic transition from the 'Age of Discovery' to the 'Age of Mastery', a period in which we will move from being passive observers of nature to its active choreographers. This will give us not only unparalleled possibilities but also great responsibilities."

Tuesday 10th

BBC2 - Domesday - "In this programme on the Domesday Book, medieval historian Dr Stephen Baxter reveals the human and political drama that lies within the parchment of England's earliest surviving public record. He also finds out the real reason it was commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
The Domesday Book is the first great national survey of England, a record of who owned every piece of land and property in the kingdom. It also records the traumatic impact of the Norman conquest on Anglo-Saxon England, the greatest social and political upheaval in the country's history.
Most historians believe that Domesday is some kind of tax book for raising revenue, but Baxter has his own theory. He proves that the Domesday Book could not have been used to collect taxes and he argues that it is about something far more important than money. Its real purpose was to confer revolutionary new powers on the monarchy in Norman England."

BBC4 - Treasure of the Anglo Saxons - "Art historian Dr Nina Ramirez reveals the codes and messages hidden in Anglo-Saxon art. From the beautiful jewellery that adorned the first violent pagan invaders through to the stunning Christian manuscripts they would become famous for, she explores the beliefs and ideas that shaped Anglo-Saxon art.
Examining many of the greatest Anglo-Saxon treasures - such as the Sutton Hoo Treasures, the Staffordshire Hoard, the Franks Casket and the Lindisfarne Gospels - Dr Ramirez charts 600 years of artistic development which was stopped dead in its tracks by the Norman Conquest."

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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.