Please email Rich Deakin rdeakin@glos.ac.uk if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*
*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.
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Saturday 31st March 2012
Factual; History; Documentaries
How God Made the English
BBC2, 8:00-0:00pm, 3/3, A White and Christian People
The final programme of this series examines the idea that there is an ethnic core to Englishness. Is there any basis for the claim that to be truly English you have to be Anglo-Saxon? And what about the fact that until very recently being English also meant being Church of England Christian?
In this series Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch has been arguing that God made the English. But did he also make them white and Christian?
Arts, Culture and the Media; Documentary
Arena: Jonathan Miller
BBC2, 9:30-11:00pm
The BBC's flagship arts documentary strand Arena returns with the first ever documentary exploring the extraordinary life of Sir Jonathan Miller CBE. Jonathan Miller is usually described as a 'polymath' or 'Renaissance man', two labels he personally dislikes. But no-one quite like him has made such an impact on British culture through the medium of television, radio, theatre and opera. He has straddled the great divide between the arts and the sciences, while being a brilliant humorist, a qualified doctor, and even a practising artist. With the man himself and a host of distinguished collaborators, including Oliver Sacks, Eric Idle, Kevin Spacey (who owes his first break to Miller) and Penelope Wilton, this Arena profile explores Miller's rich life and examines through amazing television archive - mostly from the BBC - how he makes these connections between the worlds of the imagination and scientific fact.
Factual
The Zoo In Winter
BBC2, 11:00-11:45pm
Reflections on a visit to Regent's Park by Jonathan Miller. Sympathetically surveying the animals in their various enclosures, he indulges in anthropomorphic fantasies about their 'offstage' existence.
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Sunday 1st April 2012
Factual; History; Documentaries
The Falklands Legacy with Max Hastings
BBC2, 9:00-10:00pm
Thirty years after the Falkland's War, journalist and military historian Max Hastings explores the conflict's impact and its legacy. Hastings, who sailed with the Task Force in 1982 and reported on the Falklands campaign first-hand, looks at how victory in the South Atlantic revived the reputation of our armed forces and renewed Britain's sense of pride and its image abroad after years of decline as an imperial and military power.
Hastings examines how the Falklands provided a model of a swift and successful war that was matched by other conflicts Britain fought at the end of the 20th century. In contrast, the long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan have left the British public sceptical about sending our armed forces in large numbers to war again. The Falklands could well be the last popular war Britain fights, and certainly the country's last imperial hurrah.
Documentaries
Perspectives: Lenny Henry - Finding Shakespeare
ITV1, 10:15-11:15pm
As a working-class kid growing up in Dudley in the West Midlands, Lenny found William Shakespeare’s plays boring, irrelevant and inaccessible. But by the age of 50 and with a burning ambition to try his hand at serious acting, Lenny decided it was time he faced his fears and finally tried to get to grips with the Bard.
In this film, he sets himself the ultimate challenge for a Shakespearean actor – starring in a global telecast of Comedy of Errors at National Theatre in London. After 35 years on stage this will be the biggest show Lenny has ever done – it is about to be beamed live around the world to 700 cinemas in 22 countries.
Lenny retraces his steps, from listening to plays in his car to starring as Othello for regional theatre and now in “Comedy of Errors” for the National Theatre.
Along the way, he meets a rapper, an Oxford don, his old mentor who prepared him to play Othello, actor Dominic West who played Iago, and Adrian Lester, his pal from Hustle, who tries with Lenny to show a class of London schoolkids how they too can “get” Shakespeare. He reflects upon his education, his experiences as a younger man and his changing attitude toward the Bard, and ultimately hopes that he’s arrived at “finding Shakespeare” by finding Lenny.
Lenny admits to having had a mental block on Shakespeare as a younger man and being apprehensive about his role in the Comedy of Errors.
“It’s incredible that I’m doing this play because for most of my life I’d kept well away from Shakespeare. Like many of us, I thought I wasn’t clever enough to understand it. But where does this mental block about Shakespeare come from - and what are we missing out on if we don’t get past it?”
Lenny’s mother was a major influence on his life, and her death inspired him into education...
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Monday 2nd April 2012
Arts, Culture and the Media
Damien Hirst: The First Look
Channel 4, 8:00-9:00pm
One of the most important and influential artists of his generation, Damien Hirst provokes debate. Whatever you may think of his work, the original Young British Artist helped make art headline news and put Britain firmly on the contemporary art map. On the eve of his first major retrospective in the UK, Damien Hirst takes surrealist comedian and fellow artistic maverick Noel Fielding on an exclusive walk through his show at Tate Modern, providing a behind-the-scenes look at this landmark exhibition and a body of work spanning more than two decades. They chat about Hirst's career highs and lows, which, together with high-profile interviews and archive footage, gives unprecedented access to the artist and his art.
The exhibition brings together over 70 of Hirst's seminal works, including his groundbreaking sculptures from the early 1990s and pieces from the painting series - spots, spins, butterflies and flies - produced throughout his career. There are also two major installations: In and Out of Love (1991) - previously unshown in its entirety since its creation - and Pharmacy (1992). Reflecting on his 25-year career - one often played out in tabloid headlines - Hirst talks Fielding through the ideas behind his most iconic works, from his early days at Goldsmiths and winning the Turner Prize to breaking auction records and keeping the public and art world on its toes. The film combines Damien and Noel's walk through the exhibition with behind-the-scenes footage showing the process of installing the exhibition, from wrangling butterflies to immersing a shark in formaldehyde.
The programme also includes interviews with an eclectic line-up of art-world heavies, celebrities and artists, including Joan Collins, Bono, Sarah Kent, Mat Collishaw, Sir John Hegarty, Ronnie Wood, Keith and Lily Allen, Ronnie O'Sullivan and even Hirst's high-school art teacher, Dave Wood, who taught him during his A-Level Art... for which Hirst got an 'E'. Packed with insight and humour, this film provides an opportunity to re-examine Hirst's work and see how it has permeated the cultural consciousness of our times.
Factual; Science and Nature; Documentaries
Mars: A Horizon Guide
BBC4, 10:00-11:00pm
The intriguing possibility of life on Mars has fuelled man's quest to visit the Red Planet. Drawing on 45 years of Horizon archive, space expert Dr Kevin Fong presents a documentary on Earth's near neighbour. Man's extraordinary attempts to reach Mars have pushed technological boundaries past their limit and raised the tantalising prospect of establishing human colonies beyond our own planet. While the moon lies 240,000 miles away, Mars is at a distance of 50 million miles. Reaching the moon takes three days, but to land on Mars would take nearly eight months, and only two thirds of the missions to Mars have made it. The BBC has been there to analyse the highs and lows - including the ill-fated British attempt, the Beagle. Horizon has explored how scientists believe the only way to truly understand Mars is to send people there. If and when we do, it will be the most challenging trip humanity has ever undertaken.
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Tuesday 3rd April 2012
Arts, Culture and the Media
Damien Hirst: Thoughts, Work, Life
Channel 4, 12:15-1:05am
In an intimate and revealing portrait, Damien Hirst talks openly and honestly about his life. From his early years growing up in Leeds and his move to London in the early 80s, to his time spent at Goldsmiths College where he curated the now infamous Freeze show that brought the Young British Artists together. And, of course, his meteoric rise to fame in the 90s.
As well as a series of candid interviews with Hirst, the film includes never-before-seen footage, largely collated from the artist's own archives, and shows a private side of the artist rarely seen by the public.
Factual; Science and Nature; Science and Technology
Horizon: The Hunt for AI
BBC2, 9:00-10:00pm
Professor Marcus du Sautoy is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, and a Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University. He is a broadcaster, author and science communicator, and has worked tirelessly to make mathematics more accessible to the public.
Marcus completed an undergraduate degree and a DPhil in mathematics at Wadham College, Oxford and is currently a fellow at New College, Oxford. His research involves aspects of group theory and number theory, especially understanding the world of symmetry using zeta functions, a classical tool from number theory. In 2001, he won the prestigious Berwick Prize of the London Mathematical Society awarded every two years to reward the best mathematical research made by a mathematician under 40, and in 2009 he was awarded the Royal Society’s Faraday Prize, the UK’s premier award for excellence in communicating science. He received an OBE for services to science in the 2010 New Year’s Honours List.
Marcus has used his mathematical expertise to present numerous television programs and documentaries, including Mindgames, The Story of Maths, The Code and various Horizon documentaries. He is a constant contributor to BBC and other national radio stations, and has written regular articles for The Times, The Guardian, and The Telegraph amongst others. He has published three books - The Music of the Primes, which was also televised on BBC Four in 2005, Finding Moonshine published in 2008 and The Number Mysteries published in 2010 based on the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures he presented in 2006.
Marcus lives in London with his wife and children, and when not promoting science and maths, enjoys music, playing football and supporting his beloved Arsenal.
Documentaries
The Smugglers
ITV1, 9:00-10:00pm
Filmed over two years, This Smugglers special documentary trails detectives from the City of London Police as they secretly track and arrest a gang smuggling millions of pounds worth of counterfeit goods into Britain. Detective Superintendent David Clark from The City of London Police explains how the gang’s smuggling network stretched from China across Europe into Britain.
“This is a global smuggling network that has been brought to its knees today, make no mistake about that. It is not just about the people we have in custody who are flooding the UK market, we are talking the best part of 30 containers taken out circulation in the US and we have got the key king pin players in custody as well out in Guam.”
The compelling new documentary for ITV1 reveals how the trade in counterfeit goods is worth an estimated £1 billion a year, which is as lucrative as the cannabis market in Britain. The vast majority of counterfeit goods slip through our borders undetected every year, as criminal gangs become ever more intelligent in concealing their operations. Detectives receive intelligence about the first shipment arriving at Felixstowe, Britain’s largest container port. The smugglers have listed the container as carrying furniture parts, but inside are copies of some of Nike’s top selling trainers. In the space of three weeks, detectives secretly track the gang as they take delivery of three container loads of counterfeit trainers. For the first time, cameras follow the meticulous police surveillance operation over many months to identify the gang members involved, and discover how their large profits are being laundered through a front business and hidden in safety deposit boxes. Detective Superintendent David Clark explains how the gang has gone to great lengths to avoid detection by using a series of false identities.
“They don’t dress up specifically well, they don’t drive high powered or high value motor vehicles, they just live under that radar, but the more that you get into them, the more that you see how well organised they are, how well oiled their machine is, and the propensity and size of the illegal trade they are operating.” ...
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Wednesday 4th April 2012
Factual; Science and Nature; Documentaries
Wooly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice
BBC2, 9:00-10:00pm
Professor Alice Roberts reveals the natural history of the most famous of Ice Age animals - the woolly mammoth. Mammoths have transfixed humans since the depths of the last Ice Age when their herds roamed across what is now Europe and Asia. Although extinct for thousands of years scientists can now paint an incredibly detailed picture of the lives of these curious members of the elephant family thanks to whole carcasses that have been beautifully preserved in the Siberian permafrost. Alice meets the scientists who are using the latest genetic, chemical and molecular tests to reveal the adaptations that allowed mammoths to evolve from their origins in the tropics, to surviving the extremes of Siberia. And in a dramatic end to the film, she helps unveil a brand new woolly mammoth carcass that may shed new light on our own ancestors' role in their extinction.
Factual; Sport; Documentaries
Sexism in Football?
BBC1, 10:45-11;35pm
Gabby Logan explores sexism in football, hearing stories from influential women working across the men's game. Just how bad is it? From Karren Brady in the boardroom to the most powerful woman in football, UEFA's Karen Espelund, one thing is common - they have all experienced discrimination. Other contributors include the first female Match of the Day commentator, Jacqui Oatley; Robbie Savage, Lawrie Sanchez and the recently-appointed first woman on the FA Board, Heather Rabbatts.
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Thursday 5th April 2012
Factual; Families and Relationships; Documentaries
Kids in the Middle
BBC4, 2:50-3:50am
Brian Hill's bittersweet observational film features the story of a separated family whose break up is so acrimonious and the parents are so loath to come in to any contact with one another at all, that it becomes impossible for the father to see his children without the involvement of a contact centre. This powerful and intimate film explores the lengths to which dads will go to see their kids, the impact of this situation on the children, and the motivations and anxieties that have led mums ands dads to this most specific of locations.
Documentaries
Natural World: The Real Jungle Book Bear
BBC2, 8:00-9:00pm
Say hello to the Indian sloth bear, real-life inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s Baloo. They’re sweet, scruffy creatures, with shaggy black fur that sticks out in odd directions, as if they’d been styled by Robert Smith of the Cure. Watching the first film ever made about them, you may not be reminded much of Disney’s version of Baloo, although these guys certainly exist on the bare necessities, snuffling around for ants and termites that they hoover up through their snouts, or pillaging the odd bit of fruit. As the unhurried film follows several bears mooching around a beautiful area of Karnataka, we also see other fabulous creatures – tigers and leopards, yes, but also skipper frogs that walk on water and the best shot of a peacock shimmying his tail feathers you’ll ever see. What may stick in the mind, though, are the sweet, mischievous bear cubs. One very funny scene where a cub confronts his first mongoose is all too brief...
Crime; Documentaries
Fraud Squad (postponed from last week)
ITV1, 9:00-10:00pm, 2/2
From the makers of acclaimed ITV1 hit Strangeways comes this riveting documentary series about an international police investigation to bring down a multi-millionaire fraudster and his gang. Fraud is the new goldmine for organised crime and 3.2 million people in Britain have become victims. The latest scam is to con people into buying shares in fictitious companies. The gangs use bogus websites, glossy brochures and mass market emails to lure their victims in. With exclusive access to The City of London Police, Fraud Squad follows detectives as they investigate one of the biggest share frauds in Europe. Cameras shadow detectives on surveillance operations, dramatic arrests and as they seize the gang’s Ferraris and multi-million pound houses. The hunt for the gangs takes them across the playgrounds of Europe and contains many unexpected twists and turns. Fraud Squad is a thrilling insight into the world of organised crime.
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Friday 6th April
Arts, Culture and the Media
Sex and Sensibility: The Allure of Art Nouveau
BBC4, 2:30-3:30am, 3/3, Vienna
“Those rascals should have every bone in their body broken!” raged Archduke Franz Ferdinand, echoing the disgust of Vienna’s po-faced artistic establishment. Art Nouveau had finally washed up on the banks of the Danube and inspired insurrection.
A century later, tourists flock to admire the gilded masterpieces of the movement’s guiding light – Gustav Klimt – that so incensed the Archduke. Goodness knows what the latter would have made of Klimt’s racier sketches, which Stephen Smith gleefully roots out as they’re still kept under lock and key. Smith’s skill is in deftly bringing to life this heady, decadent movement, which was soon swept away by the hard-nosed practicalities of the 20th century.
Documentaries
Brick By Brick: Rebuilding Our Past
BBC2, 9:00-10:00pm
Rebuilding The Past is a brand-new architecture series, presented by Dan Cruickshank and Charlie Luxton, that brings back to life, brick by brick, some of Britain's most historic buildings which no longer exist.
Each building tells a unique story, presenting Dan and Charlie with a fascinating detective mission and the chance to uncover the history of the people who designed and adapted them. This is the story of ordinary people's architecture – and this series is also about the history of British people, told through the buildings that were part of their lives.
Every year, dozens of historic buildings are snatched from the jaws of bulldozers. Rescued by museums, conservation organisations and local enthusiasts, they are painstakingly taken apart and stored away. In each episode, Rebuilding The Past will follow a new team of local experts as they attempt to bring one of these structures back to life – without the help of an instruction book.
The teams will face puzzles and crucial decisions at every step, from choosing the right approach, to layout and building materials. They must work out the history of vernacular architecture from the ground up, interpreting clues as they go and re-learning long lost techniques. The extraordinary buildings featured will include an Edwardian coal-fired fish and chip shop in the North East and a Victorian pre-fab mission church.
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