SATURDAY 15 AUGUST 2009

SAT 19:00 Only Connect (b00m3zhp)
Series 2

Mathematicians v Cambridge Quiz Society - Semi-Final

Quiz show presented by Victoria Coren in which knowledge will only take you so far, as patience and lateral thinking are also vital.

In the first semi-final, three mathematicians pit their logical skills against the wits of the Cambridge Quiz Society. They compete to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly bereft of associations. How does Lord Kelvin of Largs link to George Orwell via the Ebola virus and India?


SAT 19:30 The Story of Maths (b00f7zsk)
To Infinity and Beyond

Marcus du Sautoy concludes his investigation into the history of mathematics with a look at some of the great unsolved problems that confronted mathematicians in the 20th century.

After exploring Georg Cantor's work on infinity and Henri Poincare's work on chaos theory, he looks at how mathematics was itself thrown into chaos by the discoveries of Kurt Godel, who showed that the unknowable is an integral part of maths, and Paul Cohen, who established that there were several different sorts of mathematics in which conflicting answers to the same question were possible.

He concludes his journey by considering the great unsolved problems of mathematics today, including the Riemann Hypothesis, a conjecture about the distribution of prime numbers. A million-dollar prize and a place in the history books await anyone who can prove Riemann's theorem.


SAT 20:30 In Concert (b0074srl)
Crosby and Nash

1970 footage of the duo performing soon after the demise of the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Featuring beautiful harmonies, they perform CSNY and solo songs such as Marrakesh Express and Guinnevere.


SAT 21:00 Woodstock (b00m6myr)
In 1969, almost 500,000 people gathered on a farm in Bethel, New York, for three days of peace and music. This director's cut documents the music festival from the set up to the clean up, with iconic concert footage from Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills and Nash and many more.


SAT 00:35 Sight and Sound in Concert (b00lnbj9)
Santana

Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana leads his band in highlights from a concert recorded in 1976, featuring the classics Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va and Soul Sacrifice.


SAT 01:05 Hotel California: LA from the Byrds to the Eagles (b0074t87)
Documentary looking at the music and mythology of a golden era in Californian culture, and telling the story of how Los Angeles changed from a kooky backwater in the early 1960s to become the artistic and industrial hub of the American music industry by the end of the 1970s.

Alongside extensive and never before seen archive footage, the programme features comprehensive first-hand accounts of the key figures including musicians (David Crosby, Graham Nash, J. D. Souther, Bernie Leadon and Bonnie Raitt, music industry bosses (David Geffen, Jac Holzman, Ron Stone and Peter Asher) and legendary LA scenesters including Henry Diltz, Pamela Des Barres and Ned Doheny.

The film explores how the socially-conscious folk rock of young hippies with acoustic guitars was transformed into the coked-out stadium excess of the late 1970s and the biggest selling album of all time.


SAT 02:35 In Concert (b0074srl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


SAT 03:05 The Story of Maths (b00f7zsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


SAT 04:05 Only Connect (b00m3zhp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 2009

SUN 19:00 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (b00jkcrr)
Series 1

The Boy with an African Heart

Drama based on Alexander McCall Smith's novels.

Mma Ramotswe is helping Mrs Curtin to find her son who has been missing for 10 years. Unsure whether he is alive or dead, Mma Ramotswe digs up his past, only to uncover some shocking truths.

Meanwhile, keen to prove her worth as an assistant detective rather than just a secretary, Mma Makutsi is left trying to solve the Kgale hill break-ins.


SUN 20:00 Wainwright Walks (b007xnzr)
Series 2

High Street

Series in which Julia Bradbury explores the Lake District landscape that inspired the great British fell walker and author Alfred Wainwright to produce his beautifully crafted guide books.

Julia starts her walk in the quiet, mysterious valley of Mardale, where the local village was lost forever when the valley was flooded to create the Haweswater reservoir. The history continues as she climbs 2,500ft to the summit of High Street, the most well-trodden high ground in the Lakes. This was where Roman legions crossed the fells 2,000 years ago, making, quite literally, a high street.


SUN 20:30 Fossil Detectives (b00drtpd)
Scotland

Series in which Open University associate lecturer Hermione Cockburn leads a team of fossil experts and geologists around different regions of Britain to search for its best fossil treasures and mysteries.

In Scotland, the team go fossil hunting in Loch Ness and track down prehistoric life throughout the country, some of it revealed though cutting-edge MRI scans never seen before. They discover how microfossils help us find fossil fuel and Hermione fishes for strange armoured creatures that date back hundreds of millions of years.


SUN 21:00 100 Years of Girl Guides (b00m6n05)
In September 2009, the Girl Guides celebrated their centenary. With a membership of over 600,000, nearly half the female population of Britain has been involved with the Brownies and Girl Guides at some time during their lives.

Throughout its history, the movement has given girls the opportunity to have fun and form life-long friendships. Narrated by Dominic West (The Wire), 100 Years of the Girl Guides delves into the movement's extraordinary archive and interviews a host of former Girl Guides from veterans to household names such as Kelly Holmes, Clare Short, Kate Silverton and Rhona Cameron.

In 1909, Robert Baden-Powell agreed to let girls have their equivalent of the Boy Scouts. It was a time when women couldn't vote, couldn't work once married, couldn't borrow money or seek contraception.

The Guides have always risen to the challenge in times of national crisis. During the First World War, they worked in munitions factories and in the Second World War, young women in the Guides International Service worked alongside British soldiers to help Jewish inmates liberated from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

The Guides' progressive vision has pioneered the change in attitudes over disability. Their inclusive approach has produced many successful sportswomen including Kelly Holmes and paralympians Barbara Howie and Tanni Grey-Thompson.

The Girl Guides would not be the Girl Guides without their camping adventures. Baden Powell believed the great outdoors was the best way for the youth of the day to stay healthy and sane.

At the heart of the Girl Guides' ethos lies their commitment to helping others and being a good citizen.


SUN 22:00 Picture This (b00m6n07)
Series 3

Chiff-Chaff Chums

Documentary which follows Guides troop leader Marilyn Tucker and her friend Jane on their annual camp in Sussex with 55 young girls from Grimsby. They brave fierce storms, duckings in the lake, burnt pancakes cooked by the youngsters and a terrifying swing down an abseiling wall. It all adds up to a week of fun for ladies of all ages.


SUN 22:30 The King of Comedy (b007893r)
Poignant black comedy about an aspiring comedian who decides that he can only get a shot at the big time with the help of America's top chat show host. But when the star fails to cooperate with his plan, the desperate comedian kidnaps him. A tale examining the successes and pitfalls inherent in the pursuit of the American dream.


SUN 00:15 Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays (b007zmn3)
Documentary celebrating the triumph, tragedy and human comedy that was Manchester record company, Factory. Started by the late Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus, Peter Saville and Martin Hannett in the late 1970s, it became known as the home of Joy Divsion, New Order and Happy Mondays and for creating the Hacienda club. The label pioneered Britain's independent pop culture, creating a new Manchester and blowing a shed-load of money. Includes interviews with all the main players in the Factory story.


SUN 01:45 They Came From Manchester: Five Decades of Mancunian Pop (b00d9g2x)
A compilation of BBC studio performances of some of the great Manchester bands from the 1960s to the present, including Freddie and the Dreamers, The Hollies, 10CC, the Buzzcocks, The Fall, Joy Division, James, M-People, Oasis and many more.


SUN 02:45 100 Years of Girl Guides (b00m6n05)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 17 AUGUST 2009

MON 19:00 World News Today (b00m6n2m)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Legends (b0074s0m)
James Last: Non Stop Dancing

James Last is one of the most successful bandleaders and arrangers in the history of popular music. In a career lasting more than 50 years, he has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.

This documentary goes behind the James Last phenomenon to ask why his music is loved by the public but often loathed by the critics. The music is often described as easy listening or happy music, but what is the James Last sound? Is it just a string of revamped Beatles hits, non-stop Abba medleys, updated classics and polka parties, or is his achievement in popular music being under-estimated and dismissed unfairly by the musical elite?

Influenced by jazz, swing, the Beatles and rock and roll in 1960's Hamburg, Last would soon become one of the most famous bandleaders of all time. This programme explores the music, the musicians and the life of the man who invented the non-stop party and re-invented the classics.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b00m6n2p)
Series 2

Chessmen v Rugby Boys - Semi-Final

Quiz show presented by Victoria Coren in which knowledge will only take you so far, as patience and lateral thinking are also vital.

In the second semi-final, three quietly strategic chess players pit their wits against the brawn of the Rugby Boys. Who will win the battle, as they compete to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random? How does Carmilla link to Neo via Lord Voldemort and Sir Leigh Teabing?


MON 21:00 Wallander (b00m9jky)
Series 1

The Photographer

A woman is found dead after the opening of a war photographer's exhibition. Murder is suspected, as is the photographer. Wallander and his team of police investigate.

In Swedish with English subtitles.


MON 22:30 The Grandparent Diaries (b00llg5q)
Ian Batten

Documentary series about grandparents in Britain today introduces Londoner Ian Batten - fashion designer, father of four and grandfather of seven.

Ian takes all seven of his grandchildren, ranging from toddlers to teenagers, for a weekend by the sea for the first time. As a 1960s dad who brought his own children up in the liberal spirit of the time, his approach seems to be a hit with the children. Bedtimes are relaxed and the kids happily chip in, but do his own children recall their upbringings as similarly idyllic, and how has the free, liberal approach influenced their own views on parenting?

Through interviews spanning three generations, the family's archive footage and observation, the film looks at how the philosophies of the 1960s influence Ian as a grandfather whilst celebrating the enduring traditions of grandparenting through the 20th century.


MON 23:30 The Grandparent Diaries (b00lpk38)
The Littles

Molly Little is a typical 15-year-old - pushing boundaries, battles at home as she rallies for later curfews, shorter hem lines and more phone credit. But her living situation is not, as she and her 10- year-old brother Mitch are brought up by their grandparents in Kent.

Val and Ron have been looking after these two of their seven grandchildren for eight years after their mother Tammy died unexpectedly in 2001 and their father left the family. They are among the 200,000 grandparents in this country bringing up their grandchildren, numbers which are rising.

Tammy was murdered at her home in Cornwall by her estranged partner - the children's father, a paranoid schizophrenic. The children were in the house at the time and Molly was the person who pressed the panic button which brought the police to the house.

Mitch has grown up with his grandparents as surrogate parents, but for Molly, who already had a very close bond with and strong memories of her mother, it has been harder to adjust.

The desire to keep absolute normality for the children has been paramount since Tammy died. Living with the generation gap is not easy, as well their own private struggles to deal with the loss of a mother and a daughter. But clinging to the normal routine of every day life has helped get them through.

Through family archive, actuality, interview and the children's video diary, the film builds up an intimate picture of the family, past and present. It explores how far the love of these two doting (and grieving) grandparents has gone to repair a family coping with a tragic loss. Through the laughter, routines and arguments of daily life, we observe to what degree grandparental love can and cannot fill the breach of a lost member of the middle generation.


MON 00:30 The Grandparent Diaries (b00lszpy)
Avril Pengilly

When a widowed elderly grandmother moves in with one of her children and grandchildren, it is usually assumed it is because she is too old and frail to continue to look after herself. But three years ago, when 78-year-old Avril Pengilly sold her bungalow to live with her youngest daughter Liz, her son-in-law Dave and her grandsons Jake and Mike, it was because they needed her help, both financially and practically, as much as she needed them.

Through interview and observation, the film explores both the advantages and challenges for all three generations living under one roof. Using personal photographs and Avril's memories of the her life in a small north Devon farming community, Avril looks back at her own history and how it has informed her role as a grandmother and mother today.


MON 01:30 Only Connect (b00m6n2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 02:00 Style on Trial (b00gqxrr)
1960s

Stuart Maconie and Lauren Laverne put British style and fashion between the 1940s and the 1990s into the dock. To discuss the 1960s they are joined in the studio by designer John Bates, the man who created Diana Rigg's catsuits for The Avengers, top 1960s model Jill Kennington and veteran fashion journalist Eve Pollard.


MON 03:00 Style on Trial (b00gvb2y)
1970s

Stuart Maconie and Lauren Laverne put British style and fashion between the 1940s and the 1990s into the dock. To discuss the 1970s they are joined in the studio by British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, the maker of three-tier wedge sandals for the 70s rock aristocracy Terry de Havilland, and Wayne Hemingway, a teenager of the decade who went on to create his own fashion label.



TUESDAY 18 AUGUST 2009

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00m6n5g)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Only Connect (b00m6n2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Monday]


TUE 20:00 The Cell (b00m425d)
The Hidden Kingdom

In a three-part series, Dr Adam Rutherford tells the extraordinary story of the scientific quest to discover the secrets of the cell and of life itself. Every living thing is made of cells, microscopic building blocks of almost unimaginable power and complexity.

The first part explores how centuries of scientific and religious dogma were overturned by the earliest discoveries of the existence of cells, and how scientists came to realise that there was, literally, more to life than meets the eye.


TUE 21:00 We Need Answers (b00hw3yw)
Series 1

Wine

Mark Watson, Tim Key and Alex Horne lead a comic quiz show with a difference, adapted from their award-winning Edinburgh show. Jilly Goolden and Jay Rayner take part in a knock-about quiz to find out which one of them is the smartest, the funniest and the best at surreal physical challenges. All the questions come from the audience members and text-messaging services and are on the subject of wine.


TUE 21:30 Cowards (b00hd1tw)
Episode 3

Four-man sketch show packed with surprise and invention. Scenarios include disaffected judges, office bullying via Skype, Russian roulette at the dinner table, a jobseeker aiming to become Mick Hucknall's PA and a dog with a secret - all delivered with a unique brand of joyful deadpan absurdity.

The team of Tom Basden, Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key and Lloyd Woolf have honed their voice over two acclaimed Edinburgh Festival shows, a returning series on Radio 4 and the first online sketch show for BBC3. Their highly-accomplished TV debut is a thrilling new arrival in the comedy landscape.

With top comedy director Steve Bendelack (League of Gentlemen, Little Britain, The Royle Family, Mighty Boosh) at the helm, Cowards is a funny, visually-arresting show performed with skill and subtlety by four of the best young writer-performers around.


TUE 22:00 The Pre-Raphaelites (b00lglxw)
Episode 3

Three-part series examining the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, who brought notoriety to British art in the 19th century, bursting into the spotlight in 1848 and shocking their peers with a new kind of radical art.

The final part looks at how the Pre-Raphaelites had outgrown the avant-garde in their later years and began to embrace fame and fortune with art designed to please the masses. In so doing, they attained riches and celebrity and became the forefathers of the commercial modern artist.


TUE 22:30 Getting On (b00lszq0)
Series 1

Episode 3

The legacy of the Ivy fight has left a problem, with Hilary accusing Kim of making an inappropriate remark during the fight and insisting on disciplinary action. Kim has called in her union rep to defend her, but the meeting does little to sort out the mess. In revenge, Hilary demands the ward be shut down for a deep cleaning, forcing extra work on the staff. Pippa leaves for a health conference abroad, with her stool sample research complete.


TUE 23:00 Early Doors (b0078kbl)
Series 1

Episode 4

Comedy series set in a small Manchester public house. Tension mounts as the winner of the football card is announced. Duffy and Joe advise Liam on how to win back a lost love. Jean is hoping desperately that she'll be able to go to Crete.


TUE 23:30 Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe (b00fqq3t)
Series 4

Episode 2

Charlie Brooker takes an irreverent look at all aspects of life on the small screen, including capsule reviews of the week's highs and lows.

In an advertising special, there are reports from a mysterious insider dishing the dirt on all that is bad in the industry, plus a potted history of advertising. Brooker reveals the changing psychology used to keep people buying, and how the portrayal of men and women in advertising has changed. Plus, poet Tim Key gives us an advert-related verse.


TUE 00:00 The Cinema Show (b0082h4c)
Trust Me I'm a Doctor - Medics in the Movies

A look at the history of doctors on celluloid, from being shown as dedicated professionals in pre-war films like The Citadel and Young Doctor Kildare to less reverent portrayals in the Carry Ons. Nowadays doctors are as likely to be the film villains as the heroes, while TV has claimed the high ground. So have the times changed the movie doctor or have the movies themselves contributed to this loss of faith?


TUE 01:00 Getting On (b00lszq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]


TUE 01:30 We Need Answers (b00hw3yw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


TUE 02:00 Cowards (b00hd1tw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today]


TUE 02:30 The Pre-Raphaelites (b00lglxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


TUE 03:00 Only Connect (b00m6n2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Monday]


TUE 03:30 Cowards (b00hd1tw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today]



WEDNESDAY 19 AUGUST 2009

WED 19:00 World News Today (b00m6nhn)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Once a Soldier (b007hg9s)
Series 1

Not Forgotten

Documentary series about the Chelsea Pensioners, former British soldiers who live in the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.

Armistice Day approaches and memories of the wars the men fought remain vivid and painful. To honour their fallen comrades, a dozen of them hope to be passed fit enough to walk down the steps of the Royal Albert Hall's Festival of Remembrance and to march past the Cenotaph. At the Hospital, the poppy collection box is stolen, but the culprit is caught on CCTV.


WED 20:00 Casualty 1909 (b00lbtgn)
Episode 2

A scandal brews as Nurse Goodley suspects that Mr Dean is ignoring the terrible side-effects of a new anaesthetic. Must she risk everything and turn whistleblower?

Nurse Bennett fears that her secret alliance with Dr Culpin has been discovered when Matron Luckes sends her into private nursing.


WED 21:00 The Cell (b00m6nhq)
The Chemistry of Life

In a three-part series, Dr Adam Rutherford tells the extraordinary story of the scientific quest to discover the secrets of the cell and of life itself. Every living thing is made of cells, microscopic building blocks of almost unimaginable power and complexity.

This episode explores how scientists delved ever deeper into the world of the cell, seeking to reveal the magic ingredient that can spark a bundle of chemicals into life. Their discoveries have brought us to the brink of being able to create life for ourselves.


WED 22:00 Superfly (b0074n9h)
Documentary providing a fly's eye view of one hundred years of genetic research. Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, has helped scientists unlock the secrets of life as the subject of thousands of genetic experiments.

Using specialist photography and 3D animation the programme explores the fly's world, meeting gay, drunk and violent flies, as well as mutants high on crack cocaine, all lovingly raised by a slightly obsessed breed of scientists past and present. And the fruit fly may now even help us find a cure for cancer.


WED 23:00 Gods and Monsters (b0074stb)
Fictionalised biopic of famed horror film director James Whale. No longer a Hollywood player because of his homosexuality, Whale entertains himself by giving interviews to fans of his work. When a handsome gardener starts working at his house, Whale becomes entranced and starts up a complex friendship with the new arrival - one that will affect both of them profoundly.


WED 00:40 The Cell (b00m6nhq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


WED 01:40 Superfly (b0074n9h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


WED 02:40 The Cell (b00m6nhq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 20 AUGUST 2009

THU 19:00 World News Today (b00m6rry)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 BBC Proms (b00m6rs0)
2009

Prom 47: Handel's Samson

Suzy Klein introduces a performance of Handel's oratorio Samson, which tells the dramatic story of the last days of the great Israelite warrior. Composed within a few weeks of Handel's Messiah and based on a text by John Milton, it became one of Handel's most successful and popular oratorios.

Harry Bicket conducts a starry line-up of British singers, including Susan Gritton as Dalila and Mark Padmore as Samson.


THU 23:10 Wallander (b00m9jky)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


THU 00:40 BBC Proms (b00m6rs0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]



FRIDAY 21 AUGUST 2009

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00m6x6b)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (b00m6x6d)
2009

Prom 48: Barenboim & West-Eastern Divan

Charles Hazlewood presents as Daniel Barenboim's unique West-Eastern Divan orchestra, which brings together young players from both sides of the Arab-Israeli divide, celebrates its tenth anniversary with a programme including Liszt's Les Preludes, the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.


FRI 21:45 Stiff at the BBC (b0074sw5)
Episode 2

Second part of a compilation of BBC performances by the original Stiff Records artists and those closely associated with the maverick label, including Madness, Ian Dury, the Pogues, Lene Lovich and Jona Lewie.


FRI 22:45 If It Ain't Stiff (b007j2hr)
Adrian Edmondson narrates a documentary chronicling the story of Stiff Records, a tiny independent that took music out of the boardroom and gave it back to the fans. Stiff's successes included Nick Lowe, the Damned, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Madness, Tracey Ullman and the Pogues. Contributors include Captain Sensible, Jonathan Ross, Suggs, Shane MacGowan and label founders Jake Riviera and Dave Robinson.


FRI 00:15 Ian Dury: On My Life (b0074q3d)
Autobiographical documentary in which Ian Dury, fighting a battle with cancer to which he would later succumb, recalls his life and career. Including contributions from painter Peter Blake and members of Dury's band, the Blockheads.


FRI 01:15 Stiff at the BBC (b0074sw5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:45 today]


FRI 02:15 BBC Proms (b00m6x6d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]