SATURDAY 12 MARCH 2011

SAT 19:00 Nature's Great Events (b00hvw59)
The Great Migration

Each year more than one million wildebeest and zebra invade the Serengeti grasslands, making it a paradise for the predators that live there. But what happens when the herds move off again? This programme follows the moving story of one lion family's struggle to survive until the return of the great migration.

Nature's Great Events tells the story of the epic trek of herds that follow the rains to fresh pastures, and the tale of the predators they leave behind.

The crew captures the desperate plight of a single pride of lions, revealing a different side to the Serengeti. Rather than being a predators' paradise, it is a land in constant change, with wildebeest following the rains and leaving the lions to tough it out.

The Ntudu pride has seven cubs, and is already suffering as the wildebeest leave to find fresh pastures. The four pride females struggle to find enough food for their hungry offspring.

As weeks turn to months, the pride members become more emaciated and frailer, and the number of cubs dwindles to just two.

As the herds begin to return, the plains reveal one final secret. For the first time since 1967, the Serengeti's only active volcano, Ol Doinyo Lengai, begins to billow ash and smoke. Filmed from the air, the team captures the exciting action. Fertilised by the volcanic ash over millions of years, these short grass plains are among the most productive grasslands in the world.

After months of hardship, the pride's tragic story, through sickness, drought and fire, is over as the herds return, providing plentiful food.

The final ten-minute diary, Pride and Peril, tells the harrowing story captured by film-maker Owen Newman of the Ndutu pride which he followed for more than a year.


SAT 20:00 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00z8tp8)
Episode 1

Exclusive behind-the-scenes series which follows English National ballet on their 60th anniversary and reveals the complexities of staging world class ballet.

The ballet world is traditionally one of poise, serenity and calm, but this raw and enlightening series follows the company over one of its toughest and most dramatic years to date - from the extravagant production of Swan Lake and the battles of Romeo and Juliet to the turbulent creation of a brand new Christmas Nutcracker. Every production must be an artistic and commercial success and the dancers and staff are under increasing pressure to deliver in the present financial climate.

Told through the eyes of the very people who make this physically challenging art form beautiful, this is the revealing truth of the dancers' lives - from injury and exhaustion to accolades and elation. All in the pursuit of perfection.

From the rehearsal room to the boardroom to the magical big night performances - the fruition of months of hard work that make it all worthwhile - it follows the main players within English National Ballet over an industry-defining year. From the dancers to the artistic director via the choreographers and the management behind the scenes, it goes deep inside a modern arts institution.

In the first episode, we follow the production of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall and its enormous cast of new and experienced dancers longing for recognition. When choreographer Derek Deane puts his reputation on the line by casting a talented but inexperienced young dancer with a world-class guest ballerina, the challenge is on. Derek demands absolute perfection, and all the dancers are under pressure to meet his high standards.


SAT 21:00 The Killing (b00zhcf2)
Series 1

Episode 15

Acclaimed Danish crime series spanning the course of a 20-day murder investigation.

Sarah has walked into a life-threatening situation but neither Jan nor anyone else knows her whereabouts. Meanwhile, it looks as if the puzzle of the murderer's identity might finally be resolved.

At the town hall, Bremer swoops in to deliver a coup de grace to Troels' political career, while a broken-down Pernille needs help when she gets into hot water. Theis continues to be untraceable.


SAT 22:00 The Killing (b00zhcf4)
Series 1

Episode 16

Acclaimed Danish crime series spanning the course of a 20-day murder investigation.

Sarah won't get on board when her superiors insist that Nanna's murder has been solved. But, having succeeded in distancing herself from almost everyone around her, will she have to continue the investigation alone?

At the town hall, Bremer holds out the olive branch, but Troels has some embarassing facts to unveil. Pernille and Theis attempt a reconciliation.


SAT 23:00 How TV Ruined Your Life (b00zg1rh)
Knowledge

Charlie Brooker traces how TV's notion of knowledge has changed from bespectacled experts to celebrity presenter drivel. Warning: this episode contains an alien meeting with Danny Dyer and celebrity supernatural activity.


SAT 23:30 Island at the BBC (b00kvd3b)
Compilation of performances from the BBC archives of top Island Records artists, including Cat Stevens's Father and Son, Roxy Music's Do the Strand and Stir It Up by Bob Marley and The Wailers, plus tracks from Steel Pulse, U2, PJ Harvey, Baaba Maal and Amy Winehouse.


SAT 00:30 Keep on Running: 50 Years of Island Records (b00kvd38)
Damian Lewis-narrated documentary telling the colourful story of Island Records, the Jamaican-founded record label built by maverick boss Chris Blackwell which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.

The film features a rare, in-depth interview with Blackwell alongside contributions from former Island artists Grace Jones, Toots Hibbert, Amy Winehouse, Sly and Robbie, PJ Harvey, U2, Brian Eno, Spencer Davis, Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens, the B52s, Kid Creole, Greg Lake, Ian Anderson, Trevor Horn, Paul Weller, Richard Thompson and Keane.

News archive and rare performance footage are used to tell the story of the label - its part in bringing reggae music into the world; its expansion into progressive rock in the late 1960s; the rise of Bob Marley into a global star; and the label's reputation for consistently signing, producing and championing innovative acts from the UK and all over the world.


SAT 02:00 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00z8tp8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 03:00 Nature's Great Events (b00hvw59)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



SUNDAY 13 MARCH 2011

SUN 19:00 The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion (b00skvtx)
What Is the Secret of Life?

Michael Mosley takes an informative and ambitious journey exploring how the evolution of scientific understanding is intimately interwoven with society's historical path.

The story of how the secret of life has been examined through the prism of the most complex organism known - the human body. It begins with attempts to save the lives of gladiators in Ancient Rome, unfolds with the macabre work and near-perfect drawings of Leonardo in the Renaissance, through the idea of the 'life force' of electricity, to the microscopic world of the cell. It reveals how a moral crisis unleashed by work on the nuclear bomb helped trigger a great breakthrough in biology - understanding the structure and workings of DNA.


SUN 20:00 The Story of Variety with Michael Grade (b00z8rd6)
Onto the Box

What happened to the variety stars once the theatres closed and the cameras beckoned? Michael Grade tells the ups and downs of the variety stars on television.


SUN 21:00 Electric Dreams (b00n59t4)
1980s

A family and their home are stripped of all their modern technology to live a life of decades past.

The family must live through the digital wilderness of the 1980s at a rate of a year per day, starting in 1980. They have their very own technical support team who source and supply them with the vintage technology that would have been available to British households during the decade, including iconic technology such as the Walkman, Game and Watch and the CD player.

For a modern family it is a decade of challenges. In 1980 they attempt to cook a roast dinner in a microwave oven, as consumers of the time were encouraged to do. They are faced with a bewildering choice of home computers in 1982 and the arduous task of finding a rental shop that still supplies films on video cassette for their newly-arrived VHS player.

Dad takes a spin in the most famous technological flop of the decade, the Sinclair C5, but the family do experience an 80s success story when New Wave icons Ultravox pay a surprise visit to demonstrate the synthesiser technology which soundtracked the era.


SUN 22:00 Summer Hours (b00zlcq0)
Drama. The divergent paths of three successful adult siblings collide when their mother, heiress to her uncle's exceptional 19th century art collection, dies suddenly. Caught between the conflicting priorities of their modern lives and a reluctance to confront the end of their childhood, the siblings find that they have different ideas about how to deal with the legacy of their mother's estate.


SUN 23:35 Blues Britannia: Can Blue Men Sing the Whites? (b00kc752)
Documentary telling the story of what happened to blues music on its journey from the southern states of America to the heart of British pop and rock culture, providing an in-depth look at what this music really meant to a generation of kids desperate for an antidote to their experiences of living in post-war suburban Britain.

Narrated by Nigel Planer and structured in three parts, the first, Born Under a Bad Sign, focuses on the arrival of American blues in Britain in the late 50s and the first performances here by such legends as Muddy Waters, Sonnie Terry and Brownie McGhee.

Part two, Sittin' on Top of the World, charts the birth of the first British blues boom in the early 60s, spearheaded by the Rolling Stones and groups such as the Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, the Animals and the Pretty Things.

The final section, Crossroads, looks at the next, more hardcore British blues boom of the mid-to-late 60s, with guitarists Eric Clapton and Peter Green and the international dominance of their respective bands, Cream and Fleetwood Mac.

Featuring archive performances and interviews with Keith Richards, Paul Jones, Chris Dreja, Bill Wyman, Phil May, John Mayall, Jack Bruce, Mick Fleetwood, Ian Anderson, Tony McPhee, Mike Vernon, Tom McGuinness, Mick Abrahams, Dick Taylor, Val Wilmer, Chris Barber, Pete Brown, Bob Brunning, Dave Kelly and Phil Ryan.


SUN 01:05 Later... with Jools Holland (b00k99g6)
Blues

Compilation of performances from many of the great blues artists who have featured on Later... and the Hootenanny since 1992, including BB King, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Seasick Steve, ZZ Top and many more.


SUN 02:05 Blues at the BBC (b00k36m5)
Collection of performances by British and American blues artists on BBC programmes such as The Beat Room, A Whole Scene Going, The Old Grey Whistle Test and The Late Show.

Includes the seminal slide guitar of Son House, the British R&B of The Kinks, the unmistakeable electric sound of BB King and Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and John Lee Hooker, as well as less familiar material from the likes of Delaney and Bonnie, Freddie King and Long John Baldry.


SUN 03:05 Electric Dreams (b00n59t4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 14 MARCH 2011

MON 19:00 World News Today (b00zhzkj)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 The Way We Travelled (b0074t9g)
The Way We Travelled

First in a three-part series of documentaries on how holiday and travel programmes have changed the British public's attitude to other countries and cultures over the years. Including clips from shows such as Richard Dimbleby's Passport, Cliff Michelmore's Holiday in 1969, and from the reports of Alan Whicker.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b00zhzkl)
Specials

Comic Relief Special

Victoria Coren hosts a special edition of the show as six celebrity brains try to deduce the hidden connections between things which, on the face of it, seem not to be connected at all.

The Treesome (Brian Sewell, Adam Hart-Davis and Grub Smith) lock intellectual brains with the Larks (Michael Bywater, Sir Andrew Motion and Stuart Maconie) as they try to work out what connects the Golden Gate Bridge and David Dickinson.


MON 21:00 Around the World in 60 Minutes (b00ymjkt)
A unique journey around the weird and wonderful planet that we call home.

When Yuri Gagarin was blasted into space he became the first human to get a proper look at where we live. 'The Earth is blue,' he exclaimed, 'how amazing!'. Suddenly our perspective on the world had changed forever. We thought we were going to explore the universe, yet the most extraordinary thing we discovered was our own home planet, the Earth.

So what would you see during just one orbit of the Earth? Starting 200 miles above the planet, this film whisks you around the planet to show what changes in the time it takes to circumnavigate the Earth just once. We hear from British-born astronaut Piers Sellers on what it's like to live and work in space, and also to gaze down and see how we are altering and reshaping our world.

We marvel at the incredible forces of nature that brings hundred-mile wide storms and reshapes continents, and also discover how we humans are draining seas and building cities in the middle of the desert. We also visit the wettest place on Earth, as well as the most volcanic.

Narrated by David Morrissey, this inspirational trip around the planet will make you view our home as you've never seen it before.


MON 22:00 Twenty Twelve (b00zhzqw)
Series 1

Episode 1

Comedy series following the personal and professional challenges faced by those responsible for delivering the biggest show on earth, as the Olympic Deliverance team try to get through to the end of the day, the end of the week and the end of the year without all the wheels falling off at once.

With time ticking inexorably downwards, the marketing team come up with a major public event to mark the '1000 days to go' milestone. A huge clock designed by a modern British artist will be installed outside Tate Modern on the banks of the Thames in a ceremony performed by both Seb Coe and Boris Johnson and will count down towards the start of the Olympic Games. The only problem is that the clock has a potentially disastrous design flaw which no-one seems to have noticed until it is too late.

Meanwhile the process of deciding which public figures should be approached to carry the Olympic Torch on its journey around Britain has begun.


MON 22:30 Lead Balloon (b00flk44)
Series 3

Gas

Sitcom about ex-celebrity comedian Rick Spleen. Mel announces that Magda, their surly East-European help, is moving in with them until her boiler's fixed and Rick fears that it will become a permanent arrangement.

Meanwhile, Rick discovers a secret concerning Michael, the deranged café owner, and agonises over whether to tell him. When Rick and Mel are invited along to the opening night of Michael's new restaurant, it's a recipe for disaster.


MON 23:00 Only Connect (b00zhzkl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 23:30 The Way We Travelled (b0074t9g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 00:25 Around the World in 60 Minutes (b00ymjkt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 01:25 Twenty Twelve (b00zhzqw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


MON 01:55 Lead Balloon (b00flk44)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]


MON 02:25 Around the World in 60 Minutes (b00ymjkt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 03:25 Twenty Twelve (b00zhzqw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



TUESDAY 15 MARCH 2011

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00zj0v7)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Shooting the Hollywood Stars (b00xhdwc)
Rankin, the UK's leading fashion photographer, reveals the rich history of Hollywood photography and how its most influential and enduring images were created. From Hollywood's golden age, epitomised by gorgeous images of screen goddesses Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich to brooding shots of Marlon Brando; from the unparalleled allure of pictures of Marilyn Monroe to iconic black and white stills of Charlie Chaplin, Rankin immerses himself in the art of the Hollywood portrait and explores the vital role it has played in both the movie business and our continuing love affair with movie stars.

To understand how the image makers of Hollywood created these iconic photographs, Rankin recruits a cast of leading Hollywood actors to help him recreate some of the most important - including Leslie Mann (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin); Selma Blair (Legally Blonde, Cruel Intentions), British actor Matthew Rhys (Brothers & Sisters, Dylan Thomas's biopic The Edge of Love); actor extraordinaire Michael Sheen (The Damned United, Frost/Nixon), and Hollywood legend Jane Russell.


TUE 20:30 Justice (b00zj0v9)
The Good Life

In the final episode of Harvard professor Michael Sandel's famous series of lectures on the philosophy of justice, he raises two questions. Is it necessary to reason about the good life in order to decide what rights people have and what is just? And if so, how is it possible to argue about the nature of the good life?

Students explore these questions with a discussion about the relation of law and morality, as played out in public controversies over same-sex marriage and abortion.

Sandel concludes the series by making the point that, in many cases, the law can't be neutral on hard moral questions. Engaging rather than avoiding the moral convictions of our fellow citizens may be the best way of seeking a just society.


TUE 21:00 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00zj0vc)
Episode 2

Exclusive behind-the-scenes series which follows English National ballet on their 60th anniversary and reveals the complexities of staging world class ballet.

We join the company as they fight to finish their most ambitious production of the year - Rudolf Nureyev's Romeo & Juliet. From tensions on stage to challenging rehearsals using real weaponry, the men are performing for their lives. The company are already undermanned so it's crucial that no dancers are injured, but it's only a matter of time before the demanding schedule takes its toll.


TUE 22:00 The Outlaw (b00zp6cd)
Unconventional western about the life of outlaw Billy the Kid, including his partnership with Doc Holliday and clashes with lawman Pat Garrett. Stars Jane Russell and Jack Buetel.


TUE 23:50 Shooting the Hollywood Stars (b00xhdwc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 00:50 Summer Hours (b00zlcq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Sunday]


TUE 02:30 Justice (b00zj0v9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


TUE 03:00 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00zj0vc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 16 MARCH 2011

WED 19:00 World News Today (b00zj16c)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Mud, Sweat and Tractors: The Story of Agriculture (b00k9bms)
Beef

A look at how two of our finest native breeds of cattle, Hereford and Aberdeen Angus, reigned supreme before the Second World War and helped earn Britain a reputation as the 'stockyard of the world'. The programme also shows how, since then, both breeds have been transformed to a much larger size - from standing only to the stockman's waist to reaching his shoulder.


WED 20:30 Time to Remember (b00v6c8q)
A Woman's World

Newsreel footage and original 1950s Time to Remember voiceover by Joyce Grenfell and Dame Edith Evans offer an insight into the ways women's roles in society changed through the first five decades of the 20th century.

Featuring footage of suffragette protest, including Emily Davison at the 1913 Derby; working women during the First World War; Suzanne Lenglen playing tennis; and something of the fashions of the 20s and 30s.


WED 21:00 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zhzqt)
The Real Sir Humphrey

Three-part series by Michael Cockerell starts with the role played over the years by the most powerful unelected member of the government, the Cabinet Secretary.

He is the real life Sir Humphrey from Yes Prime Minister, who rules the civil service from Whitehall's least understood ministry, the Cabinet Office.

Mixing rare archive with candid interviews, the programme tells the story of the many battles for power between Britain's top civil servant and their prime ministers.


WED 22:00 Kidult (b00zj16f)
Marathon Boy

Documentary telling the story of the youngest marathon runner ever. At the age of four, he is plucked from the poverty of an Indian slum by his coach. Extraordinary drama and tragedy ensue.

What starts as a simple inspirational story - the hope of a small boy and his trainer who unite to pursue a dream in a ruthless world - goes on to reveal the darker side of humanity and the complexities of Indian society as it struggles to come to grips with the realities of the slums, crippling poverty, organised crime and state-sanctioned corruption.

Over a period of five years a compelling human story emerges, full of moral dilemma, dramatic twists and ethical and legal debate.


WED 23:30 The Killing (b00zhcf2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


WED 00:30 The Killing (b00zhcf4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Saturday]


WED 01:30 Time to Remember (b00v6c8q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


WED 02:00 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zhzqt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


WED 03:00 Kidult (b00zj16f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



THURSDAY 17 MARCH 2011

THU 19:00 World News Today (b00zj1c0)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 On Hannibal's Trail (b00t9qv6)
Crossing the Rhone

History and travel documentary series in which three Australian brothers - Danny, Ben and Sam Wood - set out cycling on the trail of Hannibal, the Carthaginian warrior who marched from Spain to Rome at the head of an invading army accompanied by elephants.

From the Roman amphitheatre of Arles, the brothers retrace Hannibal's steps through the south of France to the foothills of the Alps. They recreate Hannibal's historic crossing of the River Rhone before cycling on to the town of Maillane, where the remains of one of Hannibal's elephants were found in the 19th century. They then race up the 2000-metre-high Mont Ventoux before setting off into the Alps.


THU 20:00 My New Best Friend (b00bfm0m)
Cheltenham

Documentary series about the importance and nature of friendship among children. Shot over eight months and told entirely from their perspective, it is an intimate and moving insight into how children think and feel as they journey into a new world.

Four 11-year-old girls leave the familiarity of their prep schools to join one of the most prestigious girls' schools in the country, Cheltenham Ladies' College. For the three new boarders and one day girl, a new school is as daunting as it is exciting.


THU 21:00 Horizon (b00x7cb3)
What Makes Us Clever? A Horizon Guide to Intelligence

Dallas Campbell delves into the Horizon archive to discover how our understanding of intelligence has transformed over the last century. From early caveman thinkers to computers doing the thinking for us, he discovers the best ways of testing how clever we are - and enhancing it.


THU 22:00 Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen (b00lz31y)
Drama illuminating one doctor's pioneering efforts to protect the people of Manchester from the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic.

Set against the background of the Armistice in November 1918 as millions of exhausted soldiers return home from the Great War, the film tells the little-known story of Dr James Niven, Manchester's medical health officer for thirty years, and his heroic efforts to combat a second wave of fatal influenza as it spreads across the city and the UK.


THU 23:00 Parsifal (b00zj1c4)
Tony Palmer's documentary about Richard Wagner's three-act opera Parsifal, which celebrates the search for the Holy Grail.

The film features a rare interview with the late Wolfgang Wagner, Richard's grandson, who explains what his grandfather intended and why.

With contributions from Monty Python, Ingmar Bergman and Steven Spielberg, alongside footage of Palmer's own stage production starring Placido Domingo, the film examines the explosive nature of the dangerous political ideas embodied in the legend of Parsifal.


THU 00:30 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zhzqt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]


THU 01:30 Horizon (b00x7cb3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 02:30 Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen (b00lz31y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


THU 03:30 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zhzqt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]



FRIDAY 18 MARCH 2011

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00zj2lx)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Placido Domingo 70th Birthday Gala (b00zj2lz)
On 21st January 2011, the world's greatest tenor Placido Domingo celebrated his 70th birthday in Madrid, the city of his birth. At the Teatro Real, in the presence of the Queen of Spain, a host of international stars including Bryn Terfel, Dolora Zajick and Rene Pape performed in his honour, singing music by Verdi, Wagner, Mozart and Puccini.


FRI 21:00 Christy Moore Live: Come All You Dreamers (b00zj2m1)
One of Ireland's favourite sons and greatest live performers, folk singer and balladeer Christy Moore filmed live at Barrowland in Glasgow in 2008 with his veteran accompanist Declan Sinnott. Moore is in intimate communion with an attentive audience, playing a classic setlist that includes Missing You, Black Is The Colour, Pair of Brown Eyes, Ride On.


FRI 22:00 Folk Hibernia (b0074t9b)
Documentary which looks at the Irish folk revival of the last 20 or 30 years. 60 years ago virtually unheard abroad and largely unloved at home, Irish music has given the world a sense of Ireland and Ireland a sense of itself, as the country has risen from an impoverished post-colonial upstart to a modern European power. Contributors include Christy Moore, Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains, Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners, Liam Clancy of The Clancy Brothers and Shane MacGowan of The Pogues.


FRI 23:30 Folk Hibernia at the BBC (b0074tkd)
Celebrating the finest in Irish folk music with a compilation of performances taken from the BBC archives. Highlights include songs from The Clancy Brothers, The Chieftains, Christy Moore, The Pogues and Sharon Shannon.


FRI 00:30 Christy Moore Live: Come All You Dreamers (b00zj2m1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 01:30 Folk Hibernia (b0074t9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 03:00 Placido Domingo 70th Birthday Gala (b00zj2lz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]