The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on BBC 4 Contact

RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2008

SAT 19:00 Arena (b00dqv1z)
Philip Hoare's Guide to Whales

Arctic

Acclaimed author and whale-watcher Philip Hoare takes us into the world of Arctic whales. From the whaling port of Whitby, we follow the historical trail of the whale hunters to the frozen seas of the North Pole and the worlds strangest whales - the bowhead, nearly hunted to extinction and now known to be the longest-lived mammal; the white beluga whale, so-called canary of the sea; and the tusked narwhal, whose existence gave rise to the legend of the unicorn.


SAT 19:10 Civilisation (b0074r72)
Heroic Materialism

To conclude this landmark series, Kenneth Clark considers the ways in which the heroic materialism of the past hundred years has been linked to an equally remarkable increase in humanitarianism. The achievement of engineers and scientists such as Brunel and Rutherford has been matched by the work of great reformers like Wilberforce and Shaftesbury. As Clark notes, the concept of kindness only became important in the last century.


SAT 20:00 The Shock of the New (b0074qfl)
Mechanical Paradise

Series on the development of modern art from 1880 to the present, presented by Robert Hughes. The first episode shows how the development of technology influenced art between 1880 and end of WWI.

Hughes discusses Cubism, a movement started by Pablo Picasso and developed by Georges Braque, in which multiple viewpoints of a subject were compressed into a single view. Hughes details how African carvings and Spanish culture had a key influence on works such as Picasso's Demoiselles D'Avignon.


SAT 21:00 Simon Schama's Power of Art (b007cjf6)
Picasso

Documentary series in which historian Simon Schama recounts the high drama in the making of eight artistic masterpieces. He tells the story of Picasso's epic Guernica, looking at both the Nazi bombing massacre that inspired the painting and Picasso's extraordinary artistic response.

The film combines Schama's trademark sassy storytelling with dramatisation to ask what art can do in the face of atrocity.


SAT 22:00 imagine... (b007cj3d)
Autumn 2006

Who Cares About Art?

Documentary which tells the stories of five people who spend their days guarding great treasures in museums and galleries. Some have tragic personal stories, and all began not caring or knowing much about art, but they feel that spending their days surrounded by the world's greatest masterpieces has been their salvation.


SAT 22:50 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00drr0x)
Melvyn Bragg

Melvyn Bragg divides his time between broadcasting and writing. He has presented The South Bank Show since 1978 and his best-selling books include A Time To Dance, The Routes of English and the semi-autobiographical Remember Me. He discusses growing up in Cumbria, the death of his first wife, and the state of arts television, with Mark Lawson.


SAT 23:50 The Photographer, his Wife, her Lover (b0074s2c)
Paul Yule's film uncovers the private life of O Winston Link, a giant of contemporary photography whose images, made in the 1950s and depicting the last days of steam, have become icons of 20th century Americana. However, behind the veneer of success and recognition is a tragic story of deceit, lies and greed - together with an unexpected and sordid twist.


SAT 01:10 The Late Show (b00dtlw9)
Frank Gehry

Music and arts magazine programme, presented by Sarah Dunnant. Features an interview with Frank Gehry.


SAT 01:55 Visions of Space (b0074nvw)
Antoni Gaudi: God's Architect

Eminent art critic and broadcaster Robert Hughes presents an exploration of three of the world's most remarkable architects.

In very different ways, each used their creations to express their response and society's response to the power of religion - Gaudi, the power of the state - Speers, and the power of the corporation - van der Rohe.

Hughes examines the legend of Antoni Gaudi, whose buildings have left an indelible mark on the city of Barcelona. Despite his austerely religious lifestyle, Gaudi's innovative genius created some of the most soulful and expressive buildings ever seen.


SAT 02:55 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00drr0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:50 today]



SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2008

SUN 19:00 Fossil Detectives (b00dn9ml)
East of England

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 the east of England, the team go on a fossil hunting challenge on Hunstanton beach and find out how fossils can be discovered right on your doorstep.

They discover the story behind the world's most complete and largest mammoth skeleton, uncovered at West Runton; the scientific answers revealed by the biggest fish that ever lived, discovered on the outskirts of Peterborough; and how fossils can reveal past climates.


SUN 19:30 Ways of Seeing (b00drsjf)
Episode 1

A BAFTA award-winning series with John Berger, which rapidly became regarded as one of the most influential art programmes ever made. In the first programme, Berger examines the impact of photography on our appreciation of art from the past.


SUN 20:00 Monitor (b00dts0s)
Orson Welles

Orson Welles talks to Huw Wheldon about his work as actor, director and filmmaker, with clips from his films, Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons.


SUN 20:10 Monitor (b00drs8s)
Henry Moore

First transmitted in 1960, Huw Wheldon visits Henry Moore at his home in the run-up to a major exhibition of his work at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. Wheldon tries to uncover deeper meanings and motivations in the artist's work, but Moore freely admits that he doesn't want to examine himself too thoroughly in case it inhibits his ability to create.

'I hate talking about my work,' said Moore. 'You can't explain a year's work in five minutes; and in any case all you do is to release your tensions and talk them away. All the same, there are things that can and perhaps should be said on a programme like Monitor.'.


SUN 20:30 Monitor (b00drs8w)
Larkin and Betjeman - Down Cemetery Road

Philip Larkin talks to John Betjeman in 1964 about his life, his poetry and the city of Hull where he lived and worked as university librarian.


SUN 20:55 Monitor (b00drs8y)
Pop Goes the Easel

Ken Russell's stylish and playful 1962 film on the Young British Artists of the day who were pioneering the Pop Art movement features the works of four friends and colleagues.

Peter Blake explores his passion for pop icons, Peter Phillips is featured with his cool companions, Derek Boshier voices his concerns with the American influence on British life and culture, and Pauline Boty, Britain's great female pop art painter who was to die only four years later, performs in a short dramatic dream piece. (1962)


SUN 21:40 Monitor (b00drs90)
Hitchcock and Wheldon

Huw Wheldon's interview with legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, from 1964.


SUN 22:00 Art of Arts TV (b00drs92)
The Single Arts Film

For the past half century, arts programming has been one of the cornerstones of British public service television. This three-part series sees an illustrious line-up of luminaries, including David Attenborough, Joan Bakewell, Melvyn Bragg, Jonathan Miller, Jonathan Meades, Ken Russell, Brian Sewell and Alan Yentob, reflect on the contribution that arts programmes have made to our national broadcasting culture. In the first episode, they offer fascinating and trenchant insights into one of the most celebrated, and often controversial, areas of the genre: the single arts documentary.


SUN 23:00 The Genius of Photography (b0088zhw)
Paper Movies

Documentary series exploring the history of photography - from daguerreotype to digital, from portraits to photo-journalism, from art to advertising. The three decades from the late 1950s onwards were the golden age of photographic journeys, from the road movies of Robert Frank to the grainy street dramas of William Klein, and marks the moment when colour photography became a serious medium for the artistically-ambitious photographer. Includes interviews with Klein, Robert Adams, Joel Sternfeld.


SUN 00:00 David Gilmour Live at Gdansk (b00dnbcx)
David Gilmour, the guitar and voice of Pink Floyd, plays live to 50,000 people against the historical backdrop of the Gdansk shipyards in Poland, to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the Solidarity movement.

Gilmour and his band, featuring Floyd's Rick Wright and Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera, perform a mixture from Gilmour's On An Island album and Floyd songs including Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb. The band are backed by the string section of the Baltic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.


SUN 01:00 Art of Arts TV (b00drs92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


SUN 02:00 Visions of Space (b0074nwj)
Albert Speer: Size Matters

Eminent art critic and broadcaster Robert Hughes presents an exploration of three of the world's most remarkable architects.

In very different ways, each used their creations to express their response and society's response to the power of religion - Gaudi, the power of the state - Speers, and the power of the corporation - van der Rohe.

In 1979 Robert Hughes met and interviewed Hitler's architect, Albert Speer, for his landmark series, Shock of the New. Speer died shortly afterwards but in 2002, Hughes discovered the long-lost tape of that conversation and was inspired to travel back to Germany to examine the legacy of a man who was, for a brief period, the most powerful architect in the world.


SUN 03:00 Art of Arts TV (b00drs92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2008

MON 19:00 World News Today (b00drsjc)
The latest news from around the world.


MON 19:30 Ways of Seeing (b00drsq0)
Episode 2

A BAFTA award-winning series with John Berger, which rapidly became regarded as one of the most influential art programmes ever made. This second programme deals with the portrayal of the female nude, an important part of the tradition of European art. Berger examines these paintings and asks whether they celebrate women as they really are or only as men would like them to be.


MON 20:00 Max Beckmann at the Tate (b0074nxv)
Andrew Graham-Dixon appraises Tate Modern's major exhibition of works by Max Beckmann. An extraordinary artist branded a degenerate by Adolf Hitler, Beckmann's works reflect the trauma and jubilation of his dramatic life.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b00drsq2)
Series 1

Episode 3

Quiz show presented by Victoria Coren in which knowledge will only take you so far, as patience and lateral thinking are also vital. It is all about making connections between things which may appear, at first glance, not to be connected at all.


MON 21:00 The Late Show (b00drsq4)
1001 Nights of the Late Show

1001 Nights of the Late Show

First of three compilations from 1995 looking back at The Late Show, charting its highlights, low points, rows, debuts and debates as the arts and popular culture series ended its six year run.


MON 21:40 City Scapes (b0074pb7)
Las Vegas

Series about the development of cities around the world. This programme celebrates the architectural history of Las Vegas and its diverse influences.


MON 22:00 Art of Arts TV (b00dwc9y)
The Arts Magazine Show

For the past half century, arts programming has been one of the cornerstones of British public service television. This three-part series sees an illustrious line-up of luminaries, including David Attenborough, Joan Bakewell, Melvyn Bragg, Jonathan Miller, Jonathan Meades, Ken Russell, Brian Sewell and Alan Yentob, reflect on the contribution that arts programmes have made to our national broadcasting culture. Coming under the spotlight in this episode are arts magazine shows like Late Night Line Up, The Late Show and The Culture Show - a genre that has often set the cultural agenda, and provided the forum for many explosive debates.


MON 23:00 The Late Show (b00dv03z)
1001 Nights of the Late Show

Episode 2

Second of three celebratory compilations from 1995, looking back at six years of The Late Show. Presented by Tracey MacLeod.


MON 23:40 The Late Show (b00dv041)
Kennedy Zapruder

A Late Show special from 1993 on Dallas dressmaker Abraham Zapruder's famous homemovie footage of JFK's assassination, which had been bought, sold, stolen and subpoenaed in the 30 years since it and Kennedy were shot. Features interviews with friends, journalists and filmmakers including Stan Brakhage, Eric Conger, Errol Morris and Gerald Posner.


MON 00:25 Only Connect (b00drsq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 00:55 Art of Arts TV (b00dwc9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


MON 01:55 Visions of Space (b0074nxb)
Mies van der Rohe: Less Is More

Eminent art critic and broadcaster Robert Hughes presents an exploration of three of the world's most remarkable architects.

In very different ways, each used their creations to express their response and society's response to the power of religion - Gaudi, the power of the state - Speers, and the power of the corporation - van der Rohe.

Hughes analyses the work of Mies van der Rohe, the master of light and space who had an enormous influence on modern architecture. In a journey spanning two continents, Hughes analyses his own contradictory reactions to Mies's work.


MON 02:55 Art of Arts TV (b00dwc9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



TUESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2008

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00drsz7)
The latest news from around the world.


TUE 19:30 Ways of Seeing (b00dv06m)
Episode 3

A BAFTA award-winning series with John Berger, which rapidly became regarded as one of the most influential art programmes ever made. With the invention of oil paint around 1400, painters were able to portray people and objects with an unprecedented degree of realism, and painting became the ideal way to celebrate private possessions. In this programme, John Berger questions the value we place on that tradition.


TUE 20:00 Wild China (b00bybp3)
Tides of Change

Documentary series featuring pioneering images that capture the dazzling array of mysterious and wonderful creatures populating China's most beautiful landscapes.

Ancient tea-growing cultures, traditional seaweed-thatched villages, bird-filled wetlands, rare white dolphins, snake-infested islands and futuristic cities jostle along China's fertile eastern seaboard, which marks the front line in the scramble for resources and space between 700 million people and a surprising wealth of wildlife.


TUE 21:00 That Mitchell and Webb Look (b0074fz5)
Series 1

Episode 4

Comedy sketch show starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. Includes a pioneering new medical technique called Hammers; how to win your very own massive yacht; and a chance to jump off a cliff for just two quid. With Olivia Colman, James Bachman, Paterson Joseph and Abigail Burdess.


TUE 21:30 Flight of the Conchords (b0082h74)
Series 1

Yoko

Comedy series about Kiwi folk musicians Bret and Jemaine as they to try to make it big in their adopted home of New York.

Bret's relationship with fellow sign-holder Coco causes tension in the band. When Jemaine is asked to stop joining them on their dates, he has to go with Murray on his bandstand tours. Features the songs If You're Into It and Tape of Love.


TUE 21:55 London to Brighton in Four Minutes (b00dttsc)
An undercranked film of a train journey from London to Brighton. The camera is positioned on the front of the train and nothing is in shot except the view forward.


TUE 22:00 The Book Quiz (b009mfdp)
Series 2

Episode 1

Kirsty Wark presents as writers Miranda Sawyer and Anthony Horowitz do battle against authors Wendy Holden and Giles Coren for a place in the semi-finals of the literary panel game.


TUE 22:30 Fanny Hill (b0084lg1)
Episode 1

Andrew Davies's two-part adaptation of John Cleland's infamous, classic 18th-century novel, Fanny Hill.

After losing her parents to smallpox, Fanny travels to London where, employed by local madam Mrs Brown, her virtue is tested by the lascivious Mr Crofts. Eloping with her true love Charles, Fanny basks in happy domesticity. But when Charles' father, the same Mr Crofts, meets his son's fiancee he banishes Charles to the West Indies to leave Fanny alone with spiralling debts.


TUE 23:30 imagine... (b007cc53)
Summer 2005

Fantastic Mr Dahl

Alan Yentob explores the magical and mysterious world of the best-selling children's author Roald Dahl to discover what made him such a great storyteller. This intimate portrait has exclusive access to his personal archive and features interviews with members of his immediate family, including his widow, Felicity, his first wife, the actress Patricia Neal, his children Tessa, Theo and Ophelia, and his granddaughter, the model Sophie Dahl.


TUE 00:30 Arena (b0074rmg)
At 30

Documentary looking at some of the most memorable Arena programmes of the past 30 years. With contributions from Anthony Wall, Alan Yentob, Lesley Megahey and Nigel Williams.


TUE 01:30 The Book Quiz (b009mfdp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


TUE 02:00 Fanny Hill (b0084lg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]


TUE 03:00 Only Connect (b00drsq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Monday]


TUE 03:30 Flight of the Conchords (b0082h74)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today]



WEDNESDAY 01 OCTOBER 2008

WED 19:00 World News Today (b00drtc6)
The latest news from around the world.


WED 19:30 Ways of Seeing (b00drsz9)
Episode 4

A BAFTA award-winning series with John Berger, which rapidly became regarded as one of the most influential art programmes ever made. In this programme, Berger analyses the images of advertising and publicity and shows how they relate to the tradition of oil painting - in moods, relationships and poses.


WED 20:00 A History of British Art (b0074msn)
My Wife, My Horse and Myself

Third instalment of a six-part series tracing British art from 1066 to the modern day. Writer and presenter Andrew Graham-Dixon travels back to the 18th century, the golden age of British art. He looks at the rich visual world of the aristocracy, from art depicting the great English informal landscape garden to studies of the aristocrat's racehorse, wife, dog and mistress and explore the works of artists like Hogarth, Stubbs and Gainsborough.


WED 20:50 Omnibus (b0074m8f)
David Hockney's Secret Knowledge

Artist David Hockney reveals startling evidence which suggests that cameras have been a secret tool for artists since the 15th century, a discovery that solves century-old mysteries surrounding famous paintings. Presented by Kirsty Wark, and filmed in Bruges, Florence and a stunning Hockney-designed set in Hollywood.


WED 22:00 Art of Arts TV (b00dwcdl)
The Landmark Arts Series

For the past half century, arts programming has been one of the cornerstones of British public service television. This three-part series sees an illustrious line-up of luminaries, including David Attenborough, Joan Bakewell, Melvyn Bragg, Jonathan Miller, Jonathan Meades, Ken Russell, Brian Sewell and Alan Yentob, reflect on the contribution that arts programmes have made to our national broadcasting culture. In the final episode, they reconsider some of the most ambitious and celebrated of all arts programmes - the major landmark series, fronted by some of the art world's biggest names, including Kenneth Clark's epic Civilisation, John Berger's cerebral Ways of Seeing, and the inimitable Robert Hughes' series The Shock of the New.


WED 23:00 Arena (b0074pmd)
The Waugh Trilogy

Bright Young Things

Series of three programmes profiling the writer Evelyn Waugh. In this first episode, Waugh's early years are explored from his childhood and Oxford University days through to his first failed marriage and his early writing success with classics such as Decline and Fall.


WED 00:00 Arena (b0074pmj)
The Waugh Trilogy

Mayfair and the Jungle

Series of three programmes profiling the writer Evelyn Waugh. This second episode explores Waugh's time in Africa as a journalist and spans the Second World War. After years of negotiating with the church of Rome, Waugh is finally free to marry his second wife Laura.


WED 01:00 Arena (b0074pmn)
The Waugh Trilogy

An Englishman's Home

Series of three programmes profiling the writer Evelyn Waugh. The final episode examines Waugh's deteriorating health in his latter years. After his mental illness Waugh penned The Ordeal of Gilbert Penfold, which describes horror, hallucinations and voices in the head. So accurate were his descriptions of his experiences that the work was highly regarded by psychoanalysts.


WED 02:00 Art of Eternity (b0074t92)
Painting Paradise

How should art depict the relationship between man and God? How can art best express eternal values? Can you, and should you, portray the face of Christ? For over a thousand years these were some of the questions which taxed the minds of the greatest artists of the early West. In this three-part series, art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon sets out to unravel the mysteries of the art of the pre-perspective era. Why has this world been so frequently misunderstood and underrated? His journey takes him from the mysterious catacombs of ancient Rome to Coptic Egypt, to the Orthodox Christian world of Istanbul and then onwards to medieval Italy and France.

In the first episode, Andrew Graham-Dixon traces the beginnings of Christian art in the declining Roman Empire, Egypt and medieval France, and reveals the ideas which lay behind the transition from classical art to the first icons.


WED 03:00 Art of Arts TV (b00dwcdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



THURSDAY 02 OCTOBER 2008

THU 19:00 World News Today (b00drtpb)
The latest news from around the world.


THU 19:30 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.


THU 20:00 Hindsight: Lord Beeching (b00dttyd)
Eric Robson talks to Lord Beeching about his time as Chairman of the British Railways Board between 1961 and 1965, asking if he would have done things differently with hindsight.


THU 20:30 Railway Walks with Julia Bradbury (b00dtp4b)
The Peak Express

Julia Bradbury has her backpack on to explore the great outdoors. Julia's walks follow the old tracks, overgrown cuttings and ancient viaducts of Britain's lost rail empire, visiting disused lines across England, Scotland and Wales. Through stunning landscapes and urban backstreets, each contrasting walk has a unique story to tell, offering Julia a window into industrial Britain and how the rise and fall of the railways has altered lives and localities across the country.

Julia begins her exploration of Britain's lost rail empire in Derbyshire, the heart of the Peak District, with a walk along the popular Monsal Trail. Limestone cliffs and gorges abound, not to mention the tunnels and soaring viaducts of the Midland Railway - one of the most dramatic and unlikely main lines ever built.


THU 21:00 Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails (b00drtpj)
Ian Hislop brings his customary humour, analysis and wit to the notorious Beeching Report of 1963, which led to the closure of a third of the nation's railway lines and stations and forced tens of thousands of people into the car and onto the road.

Was author Dr Richard Beeching little more than Genghis Khan with a slide rule, ruthlessly hacking away at Britain's rail network in a misguided quest for profitability, or was he the fall guy for short-sighted government policies that favoured the car over the train?

Ian also investigates the fallout of Beeching's plan, discovering what was lost to the British landscape, communities and ways of life when the railway map shrank, and recalls the halcyon days of train travel, celebrated by John Betjeman.

Ian travels from Cornwall to the Scottish borders, meeting those responsible and those affected and questioning whether such brutal measures could be justified. Knowing what we know now, with trains far more energy efficient and environmentally sound than cars, perhaps Beeching's plan was the biggest folly of the 1960s?


THU 22:00 Great Railway Journeys (b0074rnh)
Series 3

Crewe to Crewe

Victoria Wood makes a round trip to the north of Britain from Crewe, taking in both the east and west coasts.

Along her way, Victoria stops off at Carnforth station, location of the classic film Brief Encounter, where original film extra Elaine Maudsley talks of the film and the demise of the station.

She goes on to the North West Regional Railways service across Morecambe Bay to Barrow, and then up early the next morning for the Cumbrian Coastal line to Carlisle. At Carlisle station, Victoria encounters John Mitton, who teaches her the technique of trainspotting. She then heads over the border to Glasgow and up to Thurso, the most northerly point possible by train.

Heading south, Victoria stops off at Edinburgh, where she takes on the role of 'Vicky, Girl Reporter', examining stories that the Forth Bridge is dangerous and badly in need of repair, and onto Middlesborough, Whitby and York, where the final leg of the journey is broken by a visit to Mel Thorley's home at Adswood, Manchester, to see his collection of trains and station signs on display in the back garden.

Finally, it's back at Crewe where Victoria and the crew are refused permission to film in the station buffet.


THU 22:55 BBC Four Sessions (b0074q95)
June Tabor

One of England's greatest folk voices in session at LSO St Luke's in East London, with material drawn from her entire career including songs from her award-winning Topic album, An Echo of Hooves, and some of our best songwriters, including Richard Thompson.

June is accompanied by her regular band featuring Huw Warren on piano, Tim Harries on double-bass, Mark Emerson on viola and Mark Lockheart on saxophone. They are joined by guitarist Martin Simpson and accordionist Andy Cutting.The concert mixes love songs and meditations on the state of England.


THU 23:55 Railway Walks with Julia Bradbury (b00dtp4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


THU 00:25 Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails (b00drtpj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 01:25 Fossil Detectives (b00drtpd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 01:55 Art of Eternity (b0074t9w)
The Glory of Byzantium

How should art depict the relationship between man and God? How can art best express eternal values? Can you, and should you, portray the face of Christ? For over a thousand years these were some of the questions which taxed the minds of the greatest artists of the early West. In this three-part series, art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon sets out to unravel the mysteries of the art of the pre-perspective era. Why has this world been so frequently misunderstood and underrated? His journey takes him from the mysterious catacombs of ancient Rome to Coptic Egypt, to the Orthodox Christian world of Istanbul and then onwards to medieval Italy and France.

In the second of this three-part series, Andrew Graham-Dixon travels to Istanbul to immerse himself in the tumultuous world of the Byzantine Empire. He reveals the art that emerged, decodes the iconography and explains its continuing relevance to everyday people.


THU 02:55 Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails (b00drtpj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 03 OCTOBER 2008

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00drtw8)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Pinchas Zukerman (b00drtwb)
Celebrated portrait of violinist Pinchas Zukerman from director Christopher Nupen.

Six years in the making, this Emmy-nominated film traces the development of one of the finest violin talents of the 20th century. It follows him through the difficult transition from child prodigy through to early maturity. It also shows the growth of his relationship with the English Chamber Orchestra, which drew him into conducting for the first time.


FRI 20:30 Only Connect (b00drsq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Monday]


FRI 21:00 Once Upon a Time in New York: The Birth of Hip Hop, Disco and Punk (b007mw93)
How the squalid streets of '70s New York gave birth to music that would go on to conquer the world - punk, disco and hip hop.

In the 1970s the Big Apple was rotten to the core, yet out of the grime, grit and low rent space emerged new music unlike anything that had gone before.

Inspired by the Velvet Underground, a new wave of 'punk' rock emerged in lower Manhattan including The New York Dolls, The Ramones and the Patti Smith Group. Meanwhile, downtown loft parties held by gay New Yorkers heralded the birth of disco, which would eventually spawn the ultimate club for the privileged few: Studio 54. The swanky mid-town discos were out of bounds to black New York so in the Bronx DJs such as Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa created their own parties, heralding the birth of hip hop.

With David Johansen, Patti Smith, John Cale, Richard Hell, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc, Nile Rodgers, Chuck D, Tommy Ramone, Chris Stein, Fab 5. Freddy, Lenny Kaye, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Syl Sylvain, Nicky Siano, David Mancuso, DJ AJ, David Depino, Jayne County, Leee Childers, Nelson George, Victor Bokris and Vince Aletti.


FRI 22:00 Arena (b0074m2h)
The Burger and the King

A remarkable guided tour through the culinary world of Elvis Presley, in his later years famed as much for his appetite as for his music. The King's passion for food is recounted by close friends, relatives and personal cooks who share the recipes that kept their idol happy. From the squirrel and raccoon dishes of his youth to the fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches that contributed to his demise. (1996)


FRI 22:55 Arena (b0074lx2)
My Way

An investigation of the appeal and power of the popular song My Way, which was written by Paul Anka and was recorded by many artists, including Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Elvis Presley and Sid Vicious. Contributors include Paul Anka, George Brown, Barry John and Dorothy Squires.


FRI 23:35 The Avengers (b0074szl)
Series 4

Silent Dust

Steed and Emma are called in to investigate an environmental disaster when areas of countryside are laid to waste and birds and beasts start dying in their hundreds.


FRI 00:25 The Avengers (b0074t09)
Series 4

Room without a View

Classic 1960s crime drama series. Emma finds herself inside a concentration camp in London's West End.


FRI 01:15 Only Connect (b00drsq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Monday]


FRI 01:45 Art of Eternity (b0074tbk)
When East Meets West

How should art depict the relationship between man and God? How can art best express eternal values? Can you, and should you, portray the face of Christ? For over a thousand years these were some of the questions which taxed the minds of the greatest artists of the early West. In this three-part series, art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon sets out to unravel the mysteries of the art of the pre-perspective era. Why has this world been so frequently misunderstood and underrated? His journey takes him from the mysterious catacombs of ancient Rome to Coptic Egypt, to the Orthodox Christian world of Istanbul and then onwards to medieval Italy and France.

In the final part of this series Andrew Graham-Dixon examines early Christian art and the reasons for its evolution during the Renaissance. He also reveals just how far modern artists have been influenced by the pre-perspective view of the world.


FRI 02:45 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00drr0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:50 on Saturday]




LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

A History of British Art 20:00 WED (b0074msn)

Arena 19:00 SAT (b00dqv1z)

Arena 00:30 TUE (b0074rmg)

Arena 23:00 WED (b0074pmd)

Arena 00:00 WED (b0074pmj)

Arena 01:00 WED (b0074pmn)

Arena 22:00 FRI (b0074m2h)

Arena 22:55 FRI (b0074lx2)

Art of Arts TV 22:00 SUN (b00drs92)

Art of Arts TV 01:00 SUN (b00drs92)

Art of Arts TV 03:00 SUN (b00drs92)

Art of Arts TV 22:00 MON (b00dwc9y)

Art of Arts TV 00:55 MON (b00dwc9y)

Art of Arts TV 02:55 MON (b00dwc9y)

Art of Arts TV 22:00 WED (b00dwcdl)

Art of Arts TV 03:00 WED (b00dwcdl)

Art of Eternity 02:00 WED (b0074t92)

Art of Eternity 01:55 THU (b0074t9w)

Art of Eternity 01:45 FRI (b0074tbk)

BBC Four Sessions 22:55 THU (b0074q95)

City Scapes 21:40 MON (b0074pb7)

Civilisation 19:10 SAT (b0074r72)

David Gilmour Live at Gdansk 00:00 SUN (b00dnbcx)

Fanny Hill 22:30 TUE (b0084lg1)

Fanny Hill 02:00 TUE (b0084lg1)

Flight of the Conchords 21:30 TUE (b0082h74)

Flight of the Conchords 03:30 TUE (b0082h74)

Fossil Detectives 19:00 SUN (b00dn9ml)

Fossil Detectives 19:30 THU (b00drtpd)

Fossil Detectives 01:25 THU (b00drtpd)

Great Railway Journeys 22:00 THU (b0074rnh)

Hindsight: Lord Beeching 20:00 THU (b00dttyd)

Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails 21:00 THU (b00drtpj)

Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails 00:25 THU (b00drtpj)

Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails 02:55 THU (b00drtpj)

London to Brighton in Four Minutes 21:55 TUE (b00dttsc)

Mark Lawson Talks To... 22:50 SAT (b00drr0x)

Mark Lawson Talks To... 02:55 SAT (b00drr0x)

Mark Lawson Talks To... 02:45 FRI (b00drr0x)

Max Beckmann at the Tate 20:00 MON (b0074nxv)

Monitor 20:00 SUN (b00dts0s)

Monitor 20:10 SUN (b00drs8s)

Monitor 20:30 SUN (b00drs8w)

Monitor 20:55 SUN (b00drs8y)

Monitor 21:40 SUN (b00drs90)

Omnibus 20:50 WED (b0074m8f)

Once Upon a Time in New York: The Birth of Hip Hop, Disco and Punk 21:00 FRI (b007mw93)

Only Connect 20:30 MON (b00drsq2)

Only Connect 00:25 MON (b00drsq2)

Only Connect 03:00 TUE (b00drsq2)

Only Connect 20:30 FRI (b00drsq2)

Only Connect 01:15 FRI (b00drsq2)

Pinchas Zukerman 19:30 FRI (b00drtwb)

Railway Walks with Julia Bradbury 20:30 THU (b00dtp4b)

Railway Walks with Julia Bradbury 23:55 THU (b00dtp4b)

Simon Schama's Power of Art 21:00 SAT (b007cjf6)

That Mitchell and Webb Look 21:00 TUE (b0074fz5)

The Avengers 23:35 FRI (b0074szl)

The Avengers 00:25 FRI (b0074t09)

The Book Quiz 22:00 TUE (b009mfdp)

The Book Quiz 01:30 TUE (b009mfdp)

The Genius of Photography 23:00 SUN (b0088zhw)

The Late Show 01:10 SAT (b00dtlw9)

The Late Show 21:00 MON (b00drsq4)

The Late Show 23:00 MON (b00dv03z)

The Late Show 23:40 MON (b00dv041)

The Photographer, his Wife, her Lover 23:50 SAT (b0074s2c)

The Shock of the New 20:00 SAT (b0074qfl)

Visions of Space 01:55 SAT (b0074nvw)

Visions of Space 02:00 SUN (b0074nwj)

Visions of Space 01:55 MON (b0074nxb)

Ways of Seeing 19:30 SUN (b00drsjf)

Ways of Seeing 19:30 MON (b00drsq0)

Ways of Seeing 19:30 TUE (b00dv06m)

Ways of Seeing 19:30 WED (b00drsz9)

Wild China 20:00 TUE (b00bybp3)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b00drsjc)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b00drsz7)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b00drtc6)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b00drtpb)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b00drtw8)

imagine... 22:00 SAT (b007cj3d)

imagine... 23:30 TUE (b007cc53)