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 13 JUNE 2009

SAT 19:00 Wild (b00jd9yx)
Scotland

Otters, Puffins and Seals

Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan explores his native Mull and some of the nearby islands, filming otters, deer, puffins, seals and a minke whale.


SAT 19:15 10 Days to War (b009rcsm)
Episodes 1-4

First four episodes of a series of short dramas marking the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War.

Tony Blair is given a TV grilling by a group of anti-war women.

The hills of Northern Iraq host a coalition of religious, political and military leaders discussing how they will run the country in the aftermath of war.

The British deputy at the US led Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Aid in Washington fears a disaster is looming in post-war Iraq.

The British and American governments lobby for a second resolution that will authorise war.


SAT 20:10 10 Days to War (b009rcp0)
Episodes 5-8

Second compilation of the series of short dramas marking the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

War is less than a week away but a battle is being fought for the streets.

UN diplomacy has died, but on the ground in Iraq the weapons inspectors continue their fruitless search.

Two MPs face mutual crises of conscience in the face of intense lobbying and pressure from a Whip.

Colonel Tim Collins, commander of the Royal Irish Regiment stationed on the Kuwait/Iraq border, rallies his troops with an impressive speech.


SAT 21:00 The Fallen: Legacy of Iraq (b00ktph9)
After six years, British military operations in Iraq have ended and the last troops are now packing up and leaving Basra. 179 servicemen and women will not be returning home though, having lost their lives whilst serving with the British Armed Forces.

This is a powerful and timely documentary in which friends and family of some of those who died during the conflict explore the deeply personal and lasting legacy Iraq has for them.

The invasion of Iraq has always been controversial but this film provides a voice for some of the people who have been most significantly affected by the decisions that took us to war. From how the withdrawal affects them and their hopes for Iraq and its people to whether they feel blame, anger or pride - for those who are still coming to terms with their loss, their thoughts on Iraq are powerful, varied and sometimes surprising.

The film also tells the story of Lance Corporal John 'Frenchie' Le Galloudec, a soldier who suffered severe spinal injuries after being shot whilst on operations in Basra. His friend and fellow soldier Corporal Rodney Wilson was fatally wounded trying to drag Frenchie to safety. For Frenchie the legacy of Iraq is both physical and mental scars.


SAT 21:40 The Fallen (b00fpx8g)
A powerful and poignant film in which families and friends of those who have died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq talk openly about their loved ones and their grief. Epic in scale and spanning seven years of war, this landmark three-hour film gives a rare insight into the personal impact and legacy of this loss.

Alongside intimate testimonies from families who have lost loved ones, The Fallen names every single serviceman and woman who has died while serving with the British Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.

Made by acclaimed filmmaker Morgan Matthews, The Fallen takes us across Britain and into the homes of those who have lost loved ones. The film also uses cherished personal home movie footage featuring those who have died as well as archive footage, leaving a lasting impression of their lives both inside and out of the armed forces.


SAT 00:50 The Fallen: Legacy of Iraq (b00ktph9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


SAT 01:30 This World (b008rc8m)
Baghdad: A Doctor's Story

International investigative documentary series. Shot by an Iraqi doctor, this film reveals the terrible conditions of a civilian ER in Baghdad. Al Yarmouk Hospital is in the most dangerous area of Baghdad. As the bomb victims come flooding in, the ambulance crews go from one dangerous mission to another.


SAT 02:10 Frontline Iraq (b0074tpg)
Episode 1

The Queen's Dragoon Guards, otherwise known as the Welsh Cavalry, is in Iraq for the third time in three years. For 18-year-old trooper Ieuan Jenkins, however, this is his very first tour of duty and a chance to put his training into practice.

In the first episode of this observational documentary series, we follow Ieuan and his regiment as they leave their German base for their most challenging mission yet in Iraq.


SAT 02:40 Frontline Iraq (b0074tpl)
Episode 2

It's the height of summer in Iraq and the Queen's Dragoon Guards are having to operate in temperatures as high as 55C. With the air conditioning regularly failing and cool water in short supply, trooper Ieuan Jenkins, the youngest in the regiment, struggles to cope.


SAT 03:10 Frontline Iraq (b0074hmd)
Episode 3

In the final episode of the series, the Welsh Cavalry has moved on to Baghdad and Basra for the final leg of its tour. This is the regiment's third tour of Iraq in as many years and by now the strains are beginning to show.


SAT 03:40 The Fallen: Legacy of Iraq (b00ktph9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



SUNDAY 14 JUNE 2009

SUN 19:00 Timeshift (b0084l02)
Series 7

Archaelogy - Digging the Past

An exploration of the way archaeology has been presented on television over the past 50 years, from panel show Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?, which made celebrities out of its host Professor Glyn Daniel and resident character Sir Mortimer Wheeler, to Channel 4's contemporary Time Team. With contributions from archaeologists and broadcasters including Professor Barry Cunliffe, Tony Robinson and David Attenborough.


SUN 20:00 Fossil Detectives (b00d30nx)
Central England

Series in which Open University associate lecturer Dr 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 an effort to uncover and make sense of our ancient past.

After meeting David Attenborough, who recalls his early days as a fossil detective in central England, Hermione and the team investigate some of the world's most important fossil discoveries in the area.

They look at the evidence that has revealed the world's smallest fossilised mystery body part, gain an insight into the iconic dinosaur Tyrannosuarus Rex and view a buried treasure which could change the way we look at ancient marine creatures.


SUN 20:30 Wainwright Walks (b0079y0d)
Series 1

Haystacks

Julia Bradbury is in the Western Lakes to walk to the summit of Wainwright's favourite fell, Haystacks. With a little help and advice from local broadcaster and friend of Wainwright's, Eric Robson, Bradbury sets out to discover what makes this fell so special and why Wainwright chose it as his final resting place.


SUN 21:00 Silbury: the Heart of the Hill (b0084l01)
Documentary following the final archaeological exploration of the interior of the largest man-made mound in Europe - Silbury Hill, one of our most mysterious prehistoric landmarks. It also tells the story of the people who built Silbury, people whose beliefs drove them to sculpt the landscape of the Avebury area, leaving a legacy of great structures.

Major discoveries help us to understand the monument, revealing that it was built when prehistoric Britain was on the brink of great change.


SUN 22:00 Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link (b00ksh5y)
The story behind what could be one of the most important scientific discoveries of the 21st century.

The film, written and narrated by David Attenborough, is set to change our understanding of evolution.


SUN 23:00 Paul Weller: Into Tomorrow (b00fjdr9)
Documentary looking at the 30-year career of Paul Weller, who tells his own story with the input of those who know him.

Using unseen photos and archive footage, it covers his upbringing in Woking, his years with The Jam and The Style Council, his insecurity after being dropped by a record company, his unexpected return to popularity in the 1990s, and his view on where he finds himself now.

Contributors include his parents, Bruce Foxton, Boy George and Noel Gallagher.


SUN 00:30 BBC Four Sessions (b00fh55j)
Paul Weller

In an exclusive BBC4 session filmed at BBC Television Centre, Paul Weller performs numbers from his album 22 Dreams, solo hits including From the Floorboards Up and Peacock Suit, and a couple of classics from The Jam's back catalogue.

Weller performs with his regular five-piece band and is joined on some numbers by the Wired Strings and a brass section. He also has special guests, including Oasis guitarist Gem Archer on Echoes Round the Sun, fiddle player Eliza Carthy on Wild Wood and Where'er You Go and Blur guitarist Graham Coxon on Black River.


SUN 01:30 Westway to the World (b0078n1k)
Documentary, directed by The Clash's long-term collaborator Don Letts, which allows each of the band's four original members - Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon - to tell their side of the group's story. Includes rarely seen archive footage of the band at their swaggering best.


SUN 02:30 The Clash Live: Revolution Rock (b00fr0dz)
Anthology, directed by Don Letts, which traces the live transformation of The Clash through a series of filmed performances from all phases of their meteoric career, beginning with live in-the-studio clips from 1977 and climaxing with an incendiary performance at Shea Stadium in 1982.

Most of The Clash's best-known songs are featured amongst a host of rare and previously unseen live performances and interviews.


SUN 03:30 BBC Four Sessions (b00fh55j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:30 today]



MONDAY 15 JUNE 2009

MON 19:00 World News Today (b00l7q51)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Return to... Airport (b00cnnn8)
Episode 1

A look back at the early days of the popular fly-on-the-tarmac series about the world's (then) biggest airport.

Twelve years after it took off, Airport's flamboyant Aeroflot supervisor Jeremy Spake and the other resident Heathrow characters reflect on the heady mix of semi-celebrity, near catastrophe and bags of confusion that created a TV sensation which changed their lives.


MON 20:00 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 21:00 The Secret Life of the Airport (b00l7q57)
Preparing for Take Off

Travel in time from the heady glamour of Britain's first terminal at Croydon to the signs and squiggles that direct pilots, as well as passengers, in today's airports. This series reveals how rivalry, skulduggery and sheer passion for flight gave birth to our airports, turning muddy airfields into the 24-hour mini-cities we know today. In the process, they've transformed Britain - giving us the freedom to travel anywhere we want and inspiring fear about our borders.

Rare archive, access to airports' hidden corners and contributors ranging from philosopher and author Alain de Botton to the man charged with scaring birds off Manchester's runways, reveal all.


MON 22:00 Goodbye London Aerodrome (b00l7q59)
Glyn Worsnip presents a history of RAF Hendon. Originally called London Aerodrome, this extraordinary airfield has been an RAF station since 1918. Pilots and former pilots talk about their memories of Hendon.


MON 22:35 Forty Minutes On (b0074t1z)
Darling Let's Set Up an Airline

Series which revisits and updates stories from the classic documentary strand. In 1990, husband and wife team Roy and Merlyn Suckling, who had started the UK's smallest international airline, were about to double the size of their fleet - by acquiring a second plane. It was a classic tale of plucky British determination.

After a repeat of the original film we revisit the Sucklings to find out how they've fared in the face of cut-throat competition in the toughest industry of all.


MON 23:35 The Secret Life of the Airport (b00l7q57)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 00:35 Storyville (b00l221f)
Blindsight

Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Himalayas, this documentary follows the gripping adventure of six Tibetan teenagers on a climbing expedition up the 23,000 foot Lhakpa Ri, on the north side of Everest. A dangerous journey soon becomes a seemingly impossible challenge made all the more remarkable by the fact that the teenagers are blind.

Believed by many Tibetans to be possessed by demons, the children are shunned by their parents, scorned by their villages and rejected by society. Rescued by Sabriye Tenberken, a blind educator and adventurer who established the first school for the blind in Lhasa, the students invite the famous blind mountain climber Erik Weihenmayer to visit their school after learning about his conquest of Everest.

Erik arrives in Lhasa and inspires Sabriye and her students Kyila, Sonam Bhumtso, Tashi, Gyenshen, Dachung and Tenzin to let him lead them higher than they have ever been before. The resulting three-week journey is beyond anything any of them could have predicted.


MON 02:15 Forty Minutes On (b0074t1z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:35 today]


MON 03:15 The Secret Life of the Airport (b00l7q57)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 16 JUNE 2009

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00l7qpw)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Yellowstone (b00jc6p6)
Winter

Series following the fortunes of America's wildlife icons in Yellowstone, the most extensive thermal area on Earth.

In winter, Yellowstone is frozen solid - locked in snow as deep as a house for over six months. Whether you hunt for meat, live off stored body fat or whether you simply hibernate, you need to take every advantage, however slight, to save precious energy - then you might just make it through the winter to enjoy the green grass and balmy days of spring.

As we follow the grip of winter over the course of six freezing months, we chart the fortunes of Yellowstone's wildlife in a finely balanced fight to survive. Bison use their massively powerful heads to dig through some of the deepest snow in America to reach the grass beneath. A red fox listens out for mice scurrying six feet beneath the snow before diving headfirst into the drift to snap up its prey, while otters slide through Yellowstone's winter wonderland to find any remaining open water where they can fish. All the while, as the herds of elk and bison are gradually weakened by the cold, one animal gets stronger - the wolf.

But all is not as it first seems - there are larger powers at work. Whether a wolf, a bison or an elk makes it through is intimately linked to Yellowstone's greatest secret. Sleeping beneath the ice and snow-covered surface is one of the world's largest volcanoes. In an extraordinary twist of nature, everything from the freezing winter cold to the creation of a snowstorm is determined by the power of Yellowstone's volcanic heart.


TUE 20:30 The Pre-Raphaelites (b00l7qpy)
Episode 1

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 opening programme explores the origins of the Brotherhood and their initial achievements, and looks at some of their key early works, the hostile criticism they faced and the centuries of academic dogma their paintings overturned.


TUE 21:00 Comedy Songs: The Pop Years (b00g8t17)
Documentary tracing the modern history of the comedy pop song from the birth of the charts in 1952 to its reinvention in the new millennium.

We discover that George Martin was the missing link between the Goons and the Beatles, that the Barron Knights invented the parody song and that the Two Ronnies were not big fans of Not the Nine O'Clock News.

Almost everyone appears in the comedy song's chequered history of peaks and troughs, from the 1960s satire boom to the 1970s golden period of Monty Python and Billy Connolly and on through the wilderness years of 1980s novelty naffness and the genre's redemption in alternative comedy and the likes of Victoria Wood and Alexei Sayle.


TUE 22:30 Flight of the Conchords (b00l7qq0)
Series 2

Love is a Weapon of Choice

The boys both fall in love with a girl they meet while out jogging, and so begins a competition between them for her attention, culminating in a benefit gig for the victims of canine epilepsy.


TUE 22:55 The Armstrong and Miller Show (b008h4dh)
Series 1

Episode 7

Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller play a wealth of great characters in their classic sketch show.


TUE 23:25 Make 'em Laugh (b00l7qq2)
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break: The Wiseguys

Six-part series chronicling over 100 years of American comedy, introduced by Billy Crystal and narrated by Amy Sedaris.

America loves the wiseguy who defies convention by speaking the truth, no matter the consequences. Whether in the form of the curmudgeonly WC Fields of the 1930s or Larry David today, the wiseguy (or gal) always gets the last, and funniest, word.

Along with classic smart-alecks like Groucho Marx and conmen like Phil Silvers, other legendary names in this episode's 'Wiseguy Hall of Fame' include Jack Benny, Paul Lynde, Joan Rivers, Redd Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock.


TUE 00:20 Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe (b00fpwb4)
Series 4

Episode 1

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.

He examines the state of television in the current economic climate and, with now-redundant home sale programmes clogging up the schedule, he explores what we can expect in their place.

Expensive dramas and the plethora of job-based shows are also in his sights, while there is light relief as he illustrates the penny-pinching tricks TV uses to meet budgets.


TUE 00:55 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 01:25 Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe (b00fvgj5)
Series 4

Episode 3

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 a writers' special, Brooker is joined by some of the best in the business to talk about how you make a TV programme actually happen. The people and pens behind Doctor Who, Father Ted, Peep Show, Life on Mars, Shameless and many more lead us through the joys and pitfalls of writing, with the added benefit of some of the best bits from the programmes.


TUE 02:15 Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe (b00fztgk)
Series 4

Episode 4

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.

Brooker takes a scalpel to 'mission' documentaries, the shows that begin with the presenter uttering 'I am on a mission to...' only to finish with a daft gimmick. After reviewing the current crop of mission documentaries, he goes on to make his own rather unusual version of the genre, highlighting the formats and tricks of the trade along the way.


TUE 02:45 Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe (b00g34fg)
Series 4

Episode 5

Charlie Brooker takes an irreverent look at all aspects of life on the small screen.

He turns his gaze to the state of kids' TV, giving a potted history of the genre and taking a look at psychedelic kids' shows both old and new. Brooker moves on to look at the newer trend for programmes to be made with the help of child psychologists and asks if it is a sinister development.

Plus, the reflections of a TV presenter, a poem from Tim Key and the revelation of dark TV tales from behind the scenes.


TUE 03:15 Make 'em Laugh (b00l7qq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:25 today]



WEDNESDAY 17 JUNE 2009

WED 19:00 World News Today (b00l7r2s)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Poetry Please: Thirty Years of the People's Poetry (b00kk499)
A behind the scenes look at the world's longest running poetry request programme, following the programme-makers, presenter Roger McGough and ordinary listeners of the Radio 4 show. Poets, actors and famous fans including Rick Stein, Kenneth Cranham, Andrew Sachs, Andrew Motion, Tim Pigott-Smith and David Blunkett also share their insights on the secret of its success.


WED 20:00 The Pre-Raphaelites (b00l7qpy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Tuesday]


WED 20:30 Days that Shook the World (b0078vyg)
Series 2 (30 minutes)

Execution of Anne Boleyn

After just three years of marriage to King Henry VIII, Queen Anne Boleyn is under arrest in the Tower of London and about to become the first English Queen in history to be executed. This film reconstructs the harrowing story of Anne's final hours and reveals the circumstances that led to her execution.

When Anne was crowned Queen of England in May 1533, it was a triumphant moment for a woman who had gambled everything on the love of Henry VIII. Yet Henry's infatuation with his clever and outspoken second wife was not to last. From the moment she gave birth to their daughter Elizabeth, and not the son and heir he craved, Anne became vulnerable to the endless political machinations of a ruthless court system, in which politcal success or failure was the difference between life and death.

Anne fell victim to a swift and devastating coup masterminded by the King's first minister Thomas Cromwell. Within a fortnight of her arrest, Anne, her brother and several of her closest allies at court were convicted of treason and sent to their deaths.

The film tells the story of Anne's final hours, including; Henry's 'merciful' decision not to have Anne burnt at the stake, but to be beheaded with a sword by an executioner from Calais; Anne's declaration of innocence at her last sacrament; and the spies that surrounded her at the Tower and how their information contributed towards her downfall.


WED 21:00 Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? (b00l7qdh)
Episode 1

King Henry VIII had a fascinating and enlightening relationship with art. He came to the throne as the Renaissance swept across Europe, yet England's new king never lost sight of the medieval chivalry of his forefathers. In the first of a two-part documentary, architectural historian Jonathan Foyle looks at the palaces, tapestries, music and paintings created in Henry's name and questions whether the art he commissioned compensates for the religious treasures he would come to destroy.


WED 22:00 Days of Glory (b00l9j3v)
Said, Abdelkader, Messaoud and Yassir are among the many young men from the French African colonies who proudly enlist to help liberate the motherland in WWII. From their training and first engagements in north Africa to their courageous and vital missions in northern and eastern France, they endure hardships inflicted not only the Nazis, but also the institutional racism of their colonial master.


WED 00:00 Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? (b00l7qdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


WED 01:00 The Pre-Raphaelites (b00l7qpy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Tuesday]


WED 01:30 Batman (b008d37k)
Series 1

The Penguin Goes Straight

Vintage superhero adventures. The Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder face some dastardly competition in the form of the Penguin Protection Agency.


WED 01:55 Batman (b008d3lm)
Series 1

Not Yet He Ain't

Comic book capers. Penguin convinces Gotham City's leading citizens that Batman and Robin should be apprehended as criminals. The dynamic duo are cornered and gunned down by the police! With the crime fighters eliminated, the fish-eating fiend commandeers the Batmobile and sets off to plot a major robbery.


WED 02:20 Mad Men (b00jn88p)
Series 2

A Night to Remember

Drama series which takes an unflinching look at the world of advertising in 1960s New York.

To win over an imported beer brand as a new client, Duck and Don try to appeal to a new market demographic.

Harry is overwhelmed with his department's workload and finds assistance from an unlikely source, and Father Gill convinces Peggy to become part of a pro bono church project.


WED 03:05 Mad Men (b00jqjk1)
Series 2

Six Month Leave

Drama series set in the 1960s New York advertising world. Freddy Rumsen embarrasses himself in the office and Pete sees an opportunity to exploit it.


WED 03:55 Poetry Please: Thirty Years of the People's Poetry (b00kk499)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]



THURSDAY 18 JUNE 2009

THU 19:00 World News Today (b00l7r9g)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Return to... Airport (b00cnnnl)
Episode 2

Jeremy Spake and his fellow Heathrow residents take us back to the early days of the 'fly on the tarmac' series about the world's busiest airport. Take a bunch of highly strung celebrities, with entourage, a near catastrophe or two, add bags of confusion, and you've got the explosive mix which made 'Airport' such a hit.


THU 20:00 Hidden Histories (b00fgh94)
Series 1

Episode 1

A series looking at the work of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales celebrating its centenary year. Huw Edwards and the history detectives discover a lost church, search for the oldest castle gate in Europe and find out how the great engineer Thomas Telford built the highest aqueduct in the UK.


THU 20:30 Days that Shook the World (b0078kfv)
Series 1 (30 minutes)

Moon Landing

Documentary recalling 20 July 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the surface of the moon.


THU 21:00 Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil (b00l7r9j)
Episode 1

Three-part series combining archive footage and eye-witness accounts to tell the dramatic narrative of North Sea oil and gas from the 1960s to the present. It charts the decades when the country made the most of its North Sea windfall, with scarcely a thought about where it came from or of the men and women who brought it to us. Through the story of oil, the series offers a fresh perspective on British politics and society and a timely insight into the state of our economy today.

Forty years ago, Britain was poised on the brink of an extraordinary discovery - oil, billions of gallons of it, deep beneath the harsh waters of the North Sea. This opening edition gives a voice to some of the men who made that discovery and who risked their lives in the North Sea to get the oil ashore.

Theirs is a tale of dramatic risk-taking and high politics as the government and the oil companies raced to get their hands on the bonanza. The promise of enormous riches inspired technical innovation on a scale never seen before, but did the haste of the North Sea project put at risk the lives of men who were working in some of the most extreme conditions in the world?


THU 22:00 The Secret Life of the Airport (b00l7q57)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


THU 23:00 The High Life (b00gsj9b)
Feart

It's Steve's 30th birthday and he feels stuck in a rut. Sebastian suggests they apply to be stewards on Air Scotia's glamours long-haul flights. But first they have to contend with Capitain Duff, who thinks he is Leonard Nimoy, and a plane full of Gaga Tours OAPs, including an incognito Air Scotia Inspector. Meanwhile, Shona meets someone from her past.


THU 23:30 Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil (b00l7r9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 00:30 The Fallen: Legacy of Iraq (b00ktph9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


THU 01:10 Forty Minutes On (b0074t1z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:35 on Monday]


THU 02:10 Timeshift (b0084l02)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


THU 03:10 Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil (b00l7r9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 19 JUNE 2009

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00l7rfz)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (b00l7p5m)
Concerts

Song Prize Title

All eyes are on Cardiff's St David's Hall as five singers compete for the first of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World's prestigious awards - the Song Prize, a testing examination with competitors performing solely with piano accompaniment. In 2007, England's Elizabeth Watts took the prize and has since gone on to a glittering singing career.

Joining presenter Petroc Trelawny to give her views is one of the world's great opera singers and interpreters of song, soprano Barbara Bonney.

Please note phonelines may now be closed, but you will still be charged for your call.


FRI 21:00 Leonard Cohen Live in London (b00l6dhm)
A recording of a concert from Leonard Cohen's 2008-2009 world tour.

For over four decades, Leonard Cohen has been one of the most important and influential songwriters of our time, a figure whose body of work achieves greater depths of mystery and meaning as time goes on. In 2008, Leonard Cohen embarked on his first tour in 15 years. His set included Hallelujah, Suzanne, Bird on the Wire, I'm Your Man, The Future, Democracy, Dance Me to the End of Love and First We Take Manhattan, and was quickly recognised as musical folklore in the making, leaving fans and critics alike hailing the show as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.


FRI 22:00 Omnibus (b00l9j6s)
Leonard Cohen - Songs from a Life

Portrait of Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen, recorded in 1988. Featuring interviews, archive film and live performances from London, Paris, Athens and New York.


FRI 23:10 What Leonard Cohen Did for Me (b0074qt6)
Poet, singer, songwriter, lover of women, buddhist monk, in his seventies Leonard Cohen continues to fascinate his fans both old and new. Since his mid-50s his reputation has risen steadily, and he continues to give pleasure to the million or so people who buy his records.

As well as being a poet of iconic status, the godfather of gloom a musician's musician and a primary influence on generations of new artists. Cohen's songwriting says his most passionate fans set him above his contemporaries. And over the years there have been several tribute albums and covers by artists as diverse as Bono, Nina Simone, and REM.

This documentary celebrates the singer-songwriter's original career - from promising young poet and novelist in Canada, to international pop sensation. Musicians, writers and performers including Nick Cave, Ian McCulloch, Arthur Smith, Kathryn Williams and Paul Morley, pay tribute to his work.


FRI 23:40 Flight of the Conchords (b00l7qq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 00:10 Sounds of the Sixties (b0074qbv)
Original Series

The Folk Revival

A trawl through the BBC's archives for 60s music with an acoustic bent. Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Tim Buckley feature.


FRI 00:40 Leonard Cohen Live in London (b00l6dhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 01:40 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (b00l7p5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 03:10 Leonard Cohen Live in London (b00l6dhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]




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

10 Days to War 19:15 SAT (b009rcsm)

10 Days to War 20:10 SAT (b009rcp0)

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 19:30 FRI (b00l7p5m)

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 01:40 FRI (b00l7p5m)

BBC Four Sessions 00:30 SUN (b00fh55j)

BBC Four Sessions 03:30 SUN (b00fh55j)

Batman 01:30 WED (b008d37k)

Batman 01:55 WED (b008d3lm)

Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe 00:20 TUE (b00fpwb4)

Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe 00:55 TUE (b00fqq3t)

Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe 01:25 TUE (b00fvgj5)

Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe 02:15 TUE (b00fztgk)

Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe 02:45 TUE (b00g34fg)

Comedy Songs: The Pop Years 21:00 TUE (b00g8t17)

Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil 21:00 THU (b00l7r9j)

Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil 23:30 THU (b00l7r9j)

Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil 03:10 THU (b00l7r9j)

Days of Glory 22:00 WED (b00l9j3v)

Days that Shook the World 20:30 WED (b0078vyg)

Days that Shook the World 20:30 THU (b0078kfv)

Flight of the Conchords 22:30 TUE (b00l7qq0)

Flight of the Conchords 23:40 FRI (b00l7qq0)

Forty Minutes On 22:35 MON (b0074t1z)

Forty Minutes On 02:15 MON (b0074t1z)

Forty Minutes On 01:10 THU (b0074t1z)

Fossil Detectives 20:00 SUN (b00d30nx)

Frontline Iraq 02:10 SAT (b0074tpg)

Frontline Iraq 02:40 SAT (b0074tpl)

Frontline Iraq 03:10 SAT (b0074hmd)

Goodbye London Aerodrome 22:00 MON (b00l7q59)

Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? 21:00 WED (b00l7qdh)

Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? 00:00 WED (b00l7qdh)

Hidden Histories 20:00 THU (b00fgh94)

Leonard Cohen Live in London 21:00 FRI (b00l6dhm)

Leonard Cohen Live in London 00:40 FRI (b00l6dhm)

Leonard Cohen Live in London 03:10 FRI (b00l6dhm)

Mad Men 02:20 WED (b00jn88p)

Mad Men 03:05 WED (b00jqjk1)

Make 'em Laugh 23:25 TUE (b00l7qq2)

Make 'em Laugh 03:15 TUE (b00l7qq2)

Omnibus 22:00 FRI (b00l9j6s)

Paul Weller: Into Tomorrow 23:00 SUN (b00fjdr9)

Poetry Please: Thirty Years of the People's Poetry 19:30 WED (b00kk499)

Poetry Please: Thirty Years of the People's Poetry 03:55 WED (b00kk499)

Return to... Airport 19:30 MON (b00cnnn8)

Return to... Airport 19:30 THU (b00cnnnl)

Silbury: the Heart of the Hill 21:00 SUN (b0084l01)

Sounds of the Sixties 00:10 FRI (b0074qbv)

Storyville 00:35 MON (b00l221f)

The Armstrong and Miller Show 22:55 TUE (b008h4dh)

The Clash Live: Revolution Rock 02:30 SUN (b00fr0dz)

The Fallen: Legacy of Iraq 21:00 SAT (b00ktph9)

The Fallen: Legacy of Iraq 00:50 SAT (b00ktph9)

The Fallen: Legacy of Iraq 03:40 SAT (b00ktph9)

The Fallen: Legacy of Iraq 00:30 THU (b00ktph9)

The Fallen 21:40 SAT (b00fpx8g)

The High Life 23:00 THU (b00gsj9b)

The Pre-Raphaelites 20:30 TUE (b00l7qpy)

The Pre-Raphaelites 20:00 WED (b00l7qpy)

The Pre-Raphaelites 01:00 WED (b00l7qpy)

The Secret Life of the Airport 21:00 MON (b00l7q57)

The Secret Life of the Airport 23:35 MON (b00l7q57)

The Secret Life of the Airport 03:15 MON (b00l7q57)

The Secret Life of the Airport 22:00 THU (b00l7q57)

The Way We Travelled 20:00 MON (b0074t9g)

This World 01:30 SAT (b008rc8m)

Timeshift 19:00 SUN (b0084l02)

Timeshift 02:10 THU (b0084l02)

Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link 22:00 SUN (b00ksh5y)

Wainwright Walks 20:30 SUN (b0079y0d)

Westway to the World 01:30 SUN (b0078n1k)

What Leonard Cohen Did for Me 23:10 FRI (b0074qt6)

Wild 19:00 SAT (b00jd9yx)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b00l7q51)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b00l7qpw)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b00l7r2s)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b00l7r9g)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b00l7rfz)

Yellowstone 19:30 TUE (b00jc6p6)