The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Many consider the Bristol Channel pilot cutter to be the finest sailing boat design ever. Fast, seaworthy and beautiful to behold, the pilot cutter is the perfect combination of form and function - a thoroughbred perfectly adapted to a life in one of the Britain's most treacherous stretches of water. Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe explores the life of the pilots and sails a perfectly restored cutter to find out just what drove these men and their wonderful machines.
Poet Roger McGough narrates the extraordinary story of how a simple invention - the shipping container - changed the world forever and forced Britain into the modern era of globalisation.
With a blend of archive and modern-day filming, the incredible impact of the box is told through the eyes of dockers, seafarers, ship spotters, factory workers and logisticians. From quayside in huge container ports to onboard ships the size of four football pitches, the documentary explains how the shipping container has transformed our communities, economy and coastline.
Documentary maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves. In an elegant and original film, he finds that waves are not made of water, that some waves travel sideways, and that the sound of the ocean comes not from water but from bubbles. Waves are not only beautiful but also profoundly important, and there is a surprising connection between the life cycle of waves and the life of human beings.
To the sound of pinging sonar, Robert Llewellyn ups periscope to discover why submarine movies have gripped us for over a century. He travels along the River Medway to find a beached Cold War Russian nuclear sub and then on to the abandoned WWII German U-boat pens on the French coast, recalling many of the real events that inspired these films.
From 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Das Boot and The Hunt for Red October, Llewellyn discovers that fear - and its antithesis, bravery - is the key, and he also reveals the unique role that Walt Disney played in promoting atomic submarines. Interviewees include director John McTiernan (The Hunt For Red October), Sir Christopher Frayling and screenwriter Michael Schiffer (Crimson Tide).
The story of Britain's maritime past has a hidden history of shanties and sea songs, and choirmaster Gareth Malone has been travelling Britain's coast to explore this unique heritage. From dedicated traditionalists to groundbreaking recording artists, Gareth meets a variety of sea-singers from across the country.
His journey begins in Portsmouth where he meets a devoted shanty singer, before continuing on to Tyneside and the Yorkshire coast, where the Filey Fisherman's Choir, with an average age of 70, are determined to keep the tradition alive.
Gareth gets a fascinating insight into the songs of the Herring Girls when he visits Gardenstown in Scotland. In Whitby, he meets Kimber's Men, a local group who have dedicated themselves to writing and singing songs celebrating heroes of the sea, such as a rescue of 1881 when the sea was so rough the people of Whitby had to carry their 2-tonne lifeboat some six miles overland on a wooden trailer and in heavy snow to the bay where a ship had hit the rocks. Despite the exhaustion, they still managed to rescue the shipwrecked crew and passengers.
Gareth's journey ends in Port Isaac in Cornwall, where a group of local fishermen sing shanties and sea songs alongside their day job. Calling themselves the Fishermen's Friends, they have been so successful that they have landed a lucrative record deal.
THURSDAY 03 FEBRUARY 2011
THU 19:00 World News Today (b00y5kcw)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 South Africa Walks (b00s6b6l)
The Garden Route
Having tackled treks across the UK, Julia Bradbury embarks on a grand adventure in South Africa, setting out on four different walks that explore its claim to be 'a world in one country'.
Julia is a regular visitor to the Rainbow Nation, but this is her chance to go beyond the normal tourist destinations to a series of increasingly remote locations. However, these are walks that any reasonably adventurous walker could embark on, and they offer a fresh and personal perspective on a friendly and fascinating country that is often misunderstood.
The southern coastline of Africa is home to the sun-drenched Garden Route. With fabulous beaches and immense flora and fauna, this is an increasingly popular holiday spot, but Julia's walk reveals secrets of the history of the Rainbow Nation. She even encounters research suggesting that this abundant spot gave rise to the modern human race.
With her Xhosa guide Willie bringing every feature to life, Julia finds her first walk an absolute delight. Here is proof of South Africa's warm and friendly welcome and of the constant surprises it has to offer.
THU 20:00 Timeshift (b00nf0nl)
Series 9
The Golden Age of Liners
Paul Atterbury embarks on an alluring journey into the golden age of ocean liners, finding out how these great ships made such a mark on the popular imagination and why they continue to enchant to this day.
Paul's voyage takes him around Britain and reveals a story of design, politics, propaganda, Hollywood glamour and tragedy. Along the way, he uncovers some amazing survivals from the liners of the past - a cinema in Scotland built from the interiors of the SS Homeric, a house in Poole in which cabins from the Mauretania are lovingly preserved - as well as the design inspiration behind the first great liners.
THU 21:00 Abraham Lincoln: Saint or Sinner? (b00y5kdx)
To most Americans Abraham Lincoln is the nation's greatest president - a political genius who won the Civil War and ended slavery. Today the cult of Lincoln has become a multi-million dollar industry, with millions of Americans visiting his memorials and thousands of books published that present him as a saint more than a politician.
But does Lincoln really deserve all this adulation? 150 years after the war his reputation is being re-assessed, as historians begin to uncover the dark side of his life and politics. They have revealed that the president who ended slavery secretly planned to deport the freed black people out of America. Others are asking if Lincoln should be remembered as a war hero who saved the nation or as a war criminal who launched attacks on innocent southern civilians.
THU 22:00 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00yb5xz)
Gilbert and George
Mark Lawson talks to the controversial artists and 'living sculptures' Gilbert and George about their lives and careers. Since meeting as students at St Martins School of Art in 1967, Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore have forged an extraordinary artistic partnership ranging from photo-pieces and dirty word pictures to their latest postcard exhibition. Their vivid, graphic work set out to challenge the elitist art world through universal themes of identity, sex, class and nationality.
THU 23:00 Behind the Scenes at the Museum (b00scr08)
Commercial Vehicle Museum
Series in which acclaimed filmmaker Richard Macer visits three different museums struggling to connect with a modern audience.
At the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Lancashire, a mutiny is brewing over the appointment of a new leader. The museum is the last link to Leyland Trucks, one of the nation's great manufacturing giants, but just as Leyland fell victim to industrial action in the 70s and 80s now history is in danger of repeating itself at the Commercial Vehicle Museum too.
The first thing new leader Stephen Bullock wants to do is bring back the Leyland festival. For many years this was the town's way of celebrating its industrial might with a procession of lorries and buses, but after the factory closed the carnival was cancelled.
However, not everyone approves of these new changes at the museum. Some of the many longstanding volunteers are vehicle enthusiasts who think the museum should stay just the way it is. But will it survive if it doesn't change?
Macer spent six months filming amidst the gleaming lorries and double decker buses and observed as a bitter row erupted between the new leader and the head of the volunteers.
THU 00:00 Cockles and Muscles (b00g34sw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Sunday]
THU 01:30 Abraham Lincoln: Saint or Sinner? (b00y5kdx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THU 02:30 South Africa Walks (b00s6b6l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 03:00 Timeshift (b00nf0nl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
FRIDAY 04 FEBRUARY 2011
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00y5kgv)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (b00y5kgx)
2010
Paul Lewis Plays Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto
Over the Proms season in 2010, Paul Lewis performed the complete cycle of the five Beethoven piano concertos. Here is his performance of the mighty 5th Concerto, the 'Emperor', at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Stephane Deneve. Leading up to the performance, Paul is in conversation with Charles Hazlewood to discuss his approach and thoughts about the cycle as a whole.
FRI 20:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b0082hyv)
Series 3
Episode 5
Folk musicians come together in what have been called 'the greatest backporch shows ever'. Featuring harpist Catriona McKay, fiddler Bruce Molsky and Tim O'Brien.
FRI 21:00 Peter Green: Man of the World (b00k92x1)
Legendary blues guitarist BB King named Peter Green as one of the greatest exponents of the blues, and the 'only guitar player to make me sweat'. If Green had only written Black Magic Woman, his name would still have a place in blues rock history forever.
His three short years leading Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac saw the band established as one of the biggest-selling groups of the 1960s. Yet at the height of their fame Green left the group, with his life spiralling into turmoil as drug-induced mental health issues took control. Rumours of his demise began to spread, and sightings of him became notorious.
After years battling his mental illness, Green wrote and recorded again. Featuring archive performances and interviews with Carlos Santana, Noel Gallagher, founding members of Fleetwood Mac and Green himself, this film tells the story of one of blues rock's living legends.
FRI 22:30 Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop (b00nq7q9)
Fleetwood Mac are one of the biggest-selling bands of all time and still on the road. Their story, told in their own words, is an epic tale of love and confrontation, of success and loss.
Few bands have undergone such radical musical and personal change. The band evolved from the 60s British blues boom to perfect a US West Coast sound that saw them sell 40 million copies of the album Rumours.
However, behind-the-scenes relationships were turbulent. The band went through multiple line-ups with six different lead guitarists. While working on Rumours, the two couples at the heart of the band separated, yet this heartache inspired the perfect pop record.
FRI 23:30 Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Live at Madison Square Garden (b00k9cbz)
Reunion concert by Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood at New York's Madison Square Garden in 2008. The rock legends took to the stage together for just three concerts in a highly anticipated collaboration, performing a string of hits that included Blind Faith's Presence of the Lord and Can't Find My Way Home, in addition to Clapton's classic After Midnight and Winwood's Dear Mr Fantasy.
Both Winwood and Clapton have long and prestigious musical careers, with countless honours and awards to their names. Their musical paths connected in 1969 with the formation of Blind Faith, a supergroup that pioneered the fusion of rock and blues to tremendous studio and stage success.
Despite critical and popular acclaim the band was short-lived, releasing only one album and embarking on a brief 1969 tour that debuted on July 12 at Madison Square Garden and ended on August 24 in Hawaii. Since that final show, Winwood and Clapton have remained friends but had only performed an occasional song together at charity events.
FRI 00:30 Forever Young: How Rock 'n' Roll Grew Up (b00sxjls)
Documentary which looks at how rock 'n' roll has had to deal with the unthinkable - namely growing up and growing old, from its roots in the 50s as music made by young people for young people to the 21st-century phenomena of the revival and the comeback.
Despite the mantra of 'live fast, die young', Britain's first rock 'n' roll generations are now enjoying old age. What was once about youth and taking risks is now about longevity, survival, nostalgia and refusing to grow up, give up or shut up. But what happens when the music refuses to die and its performers refuse to leave the stage? What happens when rock's youthful rebelliousness is delivered wrapped in wrinkles?
Featuring Lemmy, Iggy Pop, Peter Noone, Rick Wakeman, Paul Jones, Richard Thompson, Suggs, Eric Burdon, Bruce Welch, Robert Wyatt, Gary Brooker, Joe Brown, Chris Dreja of The Yardbirds, Alison Moyet, Robyn Hitchcock, writers Rosie Boycott and Nick Kent and producer Joe Boyd.
FRI 01:30 Peter Green: Man of the World (b00k92x1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 03:00 Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop (b00nq7q9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:30 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
Abraham Lincoln: Saint or Sinner?
21:00 THU (b00y5kdx)
Abraham Lincoln: Saint or Sinner?
01:30 THU (b00y5kdx)
BBC Proms
19:30 FRI (b00y5kgx)
Behind the Scenes at the Museum
23:00 THU (b00scr08)
Britain by Bike
20:00 TUE (b00t6yhb)
Cockles and Muscles
22:00 SUN (b00g34sw)
Cockles and Muscles
00:00 THU (b00g34sw)
Death on the Mountain: The Story of Tom Simpson
21:00 SUN (b0074rgb)
Dive, Dive, Dive!
22:00 WED (b00s96m9)
Ego: The Strange and Wonderful World of Self-Portraits
19:30 MON (b00vngl0)
Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Live at Madison Square Garden
23:30 FRI (b00k9cbz)
Explosions: How We Shook the World
23:00 TUE (b00v9kb3)
Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop
22:30 FRI (b00nq7q9)
Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop
03:00 FRI (b00nq7q9)
Forever Young: How Rock 'n' Roll Grew Up
00:30 FRI (b00sxjls)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
01:45 SUN (b00dzzv2)
How TV Ruined Your Life
23:00 SAT (b00y4csg)
How TV Ruined Your Life
03:30 SAT (b00y4csg)
Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders
22:00 TUE (b00wh73v)
Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders
01:30 TUE (b00wh73v)
Justice: A Citizen's Guide to the 21st Century
20:00 SAT (b00xyzjw)
Justice: A Citizen's Guide to the 21st Century
02:30 SAT (b00xyzjw)
Justice: A Citizen's Guide to the 21st Century
02:00 MON (b00xyzjw)
Justice: Fairness and the Big Society
01:00 MON (b00xyzg7)
Justice
20:30 TUE (b00y5jfd)
Justice
02:30 TUE (b00y5jfd)
Later... with Jools Holland
00:30 SUN (b00y38fc)
Mark Knopfler: A Life in Songs
23:30 SUN (b00xz0zx)
Mark Lawson Talks To...
22:00 THU (b00yb5xz)
Outside the Court
21:00 MON (b00y5j3s)
Outside the Court
00:00 MON (b00y5j3s)
Outside the Court
03:00 MON (b00y5j3s)
Peter Green: Man of the World
21:00 FRI (b00k92x1)
Peter Green: Man of the World
01:30 FRI (b00k92x1)
Ride of My Life: The Story of the Bicycle
20:00 SUN (b00t6ylx)
Ride of My Life: The Story of the Bicycle
02:45 SUN (b00t6ylx)
Rude Britannia
23:30 SAT (b00srf2d)
Rude Britannia
00:30 SAT (b00ssrsg)
Rude Britannia
01:30 SAT (b00sss1g)
Shanties and Sea Songs with Gareth Malone
23:00 WED (b00s97c0)
South Africa Walks
19:30 THU (b00s6b6l)
South Africa Walks
02:30 THU (b00s6b6l)
South Pacific
19:00 SAT (b00ks63z)
Storyville
22:00 MON (b00y5j3v)
Storyville
03:00 WED (b00y5j3v)
The Beauty of Maps
19:30 TUE (b00s64hx)
The Beauty of Maps
01:00 TUE (b00s64hx)
The Boats That Built Britain
19:30 WED (b00sfshw)
The Box That Changed Britain
20:00 WED (b00scpzn)
The Children Who Built Victorian Britain
21:00 TUE (b00t6t3r)
The Children Who Built Victorian Britain
00:00 TUE (b00t6t3r)
The Children Who Built Victorian Britain
03:00 TUE (b00t6t3r)
The Highest Court in the Land: Justice Makers
23:00 MON (b00xz0s5)
The Killing
21:00 SAT (b00y5hvr)
The Killing
22:00 SAT (b00yc811)
The Killing
00:00 WED (b00y5hvr)
The Killing
01:00 WED (b00yc811)
The Secret Life of Waves
21:00 WED (b00y5jhx)
The Secret Life of Waves
02:00 WED (b00y5jhx)
Timeshift
20:00 THU (b00nf0nl)
Timeshift
03:00 THU (b00nf0nl)
Transatlantic Sessions
20:30 FRI (b0082hyv)
Treasures of the Anglo Saxons
19:00 SUN (b00t6xzx)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b00y5j07)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b00y5jfb)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b00y5jfx)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b00y5kcw)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b00y5kgv)