It is high summer in the polar regions, and the sun never sets. Vast hordes of summer visitors cram a lifetime of drama into one long, magical day. They must feed, fight and rear their young in this brief window of plenty.
Summer is a tough time for the polar bear family, as their ice world melts away and the cubs take their first swimming lesson. Some bears save energy by dozing on icy sunbeds, while others go egg-collecting in an arctic tern colony, braving bombardment by sharp beaks.
There are even bigger battles on the tundra - a herd of musk oxen gallop to the rescue as a calf is caught in a life and death struggle with a pair of arctic wolves. But summer also brings surprises, as a huge colony of 400,000 king penguins cope with an unlikely problem - heat. The adults go surfing, while the woolly-coated chicks take a cooling mud bath.
Nearby, a bull fur seal is prepared to fight to the death with a rival. Fur flies as the little pups struggle desperately to keep out of the way of the duelling giants.
Further south, a minke whale is hunted amongst the ice floes by a family of killer whales. The dramatic chase lasts over two hours and has never been filmed before. The killers harry the minke whale, taking it in turns to wear it down. Eventually it succumbs to the relentless battering. Finally, comical adelie penguins waddle back to their 500,000-strong colony like clockwork toys. The fluffy chicks need constant feeding and protection as piratical skuas patrol the skies. When an unguarded chick is snatched, a dramatic dogfight ensues.
Documentary exploring the dynamic relationship that developed between British composer Benjamin Britten and the BBC as they worked together to broadcast modern classical music further and wider. Through this collaboration, Britten's music reached television audiences, from elaborately staged studio operas, intimate duets featuring his partner Peter Pears, to the massive Proms performance of his War Requiem. The programme features interviews with Britten's collaborators and singers as well as those working behind the scenes including Michael Crawford, David Attenborough, Humphrey Burton and soprano April Cantelo. James Naughtie narrates.
Two and a half years after Danish prime minister Birgitte Nyborg called a general election, she has left the political arena and is now a well-paid speaker in business circles and sits on several boards. Following the divorce from her husband, Birgitte and her children are in the process of moving house. Her old friend and mentor Bent Sejro is disillusioned with the political situation in Denmark and the compromises the Moderate Party are making with the new government, and he tries to persuade Birgitte to re-enter politics.
At TV1, Katrine Fonsmark and Kasper Juul juggle their broadcasting careers with their new responsibilities as parents as well as their volatile relationship. Meanwhile, the new management at the TV station are keen to focus on positive stories and chasing ratings, causing problems for the head of news, Torben Friis.
Birgitte Nyborg is forced to recognise her defeat to Jacob Kruse in the battle for the leadership of the Moderates. But she has not lost her political ambitions, and in anger over the current government's immigration legislation she quietly chooses to start a new party. All she needs are some members and a press advisor. At TV1, Torben Friis is being challenged by the new boss, Alex Hjort, who feels there is too much bad news being broadcast and demands positive news instead.
In July 1986, as part of the Magic tour which, poignantly, was the last to feature Freddie Mercury, Queen played Hungary for the first time. With three years to go before the fall of the Berlin Wall, this was the largest concert ever staged at the Népstadion, Budapest, and the first western rock concert staged in a stadium behind the Iron Curtain.
The concert held such significance to the Hungarian authorities that an unprecedented collaboration of Hungary's top film cameraman and technicians were formed to record it. Aside from depicting Queen's live performance, the film includes montages of highlights of the band's legendary visit and a unique insight into the Hungarian film-making style adapted to western rock music.
Staged for 80,000 ecstatic fans, the concert set includes favourite hits like Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and I Want To Break Free.
Peter Powell presents the weekly look at the 1978 pop charts, with the Rezillos, Boney M, Elton John, Heatwave, Leo Sayer, Darts, Buzzcocks, Mankind, Blondie, the Barron Knights, Rod Stewart and dance sequences by Legs & Co.
In the early 70s as the UK got to grips with the new coinage and decimalisation and braced itself for strike after strike, a group of young troubadours were hanging out in Laurel Canyon and the environs of California USA having a ball and creating music that would define a generation. It's time to kick back and relax and enjoy performances from Crosby and Nash, Neil Young, America, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, The Eagles, and Seals and Crofts.
SUNDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2013
SUN 19:00 Billy Budd from Glyndebourne (b03j4396)
Glyndebourne has a proud association with the operas of Benjamin Britten, yet this highly-acclaimed production from 2010 was their first staging of his all-male opera Billy Budd. Set on a British man-o-war ship, with a libretto co-written by EM Forster, the opera is based on the battle between good and evil. Michael Grandage, artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, chose this work to make his long-awaited operatic debut. Sir Mark Elder returned to conduct, marking the 100th opera production in his illustrious career.
SUN 21:50 Timeshift (b017zqw8)
Series 11
The Golden Age of Trams: A Streetcar Named Desire
Move along the car! Timeshift takes a nostalgic trip on the tram car and explores how it liberated overcrowded cities and launched the era of the commuter. The film maps the tram's journey from early horse-drawn carriages on rails, through steam, and to electric power.
Overhead wires hung over Britain's towns and cities for nearly 50 years from the beginning of the 20th century until they were phased out everywhere except Blackpool. Manchester, the last city to lose its trams was, however, among the first to reintroduce them as the solution to modern-day traffic problems.
The film includes a specially recorded reading by Alan Bennett of his short story Leeds Trams, and contributions from Ken Dodd and Roy Hattersley.
SUN 22:50 The Golden Age of Canals (b01173hf)
Most people thought that when the working traffic on canals faded away after the war, it would be the end of their story. But they were wrong. A few diehard enthusiasts and boat owners campaigned, lobbied and dug, sometimes with their bare hands, to keep the network of narrow canals open.
Some of these enthusiasts filmed their campaigns and their home movies tell the story of how, in the teeth of much political opposition, they saved the inland waterways for the nation and, more than 200 years after they were first built, created a second golden age of the canals.
Stan Offley, an IWA activist from Ellesmere Port, filmed his boating trips around the wide canals in the 40s, 50s and 60s in 16mm colour. But equally charming is the film made by Ed Frangleton, with help from Harry Arnold, of a hostel boat holiday on the Llangollen Canal in 1961. There are the films shot by ex-working boatman Ike Argent from his home in Nottinghamshire and looked after by his son Barry.
There is astonishing film of the last days of working boats, some shot by John Pyper when he spent time with the Beecheys in the 60s, film taken by Keith Christie of the last days of the cut around the BCN, and the films made by Keith and his mate Tony Gregory of their attempts to keep working the canals through their carrying company, Midland Canal Transport.
There is film of key restorations, the Stourbridge 16 being talked about with great wit and affection by one of the leading activists in that watershed of restorations in the mid-60s, David Tomlinson, and John Maynard's beautiful films of the restoration of the Huddersfield, 'the impossible restoration', shot over two decades.
All these and more are in the programme alongside the people who made the films and some of the stars of them. Together they tell the story of how, in the years after 1945, a few people fought the government like David fought Goliath to keep canals open and restore ones that had become defunct, and won against all the odds.
SUN 23:50 When Albums Ruled the World (b01qhn70)
Between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s, the long-playing record and the albums that graced its grooves changed popular music for ever. For the first time, musicians could escape the confines of the three-minute pop single and express themselves as never before across the expanded artistic canvas of the album. The LP allowed popular music become an art form - from the glorious artwork adorning gatefold sleeves, to the ideas and concepts that bound the songs together, to the unforgettable music itself.
Built on stratospheric sales of albums, these were the years when the music industry exploded to become bigger than Hollywood. From pop to rock, from country to soul, from jazz to punk, all of music embraced what 'the album' could offer. But with the collapse of vinyl sales at the end of the 70s and the arrival of new technologies and formats, the golden era of the album couldn't last forever.
With contributions from Roger Taylor, Ray Manzarek, Noel Gallagher, Guy Garvey, Nile Rodgers, Grace Slick, Mike Oldfield, Slash and a host of others, this is the story of When Albums Ruled the World.
SUN 01:20 Radio 2 In Concert (b03hj0xn)
Paul McCartney In Concert 2013
As part of BBC Radio 2's In Concert series, Paul McCartney returns to BBC Maida Vale studios where he recorded 275 performances with the Beatles between 1962 and 1965. Paul performs classic Beatles and Wings songs including Eight Days a Week, Back in the USSR, Lady Madonna, Hey Jude, Band on the Run and Jet, plus tracks from his solo career and his latest album, New.
SUN 02:20 Wings over the World (b01sjt78)
TV special featuring footage filmed throughout Wings' tour of 1975/1976, following the band in England, Australia and America. It contains live concert performances featuring fifteen of Wings' greatest songs and home movies of Paul McCartney and his family, providing a fascinating profile of the McCartneys' life off-stage.
The tour itself was a major triumph for Wings - the first time the group had appeared in Australia and America, and Paul's first performance in the States for ten years. Three million people saw the shows and a then-world record attendance for an indoor concert of 67,053 was set at the Kingdome, Seattle.
Starting with Paul and Linda in Scotland, the special features the gradual build-up of the band and follows Wings on tour with hit songs such as Jet, Maybe I'm Amazed, Yesterday, Silly Love Songs and Band on the Run. The Wings line-up for the tour was Paul and Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English.
MONDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2013
MON 19:00 World News Today (b03j42rk)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
MON 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b019j27v)
Series 3
Wareham to Portland
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
Following in the footsteps of Queen Victoria, Michael uses the railways she often rode from Windsor Castle to her country getaway on the Isle of Wight, from which his journey continues west to Portland.
Michael uncovers the amazing oil fields hidden underneath England's quiet seaside resorts, discovers the crucial role Weymouth played in the D-day landings, and heads to the cradle of Victorian Britain's most prestigious building rock, Portland.
MON 20:00 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b0077lfr)
Series 2
In Harm's Way
Bob is in so much pain from the injury caused by Terry's shoddy DIY that he goes to the hospital. Terry is working there as a porter, a fact he tries to hide from his friend, even going so far as to don a disguise. But his attempts to help Bob only cause him more harm.
MON 20:30 Only Connect (b03j450t)
Series 8
Oenophiles v Bakers
Two teams of first-round winners return in the hope of securing a place in the semi-finals, as three wine lovers play three bakers, competing to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random.
So join Victoria Coren Mitchell if you want to know what connects: Japan = round, Poland = golden, Mexico = weight and Denmark = crown.
MON 21:00 Light and Dark (p01k4yt6)
Light
Two-part series in which Professor Jim Al-Khalili shows how, by uncovering its secrets, scientists have used light to reveal almost everything we know about the universe. But in the last 30 years we have discovered that far from seeing everything, we have seen virtually nothing. Our best estimate is that more than 99 per cent of the universe is actually hidden in the dark.
The story of how we used light to reveal the cosmos begins in the 3rd century BC when, by trying to understand the tricks of perspective, the Greek mathematician Euclid discovered that light travels in straight lines, a discovery that meant that if we could change its path we could change how we see the world. In Renaissance Italy 2,000 years later, Galileo Galilei did just that by using the lenses of his simple telescope to reveal our true place in the cosmos.
With each new insight into the nature of light came a fresh understanding of the cosmos. It has allowed us to peer deep into space and even revealed the composition and lifecycles of the stars.
In the 1670s, the Danish astronomer Ole Roemer discovered that light travelled at a finite speed, a discovery that had a profound implication. It meant the further one looks out into the universe, the further one looks back in time. And in 1964, by detecting the cosmic microwave background, the afterglow of the big bang, we captured the oldest light in the universe and saw as far back as it is possible to see with light.
MON 22:00 Storyville (b03j450y)
The Spy Who Went into the Cold: Kim Philby, Soviet Super Spy
Documentary exploring the murky circumstances behind the escape of one of Britain's most notorious spies.
In 1963, at the height of the Cold War, a well-educated Englishman called Kim Philby boarded a Russian freighter in Beirut and defected to Moscow from under the nose of British Intelligence. For the best part of thirty years he had been spying for the Soviet Union, much of that time while holding senior jobs in MI6.
Fifty years on, more questions than answers still surround his defection. Had he really confessed before he went? Was his escape from justice an embarrassing mistake or part of the plan? This film, shot in Beirut, London and Moscow, sets out to find the answers, revealing the blind spots in the British ruling class that made it so vulnerable to KGB penetration.
MON 23:15 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00dwcp6)
John le Carre
John le Carre converses with Mark Lawson about his fragmented childhood, life in the diplomatic service, working with Alec Guinness and his book A Most Wanted Man. Le Carre worked as an intelligence officer in the 1970s before turning to writing full time. His personal experiences during the Cold War informed a string of best-selling espionage novels including The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He also wrote the corporate corruption thriller The Constant Gardener, which became a Oscar-winning film.
MON 00:15 Timeshift (p01k49cg)
Series 13
Bouffants, Beehives and Bobs: The Hairstyles That Shaped Britain
It is said that the average woman gets through around 30 hairstyles in a lifetime, with some changing their look entirely every 15 months. Timeshift takes a loving and sometimes horrified look back at the iconic hairdos and 'must have' haircuts that both men and women in Britain have flirted with over the past 60 years.
And it's some journey... from the meringue-like confections of Raymond 'Teasy Weasy' via the geometric 'bob' cuts of Vidal Sassoon, stopping off to take in the 'big hair' heyday of bouffants and beehives, and not forgetting the mullet, the feather cut and the ultimate 'bad hair day' look of 1970s perms.
Our hair is the one part of our identity we can change in an instant and which speaks volumes about who we are, where we've come from and where we're going. Today, young women are revisiting hair fashions of an earlier generation - big hair and blowdrying are back in demand, whilst many young men sport Edwardian 'peaky blinder' short back and sides.
Narrated by Wayne Hemingway.
MON 01:15 Only Connect (b03j450t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
MON 01:45 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b0077lfr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MON 02:15 Great British Railway Journeys (b019j27v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
MON 02:45 Light and Dark (p01k4yt6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2013
TUE 19:00 World News Today (b03j42rq)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
TUE 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b01b36ww)
Series 3
Oxford to Pershore
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain.
Here, he is travelling west, from Oxford in the heart of England, through the Malvern Hills and into Wales, taking in the unique Victorian heritage of the south Wales coastline.
He is led to a special view of the city of Oxford by his 19th-entury guidebook, samples a Victorian navvies' brew made by steam power and discovers a unique and colourful crop in the heart of the Cotswolds.
TUE 20:00 Natural World (b00tj7j4)
2010-2011
The Himalayas
Documentary looking at the wildlife of the most stunning mountain range in the world, home to snow leopards, Himalayan wolves and Tibetan bears.
Snow leopards stalk their prey among the highest peaks. Concealed by snowfall, the chase is watched by golden eagles circling above. On the harsh plains of the Tibetan plateau live extraordinary bears and square-faced foxes hunting small rodents to survive. In the alpine forests, dancing pheasants have even influenced rival border guards in their ritualistic displays. Valleys carved by glacial waters lead to hillsides covered by paddy fields containing the lifeline to the east, rice. In this world of extremes, the Himalayas reveal not only snow-capped mountains and fascinating animals but also a vital lifeline for humanity.
TUE 21:00 Cathedrals (b03j45gh)
Wells
Wells Cathedral is one of the wonders of English sacred architecture, but what exactly is it that draws people here? What happens to them when they enter the cathedral? What needs does it meet? How deep does it go?
In the second of his trilogy of films about England's cathedrals, acclaimed documentary maker Richard Alwyn visits Wells Cathedral in Somerset to explore the peculiar pull that sacred buildings can have - their habit of stopping, stilling and prompting reflection.
Alwyn explores these questions in a series of moving conversations with people he meets at the Cathedral. Some are visitors, occasional or frequent. Others have a formal relationship with the cathedral - a volunteer 'welcomer' and the senior organ scholar. Some are Christian; others have no allegiance to any church at all.
In addition to these one-off encounters, Alwyn meets a volunteer day chaplain, Sue. Now in her 60s, Sue first visited Wells as a child with her family and later lived there with her husband. She got a job as a cleaner at the cathedral, but this was at a time when her life was falling apart as she developed a drug addiction that would last for 25 years - 'it was like living next door to paradise, I could see it but couldn't get in'.
Recurring throughout the film, Alwyn's encounters with Sue become an intensely personal reflection on the battles in her life and the part the cathedral played in her survival. For Sue, a lifelong Christian, language is inadequate to communicate her experience of God and religion, but the cathedral is at the heart of it - 'whatever it is, this thing that I can't find words for, I don't think there are words for, includes Him and probably includes the word 'God'. But there is still this more, and what happens for me when I come in here is that I get that part of the more is here. Part of the more is here.'
Sue's extraordinary, inspiring story forms the backbone of this moving and beautiful portrait of Wells Cathedral and the people who are drawn to it.
TUE 22:00 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (b0074tdz)
Series 1
Return to the Circus
Was George Smiley sacked after a scandal or is he merely retired? When he is summoned by the cabinet watchdog for intelligence affairs, Smiley agrees to head the hunt for a secret service mole.
TUE 22:50 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (b0074tg0)
Series 1
Tarr Tells His Story
Acclaimed adaptation of John le Carre's novel. Smiley is forced to go back over some very old ground when he is told a story about spies.
TUE 23:40 Storyville (b03j450y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:55 Great British Railway Journeys (b01b36ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUE 01:25 Colouring Light: Brian Clarke - An Artist Apart (b0162yc0)
Brian Clarke is one of Britain's hidden treasures. A painter of striking large canvases and the designer of some of the most exciting stained glass in the world today, he is better known abroad - especially in Germany and Switzerland - than in his own country and more widely recognised among critics, collectors and gallery owners than he is by the general public.
In this visually striking documentary portrait made by award-winning film-maker Mark Kidel, Clarke returns to Lancashire where he grew up as a prodigy in a working class family and charts his meteoric rise during the punk years and eventual success as a stained glass artist working with some of the world's great architects, including Norman Foster and Arata Isozaki - and producing spectacular work in Japan, Brazil, the USA and Europe.
Contributors include his close friend and architect Zaha Hadid, architect Peter Cook and art historian Martin Harrison.
TUE 02:25 Cathedrals (b03j45gh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2013
WED 19:00 World News Today (b03j42rw)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b01b3903)
Series 3
Hartlebury to Great Malvern
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain.
All this week he is travelling west, from Oxford in the heart of England, through the Malvern Hills and into Wales, taking in the unique Victorian heritage of the South Wales coastline.
Today Michael visits the home of Queen Victoria's favourite bishop in Hartlebury, sniffs out the secrets of a famous 19th-century sauce in Worcester and follows in the footsteps of Victorian health fanatics to the Malvern Hills.
WED 20:00 Natural World (b01k784h)
2011-2012
The Unnatural History of London
Seals, parakeets and even pelicans that eat pigeons have all made London their home. That's as well as badgers, foxes, scorpions, and pigeons that ride the tube. But even more wonderful are the people who love the exotic wildlife of our capital, from Billingsgate fish porters and Indian chefs to 'Crayfish Bob', who scours London's canals for Turkish invaders. This is a warm-hearted portrait of the world's greenest capital city and the Londoners who love its secret wildlife.
WED 21:00 Timeshift (b037w38s)
Series 13
A Day at the Zoo
Using unique home movie footage, this is the story of how zoos captured the imagination of the British - from the first 'scientific zoological garden' in Regent's Park to Gerald Durrell's 'conservation ark', which became Jersey Zoo. It's a nostalgic tale of show-stopping animals - such as the original Jumbo the elephant and Bristol Zoo's Alfred the gorilla - as well as bold innovations like the make-believe mountains of London Zoo and Dudley's animal enclosures without bars. No wonder, despite modern concerns about keeping animals captive, a day at the zoo remains one of Britain's most popular family days out.
WED 22:00 Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls (b01jcc8b)
Act Two: At Home
Dr Lucy Worsley, historian and Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, explores the ordinary as well as the extraordinary lives of women in the home. This was an age when respectable women were defined by their marital status as maids, wives or widows. If they fell outside these categories they were in danger of being labelled whores or, at worst, witches.
While history has left many women voiceless over the centuries, Lucy discovers that in the Restoration a surprising number of women were beginning to question their roles in relationship to their husbands, their position in the home, their attitudes to sex and, most importantly, the expectation to produce children.
Meeting a host of experts and experiencing what life was like behind closed doors, Lucy explores whether their lives changed for better or worse during the second half of the 17th century.
WED 23:00 Frozen Planet (b00zj35m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
WED 00:00 Benjamin Britten on Camera (b03j42wt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Saturday]
WED 01:00 Natural World (b01k784h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
WED 02:00 Great British Railway Journeys (b01b3903)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 02:30 Timeshift (b037w38s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2013
THU 19:00 World News Today (b03j42s1)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b03j49l4)
Tony Blackburn presents the weekly look at the 1978 pop charts, with Rocky Sharpe & the Replays, Hot Chocolate, the Buzzcocks, Elkie Brooks, Mankind, Chic, Elton John, Boney M and dance sequences by Legs & Co.
THU 20:00 Timewatch (b00sl29f)
Atlantis: The Evidence
Historian Bettany Hughes unravels one of the most intriguing mysteries of all time. She presents a series of geological, archaeological and historical clues to show that the legend of Atlantis was inspired by a real historical event, the greatest natural disaster of the ancient world.
THU 21:00 Storyville (b03j49l6)
Blackfish - The Whale that Killed
Documentary which unravels the story of notorious performing whale Tilikum, who - unlike any orca in the wild - has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. So what exactly went wrong?
Shocking, never-before-seen footage and interviews with trainers and experts manifest the orca's extraordinary nature, the species' cruel treatment in captivity over the last four decades and the growing disillusionment of workers who were misled and endangered by the highly profitable sea-park industry.
This emotionally wrenching, tautly structured story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and reveals how little we humans have learned from these highly intelligent and enormously sentient fellow mammals.
THU 22:20 Wild (b0078yps)
2005-06 Shorts
West Coast Otters
A charming portrait of two otters, a mother and daughter who are inseparable, living on the idyllic west coast of Scotland. With the young cub never more than a few feet from her mum, a very special relationship is intimately observed as the cub grows up, learning how to fish and fend for herself. As the cub faces the dangers of her first Scottish winter, Mum has to work hard to make sure that both survive.
THU 22:30 Doctor Who (b03jprm9)
An Unearthly Child
An Unearthly Child
After discussing a strange pupil, Susan Foreman, teachers Ian and Barbara follow her to a junkyard. They meet her grandfather, the Doctor, and force their way inside a police box with frightening results.
THU 22:55 Doctor Who (b03jprmc)
An Unearthly Child
The Cave of Skulls
Ian and Barbara are aboard the TARDIS uninvited. The Doctor ignores Susan's pleas to let them go. The TARDIS takes off and travels back to Stone Age times, where the crew make the mistake of venturing outside.
THU 23:20 Doctor Who (b03jprmf)
An Unearthly Child
The Forest of Fear
The Doctor and crew leave the TARDIS to explore their new surroundings, but are soon captured, thrown in a cave and threatened with death. They only have the secret of fire to bargain with.
THU 23:45 Doctor Who (b03jprmh)
An Unearthly Child
The Firemaker
The Doctor and his companions use guile and cunning to escape death at the hands of their Stone Age captors. The Doctor decides that the only way to escape is to show the cave dwellers how to make fire.
THU 00:10 Light and Dark (p01k4yt6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
THU 01:10 Cathedrals (b03j45gh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
THU 02:10 Top of the Pops (b03j49l4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 02:50 Timewatch (b00sl29f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2013
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b03j42s6)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Bach: A Passionate Life (b01rrgg6)
John Eliot Gardiner goes in search of Bach the man and the musician.
The famous portrait of Bach portrays a grumpy 62-year-old man in a wig and formal coat, yet his greatest works were composed 20 years earlier in an almost unrivalled blaze of creativity.
We reveal a complex and passionate artist; a warm and convivial family man at the same time a rebellious spirit struggling with the hierarchies of state and church who wrote timeless music that is today known world-wide. Gardiner undertakes a 'Bach Tour' of Germany, and sifts the relatively few clues we have - some newly-found.
Most of all, he uses the music to reveal the real Bach.
FRI 21:00 John Denver: Country Boy (b03j4cz2)
Documentary exploring the private life and public legacy of John Denver, America's original country boy. With exclusive accounts from those closest to him, the man behind the music is revealed in an intimate profile in his 70th birthday anniversary year.
FRI 22:00 Country at the BBC (b08qgkzv)
Grab your partner by the hand - the BBC have raided their archive and brought to light glittering performances by country artists over the last four decades.
Star appearances include Tammy Wynette, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and, of course, Dolly Parton. All the greats have performed for the BBC at some point - on entertainment shows, in concert and at the BBC studios. Some of the rhinestones revealed are Charley Pride's Crystal Chandeliers from The Lulu Show, Emmylou Harris singing Together Again on The Old Grey Whistle Test and Glen Campbell's Rhinestone Cowboy from The Val Doonican Music Show.
We're brought up to date with modern country hits from Top of the Pops and Later...with Jools Holland.
FRI 23:00 John Denver at Wembley Arena (b03jgq83)
Country singer-songwriter John Denver performs in concert at Wembley Arena in 1979, featuring hits including Rocky Mountain High and Take Me Home, Country Roads.
FRI 23:40 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01hz75h)
Guilty Pleasures - Love Will Keep Us Together
An unashamed celebration of the instantly recognisable classics from the decade of love. A half hour of 'Our Tune' anthems and the soundtrack to many a love affair and wedding party, including performances from The Carpenters, Bread, Charles Aznavour, John Denver, 10cc, Bellamy Brothers, Exile, Captain and Tennille, and Dr Hook.
FRI 00:10 Glen Campbell: The Rhinestone Cowboy (b01pwxs8)
In 2011, Glen Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and that he would be bowing out with a final album and farewell tour across Britain and America. This documentary tells Campbell's remarkable life story, from impoverished childhood in Arkansas to huge success, first as a guitarist and then as a singer, with great records like Wichita Lineman and Rhinestone Cowboy. With comments from friends and colleagues, including songwriter Jimmy Webb and Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees, it is a moving story of success, disgrace and redemption as rich as any of the storylines in Campbell's most famous songs.
The peak of Glen Campbell's career was in 1975, when he topped the charts around the world with Rhinestone Cowboy, but his musical journey to that point is fascinating. A self-taught teenage prodigy on the guitar, by his mid-twenties Campbell was one of the top session guitarists in LA, a key member of the band of session players now known as The Wrecking Crew. He played on hundreds of tracks while working for producers like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, including Daydream Believer by The Monkees, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling by The Righteous Brothers, Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra and Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley.
But Campbell always wanted to make it under his own name. A string of records failed to chart until, in 1967, he finally found his distinctive country pop sound with hits like Gentle on My Mind and By the Time I Get to Phoenix. The latter was written by Jimmy Webb, and together the two created a string of great records like Wichita Lineman and Galveston. Campbell pioneered country crossover and opened the way for artists like Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.
By the end of the 1960s, Campbell was the fastest rising star in American pop with his own television show and a starring role in the original version of True Grit. Over the following ten years, he had more success with Rhinestone Cowboy and Southern Nights, but his private life was in turmoil. Divorce, drink and drugs saw this clean-cut all-American hero fall from grace and a tempestuous relationship with country star Tanya Tucker was front-page news.
Despite a relapse in 2003, when he was arrested for drunk driving and his police mug shot was shown around the world, the last two decades have been more settled. He remarried, started a new family and renewed his Christian faith, and was musically rediscovered by a new generation. Like his friend Johnny Cash, he released acclaimed new albums with young musicians, covering songs by contemporary artists like U2 and The Foo Fighters. Therefore the diagnosis with Alzheimer's was all the more poignant, but his dignified farewell has made him the public face of the disease in the USA.
The film includes contributions by many of Campbell's friends and colleagues, including his family in Arkansas, fellow session musicians Carol Kaye and Leon Russell, long-time friend and collaborator Jimmy Webb, former Monkee Mickey Dolenz, broadcaster Bob Harris, lyricist Don Black and country music writer Robert Oermann.
FRI 01:10 John Denver: Country Boy (b03j4cz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 02:10 Country at the BBC (b08qgkzv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
FRI 03:10 John Denver at Wembley Arena (b03jgq83)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
Bach: A Passionate Life
19:30 FRI (b01rrgg6)
Benjamin Britten on Camera
20:00 SAT (b03j42wt)
Benjamin Britten on Camera
02:45 SAT (b03j42wt)
Benjamin Britten on Camera
00:00 WED (b03j42wt)
Billy Budd from Glyndebourne
19:00 SUN (b03j4396)
Borgen
21:00 SAT (p01jw8yf)
Borgen
22:00 SAT (b037gprd)
Cathedrals
21:00 TUE (b03j45gh)
Cathedrals
02:25 TUE (b03j45gh)
Cathedrals
01:10 THU (b03j45gh)
Colouring Light: Brian Clarke - An Artist Apart
01:25 TUE (b0162yc0)
Country at the BBC
22:00 FRI (b08qgkzv)
Country at the BBC
02:10 FRI (b08qgkzv)
Doctor Who
22:30 THU (b03jprm9)
Doctor Who
22:55 THU (b03jprmc)
Doctor Who
23:20 THU (b03jprmf)
Doctor Who
23:45 THU (b03jprmh)
Frozen Planet
19:00 SAT (b00zj35m)
Frozen Planet
01:45 SAT (b00zj35m)
Frozen Planet
23:00 WED (b00zj35m)
Glen Campbell: The Rhinestone Cowboy
00:10 FRI (b01pwxs8)
Great British Railway Journeys
19:30 MON (b019j27v)
Great British Railway Journeys
02:15 MON (b019j27v)
Great British Railway Journeys
19:30 TUE (b01b36ww)
Great British Railway Journeys
00:55 TUE (b01b36ww)
Great British Railway Journeys
19:30 WED (b01b3903)
Great British Railway Journeys
02:00 WED (b01b3903)
Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls
22:00 WED (b01jcc8b)
John Denver at Wembley Arena
23:00 FRI (b03jgq83)
John Denver at Wembley Arena
03:10 FRI (b03jgq83)
John Denver: Country Boy
21:00 FRI (b03j4cz2)
John Denver: Country Boy
01:10 FRI (b03j4cz2)
Light and Dark
21:00 MON (p01k4yt6)
Light and Dark
02:45 MON (p01k4yt6)
Light and Dark
00:10 THU (p01k4yt6)
Mark Lawson Talks To...
23:15 MON (b00dwcp6)
Natural World
20:00 TUE (b00tj7j4)
Natural World
20:00 WED (b01k784h)
Natural World
01:00 WED (b01k784h)
Only Connect
20:30 MON (b03j450t)
Only Connect
01:15 MON (b03j450t)
Queen Live In Budapest: Hungarian Rhapsody
23:00 SAT (b01pp0zp)
Radio 2 In Concert
01:20 SUN (b03hj0xn)
Sounds of the 70s 2
01:15 SAT (b01h7pzm)
Sounds of the 70s 2
23:40 FRI (b01hz75h)
Storyville
22:00 MON (b03j450y)
Storyville
23:40 TUE (b03j450y)
Storyville
21:00 THU (b03j49l6)
The Golden Age of Canals
22:50 SUN (b01173hf)
Timeshift
21:50 SUN (b017zqw8)
Timeshift
00:15 MON (p01k49cg)
Timeshift
21:00 WED (b037w38s)
Timeshift
02:30 WED (b037w38s)
Timewatch
20:00 THU (b00sl29f)
Timewatch
02:50 THU (b00sl29f)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
22:00 TUE (b0074tdz)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
22:50 TUE (b0074tg0)
Top of the Pops
00:30 SAT (b03hwgnl)
Top of the Pops
19:30 THU (b03j49l4)
Top of the Pops
02:10 THU (b03j49l4)
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
20:00 MON (b0077lfr)
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
01:45 MON (b0077lfr)
When Albums Ruled the World
23:50 SUN (b01qhn70)
Wild
22:20 THU (b0078yps)
Wings over the World
02:20 SUN (b01sjt78)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b03j42rk)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b03j42rq)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b03j42rw)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b03j42s1)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b03j42s6)