B4

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

SATURDAY 19 JULY 2014

SAT 19:00 Lost Land of the Tiger (b00ty6s4)
Episode 3

The climax to the BBC Natural History Unit's wildlife adventure series searching for tigers in the Himalayas.

Following extraordinary rumours of tigers living in the mountains of Bhutan, the expedition shifts to high altitude. Cameraman Gordon Buchanan captures remarkable footage of a snow leopard cub at over 5,000 metres.

Along the Tibetan border, explorer Steve Backshall treks to the mystical Tiger Mountain. Helped by a remote tribe, he has a very close encounter with the world's most elusive predator.

The plight of the endangered tiger brings biologist Dr George McGavin to tears, and the team present their findings to the Bhutanese prime minister. As the expedition culminates, Gordon makes the discovery of a lifetime.

SAT 20:00 Treasures of Ancient Egypt (p01mv16n)
The Birth of Art

In a visual treat taking in Egypt's greatest historical sites, Alastair Sooke tells the story of ancient Egyptian art through 30 extraordinary masterpieces. Tracing the origins of Egypt's unique visual style, he treks across the Sahara and travels the Nile to find the rarely seen art of its earliest peoples. Exploring how this civilisation's art reflected its religion, he looks anew at the Great Pyramid, and the statuary and painting of the Old Kingdom. Sooke is amazed by the technical prowess of ancient artists whose skills confound contemporary craftsmen.

SAT 21:00 Inspector Montalbano (b01d23pg)
The Mystery of the Terracotta Dog

A criminal turned state witness informs Montalbano of an arms stash in a cave just outside Vigata. Also uncovered in the cave is a secret chamber where the bodies of two lovers, killed sometime in the 1940s, were buried in a bizarre ritual. An intrigued Montalbano must challenge the Mafia and deal with the arms cache before he can investigate this second find.

In Italian with English subtitles.

SAT 22:45 Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark (b0446mwz)
Nat King Cole was the only black television star in Hollywood at a time when America groaned under the weight of racial segregation and prejudice. Yet he possessed a natural talent so great that these issues were seemingly swept to one side to allow him to become one of the greatest jazz icons of all time. However, behind closed doors those around him were trying to think of a way to package him as something he was not: bi-white.

This candid account of what really happened in and around his 'fairytale' life is taken from his private journals, interviews with his widow Maria and contributions from other family members, Tony Bennett, Buddy Greco, Harry Belafonte, Nancy Wilson, Sir Bruce Forsyth, George Benson, Aaron Neville, Johnny Mathis and many more.

Featuring archive never seen before, it reveals Nat King Cole's feelings behind his ultimate calling as a 'beacon of hope' to the legions of the oppressed.

SAT 00:15 The Sky at Night (b049x4cq)
The Brightest Star

As we pass the longest day, The Sky at Night introduces astronomy with a difference - stargazing in the daytime. Lucie Green looks at how seasons change on other planets across the solar system, Maggie Aderin-Pocock explores what makes the sun special and Chris Lintott engages in some stellar archaeology to uncover the cosmic nursery our star and its siblings were born in.

SAT 00:45 The Final Frontier? A Horizon Guide to the Universe (p00yjn1x)
Dallas Campbell looks back through almost 50 years of the Horizon archives to chart the scientific breakthroughs that have transformed our understanding of the universe. From Einstein's concept of spacetime to alien planets and extra dimensions, science has revealed a cosmos that is more bizarre and more spectacular than could have ever been imagined. But with every breakthrough, even more intriguing mysteries that lie beyond are found. This great journey of discovery is only just beginning.

SAT 01:45 Lost Land of the Tiger (b00ty6s4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

SAT 02:45 Treasures of Ancient Egypt (p01mv16n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

SUNDAY 20 JULY 2014

SUN 19:00 Narnia's Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of CS Lewis (b03jrw5j)
CS Lewis's biographer AN Wilson goes in search of the man behind Narnia - best-selling children's author and famous Christian writer, but an under-appreciated Oxford academic and an aspiring poet who never achieved the same success in writing verse as he did prose.

Although his public life was spent in the all-male world of Oxford colleges, his private life was marked by secrecy and even his best friend JRR Tolkien didn't know of his marriage to an American divorcee late in life. Lewis died on the same day as the assassination of John F Kennedy and few were at his burial - his alcoholic brother was too drunk to tell people the time of the funeral. Fifty years on, his life as a writer is now being remembered alongside other national literary heroes in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner.

In this personal and insightful film, Wilson paints a psychological portrait of a man who experienced fame in the public arena, but whose personal life was marked by the loss of the three women he most loved.

SUN 20:00 Scotland's Art Revolution: The Maverick Generation (b04bbfzt)
In summer 2014, Scotland was hosting one of the most ambitious celebrations of contemporary art ever staged. Featuring over 100 artists in 60 venues across the country, Generation shone a spotlight on one of the most phenomenal cultural stories of modern times - Scotland's transformation from a declining industrial powerhouse to an international centre of artistic creativity.

SUN 21:00 Rich Hall's California Stars (b04bbfzw)
Rich Hall continues his cultural critique of American people and places.

California has always been an empty sales pitch. Its first settlements were borne of missionary zeal. It promised a haven from marauders, banditos and mercenaries. Since then it has wiled us with unlimited gold, boundless harvests, silver-screen stardom, dotcom salvation and hi-tech silicon marvels. It has always been a place that promises a good chance of success - if you're youthful or white. And if you're Mexican, it at least promises a decent chance of survival.

The California dream has always eclipsed its facts or its history. Most other US states are named after geographical place names or Indian tribes or British royalty - New York, Nebraska, Maryland. California was named for Calafia, a mythical Spanish queen, a kind of Spanish Snow White. At the California History Attraction in Anaheim she is portrayed in a 20-minute film narrated by Whoopi Goldberg.

And that's California in a nutshell - a place that instantly forgets its past so it can reinvent it for tourists and dreamers. True reality has never been good enough for Californians. They are always vaguely dissatisfied with themselves, their bodies, their spirituality, their government and their present car. Yet they still believe they shape both American culture and American character. And to a large degree, they have.

In his unique and sardonic way, Rich takes the viewer on a skewed but keenly eyed journey to the place built on a tectonic faultline that still deigns to call itself the Land of Dreams.

SUN 22:30 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b04bmmvs)
Born Lippy: Jo Brand

Mark Lawson talks to comedian, writer and actress Jo Brand. After a decade working as a psychiatric nurse, Jo turned her hand to comedy in the 1980s and has spent nearly 30 years at the top of what is widely accepted to be a male-dominated genre, receiving recognition by BAFTA in 2011 for her performance in the sitcom Getting On.

One of the most important female comics of her generation, she reveals the backlash she faced on her arrival on the alternative comedy scene, her approach to hecklers and taboos, as well as her experiences as a TV personality - from the pressure of having her own sketch show, Jo Brand: Through The Cakehole, to being on panel shows such as Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week.

SUN 23:30 The Joy of the Guitar Riff (b049mtxw)
The guitar riff is the DNA of rock 'n' roll, a double helix of repetitive simplicity and fiendish complexity on which its history has been built. From Chuck Berry through to The White Stripes, this documentary traces the ebb and flow of the guitar riff over the last 60 years of popular music. With riffs and stories from an all-star cast including Brian May, Dave Davies, Hank Marvin, Joan Jett, Nile Rodgers, Tony Iommi, Robert Fripp, Johnny Marr, Nancy Wilson, Kevin Shields, Ryan Jarman, Tom Morello and many more. Narrated by Lauren Laverne.

SUN 00:30 Great Guitar Riffs at the BBC (b049mtxy)
Compilation of BBC performances featuring some of the best axe men and women in rock 'n' roll, from Hendrix to The Kinks, Cream to AC/DC, The Smiths to Rage Against the Machine and Radiohead to Foo Fighters. Whether it is The Shadows playing FBI on Crackerjack, Jeff Beck with The Yardbirds, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream's Sunshine of Your Love from their final gig, Pixies on the Late Show, AC/DC on Top of the Pops or Fools Gold from The Stone Roses, this compilation is a celebration of rock 'n' roll guitar complete with riffs, fingerstylin', wah-wah pedals and Marshall amps.

SUN 01:30 Rich Hall's California Stars (b04bbfzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

SUN 03:00 Scotland's Art Revolution: The Maverick Generation (b04bbfzt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

MONDAY 21 JULY 2014

MON 19:00 World News Today (b04bb5vw)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

MON 19:30 Pagans and Pilgrims: Britain's Holiest Places (b01rd37d)
Trees and Mountains

Presenter and Welsh poet Ifor ap Glyn explores the wealth of Britain's extraordinary holy places on a pilgrimage that spans almost 2,000 years of history. Travelling across the breadth of the UK, Ifor uncovers the stories and rich history behind many of our most famous sites, explaining the myths and legends of some of Britain's most sacred places.

Ifor visits trees and mountains as a way of understanding the journey Britain undertook from the old Pagan religion to Christianity. His journey starts in Glastonbury, site of the famous tor and the Thorns, the most holy trees in the country. He discovers how even now these symbols are causing friction and discord.

His journey continues at Knowlton in Dorset, a place where a Norman church has been built right in the centre of an earthen henge. There he meets a druid who explains how Pagan sites were often overwritten in this way by the new Christian religion before they both discover that, at least here, earth magic seems to be making a comeback.

Ifor visits a bleeding yew tree that has divided opinion for 600 years and, in Snowdonia, a mountain where the devil is said to have gone toe to toe with an early Christian missionary. He travels to a rocky Cornish crag where St Michael himself is said to reside before finishing his journey at Pendle Hill, inspiration behind the most stripped down and anti-Pagan religious denomination of all time. But even here, did Christianity really manage to break free of Paganism?

MON 20:00 Wild Weather (b0074c83)
Wet

Donal MacIntyre's journey with water begins in Bergen, the wettest place in Europe, where he finds how to live with almost constant rain. He follows the rainwater into the icy northern seas where it joins the greatest ocean current of them all. Rising in the Indian ocean, it fuels the mighty Indian monsoon, bringing inches of rain crashing to the ground in seconds. To find out how the perfect raindrop is formed, Donal paraglides into the heart of a monsoon rain cloud. In Texas he discovers the secret of rainmaking, before experiencing the terror of a flash flood.

MON 21:00 Every Breath We Take: Understanding Our Atmosphere (b04bdqsz)
The air around us is not just empty space; it is an integral part of the chemistry of life. Plants are made from carbon dioxide, nitrogen nourishes the soil and oxygen gives us the energy we need to keep our hearts pumping and our brains alive. But how did we come to understand what air is made of? How did we come to know that this invisible stuff around us contains anything at all?

Gabrielle Walker tells the remarkable story of the quest to understand the air. It's a tale of heroes and underdogs, chance encounters and sheer blind luck that spans the entire history of science. It began as a simple desire to further our knowledge of the natural world, but it ended up uncovering raw materials that have shaped our modern world, unravelling the secrets of our own physiology and revealing why we are here at all.

MON 22:00 Edge of Darkness (p00v5gt7)
Breakthrough

Craven comes face to face with Emma's killer, but he is shot before he can reveal why he did it. Craven becomes determined to enter Northmoor with the help of Jedburgh and hack into MI5's computer.

MON 22:55 Dissected (p01mv2md)
The Incredible Human Hand

In a purpose-built dissection lab, Dr George McGavin is joined by leading anatomy experts to dissect a real hand, taking it apart layer by layer to reveal what makes it unique in the animal kingdom. We discover what gives our hands an unrivalled combination of power and precision, and meet people who use their hands in extraordinary ways - from magicians to rock climbers - to discover what gives them such astonishing abilities.

MON 23:55 Treasures of Ancient Egypt (p01mv16n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]

MON 00:55 Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer (b00jhv9g)
Cleopatra - the most famous woman in history. We know her as a great queen, a beautiful lover and a political schemer. For 2,000 years almost all evidence of her has disappeared - until now.

In one of the world's most exciting finds, archaeologists believe they have discovered the skeleton of her sister, murdered by Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

From Egypt to Turkey, Neil Oliver investigates the story of a ruthless queen who would kill her own siblings for power. This is the portrait of a killer.

MON 01:55 Wild Weather (b0074c83)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

MON 02:55 Every Breath We Take: Understanding Our Atmosphere (b04bdqsz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

TUESDAY 22 JULY 2014

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b04bb5xm)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

TUE 19:30 Pagans and Pilgrims: Britain's Holiest Places (b01rk2fp)
Shrines

Presenter and Welsh poet Ifor ap Glyn explores the wealth of Britain's extraordinary holy places on a pilgrimage that spans almost 2,000 years of history. Travelling across the breadth of the UK, Ifor uncovers the stories and rich history behind many of our most famous sites, explaining the myths and legends of some of Britain's most sacred places.

Ifor sets out to understand the appeal of shrines. For those outside the Catholic and Orthodox church there is something vaguely unsettling about shrines. How can venerating the bones of a dead person bring you closer to God?

From the unlikely starting point of Marc Bolan's roadside shrine in Barnes, Ifor embarks upon perhaps his most surprising journey. Along the way he learns that Scotland's largest city only exists because of a shrine and visits the newly-renovated shrine of St David in Wales.

At St Albans Cathedral, he learns that shrines are slowly but surely starting to creep back into the Anglican mainstream and that rather than meeting resistance, they are being actively embraced. After viewing a genuinely shocking relic in Westminster Cathedral, Ifor meets with the Catholic archbishop Vincent Nichols, who has a radical theory about how the return of shrines represents the final chapter of the Reformation, and that is all down to Princess Diana.

Finally, after seeing some of the finest cathedrals in the land, Ifor ends his journey at a tiny church on the fringe of Snowdonia, one which is home to a shrine that many people consider the holiest place in Britain.

TUE 20:00 Britain by Bike (b00t4lqf)
North Devon

Clare Balding sets out on a two-wheel odyssey to re-discover Britain from the saddle of a touring cycle.

In a six-part series, Clare follows the wheeltracks of compulsive cyclist and author Harold Briercliffe whose evocative guide books of the late 1940s lovingly describe by-passed Britain - a world of unspoiled villages, cycle touring clubs and sunny B roads.

Carrying a set of Harold's Cycling Touring Guides for company and riding his very own bicycle, Clare embarks on six iconic cycle rides to try and find the world he described - if it is still there.

Her first journey takes Clare to the rugged and beautiful Atlantic coast of north Devon - from Lynmouth, scene of Britain's worst flood disaster in the early 1950s, to Ilfracombe via Little Switzerland, and a hidden silver mine whose riches probably helped England win the Battle of Agincourt.

TUE 20:30 Commonwealth on Film (b04bdr52)
Free Time

From India to Jamaica, Nigeria to Hong Kong and beyond, over the decades film-makers have captured the rich diversity of the Commonwealth. This edition looks at free time.

TUE 21:00 Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War (p00yjy5r)
Trouble in the Family: 1337-1360

Dr Janina Ramirez explores the fallout of the longest and bloodiest divorce in history, when little England dared to take on the superpower France.

Edward III rips up the medieval rule book and crushes the flower of French knighthood at the Battle of Crecy with his low-born archers. His son, the Black Prince, conducts a campaign of terror, helping to bring France to her knees.

TUE 22:00 100 Seconds to Beat the World: The David Rudisha Story (b04bdr54)
Documentary telling the story of Kenyan athlete David Rudisha, the greatest 800m runner the world has ever seen, and his highly unusual coach, the Irish Catholic missionary Brother Colm O'Connell.

Shot over ten years, the film begins in 2005 when we first meet David as a shy 16-year-old arriving at a training camp with nothing but a dream of emulating his father's 1968 Olympic silver medal. The camp is run by the unlikeliest of coaches, missionary and amateur athletics trainer Brother Colm, who quickly spots his talent. Together they embark on a journey through injury, disappointment and terror when violence sweeps through the country in the aftermath of the 2008 election, all the way to the 2012 Olympics and the greatest 800m race the world has ever seen.

With unprecedented access and featuring interviews with Seb Coe and Steve Cram, this is an epic, magical and uplifting tale that reaches far beyond sport.

TUE 23:00 Lost Land of the Tiger (b00ty6s4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]

TUE 00:00 A History of Britain by Simon Schama (b0074l1q)
Series 1

Burning Convictions

Simon Schama sets out to explain how Britain stopped being a Catholic country in just three generations. Henry VIII's passion for Anne Boleyn set in motion a tidal wave of religious upheaval that would claim the lives of thousands. Although Henry himself remained a Catholic all his life, his son Edward VI, a Protestant by conviciton, made sure there would be no going back, despite Bloody Mary's last ditch attempt to hold back the Reformation.

TUE 01:00 Deep Down & Dirty: The Science of Soil (b040y925)
For billions of years our planet was devoid of life, but something transformed it into a vibrant, living planet. That something was soil.

It's a much-misunderstood substance, often dismissed as 'dirt', something to be avoided. Yet the crops we eat, the animals we rely on, the very oxygen we breathe, all depend on the existence of the plant life that bursts from the soil every year.

In this film, gardening expert Chris Beardshaw explores where soil comes from, what it's made of and what makes it so essential to life. Using specialist microphotography, he reveals it as we've never seen it before - an intricate microscopic landscape, teeming with strange and wonderful life forms.

It's a world where the chaos of life meets the permanence of rock, the two interacting with each other to make a living system of staggering complexity that sustains all life on Earth.

Chris explores how man is challenging this most precious resource on our planet and how new science is seeking to preserve it.

TUE 02:00 Commonwealth on Film (b04bdr52)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]

TUE 02:30 Britain by Bike (b00t4lqf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUE 03:00 Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War (p00yjy5r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2014

WED 19:00 World News Today (b04bb5yh)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

WED 19:30 Pagans and Pilgrims: Britain's Holiest Places (b01rqbnm)
Islands

Presenter and Welsh poet Ifor ap Glyn explores the wealth of Britain's extraordinary holy places on a pilgrimage that spans almost 2,000 years of history. Travelling across the breadth of the UK, Ifor uncovers the stories and rich history behind many of our most famous sites, explaining the myths and legends of some of Britain's most sacred places.

Ifor sets out to understand the appeal of islands as holy retreats. It may seem obvious that we would feel closer to the divine when surrounded by the stunning natural beauty of an island, but Ifor soon discovers there is a far deeper reason they became such a major aspect of religion.

His journey takes him from the Lake District to the Mappa Mundi in Hereford Cathedral, from our most famous holy island at Lindisfarne to the Western Isles in Scotland where an ancient Christian holy island has been reborn as a Buddhist monastery. He visits the island where the Welsh version of St Valentine lived and finally heads out west to the barren island of Bardsey, at the very furthest tip of Wales. This is known as the Island of 20,000 Saints, a place that exists halfway between this world and the next.

WED 20:00 Indian Hill Railways (b00qzzlm)
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway

From the Himalayas in the north to the Nilgiris in the south - for a hundred years these little trains have climbed through the clouds and into the wonderful world of Indian Hill Railways.

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a romantic line, popular with honeymooners and driven by love and devotion as well as steam. It chugs through the south Indian jungle up to a hill station, once known as Snooty Ooty.

The current guard is Ivan. Married for twenty years, he is concerned about his friend Jenni, the ticket inspector, because he's still a bachelor - but Jenni has a secret.

In the engine shed, Shivani, the railway's first female diesel engineer, is working on a steam loco. She has to make it look its best, as in the year of filming, 1999, the railway celebrated its centenary. The high point is the Black Beauty competition to pick the best engine on the line, but rains and landslides threaten the proceedings and the tourist business. Will love win out in the end?

WED 21:00 Our Planet from the Air: Home (b04bdtqt)
Featuring stunning aerial footage from 54 countries, this film from acclaimed aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and ecology-minded French director Luc Besson reveals the beauty and fragility of our planet as never before.

Scientists tell us that we must change the way we live to avert the eventual depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate. The film delivers alarming statistics about climate change and how quickly human beings are transforming our beautiful planet into a place that could eventually become uninhabitable.

Along with enthralling images, this is a depiction of how Earth's problems are all interlinked, through an extraordinary aerial portrait.

WED 22:30 Rich Hall's California Stars (b04bbfzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]

WED 00:00 Wild Weather (b0074c83)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]

WED 01:00 Indian Hill Railways (b00qzzlm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

WED 02:00 Parks and Recreation (b02w6tc0)
Series 2

The Master Plan

Comedy series set in the parks department of a fictional Indiana town.

Leslie is disappointed when two state auditors put her new park plans on hold. April celebrates her 21st birthday at the Snakehole Lounge.

WED 02:20 Parks and Recreation (b02w6tc5)
Series 2

Freddy Spaghetti

Leslie is forced to take matters into her own hands when the government is shut down and the parks are closed.

WED 02:45 Scotland's Art Revolution: The Maverick Generation (b04bbfzt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Sunday]

THURSDAY 24 JULY 2014

THU 19:00 World News Today (b04bb60y)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b04bdvp7)
Weekly pop chart programme presented by David Jensen, with performances from Secret Affair, Dollar, Nick Lowe, the Gibson Brothers, Gary Numan, Johnny Mathis, the Stranglers and Cliff Richard, and a dance sequence by Legs & Co.

THU 20:00 Explosions: How We Shook the World (b00v9kb3)
Engineer Jem Stansfield is used to creating explosions, but in this programme he uncovers the story of how we have learnt to control them and harness their power for our own means.

From recreating a rather dramatic ancient Chinese alchemy accident to splitting an atom in his own home-built replica of a 1930s piece of equipment, Jem reveals how explosives work and how we have used their power throughout history. He goes underground to show how gunpowder was used in the mines of Cornwall, recreates the first test of guncotton in a quarry with dramatic results and visits a modern high explosives factory with a noble history.

Ground-breaking high speed photography makes for some startling revelations at every step of the way.

THU 21:00 A History of Britain by Simon Schama (b0074l34)
Series 1

The Body of the Queen

Queen Elizabeth I was one of the country's most intelligent monarchs, ruling a Protestant rogue state in a Catholic world. But it was her long, tangled relationship with her cousin Mary Queen of Scots that would test her the most.

Elizabeth never married. Mary married twice but it ruined her. A magnet for conspiracy and intrigue, Mary tormented Elizabeth until finally executed for treason. But it was Mary not Elizabeth who gave birth to an heir. Simon Schama asks if it was the politican Elizabeth, or the mother Mary, who won in the end.

THU 22:00 Every Breath We Take: Understanding Our Atmosphere (b04bdqsz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]

THU 23:00 Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War (p00yjy5r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]

THU 00:00 Our Planet from the Air: Home (b04bdtqt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]

THU 01:30 Top of the Pops (b04bdvp7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

THU 02:15 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074sm9)
Episode 5

Flouncy-haired pop merchants and indie stalwarts on The Old Grey Whistle Test and its younger, more colourful sibling, The Whistle Test dominate this trawl through the 80s. Featuring The Teardrop Explodes, Orange Juice, Robert Wyatt, Aztec Camera, Billy Bragg, The Fall, The Pogues, Robyn Hitchcock and the ever-smiling Style Council.

THU 02:40 A History of Britain by Simon Schama (b0074l34)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

FRIDAY 25 JULY 2014

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b04bb61s)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (b04bmgf8)
2014

Friday Night at the Proms: Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony

Following the excitement of the First Night, presenters Petroc Trelawny and world-renowned soprano Danielle de Niese kick off the regular Friday night slot with Beethoven's much-loved 6th Symphony. This lyrical paean to the renewing powers of nature is conducted by David Zinman in his final appearance as chief conductor of Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, in a concert that also includes Richard Strauss's sparkling tone-poem Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche and Dvorak's Violin Concerto in A minor. This Romantic masterpiece is performed by its champion, German violinist Julia Fischer, who says it has 'the greatest beginning of any violin concerto'.

FRI 21:30 Northern Soul: Living for the Weekend (b04bf1lf)
The northern soul phenomenon was the most exciting underground British club movement of the 70s. At its high point, thousands of disenchanted white working class youths across the north of England danced to obscure, mid-60s Motown-inspired sounds until the sun rose. A dynamic culture of fashions, dance moves, vinyl obsession and much more grew up around this - all fuelled by the love of rare black American soul music with an express-train beat.

Through vivid first-hand accounts and rare archive footage, this film charts northern soul's dramatic rise, fall and rebirth. It reveals the scene's roots in the mod culture of the 60s and how key clubs like Manchester's Twisted Wheel and Sheffield's Mojo helped create the prototype that would blossom in the next decade.

By the early 70s a new generation of youngsters in the north were transforming the old ballrooms and dancehalls of their parents' generation into citadels of the northern soul experience, creating a genuine alternative to mainstream British pop culture. This was decades before the internet, when people had to travel great distances to enjoy the music they felt so passionate about.

Set against a rich cultural and social backdrop, the film shows how the euphoria and release that northern soul gave these clubbers provided an escape from the bleak reality of their daily lives during the turbulent 70s. After thriving in almost total isolation from the rest of the UK, northern soul was commercialised and broke nationwide in the second half of the 70s. But just as this happened, the once-healthy rivalry between the clubs in the north fell apart amidst bitter in-fighting over the direction the scene should go.

Today, northern soul is more popular than ever, but it was back in the 70s that one of the most fascinating and unique British club cultures rose to glory. Contributors include key northern soul DJs like Richard Searling, Ian Levine, Colin Curtis and Kev Roberts alongside Lisa Stansfield, Norman Jay, Pete Waterman, Marc Almond, Peter Stringfellow and others.

FRI 22:30 Motown at the BBC (b00hq4qr)
To mark the 50-year anniversary of Motown in 2009, a compilation of some of the iconic record label's greatest names filmed live in the BBC studios. Visitors from Hitsville USA over the years have included Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops and The Jackson 5.

FRI 23:30 New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s (b0177bjb)
Prince: A Purple Reign

Film which explores how Prince - showman, artist, enigma - revolutionised the perception of black music in the 1980s with worldwide hits such as 1999, Kiss, Raspberry Beret and Alphabet Street. He became a global sensation with the release of the Oscar-winning, semi-autobiographical movie Purple Rain in 1984, embarking on an incredible journey of musical self-discovery that continued right up to his passing in April 2016, aged 57.

From the psychedelic Around the World in a Day to his masterpiece album Sign O' the Times and experiments with hip-hop and jazz, Prince was one of most ambitious and prolific songwriters of his generation. He tested the boundaries of taste and decency with explicit sexual lyrics and stage shows during his early career, and in the 1990s fought for ownership of his name and control of his music, played out in a public battle with his former label, Warner. Highly regarded as one of the most flamboyant live performers ever, Prince was a controversial and famously elusive creative force.

Contributors include Revolution guitarist Dez Dickerson, Paisley Park label president Alan Leeds, hip-hop legend Chuck D and Prince 'Mastermind' and UK soul star Beverley Knight.

FRI 00:30 Northern Soul: Living for the Weekend (b04bf1lf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today]

FRI 01:30 Motown at the BBC (b00hq4qr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]

FRI 02:30 New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s (b0177bjb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:30 today]

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

100 Seconds to Beat the World: The David Rudisha Story 22:00 TUE (b04bdr54)

A History of Britain by Simon Schama 00:00 TUE (b0074l1q)

A History of Britain by Simon Schama 21:00 THU (b0074l34)

A History of Britain by Simon Schama 02:40 THU (b0074l34)

BBC Proms 19:30 FRI (b04bmgf8)

Britain by Bike 20:00 TUE (b00t4lqf)

Britain by Bike 02:30 TUE (b00t4lqf)

Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War 21:00 TUE (p00yjy5r)

Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War 03:00 TUE (p00yjy5r)

Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War 23:00 THU (p00yjy5r)

Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer 00:55 MON (b00jhv9g)

Commonwealth on Film 20:30 TUE (b04bdr52)

Commonwealth on Film 02:00 TUE (b04bdr52)

Deep Down & Dirty: The Science of Soil 01:00 TUE (b040y925)

Dissected 22:55 MON (p01mv2md)

Edge of Darkness 22:00 MON (p00v5gt7)

Every Breath We Take: Understanding Our Atmosphere 21:00 MON (b04bdqsz)

Every Breath We Take: Understanding Our Atmosphere 02:55 MON (b04bdqsz)

Every Breath We Take: Understanding Our Atmosphere 22:00 THU (b04bdqsz)

Explosions: How We Shook the World 20:00 THU (b00v9kb3)

Great Guitar Riffs at the BBC 00:30 SUN (b049mtxy)

Indian Hill Railways 20:00 WED (b00qzzlm)

Indian Hill Railways 01:00 WED (b00qzzlm)

Inspector Montalbano 21:00 SAT (b01d23pg)

Lost Land of the Tiger 19:00 SAT (b00ty6s4)

Lost Land of the Tiger 01:45 SAT (b00ty6s4)

Lost Land of the Tiger 23:00 TUE (b00ty6s4)

Mark Lawson Talks To... 22:30 SUN (b04bmmvs)

Motown at the BBC 22:30 FRI (b00hq4qr)

Motown at the BBC 01:30 FRI (b00hq4qr)

Narnia's Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of CS Lewis 19:00 SUN (b03jrw5j)

Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark 22:45 SAT (b0446mwz)

New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s 23:30 FRI (b0177bjb)

New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s 02:30 FRI (b0177bjb)

Northern Soul: Living for the Weekend 21:30 FRI (b04bf1lf)

Northern Soul: Living for the Weekend 00:30 FRI (b04bf1lf)

Our Planet from the Air: Home 21:00 WED (b04bdtqt)

Our Planet from the Air: Home 00:00 THU (b04bdtqt)

Pagans and Pilgrims: Britain's Holiest Places 19:30 MON (b01rd37d)

Pagans and Pilgrims: Britain's Holiest Places 19:30 TUE (b01rk2fp)

Pagans and Pilgrims: Britain's Holiest Places 19:30 WED (b01rqbnm)

Parks and Recreation 02:00 WED (b02w6tc0)

Parks and Recreation 02:20 WED (b02w6tc5)

Rich Hall's California Stars 21:00 SUN (b04bbfzw)

Rich Hall's California Stars 01:30 SUN (b04bbfzw)

Rich Hall's California Stars 22:30 WED (b04bbfzw)

Scotland's Art Revolution: The Maverick Generation 20:00 SUN (b04bbfzt)

Scotland's Art Revolution: The Maverick Generation 03:00 SUN (b04bbfzt)

Scotland's Art Revolution: The Maverick Generation 02:45 WED (b04bbfzt)

Sounds of the Eighties 02:15 THU (b0074sm9)

The Final Frontier? A Horizon Guide to the Universe 00:45 SAT (p00yjn1x)

The Joy of the Guitar Riff 23:30 SUN (b049mtxw)

The Sky at Night 00:15 SAT (b049x4cq)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b04bdvp7)

Top of the Pops 01:30 THU (b04bdvp7)

Treasures of Ancient Egypt 20:00 SAT (p01mv16n)

Treasures of Ancient Egypt 02:45 SAT (p01mv16n)

Treasures of Ancient Egypt 23:55 MON (p01mv16n)

Wild Weather 20:00 MON (b0074c83)

Wild Weather 01:55 MON (b0074c83)

Wild Weather 00:00 WED (b0074c83)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b04bb5vw)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b04bb5xm)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b04bb5yh)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b04bb60y)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b04bb61s)