From Radio Times 8th - 14th January 2005


SATURDAY 8th
BBC 2 7.10pm
Abroad Again In Britain.
First in a new series of five programmes.
Salisbury Cathedral. Returning for a fourth series of award-winning "Abroad" programmes Jonathan Meades switches his attention to landmark buildings. Raised in the shadow of one of the country’s finest mediaeval buildings he wonders how an atheist can love a building dedicated to the propagation of mediaeval superstitions and fears.

BBC 2 8.10pm
Britain’s X-Files - Timewatch.
The UFO phenomenon in Britain took off in the 1950s, when alleged sightings began and Clement Attlee formed the Flying Saucer Working Party. This documentary recalls how UFOs became a symbol of the Communist threat during the Cold War and how paranoia over these mysterious vessels struck.

SUNDAY 9th
Channel 4 5.00pm
TIME TEAM *******************************
Second in a series of 13 programmes.
The Monastery and the Mansion. Residents in the Yorkshire village of Nether Poppleton try to solve a mystery surrounding their local history. Its hoped that excavations will clarify whether the village had its genesis in Saxon, Norman or mediaeval times, and find evidence to bear out an intriguing reference in the Domesday book suggesting an Anglo-Saxon saint named Everilda had her nunnery there.

MONDAY 10th
BBC 2 7.00pm
Cathedral.
Second in a series of five programmes.
Redemption at Lincoln. When Lincoln’s original cathedral was destroyed by an earthquake in 1185, King Henry II believed it was a message from God, a warning to stop plundering the cathedral’s revenues. In a bid to save his soul he appointed a simple French monk, Hugh of Avalon, as Lincoln’s bishop. This dramatised reconstruction is the story of his battle to give the mediaeval world a glimpse of heaven on earth.

BBC 2 9.00pm
Tribe.
Second of a series of six programmes.
A drink of cow’s blood and an agonising scarring ritual await Bruce Parry when he lives among the Suri people of Ethiopia. Ritualised violence is a way of life for the Suri through extraordinary stick-fighting rituals. But Parry finds that the rule of the gun is killing their ancient traditions.

Five 8.00pm
We Built This City.
London. Archaeologists, engineers and historians explain how London has grown into one of the world’s largest cities over the past 2,000 years.

TUESDAY 11th
BBC 2 9.00pm
Auschwitz: the Nazis and the Final Solution.
First in a new series of six programmes.
Surprising Beginnings. To mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Laurence Rees’s definitive and harrowing documentary history of the site of the largest mass murder that the world has ever seen. Over one million were killed in a camp that ended up as a byword for the murder of the Jews. However, Auschwitz was originally intended as a place to hold Polish political prisoners. Shocking testimony re-creates the harshness of life in those early days.

Five 7.15pm
Devine Designs: Spitalfields
Second of two programmes.
Cambridge art historian Dr Paul Binski concludes his look at the history of this diverse London district. This edition takes in the area’s contemporary history, notably the influx of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe in the early 20th century, whose community was gradually replaced by Bengalis who began to arrive in the 1960s - their continuing presence ever-evident n the restaurants and shops of Brick Lane.

Five 8.00pm
Murder: the Mystery of Ashkelon.
A gruesome 2,000 year old murder mystery is investigated as archaeologists excavating the ancient Israeli city of Ashkelon unearth a sinister find. How did the skeletons of 100 newborn babies, thrown into the sewers of a Roman bathhouse, end up there? How did the infants die, and why did they not receive a proper burial, and were they already dead when they were placed there?

WEDNESDAY 12th
BBC 2 7.00pm
Hindenburg Crash - Days That Shook The World
The human cost of aviation was keenly felt in 1937. The German airship Hindenburg was scheduled to make the first commercial crossing of the Atlantic. The tragic consequence was relayed via America’s first pre-recorded network news broadcast.

FRIDAY 14th
BBC 2 9.00pm
The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon.
First in a new series of three programmes.
Life and Times. A remarkable 800 films found in Blackburn have been restored by the BFI. Shot by the Mitchell and Kenyon company, they reveal a fascinating look at the early 20th century in the UK. Life in the new cities and cotton mills and factories is the focus tonight. Presented by Dan Cruickshank.



Time Team on Discovery.

A Time Team programme is scheduled for 8.00am on both Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th.

Monday Appleby police station in Cumbria.
Tuesday A lost Roman town in a field in Durham.
Wednesday In the grounds of Castle Howard.
Thursday A Bronze Age cemetery in Fife.
Friday George III’s palace in Kew Gardens.

Immediately after Friday’s TT there is a showing of Extreme Archaeology’s programme searching for the foundations of a Roman bridge.

And don’t forget UKTV History, which has a range of history and archaeology programmes for those with access to digital, satellite or cable channels.

From Radio Times 15th - 21st January 2005


SATURDAY 15th
BBC 2 7.10pm
Abroad Again In Britain.
Second in a series of five programmes.
Brighton Pavilion. It was in 1815 that architect John Nash began to remodel an existing, modest villa for the then Prince Regent in a lavish style heavily influenced by India and China. On completion in 1823, George IV had a residence that truly reflected his sybaritic life. Jonathan Meades ponders the fabulous pleasure dome that is the Royal Pavilion in Bath.

Channel 4 7.00pm
Blitz - Bombing and Total War.
The use of aerial bombing during WWII brought about a revolution in warfare. Armies could now hit targets deep behind enemy lines, causing the first “total war” in history, with everyone involved and everybody a target. This documentary charts the history of bombing, from the destruction of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War to the devastating firestorms of WWII. Archive footage and personal testimonies reveal the horrors of civilian bombing, while former officers from the RAF, US Air Force and Luftwaffe describe the terror of flying into enemy defences and discuss the moral implications of their actions.

SUNDAY 16th
BBC 2 7.15pm
Time Commanders.
First in a new series of eight programmes.
Contestants eager to recreate the battles of history’s greatest generals line up in a second series. It’s AD9 and a team of vicars try to save Roman legions from defeat at the hands of the Germanic army in the battle of Teutoburg.

Channel 4 5.00pm
TIME TEAM *******************************
Third in a series of 13 programmes.
The Bombers in the Marsh. TR and the Team delve into the mud to access two Douglas A26 Invader bombers that crashed to earth in Warton Marsh near Preston on 29 November 1944. Can crash investigators and other experts help discover more about the events of that fateful day?

MONDAY 17th
BBC 2 7.00pm
Cathedral.
Third in a series of five programmes.
Flood at Winchester. After standing for 1,000 years as a proud symbol of national identity, Winchester Cathedral faced total destruction in the early 1900s when it was discovered that it was sinking into the swamp on which it had been built. This is the extraordinary story of the incredible underwater adventure that was launched to save it.

BBC 2 9.00pm
Tribe.
Third of a series of six programmes.
Is cannibalism still playing a part in the lives of the Kombai people of the jungles of West Papua? Bruce Parry is deep in unexplored territory, living in a tree house and experiencing the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. But tales of eating witches from a rival clan have to be squared with Parry’s friendly welcome.

Channel 4 8.00pm
The Riddle of Einstein’s Brain.
When Albert Einstein died in 1955, his brain was removed for scientific study. This film follows the journey of a neurophysiologist and a physicist as they attempt to track down and examine the organ in a bid to discover a link between physiology and intelligence. Does Einstein’s preserved tissue hold the secret of the true origins of human genius?

TUESDAY 18th
BBC 2 9.00pm
Auschwitz: the Nazis and the Final Solution.
Second in a series of six programmes.
Orders and Initiatives. To mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Laurence Rees’s definitive and harrowing documentary history of the site of the largest mass murder that the world has ever seen. Continuing with an account of how the Nazis developed their “Final Solution”. By 1942, Rudolf Hess had established the camp as a place to murder thousands of people, but the horrific regime demanded yet more be killed

Five 7.15pm
Pevsner’s Cities with Gavin Stamp.
First of two programmes.
Art Historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner was responsible for the monumental series of books, The Buildings of England, comprising some 46 volumes, between 1951 and 1974. Now his modern day equivalent, Professor Gavin Stamp, revisits some of the places chronicled by Pevsner, starting with the city of Liverpool.
In its heyday, Liverpool was the Shanghai of 19th century Britain, a great port which served the industrial Midlands, and gateway to the Americas. Stamp observes Merseyside’s Victorian and Neo-Classical buildings, its two cathedrals and its docks, and assesses how its heritage has been preserved.

Five 8.00pm
Stonehenge: the True Story.
Stonehenge is one of the world’s great archaeological enigmas. It was, until now, believed to be a place where Stone Age humans worshipped the sun. A new theory suggests the ancient monument honours both the sun and the moon.

THURSDAY 20th
Horizon.
Einstein’s Unfinished Symphony.
To mark the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s special theory of relativity, the first of two programmes is a documentary with dramatised inserts telling the story of how he spent the last years of his life trying to produce a theory that would disprove the implications of much of his earlier work.

FRIDAY 21st
BBC 2 9.00pm
The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon.
Second in a series of three programmes.
Sport and Pleasure. A remarkable 800 films found in Blackburn have been restored by the BFI. Shot by the Mitchell and Kenyon company, they reveal a fascinating look at the early 20th century in the UK.
The first known film of Manchester United is among the footage reflecting leisure time in the Edwardian era. There’s also a look at the effect extra cash had on both holidays and home life. Presented by Dan Cruickshank.



Time Team on Discovery.

A Time Team programme is scheduled for 8.00am on both Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th.

Monday Athelney.
Tuesday Royal Crescent, Bath.
Wednesday Liberty’s first factory in South London.
Thursday Greenwich palace and armoury
Friday The Giant’s Grave in the Shetlands.

Immediately after Friday’s TT there is a showing of Extreme Archaeology’s programme investigating the settlement on the Kame of Isbister, a jagged stack of rock north of Shetland.

And don’t forget UKTV History, which has a range of history and archaeology programmes for those with access to digital, satellite or cable channels.

I am going to be away on holiday next week so it would be good if somone could keep my thread warm for me while I'm away

quote:

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TUESDAY 11th
BBC 2 9.00pm
Auschwitz: the Nazis and the Final Solution.
First in a new series of six programmes.
Surprising Beginnings. To mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Laurence Rees’s definitive and harrowing documentary history of the site of the largest mass murder that the world has ever seen. Over one million were killed in a camp that ended up as a byword for the murder of the Jews. However, Auschwitz was originally intended as a place to hold Polish political prisoners. Shocking testimony re-creates the harshness of life in those early days.

---

How nice to watch people being experimented on in regards to the best possible way of mass killings without having to put those poor soldiers through point blank firing.

Horribly compelling viewing with some stomach churning video clips.

I learnt a bit though.

Missed it because gf likes Stargate: Atlantis!

And what's with the new format on Time Commanders?

Saturday 22nd January.

19:10 BBC 2 Abroad Again in Britain.

This week Jonathan Meade visits Portsmouth Dockyard, for centuries the world's largest military/industrial complex.

19:00 C4 Krakatoa

Dramatisation of the volcanic erruption that caused a tsunami twice as high as the one that devastated sout-east Asia on Boxing Day and produced a cloud of ash which affected the global climate.

20:10 BBC 2 Horizon

Repeat of the programme on Einstein shown on Thursday 20th.

21:00 BBC 2 Holocaust - A Music Memorial Film

Survivors of the orchestra set up by the SS in Auschwitz recount their experiences. Pieces by Bach, Chopin and others are played within the camp.

Sunday 23rd Jamuary.

17:00 C4 ****Time Team****

Fighting on the Fontier. Tony and the team go in search of a settlement that could change the face of Roman history in Scotland - the remains of a huge fort at the Duke of Buccleuch's grand home, Drumlanrig Castle.

19:15 BBC 2 Time Commanders

A family from Surrey re-contest the Battle of stamford Bridge in 1066.

Monday 24th January

19:00 BBC 2 Cathedral

This week the history of St Giles in Edinburgh and how it was affected by the turmoil caused by Charles I's religious reforms.

21:00 C4 Equinox Special

An examination of the science of the recent tsunami.

Tuesday 25th January

19:15 Five Tim Marlow at MoMA

Tim Marlow guides viewers around some of the new displays at the recently revamped New York Museum of Modern Art.

20:00 Five Seven Wonders of Ancient Rome.

Rome's architectural marvels, the Colosseum, Pantheon, Via Appia, Baths of Caracalla, Trajan's Market, Circus Maximus and the aquaducts, examined and re-created using 3-D graphics.

21:00 BBC 2 Auschwitz

Third of six programmes examining in depth the "Fianl Solution" and the development of the death camp at Auschwitz.

Wednesday 26th January

19:30 BBC 2 Days That Shook the World.

The Great Train Robbery in 1963.

Thursday 27th January

19:00 BBC 2 Holocaust Memorial Day

Gathering of British survivors at Westminster Hall in the presence of The Queen and Tony Blair etc. Films, music and first hand accounts.

21:00 BBC 2 Horizon

Second of a two part examination into the life and works of Albert Einstein.

Friday 28th January

19:30 BBC 2 The Curious House Guest.

This week Jeremy Musson pokes around in the nooks and cranies of Castle Leslie in Ireland. Location of Paul McCartney's wedding but it must have more claims to fame than that.

21:00 BBC 2 The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon

Second of three programmes of films shot around the turn of the last century. This week's theme is Saints and Sinners and promises the full spectrum of Edwardian moral behavior. Dan Cruickshank narrates.

Time Team repeats on Discovery. 19:00 and 05:00 Monday to Friday.

Peak District (Human reamins in cave)
Somerset (Mosaic floor in pigsty)
Saxon skeleton in Northamptonshire
Breamore, Hampshire and the Byzantine bucket.
Brading, Isle of Wight

Thanks for, once again, helping out Fil - I almost said "Filling" in for me

For those who can or care EXA (Extreame Archaeology) is currently appearing on Discovery channel.

Vic Reeves doing a series on 'Rogues in History' or somewhat, starts on Discovery Civ. 3rd Feb (I think, will confirm)

Browsing through my "What's on TV" today very pleased to read that the great man himself is back [I mean of course, Michael Wood ] Returns with a new series titled "In Search of Myths and Heroes". First one on Friday 4 February on BBC2 at 9pm. This one is about the Queen of Sheba.

Cheers

Ian G.

Resurgam

quote:

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Originally posted by melter:
Vic Reeves doing a series on 'Rogues in History' or somewhat, starts on Discovery Civ. 3rd Feb (I think, will confirm)

---

Indeed he is - its supposed to be his top ten favourite rogues. It will air from Thursday 3rd Feb at 8.00pm

From Radio Times 29th January - 4th February 2005


SATURDAY 29th
BBC 2 7.10pm
Abroad Again In Britain.
Fourth in a series of five programmes.
Cragside House. Victorian arms manufacturer Lord Armstrong carved the appropriately named Cragside out of a Northumbrian hill, powered it with hydroelectricity and filled it with the latest gadgets. Jonathan Meades looks back at a house of the future.

BBC 2 8.10pm
Horizon
Einstein’s Equation of Life and Death. E=MC2 explains why the sun shines - but also underpins the nuclear bomb. Documentary and dramatised elements explore how Albert Einstein’s discovery went from symbols in a notebook to weapons of mass destruction.

BBC 2 9.00pm
Who Killed Ivan the Terrible? - Timewatch.
Criminologist David Wilson conducts an investigation into the death of Russia’s first dictator, who ruled the country during the 16th century. Beginning with rumours that Ivan was strangled by enemies close to him, the historical murder mystery then takes Wilson across Russia and on to the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Forensic science finally reveals the way in which Ivan was despatched - but who was responsible?

Channel 4 7.00pm
Ancient Plastic Surgery.
Plastic surgeon Natasha Hidvegi investigates what the ancient civilisations of Egypt, India and Rome may have known about cosmetic surgery. Beginning in Varanasi in northern India, the home of Ayurvedic medicine, Hidvegi discovers how surgeons in the ancient world performed complex operations such as breast reduction, eye-lid lifts, nose jobs and scar concealment - all without modern anaesthetic.

SUNDAY 30th
BBC 2 7.15pm
Time Commanders.
Third in a series of eight programmes.
Contestants eager to recreate the battles of history’s greatest generals line up in a second series. The Macedonian army took on Indian tribes in 326BC. Stepping into the sandals of Alexander the Great, can a team from the Army and RAF defeat one of the greatest forces of war elephants.

Channel 4 5.00pm
TIME TEAM *******************************
Fifth in a series of 13 programmes.
A Neolithic Cathedral? A huge circular crop mark lies undisturbed in a field on the edge of the fens near Peterborough. Could it date back to Neolithic times, be the remnants of early farming, or even represent some kind of religious site? Joined by Francis Pryor, TR and the Team delve into the huge ditches that mark out the circle to find the answers.

MONDAY 31st
BBC 2 7.00pm
Cathedral.
Last in a series of five programmes.
Fire at York. In the early 19th century the grand architecture of York Minster was an enigma. But then in 1829 “the voice of God” drove Jonathon Martin to burn the cathedral down, While locals became obsessed with finding and punishing the perpetrator, architect John Browne became equally enthralled by the secrets the decimated structure began to reveal.

BBC 2 9.00pm
Tribe.
Fifth of a series of six programmes.
They may have satellite TV, but as one of the last nomadic peoples on the planet, the Darhad herders of Outer Mongolia continue a tradition that’s many centuries old. Bruce Parry finds conditions tough as he joins a family on their arduous winter migration, but he’s able to contribute, using his herding skills to help guide 300 animals along a precipitous mountain pass.

TUESDAY 1st
BBC 2 9.00pm
Auschwitz: the Nazis and the Final Solution.
Fourth in a series of six programmes.
Corruption. To mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Laurence Rees’s definitive and harrowing documentary history of the site of the largest mass murder that the world has ever seen. By 1943 life was good for many of the SS. Eyewitness accounts recall how those in power at Auschwitz lined their pockets with wealth stolen from Jewish inmates while also engaging in illicit affairs.

Five 7.15pm
Tim Marlow on ……..The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Second of two programmes.
TM continues his informative tour of the recently renovated, expanded and reopened museum, which houses a vast, unrivalled collection of 20th century works. Tonight’s visit takes in the later works of Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon and the Jackson Pollock room before moving on to Pop Art with Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, and new additions from contemporary artists such as Rachel Whiteread.

Five 8.00pm
Secret Plot to Kill Hitler.

The daring July 1944 conspiracy by Nazi officers to assassinate the Fuhrer inside his own top-security bunker is reconstructed, using ground-breaking computer animation and eye-witness accounts.

WEDNESDAY 2nd
BBC 2 7.30pm
Wolf’s Lair - Days That Shook the World.
20th July 1944: a daring bid to assassinate Hitler takes place at his Polish field HQ. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, one of many officers disillusioned with the Nazi leader; puts a bomb under the Fuhrer’s desk. But the coup fails. Why?

THURSDAY 3rd
Channel 4 9.00pm
THE REAL DA VINCI CODE ***************
The recent phenomenal success of Dan Brown’s novel “The Da Vinci Code” has once again brought the Holy Grail and its myriad hunters into the spotlight. Although the book is a work of fiction, it could turn history on its head if the art, architecture and secret societies described in it were based on fact, as the author claims. Setting out to examine the evidence for Brown’s arguments and cut through the thicket of mystery that surrounds the subject, TR discusses the book with historians and questions whether one alluring element of the modern grail obsession could be an elaborate hoax?

FRIDAY 4th
BBC 2 9.00pm
In Search of Myths and Heroes.
First in a new series of four programmes.
The Queen of Sheba. A heroine who has exercised imaginations for almost 3,000 years is the first subject of Michael Wood’s look at the world’s great myths. The Queen of Sheba has been portrayed as goddess, demon and femme fatale - but did she really exist? Starting on Easter night in Jerusalem, the intrepid historian hunts for clues around the Red Sea from Egypt to Eritrea and Ethiopia and on to the earliest civilisation of Arabia.



Time Team on Discovery.

A Time Team programme is scheduled for 8.00am on Saturday 29th.

Monday A Byzantine bucket at Braemore.
Tuesday Roman Castleford.
Wednesday BA or IA settlement at a disused RAF base.
Thursday Shropshire.
Friday Cornwall.

Immediately after Friday’s TT there is a showing of Extreme Archaeology’s programme investigating a flooded copper mine on Anglesey.

And don’t forget UKTV History, which has a range of history and archaeology programmes for those with access to digital, satellite or cable channels.



And a silly one!

WEDNESDAY 2nd
BBC 1 12.20am (Thurs)
Carry on Behind.
A glamorous Russian archaeologist helps investigate the remains of a Roman encampment next to a holiday caravan site.

From Radio Times 4th - 11th February 2005


SATURDAY 5th
BBC 2 7.05pm
Abroad Again In Britain.
Last in a series of five programmes.
Edinburgh Castle. Built on the site of an extinct volcano, the history of one of Scotland’s greatest landmarks is bloody, brutal and grimly fascinating. Jonathan Meades scales this most enduring of icons and visits its gentler neighbour, Holyrood Palace.

SUNDAY 6th
BBC 2 6.45pm
Time Commanders.
Fourth in a series of eight programmes.
Contestants eager to recreate the battles of history’s greatest generals line up in a second series. 197BC: the Battle of Cynoscephelae. Can a team of spin doctors secure a Roman victory in a fog-shrouded clash with the Macedonians?.

Channel 4 5.00pm
TIME TEAM *******************************
Sixth in a series of 13 programmes.
Grace Dieu. Tony and Phil don their diving suits and masks for a three-day investigation into the wreck of an enormous mediaeval warship - believed to be the Grace Dieu, Henry V‘s naval flagship - that lies in the murky waters of the River Hamble near Southampton..

MONDAY 7th
BBC 2 7.30pm
Britain‘s Best Buildings.
Durham Cathedral. The most daring structure of its age, Durham Cathedral is as puzzling as the pyramids. And historical evidence casts a surprising light on the lives of the monks who inhabited it. Dan Cruickshank marvels at the astonishing engineering.

BBC 2 9.00pm
Tribe.
Last in a series of six programmes.
Powerful spirits and ancestors fill the universe of the remote Sanema people of the Venezuelan Amazon. Explorer Bruce Parry lives with the tribe, eats the same food and participates in a dramatic shamanistic festival to commune with the spirits.

TUESDAY 8th
BBC 2 9.00pm
Auschwitz: the Nazis and the Final Solution.
Fifth in a series of six programmes.
Frenzied Killing. To mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Laurence Rees’s definitive and harrowing documentary history of the site of the largest mass murder that the world has ever seen. SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann ordered the deportation of Hungary’s Jews following occupation in 1944, precipitating the most intensive period of slaughter in Auschwitz’s history. The Allies, meanwhile, faced a dilemma: should they consider Eichmann’s offer of one million Jewish lives in exchange for certain provisions - the “Blood for Goods” deal?

WEDNESDAY 9th
BBC 2 8.00pm
Natural World.
Secrets of the Maya Underworld. Beneath the jungle-clad temples of Mexico’s Yucatan, lies the world’s largest network of flooded caves and subterranean rivers. Divers exploring this surreal landscape have discovered strange new animals, as well as remains of the ancient Mayans.


THURSDAY 10th
BBC 2 9.00pm
Horizon.
Neanderthal. Was Neanderthal a thinking, feeling human being like us or a primitive beast? To try to answer this question and others like it, the first ever complete Neanderthal skeleton is put together with parts gathered from all over the world, revealing the most anatomically accurate representation of modern humanity’s closest relative
Experts explore the skeleton for clues and perform experiments to test their ideas. The findings give rise to dramatised inserts that bring Neanderthal to life - how Neanderthal hunted, thought, even spoke. What emerges is a different beast to the brute of legend.

Channel 4 9.00pm
Blood on Our Hands: the English Civil War.
First in a new series of three programmes.
In 1640 England was so peaceful that only four people knew how to fire a mortar cannon. Just eight years later, the nation had become a 17th century Bosnia, engulfed by brutal violence in which families and communities tore themselves apart. This documentary series explores the real causes of the English Civil War - one of the bloodiest periods in the nation’s history - and brings to life through the personal testimonies of ordinary citizens the story of how the nation turned on itself in the bitter struggle between Parliament and monarchy.

FRIDAY 11th
BBC 2 9.00pm
In Search of Myths and Heroes.
Second in a series of four programmes.
Shangri-La. In “Lost Horizon”, Frank Capra’s 1937 fantasy movie, a band of travellers chance upon a mystical utopian kingdom in the Himalayas. But the idea of a blissful earthly paradise is much older, with its roots in Buddhist legend. MW embarks on a thrilling trek through India, Nepal and Tibet in search of the lost city that may have inspired the myth.



Time Team on Discovery.

A Time Team programme is scheduled for 8.00am on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th.

Monday A Roman settlement in Cheshunt.
Tuesday A pub car park in Shropshire.
Wednesday Chicksands.
Thursday Kinlochbervie.
Friday Ancaster.

Immediately after Friday’s TT there is a showing of Extreme Archaeology’s programme exploring Tintagel in Cornwall.

And don’t forget UKTV History, which has a range of history and archaeology programmes for those with access to digital, satellite or cable channels.

Saw this on the Channel 4 Website:-


A Channel 4 season of films


Blood on Our Hands
Thursday 10 February 9pm

In 1640, England was so peaceful that only four people knew how to fire a mortar-cannon. Just eight years later, the nation had become a 17th-century Bosnia, engulfed by brutal violence in which families and communities tore themselves apart. England suffered, proportionately, greater losses than in the First World War. A newly free media stoked the fires of suspicion and religious hatred to push the nation, step by step, towards carnage.

Blood on Our Hands explores the real reasons behind the English Civil War and brings to life through the personal testimony of everyday people the story of how the nation turned on itself.

Brilliana, Lady Harley, under siege in her Herefordshire home, smuggles coded appeals for help to her teenage son in the army. Former journeyman tanner Sgt Wharton gets a taste for leadership only to die during his first battle. And humble wood turner, Nehemiah Wallington, one of a new breed of news junkies, watches the terrible human tragedy unfold.


Cromwell
Sunday 13 February 7.30pm

As England was plunged into civil war, from the turmoil one man emerged a hero: Oliver Cromwell. He rose from fenland farmer to become the most powerful commoner in British history, and he got there by very un-British means: revolution. His convictions led to the killing of a king, and gave Britain its only experience of republican rule.

However, there's more to Oliver Cromwell than the grim-faced Puritan of legend. This film, originally shown in 2001, reveals a troubled and contradictory man who dominated England as it underwent cataclysmic change in the bloodiest war fought on English soil.


The Trial of the King Killers
Sunday 17 February 9pm

On 29 January 1649, the English Civil War reached a dramatic and bloody climax: 59 Members of Parliament signed Charles I's death warrant. The next day the king was publicly beheaded. and for the first and only time in its history, England became a republic.

When Oliver Cromwell died in 1658, the republic died with him. Two years later, when Charles's son was restored to the throne as Charles II, anyone who had signed the warrant or had assisted in its creation became a marked man. Quite a few fled abroad. Arrested and charged with the crime of regicide, the remainder were put on trial. The gripping exchanges that emerged as they argued for their lives in court reveal the very different motives of the group of men who reached the decision to kill the king.

Taken from the original trial transcripts, Trial of the King Killers is a fact-based drama with a cast led by Corin Redgrave. It tells the bloody story of the most revolutionary episode in all of English history, when a king was brought before a people's court accused of war crimes, and of what happened to his executioners when the wheel of history turned again and they were called to account for their actions.


The War website

You will find a great overview of the English Civil Wars and Cromwell on this website, which has been revised for this season of films. All the resources have been checked and updated, and there is a new section – 'Counting the Cost' – which delineates the suffering and upheaval of the English in what was called 'the world turned upside down'.



Channel 4 History

From Radio Times 12th - 18th February 2005


SATURDAY 12th
Channel 4 7.30pm
English Civil War: Cromwell.
In 1642 England was plunged into civil war and from the turmoil one man emerged a hero: Oliver Cromwell. This dramatised documentary charts his rise from fenland farmer to republican ruler, and uncovers more than the grim-faced puritan depicted in text books.

SUNDAY 13th
BBC 2 7.15pm
Time Commanders.
Fifth in a series of eight programmes.
Contestants eager to recreate the battles of history’s greatest generals line up in a second series. Mesopotamia, AD530: can jujitsu instructors from Essex execute a Sassanid triumph over a vast Byzantine Roman army?

Channel 4 5.00pm
TIME TEAM *******************************
Seventh in a series of 13 programmes.
Going Upmarket in Gloucestershire. For years a field near Standish in Gloucestershire has yielded a wealth of Roman artefacts. During the search for the villa that these finds point to, the Team uncover a story of great social change and increasing prosperity for one family in Roman Britain.

TUESDAY 15th
BBC 2 7.30pm
Nation on Film.
First in a series of six programmes.
The Body Beautiful. Britain’s social history captured on celluloid over the past 100 years. The inter-war years saw a health and fitness craze. Archive footage and eyewitness accounts demonstrate how people used diet and exercise to try to improve their sense of physical well-
being.

BBC 2 9.00pm
Auschwitz: the Nazis and the Final Solution.
Last in a series of six programmes.
Liberation and Revenge. The reality of the camps was revealed on the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen in 1945. But the final days of the war and its aftermath is a shocking story: Jewish survivors faced appalling treatment at home and SS perpetrators remained hidden.



WEDNESDAY 16th
BBC 2 8.00pm
What the Ancients Did For Us.
First in a new series of nine programmes.
The Islamic World. An enthralling examination of inventions dating from ancient times, conducted by a team of reporters and put to the test by Adam Hart-Davis. From the palaces of Alhambra in Spain to Cairo’s souks, Amani Zain tells the story behind the golden age of Islamic discovery. Meanwhile Adam shows how torpedos, windmills and water pumps have had a lasting effect on technology today.


THURSDAY 17th
Channel 4 9.00pm
Blood on Our Hands: Trial of the King Killers.
Last in a series of three programmes.
Following the restoration of the monarchy after the death of Oliver Cromwell, anyone who had assisted in the death of King Charles I was charged with the crime of regicide. This fact-based drama uses the original court transcripts to reveal the very different motives of the men who plotted to kill the king.

FRIDAY 18th
BBC 2 9.00pm
In Search of Myths and Heroes.
Third in a series of four programmes.
Jason and the Golden Fleece. He was set a mission impossible, but did Jason really sail into the unknown to find a golden fleece? The story is older than Homer’s tale of Troy - but is it just a fairy tale? Michael Wood travels from Greece to the mountains of The Caucasus to find the truth behind the legend that is the antecedent of “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings”.



Time Team on Discovery.

A Time Team programme is scheduled for 8.00am on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th.

Monday Vauxhall Bridge, London.
Tuesday The cathedral city of Ely.
Wednesday Mine Howe, Orkney.
Thursday Historic Winchester.
Friday Canterbury.

Immediately after Friday’s TT there is a showing of Extreme Archaeology’s programme investigating three stone coffins on the Pembrokeshire coast.

And don’t forget UKTV History, which has a range of history and archaeology programmes for those with access to digital, satellite or cable channels.

For Dalziel and Pascoe fans:-
Sunday, and Monday, BBC 1 9.00-10.00pm
A skeleton is discovered during an archaeological dig and its interment is rather more recent than the other remains. The pathologist reveals that there was a violent death only months previously. The detectives find themselves embroiled in a vicious village feud that involves the village bypass, the parish council, construction workers and archaeologists.

I have just seen a Channel 4 trailer for "Time Team Digs, the Mediaeval period" next Saturday at 7.00pm.

Does this signal that it is indeed this series that will be released on the DVD???


Oh and if you haven't akready seen this - Dalziel and Pascoe tomorrow night and Monday is centred around an archaeological dig.

From Radio Times 19th - 25th February 2005


SATURDAY 19th
Channel 4 7.00pm
TIME TEAM DIGS…….. ******************
TR and the Team re-examine some of their finest archaeological discoveries to date and reconsider what has been learnt about specific periods in history.
Mediaeval Britain. Tonight, digs that have uncovered mediaeval objects.

Channel 4 8.00pm
The Tournament.
Setting the romantic Hollywood image aside, historian Juliet Barker and arms expert Mike Loades aim to reveal the true nature of the Mediaeval jousting tournament. Manuscripts dating back 500 years, authentic weapons and bespoke armour help to paint a picture of the contest that proved so popular in the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, four skilled horsemen follow a typical knight’s training programme. Who will emerge triumphant at the final joust at Pembroke Castle in Wales.

SUNDAY 20th
BBC 2 6.45pm
Time Commanders.
Sixth in a series of eight programmes.
Contestants eager to recreate the battles of history’s greatest generals line up in a second series. Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom have re-enacted the Battle for Troy on the silver screen. Now a team of gamers from Glasgow travel back in time to the 13th century BC, to take part in an epic conflict shrouded in mythology. Will a Trojan Horse be utilised to gain victory?

Channel 4 5.00pm
TIME TEAM *******************************
Eighth in a series of 13 programmes.
Picts and Hermits. Wemyss Caves on the shores of the Firth of Forth have been a famous landmark for centuries. Legend suggests that they were occupied by the mysterious Pictish people. With erosion threatening the area, the Team spend three days at the site to find out who inhabited the caves before they are lost forever.

MONDAY 21st
BBC 2 9.00pm
Around the World in 80 Treasures.
First in a new series of ten programmes.
Peru to Brazil. A trip deep into the Amazonian rain forests of Brazil to the peaks of the Peruvian mountains marks the beginning of Dan Cruickshank’s journey to over 40 countries in search of of man’s most beautiful and precious achievements. Here, he visits the ruins of Machu Picchu and Rio’s giant statue of Christ, plus the gold treasures of the Moche people, who ritually sacrificed humans.

TUESDAY 22nd
BBC 2 7.30pm
Nation on Film.
First in a series of six programmes.
Sex and Marriage. Britain’s social history captured on celluloid over the past 100 years. Silent movies, health-education films and amateur archive footage illustrate how Marie Stopes’s radical ideas about birth control and sexual fulfilment were gradually embraced by British society.

Five 7.15pm
Tim Marlow on … Turner, Whistler, Monet.
A stupendous new exhibition at London’s Tate Britain devoted to three of the 19th century’s most influential painters, JMW Turner, James Whistler and Claude Monet, is scrutinised by art historian Tim Marlow. Each artist radically changed the course of landscape painting by exploring the effects of light and weather on the environment. This collection draws on the influences and relationships between the three masters whose atmospheric styles inspired the development of Impressionism and the evolution of symbolist landscape painting.

Five 8.00pm
The Curse of The Titanic Sisters.
Proclaimed as being “unsinkable”, the Titanic and its sister ship Britannic were consigned to watery graves within four years of each other, taking over 1,500 passengers with them. Was it a tragic coincidence or were the two disasters linked? Divers examine the Britannic’s wreck, sunk while in service as a Red Cross boat in the Aegean, to find out.


WEDNESDAY 23rd
BBC 2 7.00pm
Dinosaur Discovery - Days That Shook The World.
September 1824: amateur geologist Dr Gideon Mantell becomes the first person to realise the significance of dinosaur fossils. He had been convinced the discovery of several giant teeth in the Sussex Weald was remarkable, and ultimately it proved to be the case.

BBC 2 8.00pm
What the Ancients Did For Us.
Second in a series of nine programmes.
The Chinese. An enthralling examination of inventions dating from ancient times, conducted by a team of reporters and put to the test by Adam Hart-Davis. From Beijing to the Great Wall of China, Jamie Darling travels this huge country and tells stories behind the golden age of Chinese discovery. Meanwhile, AH-D builds and tests inventions, and reveals the lasting effect the Chinese world has had on modern technology.

FRIDAY 25th
BBC 2 9.00pm
In Search of Myths and Heroes.
Last in a series of four programmes.
Arthur: The Once and Future King. The story of a heroic Christian king, and his Knights of the Round Table, has long inspired poets, novelists and film-makers alike. But did su