From Radio Times 3rd - 9th March 2007


SATURDAY 3rd
Channel 4 5.30pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
First in a series of six programmes. A Nation State.
AD 400 to 1400: it was during the Dark Ages that the institution of monarchy was first established by the first Saxon kings, who wanted to create a stable society able to withstand Viking invasion.

SUNDAY 4th
Channel 4 5.45pm *******************************
TIME TEAM
Eighth in a series of thirteen programmes.
No Stone Unturned. A fantastic array of finds brings TR and the Team to a field in Cheshire to investigate what looks like a Roman settlement. The experts are intrigued by previous metal detecting evidence and, as trenches go in, they realise the site is like no other they have ever investigated.

MONDAY 5th
BBC 2 7.00pm
A second chance to see…..
The Trees That Made Britain.
First in a series of eight programmes.
Yew. Tony Kirkham and tree climber Jon Hammerton set out from Kew Gardens, uncovering the secrets of the trees that live for ever, finding the oldest tree in Europe and taking a lesson in the art of the medieval longbow from actor Robert Hardy.

BBC 2 7.30pm
Nation on Film.
Third in a series of six programmes of archive film helping to tell the social history of the 20th century.
Archive footage of trailblazing 1920s pilot Alan Cobham and his mission to promote flying.

TUESDAY 6th
Channel 4 9.00pm
Never Did Me Any Harm.
Last in a series of four programmes.
Modern families turn back the clock so that their children can find out what life was like for their parents when they were young.
Ten-year-old Adam and teenage sister Aimee experience the harsh reality of their dad Shaun’s tough upbringing in the 1970s. One of six children growing up in an Essex council house, Shaun shared a bed with his siblings, and worked in the potato fields before school. How will his kids fare with their new work ethic?


Five 8.00pm
The Amelia Earhart Conspiracy: the True Story
Probing the mysterious disappearance of influential aviator Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. In the early hours of 2 July, 1937 Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during a circumnavigation flight. Scheduled to land her aircraft ‘Electra’ on Howland Island, the final approach was never made. This programme attempts to explain why, looking closely at the various theories that surrounded her final hours.

WEDNESDAY 7th
Channel 4 11.05pm
The Curse of the Ice Mummy.
A chilling documentary on the discovery of a mummy, given the name Oetzi, in the Alps in 1991. Why did a surprising number of people connected the find subsequently die? Was Oetzi exacting a kind of revenge…?

FRIDAY 9th
BBC 2 9.00pm
The Wild West - Gunfight at the OK Corral
Wyatt Earp is regarded as one of the great heroes of the Wild West, but he was considered more as a villain after the infamous 30-second gunfight in Arizona when he was arrested and tried for murder. Liam Cunningham plays the role of Earp in this drama documentary that tells the story of that frantic half-minute and the simmering tensions of the day before.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week, although there is an episode of Worst Jobs in History on Saturday at 5pm.



On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 3rd
10.05am to 3.40pm - Time Team - five episodes
Sunday 25th
11.00am - Time Team - “A Tale of Two Villages” repeat

Just a word of warning, according to my Virgin media EPG the episode of Time Team showing tomorrow afternoon on More 4 is Syon House and not last week's new show. This would be a change from the practice of the last few weeks.
But then the EPG has been known to get it wrong too!

From Radio Times 10th - 16th March 2007


SATURDAY 10th
Channel 4 5.50pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
First in a series of six programmes. Aengla Land.
Chronicling the path of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England, David Starkey tells how it survived the blitzkrieg from the Danes and restored itself to power. But the country later fell to William the Conqueror in 1066.

SUNDAY 11th
Channel 4 5.45pm *******************************
TIME TEAM
Ninth in a series of thirteen programmes.
The Domesday Mill. TR and the Team travel to the banks of the River Otter in Devon to investigate the site of an ancient watermill that was recorded in the Domesday book of 1086.

Channel 4 8.00pm
The Last Slave.
To commemorate the 200-year anniversary of Britain abolishing the slave trade, this programme follows Londoner David Montieth as he discovers how much of his family’s history is a product of the slave trade. Unlike most Afro-Caribbean Britons, David is able to trace his family tree back to a slave ancestor. His journey takes him to Nigeria where he confronts some uncomfortable discoveries about the slave trade.

MONDAY 12th
BBC 2 7.00pm
A second chance to see…..
The Trees That Made Britain.
Second in a series of eight programmes.
Oak. Tony Kirkham and tree climber Jon Hammerton explore the oak, recalling its use in the Bronze Age and learning why it is considered Britain‘s national tree.

BBC 2 7.30pm
Nation on Film.
Fourth in a series of six programmes of archive film helping to tell the social history of the 20th century.
Archive footage charts the rise of women‘s football, from WWI to its abolition, and subsequent reinstatement, by the FA.

Channel 4 9.00pm
The Last Days of the Raj.
Sixty years ago India gained independence from Britain, yet the colonial withdrawal led to mass sectarian violence among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. This drama-documentary charts the six turbulent months in 1947 that saw the end of the British Raj.

TUESDAY 13th
BBC 2 9.00pm
Horizon: My Pet Dinosaur.
Taking a look at how the world would differ if dinosaurs had survived into the present day. Leading palaeontologists have discovered that these creatures were more adaptable than previously thought. Would we now be hunting hadrosaurs and farming proceraptors, and which mammals would have had their place taken?

Five 8.00pm
Bermuda Triangle: the True Story
Since the 15th century, a geographical area of the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Fort Lauderdale has become infamous for the mysterious disappearance of a number of ships and aircraft. This programme investigates the suggested causes of these incidents and offers possible explanations.

FRIDAY 16th
BBC 2 9.00pm
Moira Stuart in Search of Wilberforce.
In March, Britain commemorates 200 years since the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. William Wilberforce is synonymous with this event. But who was he and what precisely did he accomplish that made him unique? For the past year, Moira Stuart has been on a personal journey. She has travelled to three continents in a quest to discover the real man who became the nation’s icon of principled protest.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are no showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week, although there is an episode of Worst Jobs in History on Saturday at 5pm.



On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 10th
9.25am to 2.25pm - Time Team - five episodes
Sunday 11th
1.35pm - Time Team

S4C 9pm tonight Tywysogion

From Radio Times 17th - 23rd March 2007


SATURDAY 17th
Channel 4 6.00pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
Third in a series of six programmes. Conquest.
Examining the impact of the Norman Conquest, the death of William II and the civil war during the reign of King Stephen. How was the concept of kingship changed?

SUNDAY 18th
Channel 4 5.45pm *******************************
TIME TEAM
Tenth in a series of thirteen programmes.
The Cheyne Gang. TR and the Team travel to Chesham in Buckinghamshire to investigate the remains of a mediaeval building discovered under the lawns of a Georgian house. They want to discover if it is the manor house of the infamous Cheyne family, who were accused of assault, extortion and torture, and who shamelessly rigged the local parliamentary elections to get themselves elected. Their investigations lead them to re-write the history of this quiet corner of suburbia.

BBC 2 8.00pm
Jeremy Clarkson: Greatest Raid of All Time.
The story of operation chariot, dubbed the original “mission impossible”, the daring commando raid on the dry-dock of St Nazaire in WWII. The objective was to deny the Axis the ability to deploy their fearsome battleship, Tirpitz, in Atlantic waters, by ramming the dock gates with an old destroyer packed with explosives. But to achieve their aims the commandos had to move up the heavily defended Loire estuary, and fight their way past 4,000 German troops to get back to safety.

MONDAY 19th
BBC 2 7.00pm
A second chance to see…..
The Trees That Made Britain.
Third in a series of eight programmes.
Oak. The history of the oak concludes with a look at how the wood is used in whisky production. Plus the tree’s role in the legend of Robin Hood.

BBC 2 7.30pm
Nation on Film.
Fifth in a series of six programmes of archive film helping to tell the social history of the 20th century.
The story of how cars were advertised on celluloid in the early 20th century, when sex appeal and aspirational desire were used to get us on the roads long before the advent of television.


TUESDAY 20th
Five 8.00pm
Pirate of the Caribbean: the True Story
Examining the reputation of Henry Morgan, one of the most feared pirates in history, who ruled the seas around the Caribbean in the 17th century. The former Welsh sheep farmer seized control of the Spanish fortress of Porto Bello in 1668, gaining a hero’s reputation in Britain.

FRIDAY 23rd
BBC 2 9.00pm
Simon Schama: Rough Crossings.
A stirring drama documentary, presented by Simon Schama, that charts the journey of the American slaves who fought for the British side in the American War of Independence and were then led by a young Englishman to Africa. There they struggled to establish a colony in Sierra Leone where they could be free.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are no showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week, although there is an episode of Worst Jobs in History on Saturday at 5pm.



On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 17th
10.00am to 12.55pm - Time Team - three? Episodes
8.30pm Time Team Special
To commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE Day, TR and the Team embark on a dig at a site in London that was hit during the blitz.
9.35pm Time Team Special: Pugin the God of Gothic
This special edition of the programme explores the legacy of Augustus Pugin, designer of the Houses of Parliament, who has had an almost immeasurable impact on the architecture of England.
Sunday 18th
2.05pm - Time Team

From Radio Times 24th - 30th March 2007


SATURDAY 24th
Channel 4 5.55pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
Fourth in a series of six programmes. Dynasty.
A profile of Henry II, whose dominion stretched from Scotland to the Pyrenees. Plus the significance of the Magna Carta and the beginnings of our modern parliamentary system.

SUNDAY 25th
BBC 2 8.00pm
Ms Dynamite in search of Nanny Maroon
As part of the BBC’s Abolition of Slavery season, Niomi McLean-Daley, aka R&B star Ms Dynamite, visits Jamaica to investigate the story behind the island’s inspirational national figure, Nanny of the Maroons. She uncovers a tale of an extraordinary woman who led a group of ex-slaves, the Maroons, in secret communities in the mountains from where they conducted a guerrilla war against the British.

Channel 4 5.45pm *******************************
TIME TEAM
Eleventh in a series of thirteen programmes.
The Abbey Habit. TR and the Team travel to Poulton in Cheshire to search for a long-lost abbey on the banks of the river Dee. A research team hunting for the abbey previously unearthed so many bodies that the site is now used to train crime-scene-investigation students. But the researchers didn’t find the abbey - can the Time Team?

MONDAY 26th
BBC 2 7.00pm
A second chance to see…..
The Trees That Made Britain.
Fourth in a series of eight programmes.
Hedges. Tony Kirkham and Jon Hammerton experiment with early gunpowder and come face to face with the Prince of Wales.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are no showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week, although there is an episode of Worst Jobs in History on Saturday at 5pm.



On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 24th
10.00am to 12.50pm - Time Team - triple bill
8.30pm Time Team Special
TR reports on the discovery of a Roman circus in Colchester, Essex, examining the artefacts and revealing the world of chariot racing.
Sunday 25th
2.00pm - Time Team From Radio Times 24th - 30th March 2007


SATURDAY 24th
Channel 4 5.55pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
Fourth in a series of six programmes. Dynasty.
A profile of Henry II, whose dominion stretched from Scotland to the Pyrenees. Plus the significance of the Magna Carta and the beginnings of our modern parliamentary system.

SUNDAY 25th
BBC 2 8.00pm
Ms Dynamite in search of Nanny Maroon
As part of the BBC’s Abolition of Slavery season, Niomi McLean-Daley, aka R&B star Ms Dynamite, visits Jamaica to investigate the story behind the island’s inspirational national figure, Nanny of the Maroons. She uncovers a tale of an extraordinary woman who led a group of ex-slaves, the Maroons, in secret communities in the mountains from where they conducted a guerrilla war against the British.

Channel 4 5.45pm *******************************
TIME TEAM
Eleventh in a series of thirteen programmes.
The Abbey Habit. TR and the Team travel to Poulton in Cheshire to search for a long-lost abbey on the banks of the river Dee. A research team hunting for the abbey previously unearthed so many bodies that the site is now used to train crime-scene-investigation students. But the researchers didn’t find the abbey - can the Time Team?

MONDAY 26th
BBC 2 7.00pm
A second chance to see…..
The Trees That Made Britain.
Fourth in a series of eight programmes.
Hedges. Tony Kirkham and Jon Hammerton experiment with early gunpowder and come face to face with the Prince of Wales.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are no showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week, although there is an episode of Worst Jobs in History on Saturday at 5pm.



On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 24th
10.00am to 12.50pm - Time Team - triple bill
8.30pm Time Team Special
TR reports on the discovery of a Roman circus in Colchester, Essex, examining the artefacts and revealing the world of chariot racing.
Sunday 25th
2.00pm - Time Team

Oooops! Apologies for duplication of post above - got distracted by something on the telly and pasted it in twice!

And then of course, the forum wouldn't let me edit it!

I have just noticed that More 4 is repeating the Pugin special tonight at 10.35pm.

And along the same lines, the channel is showing the Colchester circus episode next Wednesday (28th) at 10.30pm.

From Radio Times 31st March - 6th April 2007


SATURDAY 31st
Channel 4 5.35pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
Fifth in a series of six programmes. A United Kingdom.
Examining the life of Edward I, who brought England, Scotland and Wales under one rule. But he was succeeded by his son, Edward II, whose weak-willed reign saw the country descend into rebellion, culminating in his own murder.

SUNDAY 1st
Channel 4 5.45pm *******************************
TIME TEAM
Twelfth in a series of thirteen programmes.
The Abbey Habit. TR and the Team travel to Poulton in Cheshire to search for a long-lost abbey on the banks of the river Dee. A research team hunting for the abbey previously unearthed so many bodies that the site is now used to train crime-scene-investigation students. But the researchers didn’t find the abbey - can the Time Team?

MONDAY 2nd
BBC 2 7.00pm
A second chance to see…..
The Trees That Made Britain.
Fifth in a series of eight programmes.
Apple. Tony Kirkham and Jon Hammerton go in search of rare apples, visiting a very special tree in Southwell and helping to make cider in Hertfordshire.

BBC 2 9.00pm
Remember the Galahad - Timewatch
Almost a quarter of a century ago, 50 British servicemen lost their lives at Fitzroy inlet in the Falkland Islands when two supply ships, Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram, were bombed by Argentinian planes. This one-off Timewatch special details the events that led up to the tragedy and talks to survivors.

TUESDAY 3rd
Five 8.00pm
The Anastasia Mystery: the True Story.
An exploration into the history of one of the world’s most fabled royal families. Was every member of the Russian royal family assassinated, or did the Tsar’s daughter escape and lay claim to the family fortune?



Time Team on Discovery.

There are showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week at 4pm from Monday to Thursday, and there is an episode of Worst Jobs in History on Saturday at 5pm.



On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 31st
10.00am to 12.55pm - Time Team - triple bill
8.45pm - Time Team Special: the Big Roman Villa
TR reveals the history of a Roman villa in Somerset, uncovered by the Team in their two visits to the site.
9.45pm - Time Team Special
The team investigate recent finds at Durrington Walls, Wiltshire, and consider what they reveal about Stone Age life.
Sunday 1st
2.10pm - Time Team

Does any one know the song from an advert on the History Channel about War in colour? .x.

From Radio Times 14th - 20th April 2007


SATURDAY 14th
Channel 4 5.30pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
First in a series of five programmes. Tudors and Stuarts. The dark days of the 1450s saw the House of York come to power, only to destroy itself through betrayal, culminating in Richard III’s coup. His greed resulted in the birth of the Tudor dynasty, but Henry VII proved to be worse still and became one of England’s most hated kings.

Channel 4 8.00pm
Face of Britain.
First in a new series of three programmes.
Archaeologist Neil Oliver sets out to discover if modern people in certain parts of the country have genes that can be traced directly back to the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Celts.
Tonight Neil travels to southwest England and Wales to examine clues left by the Celts, the flame-haired descendants of hunters who arrived in Britain after the last Ice Age. In conjunction with a landmark DNA study, led by geneticist Sir Walter Bodmer, Neil meets local people, and West Country-born MP Ann Widdecombe, to help create a genetic map of Britain.

SUNDAY 15th
Channel 4 5.40pm
Just in case anyone’s interested in what’s replacing TT it’s a series of sixteen Scrapheap Challenges.

MONDAY 16th
BBC 2 7.00pm
A second chance to see…..
The Trees That Made Britain.
Seventh in a series of eight programmes.
Ash. An exploration of the ash leads Tony Kirkham and Jon Hammerton into dangerous activities, including spear hunting and snake handling.

BBC 2 12.30am
Dan Cruickshank and the Art in the Canal. BBC 4 on BBC 2.
DC investigates how waiter Stephane Breitweiser was able to steal many artworks from museums across Europe.

TUESDAY 17th
Five 8.00pm
Herod the Great: the True Story.
Best remembered in the Bible for his attempts to murder the baby Jesus, King Herod was also credited for numerous feats of engineering. This documentary attempts to separate fact from legend as it examines Herod’s rise to the Judean throne.

FRIDAY 20th
BBC 2 9.00pm
The Wave That Destroyed Atlantis - Timewatch.
Second in a series of five programmes.
New evidence from the island of Crete suggests that Europe’s first great civilisation, the Minoans, was destroyed by a cataclysmic natural disaster. Was the terrible fate of the Minoans the source of Plato’s story of Atlantis? A team of archaeologists and scientists scour Crete for conclusive evidence.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week at 4pm from Monday to Friday.



On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 14th
9.30am to 1.25pm - Time Team - four episodes
9.00pm - Time Team Special - the team uncover the only Roman circus found in Britain, located next to a modern cavalry barracks in Colchester. Built to allow the occupying legionnaries to enjoy the sport of chariot racing, it was uncovered after archaeologists found charioteer coins and horse jawbones.
Sunday 15th
3.10pm - Time Team
6.55pm - The Worst Jobs in History - second series.

From Radio Times 21st - 27th April 2007


SATURDAY 21st
Channel 4 5.30pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
Second in a series of five programmes. Henry VIII King and Emperor. The Tudor monarch’s quest for fame, love and a male heir, which ended in virtual tyranny after he was refused a divorce from first wife Catherine of Aragon. Henry claimed supreme authority over the church and state, paving the way for the dissolution of the country‘s monasteries.

Channel 4 8.00pm
Face of Britain.
Second in a series of three programmes.
Archaeologist Neil Oliver sets out to discover if modern people in certain parts of the country have genes that can be traced directly back to the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Celts.
This week Neil heads to East Anglia and the North East in search of genetic evidence of Anglo-Saxon and Viking ancestry. He examines the historical and linguistic facts that exist for these ancient tribes, meeting a Suffolk farmer, an ex-miner from Tyneside and former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle along the way.

TUESDAY 24th
Channel 4 9.00pm (for 90 minutes)
Britain’s Drowned World: a Time Team Special *******************************
Approximately 8,000 years ago, Britain was a part of continental Europe until rising sea levels sunk the land that joined us to the Netherlands and Denmark - forming the English Channel and the North Sea. TR and the Team attempt to piece together the story of this drowned world, uncovering mammoth bones and evidence of ancient human campsites along the coast, while high-tech analysis reveals a picture of a fertile land lost for ever.

Five 8.00pm
The Philosopher‘s Stone: the True Story.
In the Middle Ages, the search for the Philosopher’s Stone was second only to that of the Holy Grail, as it was thought that this mysterious elixir could turn base metals into gold and reveal the secrets of immortality. This documentary looks at the lengths mediaeval alchemists would go to to concoct the substance, and discovers how their experiments paved the way for modern science.

FRIDAY 27th
BBC 2 9.00pm
The Hidden Children - Timewatch.
Third in a series of five programmes.
By 1945 Vichy France had deported 76,000 Jews to Nazi concentration camps. Told in their own words, these are the stories of four children secretly hidden by ordinary French people. Acclaimed director Jonathon Hacker awakes powerful emotions as he accompanies these survivors to the places where they once played a deadly game of hide-and-seek.



Time Team on Discovery.

Sunday 22nd Time Team: ten back-to-back editions.
There are showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week, at 4pm, from Monday to Friday.



On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 21st
10.00am to 12.55pm - Time Team - three episodes
Sunday 22nd
2.45pm - Time Team
6.55pm - The Worst Jobs in History - second series.

Apologies - TV report delayed until tomorrow evening - I've had a very busy day!

From Radio Times 28th April - 4th May 2007


SATURDAY 28th
Channel 4 5.35pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
Third in a series of five programmes. The Children of Henry VIII. Henry VIII named all three of his children as heirs to the throne, but urged them to pursue moderation in religious matters. Edward and Mary ignored this plea, but were both stymied by premature death. During Elizabeth I’s reign, her Catholic cousin Mary, Queen of Scots posed a threat to the Tudor monarch, leading to her execution.

Channel 4 8.00pm
Face of Britain.
Last in a series of three programmes.
Archaeologist Neil Oliver sets out to discover if modern people in certain parts of the country have genes that can be traced directly back to the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Celts.
Neil concludes his quest to discover the nation’s ancestry with a visit to Orkney - which remained part of the Norwegian-Danish kingdom until the 15th century - to see if the local people are descended from Viking warriors. He meets musician Evelyn Glennie, whose family comes from these parts, and examines archaeological and linguist evidence.

TUESDAY 1st
Channel 4 9.00pm
Jamestown: America‘s Birthplace: a Time Team Special *************************
TR and the Team excavate the original site of the first permanent English settlement in America. Established on a small island in Virginia on 13 May 1607, Jamestown is widely regarded as the foundation on which the country’s political tradition was built. The team trawls through archives in East Anglia to discover what trades and skills were taken to America by the settlers, and why the houses in Jamestown were constructed in an unusual way.

Five 8.00pm
Angels and Demons: the True Story.
An examination of “The Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown’s second novel. The programme separates fact from fiction and explores the age-old conflict between science and religion.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week, at 4pm, from Monday to Friday.



On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 28th
10.00am to 1.00pm - Time Team - three episodes
Sunday 29th
3.10pm - Time Team
6.55pm - The Worst Jobs in History - second series.

From Radio Times 5th - 11th May 2007


SATURDAY 5th
Channel 4 5.35pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
Fourth in a series of five programmes. The Stuart Succession. The power of the monarchy stood at its peak under Queen Elizabeth I. But Tudor glory was swiftly transformed into abject Stuart weakness when Charles I came to the throne. Such ineptitude led to the bloodiest of civil wars.

Channel 4 7.30pm
Houses of Power.
The front doors of Number 10 Downing Street, the White House and the Kremlin are all very well-known, but what lies behind their façade? In this one-off documentary, advisor to the Queen and Head of English Heritage Simon Thurley examines the structures and contents of these political premises.

MONDAY 7th
BBC 2 7.00pm
A second chance to see…..
The Trees That Made Britain.
Last in a series of eight programmes.
Tony Kirkham and Jon Hammerton visit Brighton to see the few remaining elm trees, and also head to Scarborough to search for fossils, hoping to prove the Chinese ginkgo tree was once native in the region.

TUESDAY 8th
Channel 4 10.00pm
The Seven Sins of England
Documentary about the anti-social behaviour that has been part of English life for more than a millennium. By using hoodies to re-enact the words of 11th-century binge-drinkers, Edwardian yobs and Elizabethan xenophobes, this film argues that Tony Blair’s efforts to curb anti-social behaviour are pointless , as a lack of respect and a lust for violence has fuelled the nation’s spirit for centuries.

FRIDAY 11th
BBC 2 9.00pm
Gladiator Graveyard - Timewatch.
For centuries gladiators have been seen as legendary figures of the ancient world. Our knowledge has been based largely on speculation, until now. For the past five years, two forensic anthropologists have looked at thousands of bones found in a mass grave in Turkey. Their findings prove how gladiators lived, how they fought and the exact way they died.

Five 7.30pm
Sky Monsters
It was an awesome flying dinosaur that soared in the skies between 65 million and 200 million years ago. Now, a team of engineers are attempting to construct a model pterosaur to find out how a creature of that size could get airborne. At the same time palaeontologist Dino Frey leads a major investigation into a recent discovery in Israel’s Negev desert, possibly a finger bone from a pterosaur of unprecedented dimensions.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are showings of Time Team on the main Discovery Channel this week as follows:-
Saturday 5th - 9.00am
Sunday 6th - 9.00am
Monday 7th - 6.00am (for any insomniacs amongst you!)
Tuesday 8th - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Wednesday 9th - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Thursday 10th - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Friday 11th - 6.00am and 4.00pm


On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 5th
10.00am to 1.00pm - Time Team - three episodes
8.05pm - Britain’s Drowned World: a Time Team Special - TR and the Team travel back and forth to the Netherlands and along the eastern coast of Britain in search of clues about the area’s prehistoric cultures.
Sunday 6th
3.15pm - Time Team
6.55pm - The Worst Jobs in History - second series.

From Radio Times 12th - 18th May 2007


SATURDAY 12th
BBC 2 8.10pm
Rick Stein in du Maurier Country
In the first of two programmes celebrating the centenary of Daphne du Maurier’s birth, chef Rick Stein, who settled and built up his restaurant business in Padstow, Cornwall, pays a personal tribute to the Cornish novelist.
He sets out on a journey to rediscover the county’s locations she vividly brought to life in her novels “Frenchman’s Creek”, “Jamaica Inn” and “Rebecca”.

Channel 4 5.35pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
Last in a series of five programmes. Oliver Cromwell the King Killer. The English Civil War was at its height in 1644 as King Charles I defied Parliament, but he reckoned without charismatic leader Oliver Cromwell. A transformation unfolded when the King was put on trial, but how well would the country function under such circumstances?

Channel 4 7.00pm
Three Kings at War
When Queen Victoria died in 1901, she left behind an extended family network that spanned nine European thrones. But three first cousins - Prince George, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and Kaiser William II of Germany - would find themselves at the centre of a family feud and a global war. Long-forgotten royal correspondence, telegrams and secret-service records found by historian Dr Andrew Cook reveal an amazing trail of events.

MONDAY 14th
BBC 2 7.00pm
The Museum.
First in a new series of ten programmes going behind the scenes of the British Museum, home to artefacts from every culture.
Taking Care of the Past. Metals conservator Alex Baldwin is giving a makeover to a corroded Roman bronze statue affectionately known as “Charlie” and Karen Birkhalzer is approaching the end of six-year project conserving Egyptian wall paintings.

BBC 2 8.00pm
Edwardian Supersize Me
Restaurant critic Giles Coren and comedian Sue Perkins agree to spend a week on the typical diet of a wealthy Edwardian couple, with a little help from dinner guests Roy Hattersley and Anton Mossiman. But even with cookery writer Sophie Grigson as their personal chef, it becomes something of an ordeal to try to consume more than 5,000 calories of red meat, game, offal and eggs each day.

BBC 2 11.20pm
Balderdash and Piffle
First in a new series of eight programmes.
A chance to learn the etymology of more everyday words and phrases, beginning with ‘one sandwich short of a picnic’.

TUESDAY 15th
BBC 1 10.00pm
Imagine.
Stealing Kilmt. The story of 90-year-old Maria Altmann’s struggle to recover five Gustav Klimt paintings which were stolen from her family’s home in Vienna by the Nazis in 1938. After battling both the Austrian and American governments, Maria took her case to the US Supreme Court, who finally ruled in her favour. One of the recovered paintings was sold for a record $135 million (approximately £67.5 million).

THURSDAY 17th
Five 8.00pm
The Great Escape: China’s Long March
During 1934-35, Mao Tse-tung’s 87,000-strong communist army undertook a perilous 6,000-mile journey around China on foot to escape the more substantial nationalist forces. Here, survivors recount their stories of endurance on what became known as the Long March.

FRIDAY 18th
BBC 2 9.00pm
The People’s Coronation - Timewatch.
Timewatch celebrates its 25th anniversary with a return to the family that featured in its first programme, the Windsors. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2nd June 1953 was the greatest spectacle ever staged in Britain. Told by the people who watched, shaped and recorded it, this is a chance to go backstage to celebrate the “People’s Coronation”.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are showings of Time Team, on the main Discovery Channel, this week as follows:-
Saturday 12th - 9.00am - 11.00am
Sunday 13th - 9.00am, plus 12 noon to 8.00pm - eight episodes.
Monday 14th - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Tuesday 15th - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Wednesday 16th - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Thursday 17th - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Friday 18th - 6.00am and 4.00pm


On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 12th
10.00am to 1.00pm - Time Team - three episodes
9.00pm - Jamestown: America’s Birthplace : a Time Team Special - TR and the Team excavate the original site of the first permanent English settlement in America.
Sunday 13th
3.10pm - Time Team
6.55pm - The Worst Jobs in History - second series.

From Radio Times 19th - 25th May 2007


SATURDAY 19th
BBC 2 9.10pm
Seven Ages of Rock
First in a new series of seven programmes celebrating how this musical genre emerged, grew and was embraced by a new generation in the 1960s, and how it has developed over the years.
The Birth of Rock. It’s 1966 and young US guitarist Jimi Hendrix arrives in Britain to find a music scene on the brink of change. Artists like the Beatles and the Who were all eager to move in new directions, but Hendrix had the pedigree and vision to ignite the revolution. The Delta bluesman and Dylanesque poet delivered songs with attitude and a harder edge, becoming the first, ultimately doomed, rock icon. (repeated on Sunday at 11.00pm on BBC 1)

Channel 4 5.40pm
Monarchy by David Starkey.
A second chance to see…
First in a series of five programmes. The Return of the King. Historian DS analyses the evolution of the British monarchy, starting in 1660 with the return from exile of King Charles II. Would the new monarchy heal the wounds of a nation divided by Oliver Cromwell?

Channel 4 7.05pm
Battle for the Holy Land: Jerusalem
Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown examines the historical, religious and political claims on the famous embattled city, meeting Palestinian negotiator Dr Saeb Erekat and ex-Israeli PM Ehud Barak. Can he pave the way to a peaceful solution to the conflict and bloodshed over the last 3,000 years involving disagreements between the Israeli state and its Palestinian neighbours?

MONDAY 21st
BBC 2 7.00pm
The Museum. (Scotland only)
Second in a series of ten programmes going behind the scenes of the British Museum, home to artefacts from every culture.
Bodies of Knowledge. At the British Museum visitors from Tasmania arrive to reclaim the remains of some of their ancestors who have been part of the collections for 125 years, and 2,000-year-old Lindow Man needs some protection when the decorators start working in the building.

BBC 2 11.20pm
Balderdash and Piffle
Second in a series of eight programmes.
On the trail of some real people whose names have been immortalised in the English language, including Gordon Bennet and Fanny Adams.

TUESDAY 22nd
BBC 2 9.00pm
Andrew Marr’s History of Modern Britain.
First in a new series of five programmes.
Advance Britannia. Drawing on archives, anecdotes and analysis, AM charts some of the global events that have shaped British society since the end of WWII, beginning with the 1945 national election that saw Winston Churchill removed from power. Despite his successes, Churchill left the British people war-weary and nearly bankrupt. In contrast, Labour leader Clement Atlee and his eccentric band of high-minded socialists were intent on creating the welfare state and keen to nationalise major industries. But Britain’s economic stability suffered a blow when India gained independence from the Empire, and the people’s growing impatience with austerity threatened to takethe country from bankruptcy to self-destruction.

THURSDAY 24th
BBC 2 7.30pm
The Museum. (England only)
Third in a series of ten programmes going behind the scenes of the British Museum, home to artefacts from every culture.
Plans are underway to bring some of China’s Terracotta Army to London, but fears over cost and whether the right warriors will be delivered are paramount.

Five 7.15pm
Mao’s Bloody Revolution: Revealed
Former BBC correspondent Philip Short takes a look at the life of Mao Tse-tung one of the 20th century’s most controversial leaders. He examines the legacy of Mao’s regime in modern China, featuring interviews with some of his inner circle and previously unseen footage from the time of the Cultural Revolution.

FRIDAY 25th
BBC 2 9.00pm
The Princess Spy - Timewatch.
In 1943 Noor Inayat Khan became the first woman wireless operator to be sent into France. It was the most dangerous job in the secret service. The daughter of an Indian mystic she was a curious choice for a secret agent. But London was desperate. They had a traitor in their midst and she would become their vital link with Nazi-occupied Paris. Betrayed, captured and tortured, Noor revealed nothing of her employers before she was executed.

BBC 2 10.00pm
Balderdash and Piffle
Third in a series of eight programmes.
Euphemisms - the Lace Curtain of Language.
Arthur Smith discovers there’s a royal reason why we go to the “loo”, and the former Secretary of State for Defence Michael Portillo finds out when that job title changed from Minister for War.



Time Team on Discovery.

There are showings of Time Team, on the main Discovery Channel, this week as follows:-
Saturday 19th - 9.00am
Sunday 20th - 9.00am
Monday 21st - 6.00am
Tuesday 22nd - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Wednesday 23rd - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Thursday 24th - 6.00am and 4.00pm
Friday 25th - 6.00am and 4.00pm


On the “More 4” channel this weekend we can see ….

Saturday 19th
9.30am - Time Team - three episodes
8.05pm - Time Team Special - TR and the Team uncover the only Roman circus found in Britain, located next to a modern cavalry barracks in Colchester.
Sunday 20th
3.10pm - Time Team