SATURDAY 21st During the Christmas fortnight BBC 2 is re- running "The World at War" - the landmark documentary series chronicling the Second World War, narrated by Laurence Olivier. It airs at around 9.55am, mostly in double episodes, every day except Christmas day itself.
BBC 2 8.15pm The Mystery of the Three Kings. Who were the mysterious men believed to have been led by a star to the birthplace of Christ? The Three Wise Men only appear briefly in theBible but their legend has endured in art, literature and music. Seeking the reality behind the Christmas card image, this documentary reveals the ancient religious traditions that may have inspired the Magi's visit, a newly-discovered coin that may unlock the secrets of the Star of Bethlehem, and evidence that suggests that the three kings were buried in Cologne Cathedral.
SUNDAY 22nd Five 5.40pm Painting The Christmas Story. The Adoration of the Kings. JohnDrury follows the Christmas story through works exhibited at the National Gallery. Today he contrasts Veronese and Bruegel's interpretations of the Adoration of the Kings.
Channel 4 6.50pm Dogfight: The Mystery of The Red Baron. On 21st April 1918, Baron Manfred von Richthofen - the Red Baron - was gunned down over the Somme Valley by an anonymous Allied serviceman. Secret History's First World War season concludes by recreating the battle using CGI graphics, real-time flying and forensic detection, finally confirming the identity of the victor. It also charts the development of aerial dogfighting, showing how even minor technical innovations altered the balance of power.
BBC 1 8.00pm The Virgin Mary. From school Nativity plays to religious icons, the image of the Virgin Mary is familiar throughout the world - but what is really known about the mother of Jesus? In this one-off film, dramatic reconstructions and state-of-the art graphics combine with the latest findings from historians and New Testament scholars to re-create her story.
TUESDAY 24th BBC 2 8.05pm Christmas Under Fire. Alan Bennett narrates this documentary of the experience for those at home and on the battlefield during the Second World War. Interviews, archive footage and dramatic reconstructions recall events including the Luftwaffe's bombardment of London in 1940 and the Christmas meal served up during the siege of Leningrad in 1941 that was made with joiners' glue.
WEDNESDAY 25th HAPPY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL! Five 3.10pm Painting The Christmas Story. The Nativity. JohnDrury, Dean of Christ Church in Oxford, concludes his exploration of the Christmas story through works exhibited at the National Gallery. Today he considers interpretations of the Nativity by Piero della Francesca and Sandro Botticelli.
THURSDAY 26th Channel 4 5.30pm The Battle of The Hood and Bismarck. Mighty Hood. The first of a two-part, feature length documentary recalling the epic WWII naval battle between HMS Hood, a British battle cruiser, and her adversary, the German battleship Bismarck. The programme follows an expedition to locate the wreck of HMS Hood and explores new evidence about her mysterious sinking.
Channel 4 7.30pm The Battle of The Hood and Bismarck. Sink the Bismarck! The story of one of the greatest naval battles of WWII concludes with the expedition's findings about Hitler's dreaded battleship the Bismarck, one of the most powerful weapons of its day. Survivors' testimonies, dramatic reconstructions, computer graphics and underwater footage of the wreck combine to recount her historic first - and last - voyage.
FRIDAY 27th Channel 4 5.55pm TIME TEAM: The First Ten Years. The best moments from a decade of the archaeology series. From wartime bombers, through Roman and Bronze Age finds and prehistoric settlements, the Team take a look back at how it all happened and analyse the programme's effects on archaeology in the UK.
Channel 4 6.55pm TIME TEAM Digs. The Norman Conquest. A look back at what archaeological digs have taught the Team about the Norman Conquest of Britain in 1066 and King William I. Castles in Shropshire, Northamptonshire, and Warwickshire, a grammar school in Norfolk, a large abbey and even a lost leper hospital have yielded secrets about this turbulent period in history.
Channel 4 8.00pm Fact or Fiction: King Harold. TR separates truth from myth as he chronicles the life and times of the Anglo-Saxon king, known principally for losing the Battle of Hastings. In addition to being a true diplomat, an exemplar of chivalry and a devoted family man, Robinson argues that Harold was a charismatic leader, leading the English army to victory at the earlier Battle of Stamford Bridge and bringing an end to the Viking invasions.
This week's Time Team programmes on Discovery. Monday No details. Tuesday Dinosaur Hunting - Time Team Special, Montana. Wednesday No details. Thursday Time Team Special - Roman London. Friday No details.
And don't forget - the new channel UKHistory is now in full flow for those with access to digital, satellite or cable.
I see that one of the programmes listed is “The mystery of the three kings”. Now I’m no bible expert, but I remember someone saying in the long distant past, that nowhere in the bible does it say that there were “three” wise men. Is there anyone who confirm whether this is true ? Perhaps this will be addressed in the programme.
During the Christmas fortnight BBC 2 is re- running "The World at War" - the landmark documentary series chronicling the Second World War, narrated by Laurence Olivier. It airs at around 9.55am, mostly in double episodes, every day except Christmas day itself.
SATURDAY 28th BBC2 7.05pm - an extra episode of The World at War.
Channel 4 5.50pm Henry VIII. Documentary in which historian and broadcaster David Starkey examines England's most colourful monarch. A renowned expert on the complex and contradictory character of Henry VIII, Starkey brings his own iconoclastic insights to this programme and draws some suprising links between the Tudors and the present day Windsors.
BBC 2 8.00pm PG Wodehouse - Lost Overseas. Journalist, author, lyricist and librettist, but best known as the creator of Jeeves and Wooster, PG Wodehouse was one of Britain's most versatile and popular writers. This programme explores Wodehouse's extraordinary life and career, focussing on his time in a Nazi internment camp, and subsequent exile amid allegations of treachery. It features interviews with Wodehouse, readings from his novels, and excerpts from film and television productions of his work.
MONDAY 30th BBC 1 7.00pm The Real Jane Austen. The life of the acclaimed 19th century novelist is explored in a drama documaentary. Austen's life was in sharp contrast to her books, where financially comfortable heroines ultimately finds true love. She had a modest upbringing as a clergyman's daughter and, after the man she hoped to wed left her disappointed, she never married. It was this experience, however, that cultivated her interest in writing. Narrated by Anna Chancellor, Austen's great-niece.
Channel 4 7.55pm Dinosaur Hunters. The first of a two-part drama that centres on the rivalry of two 19th century scientists. Sussex doctor Gideon Mantell sees his hypothesis that extraordinary creatures had once roamed the planet long before man finally gain credence in Victorian society. At the very point he believes he has triumphed he discovers that his ideas have been appropriated by the ambitious young anatomist Richard Owen.
WEDNESDAY 1st HAPPY NEW YEAR! BBC 1 6.50pm A Walking With Dinosaurs Special: Land of Giants. Computer-generated imagery is used to bring the awe-inspiring creatures of the Cretaceous period to life. Zoologist Nigel Marven reveals how, one million years ago, South America was home to gargantuan beasts such as argentinosaurus, the biggest dinosaur that ever lived, as well as gigantosaurus, its fearsome predator.
BBC 2 9.00pm Our Top Ten Treasures. As a prelude to next April's 250th anniversary of London's British Museum, its top ten treasures - judged by a panel of experts - are revealed in this Meet The Ancestors Special. The exhibits include the Mold gold cape, the Snettisham treasure, the Mildenhall treasure, the Sutton Hoo burial ship, the Lewis chessmen and the Fishpool hoard. Viewers have their chance to vote online for their favourite. Presented by Adam Hart-Davis.
Five 9.00pm The Third Reich in Colour. Max Hastings presents rare footage of Hitler's regime between 1937 and 1945.
FRIDAY 3rd BBC 2 9.00pm The Lost World of Tyntesfield. Secrecy surrounded the Tyntesfield Estate near Bristol for over 100 years while the outside world was oblivious to both its existence and its treasures. But all that changed in 2002 when it hit the headlines after being bought by the National Trust for over £20 million. Even Kylie Minogue was rumoured to be interested in buying it. Dan Cruickshank crosses a threshold that has, for over 150 years, been open only to family, friends and servants. Beyond a blanket of dense trees lies a Gothic fantasy and a monument to the Victorian age; England's last great Victorian country mansion. Aided by family members, Cruickshank coaxes forgotten secrets out of hiding.
Channel 4 8.00pm Royal Deaths and Diseases. The first in a new five-part series investigating how royal doctors and medicine have changed British history. Living By The Sword. This film looks at the treatment of royal injuries in battle and reveals the extraprdinary records of Richard the Lionheart, struck down by a crossbow bolt, and Henry V, critically wounded by an arrow lodged in his skull. By the time of the Civil War, long-range muskets and cannon meant there was no safe haven for Charles I, whose favourite doctor was happier experimenting than working in the frontline.
This week's Time Team programmes on Discovery. Sunday TT Special - The archaeology of Canterbury. Monday In Ely. Tuesday Roman pottery at an Anglo-Saxon site. Wednesday TT Special - Canterbury unearthed. Thursday No details. Friday Wales.
And don't forget - the new channel UKHistory is now in full flow for those with access to digital, satellite or cable.
Apologies to all of you looking for next week's programmes. I haven't managed to get hold of the next Radio Times yet. I looked for it on Saturday (the day it was due out) but couldn't find it. Since then I have had a streaming cold and my brain hasn't been working properly so I forgot about it when I was out today. The TWO day (just to make you jealous) Scottish Bank Holiday may mean that I can't get one now until Friday. But rest assured that normal service will be resumed as soon as is feasible.
SATURDAY 4th Channel 4 5.30pm Napoleon. The first in a new four-part biographical documentary series. To Destiny. The story of Napoleon's rise from his obscure Corsican upbringing to the victories on the battlefield in Italy that made him a hero to the people of France and convinced him that he was destined for greatness.
SUNDAY 5th Channel 4 5.30pm TIME TEAM ******* New Series! Garden Secrets. While digging out a small pond in their garden in Northamptonshire, Morris and Pat Jones came across a skeleton laid out with a knife, ceremonial pottery and a valuable buckle. To determine whether a whole Saxon cemetery lies there, the Team move in for three days.
MONDAY 6th Five 7.00pm Divine Designs. Beginning a new eight-part, nightly series in which Paul Binski examines religious art and architecture in Britain. New Money. Two lavish baroque churches funded by a pair of pious industrialists in the 17th and 18th centuries.
BBC 2 7.30pm Fred Dibnah's Building of Brtiain. The Age of the Carpenter. The Bolton steeplejack examines the carpentry that helped turn castles of the Middle Ages into homes. At Stokesay in Shropshire, the oldest moated and fortified house in England, he learns how massive arched timber roofs were constructed. Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire is one of the finest examples of timber-framed architecture, but how were they constructed?
Channel 4 8.00pm Salvage Squad. Beginning a new ten-part series in which a team attempts to restore a piece of Britain's engineering heritage. This week, Jeremy Nedwell invites the team to renovate his ancient mill in Bishops Waltham, Hampshire.
TUESDAY 7th BBC 2 7.30pm The Trench. Another chance to see the three-part series in which modern-day volunteers relive the reality of day-to-day life in a WWI trench, based on the official diaries of the 10th battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment. Their experiences, alongside specially recorded interviews with veterans of the Great War, reveal the close-up detail of how soldiers endured four years of trench warfare - exhausted, cold and frightened.
Five 7.00pm Divine Designs. An eight-part, nightly series in which Paul Binski examines religious art and architecture in Britain. Paradise Regained. Visiting Glasgow, and Cheadle, Staffordshire, to see how two revered architects revived styles of the past as they shunned Victorian industrialism.
WEDNESDAY 8th Five 7.00pm Divine Designs. An eight-part, nightly series in which Paul Binski examines religious art and architecture in Britain. Romantic Illusions. PB visits Chelsea, London, to look at a church designed by John Dando Sedding, and then sees an unusual church with a thatched roof.
THURSDAY 9th BBC 2 9.00pm Horizon. The Mystery of Easter Island. For years adventurers and scientists have been bewitched by the Pacific Ocean Island of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, and its huge stone statues. Why were they built? And who were the original settlers and how did they meet their end? Using scientific research, a tale unfolds of one of the greatest tragic adventures in the history of human civilisation.
Channel 4 8.00pm Battle Stations. Duck - The Truck That Went To Sea. The DUKW amphibious vehicle may have been one of the slowest and most ungainly vessels ever to put to sea, but it played a vital role in many Allied campaigns of WWII, from the Pacific islands to the Normandy beaches. This installment of the military-history series uses archive film, interviews and reconstructions to tell the story of how American ingenuity the general Motors two-and-a-half ton truck into one of the most effective amphibious vehicles ever used.
Channel 4 9.00pm Empire. Beginning a major new six-part series in which Professor Niall Ferguson tells the full story of the rise and fall of the British Empire. Why Britain? In the opening edition he explores how Britain built the biggest empire the world has ever seen, tracing her transition from piracy to power, and revealing how British trading patterns created the first age of globalisation. He also examines how Britain gradually overtook its bigger rivals by using a combination of intimidation and imitation.
Five 7.00pm Divine Designs. An eight-part, nightly series in which Paul Binski examines religious art and architecture in Britain. The High Churches. PB visits two imposing missionary churches, in Brighton and Kilburn Park, London.
FRIDAY 10th Five 7.00pm Divine Designs. An eight-part, nightly series in which Paul Binski examines religious art and architecture in Britain. Tommorrow's God. Visiting Chichester and Coventry cathedrals to witness evidence of the post-war birth of a modern style of religious architecture.
BBC 2 7.30pm Aztecs for Blood and Gold. As London's Royal Academy hosts a major exhibition of Aztec culture, William Feaver immerses himself in a society of astonishing richness, beauty and cruelty, tracing the history of its people from their mythical beginnings to their violent end at the hands of the Spanish conquistadors.
Five 8.00pm The First Pompeii. A second chance to see this documentary following the excavation of a Bronze Age community that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption 2,000 years before that which engulfed Pompeii.
BBC 2 9.00pm - NOT Scotland (we get a programme about the community buyout of Gigha) White Slaves - Pirate Gold: Timewatch. A time when coastal Europe lived in terror of the "Barbary pirates".
Channel 4 8.00pm Royal Deaths and Diseases. Continuing the series investigating how royal doctors and medecine have changed British history. Madness. This exploration of the history of Royal mental-health problems re-examines the diagnosis and treatment of George III, and explores the cases of Queen Victoria's clinical depression and Henry VI's schizophrenia.
This week's Time Team programmes on Discovery. Bad News! I can see no scheduled Time Team programmes on Discovery this week!!
And don't forget - the new channel UKHistory is now in full flow for those with access to digital, satellite or cable.
quote:Originally posted by Valerie: This week's Time Team programmes on Discovery. Bad News! I can see no scheduled Time Team programmes on Discovery this week!!
Probably waiting for a new set of tapes to arrive after wearing out the last lot.
According to Digiguide the next scheduled Time Team programme on the Discovery Channel is not until next saturday (11th Jan).
Saturday 11th January 2003 at 07:00 (Celtic Spring) Events take an unexpected twist for Tony and the team as they try to solve an amazing mystery in a valley in deepest Wales.
Saturday 11th January 2003 at 17:00 & Saturday 18th January 2003 at 07:00 (Waltham Villa) Tony and the team try to paint a picture of a 2,000 year-old family from the Cotswolds, an area overflowing with Roman remains.
Saturday 18th January 2003 at 17:00 (Blaenavon) Time Team excavate the world's first working railway at an eighteenth-century ironworks in Blaenavon in South Wales. The railway used to carry ore from the mountain to the factory and has been declared a World Heritage site
quote:Originally posted by Valerie: At Last - here it is:-
SUNDAY 5th Channel 4 5.30pm TIME TEAM ******* New Series! Garden Secrets. While digging out a small pond in their garden in Northamptonshire, Morris and Pat Jones came across a skeleton laid out with a knife, ceremonial pottery and a valuable buckle. To determine whether a whole Saxon cemetery lies there, the Team move in for three days. .
Just a reminder that it's 5.30pm, otherwise there will be people who say they've missed the first half hour.
For those of us lucky enough to live in Wales S4C is showing Ten Years of Time Team at 15.55 on Sat. The rest of the U.K may be able to get it on Sky Digital. Presumably the 2003 series starts next week
SATURDAY 11th Channel 4 5.30pm Napoleon. Second of a new four-part biographical documentary series. Mastering Luck. Charting Napoleon's rise to absolute power, from victorious general to First Consul, and finally to Emperor of France. His remarkable achievements are all highlighted, including the Napoleonic Code, the Bank of France, road-building and canal projects.
BBC 2 8.10pm Timewatch. (shown south of the Border on 10th Jan). White Slaves, Pirate Gold. A shipwreck off Devon uncovered much more than a haul of Islamic treasures - it also revealed a time when coastal Europe lived in fear of the "Barbary pirates". The first of six new documentaries travels from the wreck to the spice markets of Morocco to tell the story of the ship, and explain why over half a million Europeans vanished into North Africa in the 250 years from 1570.
SUNDAY 12th Channel 4 5.30pm TIME TEAM ******* New Series! The unexpected discovery of a mosaic floor under a Somerset farmer's pigsties suggests there has to be a Roman villa buried somewhere nearby. In an extraordinary three-day dig across two sites the Team find a whole field full of some of the finest mosaics uncovered in recent years.
MONDAY 13th Five 7.00pm Divine Designs. An eight-part, nightly series in which Paul Binski examines religious art and architecture in Britain. Battle of the Titans. PB consideres Liverpool's two contrasting cathedrals - the neo-Gothic Anglican building and its ultra-modern Roman Catholic neighbour, known as "Paddy's Wigwam".
BBC 2 7.30pm Fred Dibnah's Building of Brtiain. Scottish Style. At Glamis Castle, the Bolton steeplejack discovers how, 400 years ago, an ordinary sandstone pile was transformed by craftsmen into a fairy-tale castle.
Channel 4 8.00pm Salvage Squad. Second in a new ten-part series in which a team attempts to restore a piece of Britain's engineering heritage. This week, the team turn their attentions to a dilapidated steam-powered merry-go-round that was built in 1912.
TUESDAY 14th Five 7.00pm Divine Designs. An eight-part, nightly series in which Paul Binski examines religious art and architecture in Britain. Talking Pictures. PB visits the Greek Orthodox church of St Sophia in London.
BBC 2 7.30pm The Trench. Another chance to see the second of the three-part series in which modern-day volunteers relive the reality of day-to-day life in a WWI trench, based on the official diaries of the 10th battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment. Their experiences, alongside specially recorded interviews with veterans of the Great War, reveal the close-up detail of how soldiers endured four years of trench warfare - exhausted, cold and frightened.
WEDNESDAY 15th Five 7.00pm Divine Designs. An eight-part, nightly series in which Paul Binski examines religious art and architecture in Britain. Eastern Promise. PB visits Leicester and north London to see spectacular displays of Hindu and Jain art. Last in series.
BBC 2 7.30pm What The Victorians Did For Us. (Scotland only - showing in England on Thursday at same time). Adam Hart-Davis investigates Victorian innovations. Speed Merchants. A H-D explores how the Victorians' obsession with speed led to an age of technological change. Due to the lack of standardised time in Britain, the rapidly expanding rail network often found people left on the platform as their train departed, as they hadn't taken into account the slight time difference between London and Bristol.
THURSDAY 16th Five 7.00pm Aztecs. Sculptor Antony Gormley presents an introduction to the art and culture of this ancient Mexican civilisation, coinciding with the Aztecs exhibition now showing at london's Royal Academy.
Channel 4 8.00pm Battle Stations. Catalina Flying Boat. The PBY Catalina flying boat - better known as the Cat - was a bomber that could float on the sea. Involved in many important missions, it was a Cat that began the hunt that led to the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. This installment of the military-history series hears veterans describe some of their remarkable exploits in this versatile aircraft. Whether bombing at night, hauling supplies by day, or rescuing men from the ocean, the Cat always gained the respect of those who flew in it.
Channel 4 9.00pm Empire. Beginning a major new six-part series in which Professor Niall Ferguson tells the full story of the rise and fall of the British Empire. White Plague. The second in Professor Niall Ferguson's six-part history of the British Empire charts the vast migration from Britain to her colonial outposts. The dream of the early transatlantic pioneers was one of religious and economic freedom, but their triumph was based on the expulsion and enslavement of others. The biggest beneficiaries of the empire - the Americans - were the first to rebel against it. Ferguson traces the lead-up to the War of Independence and its ramifications for British imperial policy, forcing the exploration of new pastures on the other side of the world.
FRIDAY 17th BBC 2 7.30pm Clarissa and the Countryman. NOT normally the sort of thing I include but, read on ......... C D-W celebrates Britain's rural life in this eight-part series. The duo visit to the Caerlaverock Estate, located by the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway. Here they try haaf-netting, a fishing technique introduced by the Vikings.
Five 8.00pm Catherine the Great. Documenting the life of the notorious 18th century queen Catherine II, from her entry to the Russian royal family, to her uncontested power and numerous love affairs.
Channel 4 8.00pm Royal Deaths and Diseases. Continuing the series investigating how royal doctors and medecine have changed British history. Decadence. Extravagance, gluttony, and infidelity and big parties were the means by which Henry VIII cultivated a grand image. But within 250 years, the medical consequences of this decadence, such as gout, syphilis, obesity and drug addiction, had turned some of his descendants into a national joke. This instalment examines how certain royals were plagued by medical problems induced by their own behaviour.
BBC 2 9.00pm Scotland only Mary Queen of Scots. Beginning a new three-part series that unearths the truth behind some of Scotland's most legendary figures. Leading historical experts assess the character and actions of Mary Queen of Scots. The only child of James V of Scotland, Mary was raised at the court of Henry II of France. Widowed at the age of eighteen, she returned to Scotland in 1561, where she faced problems as a Catholic monarch in a Protestant land. Six years later, she was deposed and sought refuge in an England ruled by her cousin Elizabeth, who employed various excuses to imprison the woman who was heir to the English throne. Mary remained in jail for 18 years until her execution in 1587, aged 44.
BBC 2 9.00pm NOT Scotland Timewatch. Lost Cities of the Maya.
This week's Time Team programmes on Discovery. A TT programme is scheduled for 7.00am and 5.00pm on Saturday 11th.
And don't forget - the new channel UKHistory is now in full flow for those with access to digital, satellite or cable.
First in a series of three programmes exploring how the modern nations of England, Wales and Scotland were born out of the chaos of the Dark Ages.
<Mr W>
Posted
Saturday at 10.30am on Radio Four...
Heroes and Villains
Terry Jones takes two characters we think we know well and challenges the established view. The reputations of Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun come under the spotlight.
I'm told there are plans for another Ch.4 to come on the air in the next few months, Channel 4 Extra, or some such name. Perhaps this will repeat some of the more popular programmes ?
SATURDAY 18th Channel 4 5.30pm Napoleon. Third of a new four-part biographical documentary series. The Summit of Ambition. Charting Napoleon's triumphs throughout Europe, focussing on his victory at the battle of Austerlitz, and his doomed Spanish campaign.
BBC 2 8.10pm Timewatch. (shown south of the Border on 17th Jan). Lost Cities of the Maya - Timewatch. For over 1,000 years, Maya kings ruled Central America's jungles. While Europe was just emerging from the Dark Ages, they were great architects, artists and mathematicians. Then at the height of their power, they abandoned their cities and vanished. Timewatch follows archaeologist Kathryn Reese-Taylor on an expedition to unravel the mystery.
SUNDAY 19th Channel 4 5.30pm TIME TEAM ******* New Series! The Team travel to a deep and difficult-to-access cave located in the Peak District of Derbyshire in an attempt to uncover the story behind the grisly discovery of human bones, many of them belonging to children. Meanwhile, a nearby mound looks remarkably like a prehistoric barrow. Could this structure hold the key to explaining the cave's gruesome contents?
MONDAY 20th BBC 2 7.30pm Fred Dibnah's Building of Brtiain. Building the Canals. The Bolton steeplejack traces the 18th-century origins of civil engineering in the 52 miles of underground waterways of Worsley, Lancashire. He also takes a boat along the 127-mile Leeds-Liverpool canal, explaining the work that went into building one of the tunnels.
Channel 4 8.00pm Salvage Squad. Third in a new ten-part series in which a team attempts to restore a piece of Britain's engineering heritage. This week, the team turn their attentions to a 1935 London fire boat that played a vital role in the capital during the Blitz as flames threatened St. Paul's cathedral.
TUESDAY 21st BBC 2 7.30pm The Trench. Another chance to see the conclusion of the three-part series in which modern-day volunteers relive the reality of day-to-day life in a WWI trench, based on the official diaries of the 10th battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment. Their experiences, alongside specially recorded interviews with veterans of the Great War, reveal the close-up detail of how soldiers endured four years of trench warfare - exhausted, cold and frightened.
BBC 1 11.05pm The King, The Kaiser and the Tsar. Pre-WWI Europe was dominated by the splendid monarchies of cousins George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II. Incorporating rehearsal scenes from Poliakoff's "The Lost Prince" this documentary examines why only Britain's George V remained on the throne after hostilities ended.
WEDNESDAY 22nd BBC 2 7.30pm What The Victorians Did For Us. (Scotland only - showing in England on Thursday at same time). Adam Hart-Davis investigates Victorian innovations. Playing God. A H-D enters the Victorian world of science and medicine as he hunts for fossils at Lyme Regis in Dorset, recreates a seance, looks at devices for waking the dead, and views the first antiseptics and anaesthetics.
BBC 2 9.00pm The Forgotten Battlefield. A "Meet The Ancestors" film following the excavation of a WWI site that was discovered by chance outside Ypres in Belgium. Archaeologists find evidence of a battle in which over 600 soldiers were killed and an infrastructure of trenches giving an insight into life on the Western Front.
THURSDAY 23rd Channel 4 8.00pm Battle Stations. MiG 15 - Soviet Triumph. The top gun in the skies when it arrived in 1950 during the Korean War, the MiG 15 was to meet its match in the shape of the US F-86 Sabre jets. But with both sides fearing that the Korean War could escalate into a nuclear conflict if news of the jet-versus-jet dogfights became public, the deadly duels remained a dark secret. Using unique Soviet archive film and colour re-enactments, this installment of the military-history series investigates these events and the full story behind the Soviet aircraft.
Channel 4 9.00pm Empire. Third in a six-part series in which Professor Niall Ferguson tells the full story of the rise and fall of the British Empire. The Mission. Charting the story of missionary and explorer David Livingstone and Britain's attempts to impress Christianity on as many of its outposts as possible. In retracing Livingstone's journeys, Ferguson argues that in the work of the missionaries the empire acquired a moral purpose as it sought to abolish slavery, but with this ethical stance stood an overzealous desire to convert Africans and Asians to a particular brand of Christianity - a policy fraught with dangers for the converters and the prospective converted.
FRIDAY 17th Channel 4 8.00pm Royal Deaths and Diseases. Continuing the series investigating how royal doctors and medecine have changed British history. Tainted Blood. Penultimate programme examining the effects of gentic or inherited diseases such as porphyria and haemophilia on Britain's royal family.
BBC 2 9.00pm Scotland only Thomas Cochrane Second in a three-part series that unearths the truth behind some of Scotland's most legendary figures. Featuring the swashbuckling naval hero and radical politician Thomas Cochrane, who was called the "Sea Wolf" by Napoleon. Today, largely unknown in his native Scotland, Cochrane's life story reads more like fiction than fact. This programme charts the personal battles, public scandals and foreign wars which helped shape this larger-than-life figure.
BBC 2 9.00pm NOT Scotland Timewatch. Rocket and its Rivals.
This week's Time Team programmes on Discovery. A TT programme is scheduled for 7.00am and 5.00pm on Saturday 18th.
And don't forget - the new channel UKHistory is now in full flow for those with access to digital, satellite or cable.
Beer, dont ya just love it 
S4C is showing Ten Years of Time Team at 15.55 on Sat.
