Documentary series which ranges widely over Britain's social and cultural history, its narrative-led storytelling offering a richly immersive and varied window onto the past.
Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. Voted by leading TV executives in Broadcast as one of the top 50 most influential programmes of all time, it has run since 1 October 1975 with over five hundred episodes made, directed by the likes of Martin Scorsese, Alan Yentob, Roly Keating, Frederick Baker, Volker Schlondorff and Vikram Jayanti. Arena's subjects are a roll-call of the world's best known cultural figures from the 20th and 21st centuries, from singers Bob Dylan and Amy Winehouse to academics Edward Said and Eric Hobsbawm, from writers Jean Genet and V S Naipaul to artists Francis Bacon and Louise Bourgeois. The current series editor is Anthony Wall.
Created from the novels by award winning crime writer Ann Cleeves, Shetland follows DI Jimmy Perez and his team as they investigate crime within the close knit island community. In this isolated and sometimes inhospitable environment, the team have to rely on a uniquely resourceful style of policing.
Days That Shook the World is a British documentary television series that premiered on BBC Two on 17 September 2003. The programme features various milestones throughout history. It has been broadcast on the BBC, Discovery Channel UK, The History Channel and Viasat History.
The series was also released on DVD by the Polish edition of Newsweek in 2007.
Ed Asner tells the story of RKO Pictures from the 1920s to the 1960s.
The fiendishly difficult quiz show in which two teams of three contestants have to find the connection between seemingly unrelated clues, where patience and lateral thinking are as vital as knowledge.
An anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances.
Set in the corridors of power and spin, the Minister for Social Affairs is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.
The World's Greatest Classical Music Festival. The BBC Proms is a classical music festival held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and in recent years has explored an innovative series of Proms around the UK with concerts in all four nations. Its aim: to bring the best in classical music to the widest possible audience, which remains true to founder-conductor Henry Wood’s original vision in 1895. Whether you are a classical connoisseur or think classical music isn’t for you, there is something for everyone in the eight-week stretch of concerts.
Brian Pern is an ageing rock star and former front-man of ground breaking progressive rock group Thotch. Like many artists of his age, rather than make new music, he spends more time trying to save the planet (including his campaign to teach gorillas how to Skype). Now, the BBC have asked him to front a major new documentary where he presents his guide to The Life Of Rock from prehistoric man to the present day.
The lives of two eccentric metal detectorists, who spend their days plodding along ploughed tracks and open fields, hoping to disturb the tedium by unearthing the fortune of a lifetime.
Your monthly journey through the fascinating world of space and astronomy with the latest thinking on what's out there in space and what you can see in the night sky.
The story of the big names that have shaped the musical genres, plus an occasional stopgap for the new rock 'n' roll - comedy.
The murder of Sonia Baker, a young political researcher, leads journalist Cal McCaffrey to uncover complex links between government and big business.
The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday initiated the first Christmas Lecture series in 1825. This came at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Faraday presented a total of nineteen series in all.
The Code is a drama series which tells tells the story of two brothers who discover some information that those at the highest levels of political power are determined to keep secret.
Lead Balloon is a British television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian whose life is plagued by petty annoyances, disappointments and embarrassments. Raquel Cassidy, Sean Power and Tony Gardner also star. The first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC Four in 2006, with the first episode achieving the highest ratings for a comedy on the channel. Repeats of the series were run on BBC Two and BBC HD, bringing it to a larger audience. A second series of eight episodes aired on BBC Two in November 2007, and a third series began airing in November 2008. A fourth and final series commenced broadcast on 31 May 2011 on BBC Two and ended on 5 July.
Comparisons were made by critics to the successful American comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm, and positive comments were made about Lead Balloon's characters, particularly Magda, the Eastern European housekeeper. The first series was released on DVD in November 2007. The show's theme tune is a cover version of "One Way Road", written by Noel Gallagher and performed by Paul Weller.
Classic Doctor Who duos are reunited as they board a very special TARDIS on a nostalgic voyage through space and time.
Comedy drama that shines a light on the day-to-day life of a family looking after their severely learning disabled girl, Rosie.
A ghost story about a cursed house. The cursed house - Geap Manor - weaves together three ghost stories set during Georgian times, the 1920s and the present day.