Any fans of BBC4 here?

mike65 · 17-10-2011 5:03pm #1

Now that 50% of the Television "hardcore" is banned there is some space for discussion of intelligent non American shows programmes that run in seasons series.

Shock and Awe - the Story of Electricity with Professor Jim Al-Khalili is running at the moment, the latest in a run of documentaries in the "Story of/Secret History of" type. Al-Khalili is an excellent presenter able to tell an engaging story without dumbing down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUHMRxrGjsI

BBC4 is of course the home to Wallender, Spiral and The Killing, the kind of drama series that should arguably be on BBC2 at 9 pm but there is no place for them at prime time when stuff like the Apprentice gets top billing.

Paul Merton, Mathew Sweet and Mark Gatiss have made some top class series about cinema esp the early decades and particular sub genres.

Its definitely my favourite channel.

18-10-2011 6:04pm

I'm a big fan of BBC4 too Mike, - its about the only channel other than the Irish ones that I watch regularly (out of dozens of UPC's mostly American tripe). Not into the dramas much though, but the documentaries are always worth checking out.

mike65 · 18-10-2011 6:17pm

I was starting to think I was on my own!

Tells me something about the forum demographic I guess.

Minstrel27 · 18-10-2011 6:22pm

I am watching that programme on BBC HD. Fascinating viewing.

Dozen Wicked Words · 18-10-2011 8:34pm

I enjoyed the History of Ceramics, quite sad seein the old Spode factory empty.

Hoping Holy Flying Circus, the Comedy/Drama based on the Life of Brian is going to be good.

mike65 · 18-10-2011 8:41pm

I glimpsed a preview comment (just one sentence in an article on Terry Jones) in the Guardian which said it was brilliant or words to that effect. Its on Saturday at 10.30 pm (after Life of Brian)

Dozen Wicked Words · 18-10-2011 8:42pm

mike65 wrote: »

I glimpsed a preview comment (just one sentence in an article on Terry Jones) in the Guardian which said it was brilliant or words to that effect. Its on Saturday at 10.30 pm (after Life of Brian)

I thought it was on tomorrow.

edit: Sorry, the drama is on tomorrow, sans film.

Mr.Nice Guy · 18-10-2011 8:44pm

Great channel. They produce excellent educational programmes and usually every week there's a very interesting foreign film shown too. They just need to get Charlie Brooker back on there.

mike65 · 18-10-2011 9:35pm

dooferoaks wrote: »

I thought it was on tomorrow.

edit: Sorry, the drama is on tomorrow, sans film.

Ah right so its on twice in four days (typical BBC4!)

mike65 · 19-10-2011 7:42pm

Tonight on BBC4 at 9 pm.

Holy Flying Circus

Comedy drama, based on the controversy that surrounded Monty Python's Life of Brian on its release in 1979. As a campaign to ban the film gathered momentum, John Cleese and Michael Palin defended their work by participating in a live TV debate against Malcolm Muggeridge and the Bishop of Southwark - but the programme did not go according to plan. Darren Boyd and Charles Edwards star alongside Steve Punt, Rufus Jones, Tom Fisher, Phil Nichol and Stephen Fry.

Followed by the original TV debate from 1979 which is priceless TV let me say. And brilliantly parodied by Not the Nine O' Clock News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asUyK6JWt9U

Minstrel27 · 19-10-2011 8:08pm

Simulcast of Holy Flying Circus on BBC HD also

edit: it will be a shame when BBC HD becomes BBC 2 HD because stuff like this will miss out.

Brian CivilEng · 19-10-2011 8:28pm

Mitch Benn said it best, everything on BBC4.

I really enjoy this channel. Jim Al-khalili's Shock and Awe, Dirk Gentley, last year's electric dreams season. Every week there is something good to watch.

Wertz · 19-10-2011 9:02pm

Damnit mike...forgot shock and awe was on after watching it the other weeks.
The presenter's show about chemistry a month or more back was excellent too.
...and the story of maths.
Really wish there'd been these types of docs when I was in school...

I used never watch 4 until I got rid of sky package... some night's it's a bit snoozy and I don't like the way it doesn't start until 7pm. Also if you miss something they rarely repeat (except later the same evening)... not being bale to get repeats on the iPlayer is maddening sometimes...

Show on about monty python in a minute...

[edit] Double damn....faster than the speed of light on BBC2 at same time...have to opt for that.

EddyB · 19-10-2011 10:10pm

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!
agree 100% with every comment.
I have also discovered some classic old series posted on YouTube.
The quality is generally good and for the aged geeks amongst can i suggest the original 'SURVIVORS' series from BBC to start with. Great Stuff!

120_Minutes · 19-10-2011 10:54pm

"the great thing about bbc 4 is nobody gives a ****!"

actua11 · 19-10-2011 11:32pm

mike65 wrote: »

BBC4 is of course the home to Wallender, Spiral and The Killing

Really top quality drama series, simply great to watch. Problem is shows like Wallender probably wouldn't get an airing on BBC2/HD being 1.5 hours long and subtitled, at least not at as good a timeslot. I've read that BBC4 itself is in danger of falling to cost cutting measures altogether. Not likely but still, BBC4 seems the only suitable outlet for such shows and if it were to go due cutbacks, them and many other non-mainstream shows would never be picked up either here or the UK.

Long live BBC4 I say!

Brian CivilEng · 20-10-2011 12:36am

The Joy of Stats. Need I say more?

The Scientician · 20-10-2011 12:40am

Their archival music shows on Friday nights are unreal. And their History of X, where X is something seemingly mundane, documentaries are faskinating. If I could only have two channels I'd go with it and TG4.

Tomk1 · 20-10-2011 2:26am

Agree great channel.

darkdubh · 20-10-2011 8:59am

Fantastic channel.They've shown somen great music docs like synth Britannia and one about krautrock.

20-10-2011 9:43am

I didn't even know there was a BBC4, but in my defense I haven't watched digital in a long time.

Sesudra · 20-10-2011 10:40am

Love BBC4, always watch Only Connect and love the documentaries it shows, they had a great one about witch trials on a few weeks back

flikflak · 20-10-2011 10:45am

Sesudra wrote: »

Love BBC4, always watch Only Connect and love the documentaries it shows, they had a great one about witch trials on a few weeks back

Yes, I was flicking around through the majority of rubbish that is on and spotted this. It was on quite late though so I +`d it.

I found it really interesting and its good that shows like this have a home. I just have to remember its there as its quite a way up through the Sky channels!

Wertz · 20-10-2011 12:39pm

Is it on the sky EPG now? Reason I used miss it when I had a package was it was on the "other channels" thing along with the ITVs and regionals...since ditching the viewing card it's on ch 116 which is handy.

Dozen Wicked Words · 20-10-2011 1:05pm

Wertz wrote: »

Is it on the sky EPG now? Reason I used miss it when I had a package was it was on the "other channels" thing along with the ITVs and regionals...since ditching the viewing card it's on ch 116 which is handy.

on 230

ejmaztec · 20-10-2011 2:46pm

actua11 wrote: »

Really top quality drama series, simply great to watch. Problem is shows like Wallender probably wouldn't get an airing on BBC2/HD being 1.5 hours long and subtitled, at least not at as good a timeslot. I've read that BBC4 itself is in danger of falling to cost cutting measures altogether. Not likely but still, BBC4 seems the only suitable outlet for such shows and if it were to go due cutbacks, them and many other non-mainstream shows would never be picked up either here or the UK.

Long live BBC4 I say!

The Swedes seem to have two Wallanders. I watched one a couple of weeks ago, and was a couple of minutes into it, wondering where the main character was, only to realise that the big fella who was on-screen was actually him, and completely different to the guy who played him in the series that was shown a few weeks earlier.

It seems that the Wallanders with the big fella in them are the ones that Kenneth Branagh did English language versions of for the BBC later.

The formulaic US crime series seem even more lightweight after watching stuff from mainland Europe.

mike65 · 20-10-2011 3:08pm

The one you was watching starred Rolf Lassgård and was adapted from the Henning Mankell novels (there were 9 of them as stand alone TV movies), the better known TV series with Krister Henriksson was original screenplays bar three stories.

Wertz · 20-10-2011 10:16pm

Ah I just figured out that Shock and Awe is on thursday not tuesday... really interesting finale tonight...learned more in an hour than I did in months of LC physics in concepts I could actually grasp.

This show about the national grid is very good too. Some great archive footage.

MayoForSam · 20-10-2011 10:26pm

Just watching Holy Flying Circus, great performances all round and very funny to boot. A must-see if you're a Python fan. Politically correct - not!

Quote from one of the fictional BBC heads halfway though in response to a supposed email complaint from a member of the public, "You know what I like about BBC4 - nobody gives a f*ck!" - long may it last.

mike65 · 31-10-2011 11:14am

A couple of good Halloween programmes tonight including the Psychoville Halloween special.

Oh and the Killing series 2 starts soon.

dr.bollocko · 31-10-2011 8:06pm

I like their documentaries.

They manage to make it sound like the most boring thing in history and then it turns out to be incredibly intriguing.

mike65 · 31-10-2011 8:08pm

I'm waiting for the Secret History of Paint Drying or Lawnmowers

LordSutch · 31-10-2011 8:10pm

Great channel, love it.

Corsendonk · 31-10-2011 8:29pm

Love it especially the way they theme a week on one topic. Reminds me of when Channel 4 back in the day would do a China or Indian season. Hopefully BBC cutbacks leave the channel undisturbed.

My particular favourite theme was the french cuisine season when they showed the below. Hopefully it will get a repeat soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ANUMYH07-Q

Badgermonkey · 31-10-2011 8:54pm

dr.bollocko wrote: »

I like their documentaries.

They manage to make it sound like the most boring thing in history and then it turns out to be incredibly intriguing.

+1

Musicians Rachel & Becky Unthank fronted a doc examining the historical and cultural contribution Morris dancing has made to English village life. :eek:

Avoiding the initial urge to change channel, the show turned out to be great viewing, touching on social history, the industrial revolution and the richness and variety of English folk tradition.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wgrtr

Anyone remember Death on the Staircase?

BBC Four showed the entire 8 episode courtroom documentary over 2 nights. It remains possibly the most compelling TV I've ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyX_UB79VY8&feature=player_embedded

The Staircase' is a fascinating, enthralling 8 episode documentary series that follows a criminal case from the beginning, when the emergency call was made, through to the court case and final verdict.

Screened on SBS TV earlier this year, The Staircase was met with great acclaim from those who became addicted to the unravelling tale of Michael Peterson and his wife who died as a result of falling down a flight of narrow stairs. The Police claim her injuries were too severe to be those off falling alone and arrested her husband for murder. Crime or accident? Be taken in and decide for yourself.

Directed by Academy Award Winning Director, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. “The final episode contains enough horror and shock to send chills down your spine: you forget that this is not just a true story, it’s a documentary.

The Sparrow · 31-10-2011 10:07pm

I usually forget about BBC4 which is a shame. But I'm in the middle of The Killing and I've recorded all of Spiral so I'll get to that too. Looks to be some good documentaries too so I'll check them out.

Also on the same wavelength, Sky Arts can have some interesting content too. I'm currently enjoying Romanzo Criminale, an Italian drama set in the 70s about Roman gangsters.

And even though the good oul' USA has taken a bit of slagging in this thread, PBS UK launches tomorrow on Sky and it sounds like it will have some great programming such as Ken Burns historical documentaries. So there are a growing number of places to watch interesting dramas and documentaries.

About time.

The Scientician · 02-11-2011 6:49pm

Badgermonkey wrote: »

Musicians Rachel & Becky Unthank fronted a doc examining the historical and cultural contribution Morris dancing has made to English village life. :eek:

Avoiding the initial urge to change channel, the show turned out to be great viewing, touching on social history, the industrial revolution and the richness and variety of English folk tradition.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wgrtr

This was flipping brilliant. It should really have a wider audience in England. Beeb 1 should show it. I think because of the Unthanks background the were able to treat the people and traditions with the right amount of respect. A show like that could very easily be a Theroux-esque farce.

doc_17 · 03-11-2011 10:27pm

Some greayscience & maths documentaries on it. Check out Dangerous Knowledge on you tube. Wonderful stuff altoggether

mike65 · 10-02-2013 12:10am

Bump!

This week has been great with four hours devoted to the glorious hey day of vinyl and tonight the start of Series 4 of Spiral the Paris Policer. Nearly everyone from the last series is back, the plot revolves around a bunch of urban anarchists, a man from Mali about to be turfed out of France, dodgy Russians and gulf state night club owners. So its a rum bunch to say the least.

mickd · 10-02-2013 12:47am

Big fan of BBC4 public service broadcasting at its best Shock and awe just one of the excellent documentaries. I like how TG4 tries to bring the same type of offbeat style to its documentaries such the one on the Railways and the Ford Cortina

Any fans of BBC4 here?

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