The BBC Four Thread

BoroMan32 · 06-05-2020 5:09pm

Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but Ben MacIntyre's excellent documentary ''Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story'' is on BBC4 tonight at 9pm.

Tom Mann Centuria · 06-05-2020 5:18pm

BoroMan32 wrote: »

Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but Ben MacIntyre's excellent documentary ''Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story'' is on BBC4 tonight at 9pm.

Haven't seen the documentary but know his story, he was the epitome of a"colourful character".

Will definitely watch, thanks.

patmac · 10-05-2020 11:33pm

brian_t wrote: »

State Of Happiness seems to up next when Twin ends.

Really enjoying this, very interesting. I read somewhere that they were the second poorest country in Europe after Albania before they found oil.

Harry Palmr · 10-05-2020 11:44pm

BoroMan32 wrote: »

Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but Ben MacIntyre's excellent documentary ''Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story'' is on BBC4 tonight at 9pm.

and the feature film "The Man Who Wasn't There" was shown on BBC Two on Saturday. Two are in full retro mode in the afternoons if you a fan of 50/60s cinema.

State Of Happiness is very enjoyable, it has an expansive confidence which I was not expecting of a Norwegian drama.

Harry Palmr · 12-05-2020 3:03pm

Life Drawing on BBC Four tonight at 8 till 10 there's a live cam on BBC RB and you can draw along with the tweeter feed! I might actually have a go at this, used to be handy with a pencil when I was young.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/lifedrawinglive?src=hashtag_click

An Ciarraioch · 14-05-2020 1:43pm

Be afraid, be very afraid!

https://twitter.com/TVZone_/status/1260857383653462021

Alun · 14-05-2020 1:45pm

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Tom Mann Centuria · 14-05-2020 1:49pm

Convenient excuse for them to hang it on, when I'm sure they've been angling to bin it for ages.

Marje · 14-05-2020 1:56pm

Stewball wrote: »

Any chance they'll show the previous series' of Cardinal?

Saw an ad for this last night, looks like it will be shown on BBC2 instead of BBC4

Edit: no date announced yet.

Harry Palmr · 14-05-2020 2:13pm

No one will be shocked if this is the case. You can't run a station on less then 50m a year they've seen the budget halve in less than a decade with new programming reduced to a trickle.

The trick for the BBC is going to be retaining the integrity of Friday and Saturday nights programming on Two.

If I were the BBC I'd actually get a move on, with Covid 19 having punched a big hole in the schedules at will last a year or more they can get transfering all the arts and sciences stuff along with Friday Night Music on a Friday and the imported drama series on a Saturday without much trouble I'd have thought.

brian_t · 14-05-2020 4:57pm

54 Hours: The Gladbeck Hostage Crisis which was shown on BBC4 two years ago is been repeated on BBC2 on Monday week.

Harry Palmr · 14-05-2020 7:00pm

https://twitter.com/doctorjamesfox/status/1260515880498233345

https://twitter.com/JANUSZCZAK/status/1260844846270558212

Arthur Daley · 14-05-2020 8:06pm

Save BBC4.

It'd almost be like a death in the family

Capt'n Midnight · 14-05-2020 8:27pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

No one will be shocked if this is the case. You can't run a station on less then 50m a year they've seen the budget halve in less than a decade with new programming reduced to a trickle.

£50m a year ? TG4 can only dream of that.

Before the Tory Cuts it was BBC 1 (£1,106 million) and BBC 2 (£381 million) BBC 4 is not expensive.

If it was about money then Radio 3 gets £55m a year and should have been axed ahead of the local radio stations that were cut "to save money" back in the day - it costs FOUR times as much per listener as Radio 4

Radio 4 should be safe. Unless someone forgets to tell the accountants just how important the Today program really is.

Since it shares the airwaves with Cbeebies and since BBC 3 is a yoof channel with some good ratings might they swap with 4 going digital and 3 going back to broadcast ?
That could kill off 4 as most of the viewers are over fifty so would not expect to be as computer literate. On that note how many pensioners will watch 4 online on top of having to pay a TV licence for the privilege.

An non-ideal compromise would be for BBC 2 to show six hours of BBC 4 content after midnight.

An Ciarraioch · 14-05-2020 8:41pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

£50m a year ? TG4 can only dream of that.

Before the Tory Cuts it was BBC 1 (£1,106 million) and BBC 2 (£381 million) BBC 4 is not expensive.

If it was about money then Radio 3 gets £55m a year and should have been axed ahead of the local radio stations that were cut "to save money" back in the day - it costs FOUR times as much per listener as Radio 4

Radio 4 should be safe. Unless someone forgets to tell the accountants just how important the Today program really is.

Since it shares the airwaves with Cbeebies and since BBC 3 is a yoof channel with some good ratings might they swap with 4 going digital and 3 going back to broadcast ?
That could kill off 4 as most of the viewers are over fifty so would not expect to be as computer literate. On that note how many pensioners will watch 4 online on top of having to pay a TV licence for the privilege.

An non-ideal compromise would be for BBC 2 to show six hours of BBC 4 content after midnight.

I never understood why it timeshared with CBeebies - surely in the digital era, they should both have been able to have their own bandwidths?

Harry Palmr · 14-05-2020 9:50pm

BBC radio 3 is sacrosanct. It'll be the last station standing. BBC Four on Two after midnight wouldn't be a runner.

Tigerandahalf · 14-05-2020 10:15pm

The iplayer is the real jewel of the bbc.
I watch most of my tv on it now.
So many fantastic programmes. Some available for upto a year and others relaunched.
It is laid out well with various categories for different content - Films, Drama, Travel, Culture, etc.

I have been watching Rick Stein's Far Eastern Oddysey around Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bali and Malaysia. It is a few years old but lovely to watch.

Watch whenever you want, come back to the same spot you finished at. Streaming is the business especially with no ads.

fryup · 14-05-2020 10:21pm

^^^^^^^

i take it you're living in the UK??

extra gravy · 15-05-2020 7:25am

https://www.change.org/p/british-broadcasting-corporation-save-bbc-four-from-closure

Petition here

brian_t · 15-05-2020 12:46pm

I rarely start watching TV before 9 but this seems interesting at 8.30pm this evening.

Kermode and Mayo's Home Entertainment Service

With cinemas closed and the nation on lockdown, Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo turn their attention to the small screen, presenting a guide to the best - and worst - of streaming culture, across movies and premium TV. In the first edition, they review Netflix's The Eddy, BBC's Normal People (including a chat with director Lenny Abrahamson), Eliza Hittman-directed Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Mubi docu-feature Romantic Comedy and Terry Gilliam's classic Twelve Monkeys.

Next week they take a critical look at The First Team and I Know This Much Is True.

An Ciarraioch · 17-05-2020 8:03pm

Has the shutdown already begun - still hasn't come on air yet tonight!

Tigerandahalf · 17-05-2020 8:08pm

There was a very good documentary on Dana the other night. With it being Eurovision time there was other similar stuff on too but the documentary stood out in its own. Didn't realise how much time she spent in the Bible belt in America.

SPDUB · 17-05-2020 8:09pm

An Ciarraioch wrote: »

Has the shutdown already begun - still hasn't come on air yet tonight!

It's on air on mt FTA system

Harry Palmr · 17-05-2020 8:43pm

Fine for me on freesat box.

fryup · 17-05-2020 11:01pm

Has the shutdown already begun - still hasn't come on air yet tonight!

with some STB's bbc 4 disappears ..don't know why...solution - switch off & back on

Tork · 18-05-2020 2:59am

fryup wrote: »

^^^^^^^

i take it you're living in the UK??

A good VPN with multiple servers = access to the iplayer

Capt'n Midnight · 20-05-2020 1:17am

BBC Three could return as an on-air channel

The turnaround will be formally announced as part of the BBC's annual plan on Wednesday, but there was no news about the fate of BBC Four, which has been rumoured for the axe.

The corporation warned that putting BBC Three back on TV will mean reductions in other areas, especially as the BBC's income has been reduced by £125 million during the coronavirus outbreak.

But it says those decisions won't be made until the autumn when there is a clearer picture of the BBC's finances.

However, the BBC did say it had no plans to close BBC Four at the moment.

:mad:

brian_t · 20-05-2020 10:54am

Marje wrote: »

Saw an ad for Cardinal last night, looks like it will be shown on BBC2 instead of BBC4.

Wednesdays on BBC2 seems to be the new home for Canadian drama.

The natural home of Euro drama (sub-titled) continues with The Young Montalbano on Saturday 30th May.

fryup · 20-05-2020 11:07am

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

BBC Three could return as an on-air channel

:mad:

well they could revamp bbc3 and replace it with bbc4 content ??

tylercheribini · 20-05-2020 2:07pm

I love BBC Four but a state broadcaster having four channels in such competitive and challenging times does seem a luxury. if they shift their content over to BBC Three it wouldnt be the end of the world.

Tom Mann Centuria · 20-05-2020 6:52pm

fryup wrote: »

well they could revamp bbc3 and replace it with bbc4 content ??

But they won't because Three is their "youth" flagship channel, the don't like mixing, see Radio 1 in recent years for reference.

Hotblack Desiato · 20-05-2020 9:26pm

They've a lot more than four channels. Parliament, News, Alba, Scotland... and putting all the regional variations of BBC1/2 on satellite must cost a fair bit.

An Ciarraioch · 20-05-2020 10:36pm

Appears the latest BBC action plan envisages BBC Four as an archive channel, with BBC Two effectively becoming the "new" BBC Four.

Capt'n Midnight · 20-05-2020 11:27pm

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

They've a lot more than four channels. Parliament, News, Alba, Scotland... and putting all the regional variations of BBC1/2 on satellite must cost a fair bit.

There's about twenty different BBC 1's between regions and HD regions.
And most of the time they show the exact thing.

brian_t · 21-05-2020 12:54am

brian_t wrote: »

The natural home of Euro drama (sub-titled) continues with The Young Montalbano on Saturday 30th May.

It's The First Case - series one episode one - first shown Sept 2013.

tylercheribini · 21-05-2020 12:58am

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

They've a lot more than four channels. Parliament, News, Alba, Scotland... and putting all the regional variations of BBC1/2 on satellite must cost a fair bit.

Four flagship/mainstream channels should I say, in the on demand/streaming era I dont think its warranted anymore.

Harry Palmr · 21-05-2020 9:01am

Is it a legal obligation to provide regional variations on satellite? Not that the cost is very big I think, mass rental long term deal is probably quite a competitive rate.

RebelButtMunch · 21-05-2020 10:18am

brian_t wrote: »

Wednesdays on BBC2 seems to be the new home for Canadian drama.

The natural home of Euro drama (sub-titled) continues with The Young Montalbano on Saturday 30th May.

Cheers for that. I watched the Young Montalbano before, and I'll watch it again. He made for a complex character with his relationships to his father and girlfriend. Also it was enjoyable seeing the other characters in their younger roles.

odyssey06 · 21-05-2020 10:25am

An Ciarraioch wrote: »

Appears the latest BBC action plan envisages BBC Four as an archive channel, with BBC Two effectively becoming the "new" BBC Four.

I know there's a lot of overlap between BBC2 and BBC4 already for documentaries, and now also shows like Cardinal.
So I can see that working to a certain extent.

I wonder if the saturday night subtitled drama will make the cut across ... might be reluctance on main BBC2 channel to air subtitled shows in primetime.

I would miss those programmes

brian_t · 21-05-2020 11:04am

odyssey06 wrote: »

I know there's a lot of overlap between BBC2 and BBC4 already for documentaries, and now also shows like Cardinal.
So I can see that working to a certain extent.

I wonder if the saturday night subtitled drama will make the cut across ... might be reluctance on main BBC2 channel to air subtitled shows in primetime.

I would miss those programmes

If I remember correctly BBC2 used to be the home of subtitled euro drama - 10pm to 12pm timewise (not every day)

cozar · 23-05-2020 11:19pm

State of happiness wrapped up too nicely for me. Thought it was better than that. Back to inspector Montalbano for the next few weeks which I never really got into

Harry Palmr · 23-05-2020 11:23pm

I enjoyed it - everyone got what they really wanted and Stavanger got rich.

brian_t · 27-05-2020 6:09pm

cozar wrote: »

Back to inspector Montalbano for the next few weeks

It's just the first episode of the Inspector. Billy Elliot is on the following Saturday (June 6th) at 9.15pm.

I don't understand why Billy Elliot is being shown on BBC4 then because it is being shown on BBC1 this coming Sunday at 10.30pm.

The BBC4 showing will be about the twentieth time the film has been broadcast across the BBC's.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007wv29

cml387 · 28-05-2020 8:44am

brian_t wrote: »

It's just the first episode of the Inspector. Billy Elliot is on the following Saturday (June 6th) at 9.15pm.

I don't understand why Billy Elliot is being shown on BBC4 then because it is being shown on BBC1 this coming Sunday at 10.30pm.

The BBC4 showing will be about the twentieth time the film has been broadcast across the BBC's.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007wv29

Actually 8 times . But still a lot I agree.

Marje · 28-05-2020 2:42pm

Cardinal will start on BBC2 Wednesday 03rd June.

Last season won awards at Canadian Screen Awards

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/csa-third-night-1.5587617?fbclid=IwAR3WAV-8HwjI2ebV6IvJPefTx7ZkJxhPq76lUAJJ0PK5HGGr4dOu3QIIHRE

brian_t · 30-05-2020 11:31am

brian_t wrote: »

BBC Four has inked deals with DCD Rights and Fremantle to acquire the UK
rights to Australian drama series The Secrets She Keeps and French drama
The Last Wave, respectively. Both series are expected to air in the
channel’s Saturday night foreign drama slot later this year.

https://www.tvwise.co.uk/2020/02/bbc-four-acquires-uk-rights-to-the-secrets-she-keeps-the-last-wave/?fbclid=IwAR1eT_JdLcmzJNRjNocB6FqZ6Zh0KJcUOoAlHIHug90fZjNm4bTz0EJIyn8

RTE One have also bought The Secrets She Keeps and they are showing it next month.

brian_t · 01-06-2020 10:59am

BBC have bought DNA, a new Danish crime thriller created by the co-creator of The Killing, Torleif Hoppe and starring Charlotte Rampling.

Rolf Larsen, a respected detective on the
Copenhagen police force, has his life brutally upended when his baby daughter
goes missing. Five years after the tragedy a new lead emerges when a serious
flaw is uncovered in the Danish police’s DNA database. Realising that his
daughter may still be alive, Rolf tries to find out what really happened to her
by investigating a parallel case with ties to an international child-trafficking
ring.

Rolf will get help from Claire, a seasoned French
investigator who is working on a similar case.

https://thekillingtimestv.wordpress.com/2020/05/27/bbc-acquires-danish-crime-series-dna/

brian_t · 03-06-2020 4:48pm

Repeats of the first series of The Young Montalbano continue on Saturday 13th.

recipio · 03-06-2020 5:54pm

brian_t wrote: »

Repeats of the first series of The Young Montalbano continue on Saturday 13th.

I've seen the first episode - every bit as good as the original series. The ladies do not disappoint either.:rolleyes:

cozar · 03-06-2020 11:04pm

Cardinal on bbc 2 now don’t know why they moved it from bbc4 ? Up to the usual standard, S4 looks promising.

The BBC Four Thread

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