Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/26. 8 July 2016

The Musketeers
BBC One: Sat 9 July 2016, 20.30 – 21.25. 6 /10
It’s the day of reckoning, as Grimaud vows to kill the Musketeers in a series of savage co-ordinated attacks and puts Feron to the ultimate test in his bid for power. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07c2xcn

War at Sea: Scotland’s Story
BBC 4: Mon 11 July 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. Episode 1 of 2: The Dreadnoughts of Scapa Flow
As the Great War began, the Royal Navy rushed to Orkney’s great natural harbour, Scapa Flow. David Hayman uncovers the compelling characters of the little-known naval war – the cautious Admiral Jellicoe and the playboy Admiral Beatty. The story of great technologies and epic battles for control of the North Sea.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05qqhcn

Document
BBC Radio 4: Tue 12 July 2016, 16.00 – 16.30
In the 1980s, Anne McElvoy met the East German economist Jurgen Kuczynski. Even then, she was aware he was reputed to be connected to Soviet spies operating in the UK in the years leading up to the Second World War. Drawing on recently released MI5 documents, McElvoy gets a fuller picture of the activities of Kuczynski and his family. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07jysdv

War at Sea: Scotland’s Story.
BBC 4: Tue 12 July 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. Episode 2 of 2: The Battle of the U-Boats
David Hayman explores Germany’s World War One U-boat threat and the fascinating and dastardly ploys Britain used against the submarines. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05rbnrk

Vikings
History Channel: Tues 12 July 2016, 22.00 – 23.00. 8 / 10: To the Gates!
The Viking army embarks and Paris goes into lockdown as the army prepares the defence, overseen by Count Odo. The Vikings are determined to make it through the gates of Paris and conquer the city; they will stop at nothing to succeed. http://www.history.co.uk/shows/vikings/episode-guide/vikings-series-3

Versailles
BBC Two: Episode 7 / 10. Coming soon: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07k775c

Inside Versailles
BBC Two: Episode 7 / 10. Coming soon: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07jd9xp

The Greatest Poem of World War One: David Jones’s In Parenthesis
BBC 4: Thu 14 July 2016, 20.00 – 21.00.
In Parenthesis is considered one of the greatest ever literary works about war. TS Eliot called it a work of genius and WH Auden said it did for the British and Germans what Homer did for the Greeks and Trojans. Poet and author Owen Sheers traces the story of In Parenthesis, from an English parade ground to the carnage of the Somme offensive. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07kt9pj

Sources: Radio Times / History Extra