Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/33.1 Oct 2016

Tzar
4 / 4: Peter the Great: Queen of Spades
BBC Radio 4: Sun 2 Oct 2016, 15.00 – 16.00. Repeated Sat 1 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 22.00.
This chapter of Mike Walker’s chronicle of the Tzars sees Peter the Great return from a grand tour of Europe full of ideas of modernization and in need of a wife. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wndxx

Verdun: Descent into Hell
PBS America: Sun Oct 2016, 19:55 – 21.00. Rpd Mon 3 Oct 2016, 3:10 – 4.10, 12:10 – 13.15, 16:35 – 17.40
This documentary tells the story of the longest and most costly battle of the First World War through the eyes of the men who fought in it. http://pbsamerica.co.uk/154/Verdun-Descent-into-Hell/894

Ireland with Simon Reeve
BBC Two: Sun 2 Oct 2016, 19.00 -20.00. (First broadcast Nov 2015) 1/2
Reeve explores the history of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and examines their rich culture and troubled past. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06qymr8

Hunting the Nazi Gold Train
BBC Two: Sun 2 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 22.00
In August 2015, two amateur researchers found a lost Nazi train buried in Poland, a train they suspected might have been loaded with gold. Dan Snow joins the treasure hunters as they excavate their find.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07yc9zf

Hitler: The Rise and Fall.
More 4: Sun 2 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 1 /6
A six-part series retracing the dictator’s life and times. How Hitler progressed from teenage loner to German national hero and Fuehrer, beginning with the key events in the first three decades of his life.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hitler-the-rise-and-fall

Poldark
BBC One: Sun 2 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 5 /10
Things are still tough for financially challenged Ross Poldark, whose situation is only made worse when nasty George Warleggan buys his debt in a bid to crush his rival. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07ykf98
A podcast discussion on the growing popularity of historical fiction on TV and the big question of accuracy in historical drama: http://www.historyextra.com/podcast/poldark-historical-TV-drama-accuracy

Victoria
ITV: Sun 2 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 7 / 8:
The pregnant queen has to choose a regent lest she die in childbirth. http://www.itv.com/hub/victoria/2a4229a0003

Britain’s Black Past
BBC Radio 4: Mon 3 to Fri 7 Oct 2016, 13.45 – 14.00
In a 10-part weekday series, Professor Gretchen Gerzina explores the lives of black people who settled in Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wpf5v

Moving Pictures
BBC Radio 4: Mon 3 Oct 2016, 16.00 – 16.30. 2 / 3.
A Flower Painting by Rachel Ruysch
A chance to take a long, slow look at another great artworks, photographed in incredible detail. What’s hiding in the undergrowth of Rachel Ruysch’s bold and beautiful flower painting? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wpgjm

Capability Brown’s Unfinished Garden
BBC Four: Mon 3 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 22.00
Capability Brown, famed for reshaping the English countryside at the behest of nobility, was also a landowner himself in later life. Yet despite his expertise, he never made substantial improvements to his own estate. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xt6t9

Ripper Street
BBC Two: Mon 3 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 7 / 7.
As a new killer plaques Whitechapel the walls close in on Reid as a secret from his past threatens to destroy his future. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07d9lwp

Great Continental Railway Journeys
BBC Two: Tue 4 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. Tangier to Marrakech
Michael Portillo learns how Morocco came under the control of the French, breakfasts with a Berber family and, in Casablanca, visits the world’s most famous gin joint. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07yjry2

The Bastard Executioner
History Channel: Tue 4 Oct 2016, 22.00 – 23.00. 10 / 10: Blood and Quiescence/Crau a Chwsg
Wilkin and Milus lead an unlikely band of brothers on a life-threatening rescue mission. http://www.history.co.uk/shows/the-bastard-executioner/episode-guide/the-bastard-executioner

Barbarians Rising
History Channel: Tue 4 Oct 2016, 23.15 – 00.30. Wed 5 Oct 2016, 22.00 – 23.15
Featuring dramatized portrayals of freedom fighting icons including Hannibal, Spartacus, Arminius, Boudica and Attila. http://www.history.co.uk/shows/barbarians-rising

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968).
Movies4Men: Wed 5 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 23.40. (Sky 325, Virgin 426)
Historical feature film drama set during the Crimean War that is a blistering satire on the British establishment.
http://www.radiotimes.com/film/mkyyx/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade

Railways: The Making of a Nation
BBC Four: Thu 6 Oct 2016, 20.00 – 20.30
Gathering together documentaries first shown in different BBC regions, historian Liz McIvor explores how the coming of the railways changed the country. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xn9fv/episodes/player

The Incredible Story of Marie Antoinette’s Watch with Nicholas Parsons
BBC Four: Thu 6 Oct 2016, 21.00 – 22.00
It’s somehow appropriate that the veteran host of Just a Minute has a passion for timepieces. Parsons tells the story of the world’s most valuable watch. Made by Abraham Louis Breguet in the 18th century, it was once the target of an audacious museum heist. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xtbhr

Sources: Radio Times / History Extra