History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/42

[Ray Boyles]

Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/42. 2 Dec 2016

Britain at Low Tide
Channel 4: Sat 3 Dec 2016, 20.00 – 21.00
The shoreline archaeology series concludes with a visit to Essex. Here, Alex Langlands and Tori Herridge see a fort dating back to the Tudor era, remember days when sailing barges worked the Thames, and find the remains of a U-boat stranded in a tiny creek. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/britain-at-low-tide

Archive On 4: Lloyd George’s Revolution
BBC Radio 4: Sat 3 Dec 2016, 20.00 – 21.00
Drawing on archive recordings, Peter Hennessy looks back 100 years to when David Lloyd George became prime minister, in December 1916. These were dark days in a conflict-weary country, but Lloyd George, we learn, made a success of his premiership by transforming the way both government and the war effort were run.
Contributors include historian Hew Strachan. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0848f95

Book of the Week: Mad Enchantment
BBC Radio 4: Mon 5 to Fri 9 Dec 2016, daily episodes 9.45 – 10.00 (Repeated 00.30 – 00.45)
The story of Claude Monet’s later years and the famous paintings he produced at home in Giverny, abridged in five parts by Katrin Williams and read by Allan Corduner: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08492fv

Titanic’s Tragic Twin: The Britannic Disaster
BBC Two: Mon 5 Dec 2016, 21.00 – 22.00
A century since the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, sank after hitting a mine in the Aegean, Kate Humble meets the descendants of survivors. The liner turned hospital ship was re-engineered after the loss of Titanic. Andy Torbet dives down to the wreck to investigate why she sank in just 55 minutes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b083dp3s

Mr Turner (2014)
Film 4: Mon 5 Dec 2016, 21.00 – 23.55
Mike Leigh’s sumptuous feature film biopic of British artist JMW Turner, starring Timothy Spall in the title role. http://www.film4.com/reviews/2014/mr-turner

Digging for Britain
BBC Four: Tues 6 Dec 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. New Series: 1 / 3
Alice Roberts reports on recent excavations in the west of England, including the discovery of First World War training trenches on Salisbury Plain. Plus, a “double henge” and luxury foreign goods found at Tintagel.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b014hl0d

Six Wives with Lucy Worsley
BBC One: Wed 7 Dec 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. New Series: 1 / 3
In this first episode Lucy Worsley dons the garb of a Tudor-era maid to eavesdrop on Henry VIII’s court in an attempt to look anew at a familiar story: Henry’s wooing of Catherine of Aragon and the subsequent disintegration of the couple’s marriage. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0853mvq

In Our Time: Harriet Martineau
BBC Radio 4: Thu 8 Dec 2016, 9.00 – 9.45.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Harriet Martineau who, from a non-conformist background in Norwich, became one of the best known writers in the 19th century and is often cited as the first female sociologist. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084d7b0

Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream
BBC Four: Thu 8 Dec 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. New Series: 1 / 3
Simon Sebag Montefiore explores the history of a city that, for centuries, was pivotal to European affairs. He tells the story via the dyntasy that ruled Vienna, the Habsburgs, and those that tried to take the city from them. First, he traces the Habsburgs’ rise to power. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p046dxfw

Close to the Enemy
BBC2: Thu 8 Dec 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 5 / 7. (Repeated Fri 9 Dec 23.05 – 00.05)
Stephen Poliakoff’s drama of the post-Second World War; while Dieter is seemingly helping the British to achieve their jet engine goals, Victor comes to Callum with proof that Dieter isn’t innocent of war crimes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08511g7

The Man in the Iron Mask
Yesterday: Fri 9 Dec 2016, 19.00 – 20.00. (Repeated Sat 10 Dec 2016, 23.00 – 00.00)
The identity of the Man in the Iron Mask, a nameless prisoner held during the rule of Louis XIV, is an enduring mystery. In this repeat of a Forbidden History programme Jamie Theakston attempts to unravel the enigma.

Secrets of Great British Castles
Channel 5: Fri 9 Dec 2016, 20.00 – 21.00. 6 / 6.
Dan Jones explores Arundel Castle, which has been the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk and their ancestors for over 850 years. http://www.channel5.com/show/secrets-of-great-british-castles

Sources: Radio Times / History Extra

[Author]

Posts