Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/06.

[Ray Boyles]

Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/06. 13 Feb 2016.

Henry VII: Winter King
BBC Two: Sat 13 Feb 19.30 – 20.30
Writer Thomas Penn considers the life and times of the first Tudor monarch, who took the throne after victory over Richard III at Bosworth in 1485 and held power in England until his death in 1509. A picture emerges of a man who was frighteningly ruthless and secretive. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b021ng66

Victory
BBC Radio 4: Sun 14 Feb 2016, 15.00 – 16.00
Radio drama by Gwyneth Hughes about the public scrutiny surrounding the triangular relationship between Admiral Lord Nelson, Sir William and Emma, Lady Hamilton. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04d0l1g

Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands
ITV: Sun 14 Feb 2016, 19.00 – 20.00. 7 / 12: Fantasy drama series.
A fearsome clan known as the Wulfing raiders launches an attack on Herot, and with the element of surprise on their side, all seems lost. It falls to Beowulf to come up with a cunning strategy to outmanoeuvre the savage warriors. http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dzk9sk/beowulf-return-to-the-shieldlands–series-1—episode-7

Storyville – Decadence and Downfall: The Shah Of Iran’s Ultimate Party
BBC Four: Sun 14 Feb 2016, 21.00 – 22.15
In 1971, the Shah of Iran marked 2,500 years of the Persian monarchy with a celebration costing hundreds of millions of dollars. The event had unintended consequences, as it became a symbol of all that was worst about Iran’s police state and galvanised opposition to the monarch. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07176xr

Deutschland 83
Channel 4: Sun 14 Feb 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. (German Cold War Drama + subtitles). 7 / 8: Able Archer
As the threat of nuclear war grows, Moritz does everything he can to prevent a catastrophe. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/deutschland-83

Start the Week: Who Owns Culture?
BBC Radio 4: Mon Feb 2016, 09.00 – 09.40.
Tom Sutcliffe and guests discuss whether museum artifacts should be returned to their countries of origin.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070cnxv

Benjamin Franklin in London
BBC Radio 4: Mon 15 – Fri 19 Feb 2016, Daily 09.40 – 10.00, rptd: 00.30 – 00.45. Book of the Week.
In the middle of the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin spent almost two decades in London – at exactly the same time as Mozart, Casanova and Handel. This biography by George Goodwin is an account not only of the man, but of the city when it was a hub of Enlightenment activity. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b071c3cx

Alexander
BBC Radio 4 Extra: Mon 15 Feb 2016, 10.00 – 11.10, rpt 15.00 – 16.00. Final episode of 6 part radio drama by David Wade. Alexander the Great confronts and conquers, as he faces the end of the span of years allotted by the Fates. Repeat of 2008 broadcast. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007q9by
Episodes: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cjzgy/episodes/player

The Renaissance Unchained
BBC Four: Mon 15 Feb 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. New series. 1 / 4.
Waldemar Januszczak thinks we have got the Renaissance wrong. He argues that it was not centred on Italy, but built on pioneering achievements in northern Europe. He also suggests that we should see the Renaissance not as a return to the classical, but as a climax of medieval values. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070sq9t

Botticelli’s Venus: The Making of an Icon
BBC Four: Mon 15 Feb 2016, 22.00 – 22.30
Sam Roddick explores the enduring appeal of Botticelli’s masterpiece The Birth of Venus, one of the most celebrated paintings in western art. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070sqb0

The Search for Alfred the Great
BBC Four: Mon 15 Feb 2016, 22.30 – 23.30
Neil Oliver follows a team of historian and scientists trying to discover the final resting place of ninth-century English king Alfred the Great. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03sbp73

Making History
BBC Radio 4: Tue 16 Feb 2016, 15.00 – 15.30. 2 / 8.
New series of the programme which showcases new historical research and the people doing it. Tom Holland and Dr Tom Booth investigate mummies in Wiltshire, Helen Castor finds out why the Cold War has become such a hot topic with historians and TV viewers, and Dan Snow speaks up for 1759, a year of British military victories, as possibly the most important year in history. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070dkt5

Verdun – The Sacred Wound
BBC Radio 4: Wed 17 Feb 2016, 11.00 – 11.30. 1 / 2: The Battle.
In the first of two programmes, historian David Reynolds travels to Verdun and its mournful battlefields to better understand what it meant for two nations to wage industrial warfare over a patch of land no bigger than the distance from Leeds to Bradford. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070fdj5

In Our Time: Robert Hooke
BBC Radio 4: Thu 18 Feb 09.00 – 09.45.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work or Robert Hooke (1635-1703) who worked for Robert Boyle and was curator of experiments at the Royal Society. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070h6ww

The Story of China
BBC Two: Thu 18 Jan 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 6 / 6: The Ming.
Michael Wood traces the history of the Qing dynasty; 1644 to 1911. This was an era when China expanded to take in Xinjiang, Mongolia and Tibet. However, things began to go awry when the Chinese encountered the British, leading to the Opium Wars. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06ymzy7/broadcasts/upcoming

See Michael Wood’s ‘The Six Ages of China’ here: http://www.historyextra.com/article/premium/six-ages-china

Jericho
ITV: Thu 18 Feb 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 7 / 8:
Drama series is set in the 1870s Yorkshire Dales shantytown of Jericho, home to a community that will live, thrive and die in the shadow of the viaduct they’ve been brought together to build. Johnny is the prime suspect for the murder of Red Killeen: http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dzrbp9/jericho–series-1—episode-7

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