Sunday 5th August 2012
Timeshift: Epic - A Cast of Thousands!
BBC 4, 10.20pm 11.20pmTimeshift reveals the ten commandments of big cinema as it goes behind the scenes of the biggest film genre of them all - the epic. See the biggest sets ever known! Hear the sound of Ancient Rome! Count the spiralling costs as budgets soared!
From Ben-Hur to The Ten Commandments, from El Cid to Cleopatra, these were films that set a new standard in BIG. In the days before computers they recreated ancient worlds on a vast scale, and they did it for real. Epic cinema hired armies, defied the seasons and changed cinema. Even the screen wasn't big enough for the epic, so Hollywood made it bigger - and some cinemagoers experienced vertigo watching these vast productions.
Today, the epic lives on in the Oscar-laden Gladiator and the spectacular sweep of Avatar. As this documentary reveals, the stories behind the films are as spectacular as the films themselves.
Monday 6th August 2012
Captial Justice (5/5)
Radio 4, 9.30am 9.45amHelena Kennedy QC presents a new series uncovering the profound and powerful relationship between our financial and legal systems, between capitalism and the law, between freedom and justice.
The great British system of common law - judge made, ever evolving and adaptable - flourished in the 19th century under the growing dynamism of markets and new ideas of individual freedom. And market capitalism was given legal security and freedom to flourish in turn.
The Hit Factory: the Stock, Aitken and Waterman Story
ITV1, 9.00pm 10.00pmDocumentary charting the success of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, the song-writing and record-producing trio who scored more than 100 top 40 hits in the 1980s and 90s, including a string of number ones, with acts including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Rick Astley. Featuring contributions by Waterman, Simon Cowell, Sinitta, Pete Burns, Sonia, Steps and many more. Suranne Jones narrates.
Undercover Boss (6/6)
Channel 4, 9.00pm 10.00pmGunnar Blomdahl, CEO of ferry operator Stena Line, boards some of his own fleet to find out if the business is meeting travellers' needs. Gunnar is concerned that standards have slipped, and what he discovers shocks him - sub-standard customer service, flawed design on a new superferry, and foreign crew earning less than the UK minimum wage. The experience leaves him determined to make changes on his return to head office. Last in the series.
Tuesday 7th August 2012
The Best of British: the Quadfather
Channel 4, 11.10pm 12.15amDocumentary following three wheelchair tennis athletes hoping to be selected for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, following the trials and tribulations they face on and off the court. Fifty-year-old Peter Norfolk, known as `the Quadfather', is nearing the end of a glorious career, while Andy Lapthorne made an impressive start to 2011, partnering Norfolk to win the Australian Open title. Former marine Jamie Burdekin has battled personal issues in his past, but feels that concentrating on his sport gives him a goal in life.
Wednesday 8th August 2012
Arena: Routemasters! The Double Decker Bus Conductors
BBC 4, 10.00pm 10.55pmDocumentary celebrating one of London's great characters, the bus conductor. The film tells the stories of five extraordinary conductors from five decades of London's history, rich with period music and archive.
