History and Tv in United Kingdom

by Erin Bell, Florian Gleisner

Specific days

23 April

BARB figures forthcoming

St George’s Day

Not a national holiday but Bank Holidays in the UK don’t relate to national days. This may be the closest the UK has to a national remembrance day (outside of VE Day, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Armistice Day, the latter 2 of which are in November).

CBeebies Let’s Celebrate: St George’s Day 15 minute episode in series covering different celebrations (e.g. Eid, Easter etc.) experienced by British pre-school children; coverage of St George’s Day. Sub 500,000 audience.

Sky Crime/Thriller channel – St George’s Day series of films featuring George Clooney

Shakespeare’s death-day

400^th anniversary of 23 April 1616 – 23-30^th April

Front cover of Radio Times (listings magazine; covers all channels but originated with BBC in 1923 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/research/general/radio-times) ) 23-29 April: The BBC Shakespeare Season.

Coverage of season covered entire week on the BBC including all BBC channels.

23 April

BBC2 Shakespeare Live! From the RSC ‘celebration of the life, work and legacy’ of Shakespeare with jazz, hip hop, ballet and drama all inspired by Shakespeare and including a range of well-known actors. 1.54m audience, including repeats over the month.

CBeebies 11am A Midsummer Night’s Dream – 55 minute version of the play designed for pre-school children. Repeated later in the same day and later in the week. Sub 500,000 audience.

More4 (not BBC) Shakespeare’s Tomb 2 year investigation into Shakespeare’s grave – Dr Helen Castor as presenter-historian. Sub 278,000 audience.

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24 April

BBC4 Arena: All the world’s a stage – Shakespeare on Film 60 minute episode from documentary series; history of films based on Shakespeare plays. Narrator, footage, eyewitness testimony (footage). Sub 440,000 audience.

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25 April

CBeebies My Story: Elizabethan Childhood (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/cbeebies/episode/b04ynp6m/my-story-series-3-3-elizabethan-childhood) 15 minute episode in series usually covering the lives of pre-school children’s grandparents; this episode considered the life of Elizabethan children including Shakespeare via the account of Asher’s grandfather Harvey (originally aired 14.1.15). Sub 430,000

CBeebies Magic Hands: The Tempest (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/magic-hands-tempest-sneak-peek) 15 minute episode in series intended for children using BSL; this episode offered an overview of the Shakespeare play The Tempest. Sub 430,000

BBC4 The Hollow Crown: Richard II adaptation of Shakespeare’s play. Sub 420,000

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26 April

CBeebies Magic Hands: Twelfth Night as above

BBC4 The Hollow Crown: Henry IV part I as above

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27 April

CBeebies Magic Hands: As You Like It as above

BBC4 The Hollow Crown: Henry IV part II as above

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28 April

CBeebies Magic Hands: A midsummer night’s dream as above

BBC4 The Hollow Crown: Henry V as above

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29 April

Magic Hands: Romeo and Juliet as above

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5 May or 9 May

EU Day/s – not a national holiday.

See e.g. Mary Beard’s Ultimate Rome: Empire without limit BBC 2 27 April 2016 4 episodes 27/4 –  18/5: coverage in RT ‘Mary Beard asks what our politicians – from Westminster to Brussels – can learn from ancient Rome’ e.g. ‘Romans dispensed with border controls and used a single currency’.

8 May – VE Day / 15 August – VJ Day – not a national holiday.   

Larger sample blocks of time

A “typical week” of TV on mainstream channels – former ‘terrestrial’ channels – see below

A “typical week” of TV on the History channel(s) – Yesterday, History, H2 (formerly Military History –virtually the same as History now), Discovery History, BBC4 (not entirely history but a large part of its output); PBS America (as for BBC4)

 Seems a good idea to avoid periods listed above: RT for first full week of March: 5-11 March 2016

1. Typical week of history programming (including drama and films) on mainstream channels – BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 (formerly ‘terrestrial’ channels)

5 March

BBC1

*nothing*

BBC2

Queen Victoria’s Children (2013) presenter-led, talking head experts. Episode 2/3 (aired weekly). C19th royal history

Dad’s Army comedy drama series set during WW2 (originally aired 1968-77)

Lebanon (2009) film, set 1982 during Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

ITV

*Nothing*

Channel 4

Great Canal Journeys series; celebrity presenter-led; travel through the UK’s canals, history from Roman times onwards.

Penelope Keith’s Hidden Villages series; celebrity presenter-led, C19th and C20th cultural, agricultural and literary history.

Channel 5

World War II in Colour 1943, America’s offensive against Japan. Footage-led, narrator.

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6 March

BBC1

Call the Midwife drama series based on autobiography of former midwife, set 1950s/1960s, London working-class women’s lives

The return of Flying Scotsman documentary on history and restoration of the FS steam train; narrator and interviewees; only aired on BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (repeated 7.3.16 on BBC4)

BBC2

The people v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story drama series based on trial, bought from Fox

ITV

Beowulf: return to the Shieldlands fantasy drama series, based on C6th poem

Doctor Thorne drama series, adaptation of Anthony Trollope (C19th novelist) set in 1850s

Channel 4

*nothing*

Channel 5

*nothing*

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7 March

BBC1

The TV that made me series, celebrity interviewer and interviewees talking about television programmes of their youth – cultural history; social history

BBC2

People v. OJ Simpson drama series; repeated on Sunday.

Heir Hunters series about companies seeking to identify family members of people who died intestate; often includes aspects of mid-late C20th history (family history of the deceased).

Who do you think you are? Celebrity genealogy series; narrator and different celebrity each week. Originally broadcast BBC1; repeated BBC2.

ITV1

Further Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green series, presenter led. Walking tour of Northumberland; reflections on celebrity’s childhood and lives of those living there past and present; archaeology and landscape.

Masterpiece with Alan Titchmarsh celebrity-led (TV presenter/gardener) gameshow, visiting various historic houses in the UK. Competitors are history/antiques hobbyists. Win by working out the most valuable items on display.

Channel 4

*nothing*

Channel 5

*nothing*

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8 March – International women’s day

BBC1

The TV that made me ­– see above

Heir Hunters – see above

BBC2

Who do you think you are? – see above

Back in time for the weekend series in which ordinary family live as if in an earlier decade (1950s-90s; then ‘future technology’ in final episode) over one weekend; narrator and commentary to camera by family. Technological/cultural history.

ITV1

*nothing*

Channel 4

Born to be different series following group of disabled children, all born in 2000: part of longer documentary strand charting their lives at e.g. age 4 (2004). Personal histories; changing attitudes to disability; medical history; social history.

Channel 5

The best of bad TV series, comedy history of TV shows and problems in broadcasting. Narrator; footage.

(NB Sky Select – Day dedicated to female film directors)

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9 March

BBC1

Heir Hunters – see above

The TV that made me – see above

BBC2

Heir Hunters – repeat of yesterday’s BBC1 episode

Portillo’s State Secrets – series (repeat); former MP Michael Portillo investigates Hitler’s hidden medical files. Celebrity presenter led; footage.

Who do you think you are? – see above

Dunblane: our story account of the 1996 shootings at a primary school in Scotland, 20 years earlier. Interviews with family members; narration; footage.

Land of Hope and Glory: British Country Life (repeat from previous week) series spending a year with Country Life magazine including features on historic properties

ITV1

Masterpiece with Alan Titchmarsh – see above

Grantchester detective drama series set in 1950s Cambridgeshire

Channel 4

Car SOS – series in which old cars are restored. Narrator and presenter/restorer led. Family history of owners/social and cultural history/design and technological history

Raised by Wolves – comedy drama set in 1990s Wolverhampton – working class council house tenants with aspirations

Channel 5

*nothing*

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10 March

BBC1

Heir hunters – see above

The TV that made me – see above

BBC2

Heir hunters – see above

Who do you think you are? – see above

The secret history of my family series – genealogy; narrator; traces the ancestors of C19th UK criminals and comments on social mobility (or its lack) in contemporary UK and overseas.

Dunblane: our story – repeat, see above

ITV1

Masterpiece with Alan Titchmarsh- see above

Channel 4

Born to be Different – repeat, see above

Channel 5

The Moors Murders: Britain’s worst crimes – account of murders in the 1960s and the following investigation and trial of the perpetrators. Narrator, footage, reconstructions and interviews.

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11 March

BBC1

Heir hunters – see above

The TV that made me – see above

Land of Hope and Glory – see above

BBC2

Portillo’s state secrets – see above

Who do you think you are? – see above

The Doctor Blake Mysteries – Australian drama series set in 1950s small town Australia.

ITV1

Masterpiece with Alan Titchmarsh – see above

Best walks with a view with Julia Bradbury – series, celebrity (newsreader) touring British Isles; references to history and archaeology of areas visited. Some footage and interviews.

Mr Selfridge drama about the life (early to mid-C20th) of the founder of Selfridge’s department store in London.

Channel 4

*nothing*

Channel 5

*nothing*

A “typical week” of TV on the History channel(s) – Yesterday, History, H2 (formerly Military History), Discovery History, BBC4 (not entirely history but a large part of its output); PBS America (as BBC4)

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March 5

Yesterday

Pagans and Pilgrims: Britain’s Holiest places orig. BBC4; presenter-led (Ifor ap Glyn; Welsh poet) ‘landscape journey’ of sacred sites; spiritual history

Antiques Roadshow – see above – presenter-led overview of individuals’ antiques, discussed and valued on air

Diamond Decades- Queen’s reign 1950s-present; narrator, footage

The man who discovered Egypt – orig. BBC4 2012; presenter-led (Egyptologist Chris Naunton); account of archaeological pioneer Flinders Petrie; talking heads

Tales of Irish Castles – presenter-led (actor Simon Delaney), significance of castles in Ireland across centuries (C11th-onwards); talking heads

The World’s Weirdest Weapons – ‘unusual and innovative weaponry throughout history’ (WW2- onwards); narrator, talking heads (experts and eyewitnesses)

WWII: countdown to victory – (2009) chronological account WW2; archive footage; narrator/director Liam Dale; writer Myfanwy Millward

Annihilation: double bill – series, how was the Shoah possible? Footage, talking heads; narrator. Multi-co-pro. David Cesarani as historical adviser. William Karel (French film director).

World War II: the last heroes – eyewitness testimony; reconstructions; narrator; footage

Human Planet 3 episodes – orig. BBC1 contemporary life on Earth

Classic soul at the BBC – orig. BBC4; footage and narration; 1950s-80s

Dusty Springfield at the BBC – orig. BBC4; footage and narration; 1950s-80s

Planet Earth (double bill) – orig. BBC1, natural wonders of the earth, narrator Sigourney Weaver

Classic soul at the BBC (repeat) – see above

Dusty Springfield at the BBC (repeat) – see above

Disco at the BBC – orig. BBC4; footage and narration

Fit to rule: how royal illness changed history – orig. BBC2 2013; presenter-led by Lucy Worsley; footage; some re-enactment. Medieval – C20th

History

Storage Wars – reality TV; bidding on abandoned storage units

Ice Road Truckers – reality TV; transportation of cargo through Alaska

American Pickers – reality TV; searching for antiques in America

Storage Wars – see above

Pawn Stars (4 episodes) – reality TV; pawn shops in the USA; items sometimes historically significant e.g. a medallion owned by Liberace; a jetpack from the 1960s space programme; a contract signed by the Beatles; a medieval mace and 1950s cap guns

Storage Wars (18 episodes back to back until 5am) – see above

H2

Schedule only available online and only from 6 March at time of analysis

Discovery History

Battlefield – orig. BBC; aired 1995-. WW2 documentary series; narrator; footage.

Tanks – footage; narrator – history of tanks WW1-present. Impact of individual tanks in their own ‘lifetime’; comparison top 10 tanks.

The rise of the Nazi Party – series; footage, interviews, reconstructions, narrator

Combat Countdown – ‘world’s most powerful war machines’; footage, narrator

Time Team – archaeology; celebrity presenter-led (actor Tony Robinson)

Rory McGrath’s best of British engineering – engineering history; celebrity presenter-led (actor/comedian Rory McGrath)

Tanks – see above

The Rise of the Nazi Party – series – footage, reconstructions, interviews, narrator

Time Team – see above

Gunslingers – drama documentary, Butch Cassidy  

SAS – interviews, narrator

The rise of the Nazi Party – see above

The rise of the Nazi Party – see above

Gunslingers (repeat) – see above

Tanks (repeat) – see above

 Combat Countdown (repeat) – see above

BBC4

Doris Day: virgin territory – clips from films; narrator

Sound of cinema: the music that made the movies – presented by composer Neil Brand; history of film soundtracks

Top of the Pops 1981 – 2 episodes from 1981 music series

Doris Day – see above

PBS America

American Experience: Geronimo and the Apache resistance – series, ‘TV’s most watched history series’ (according to PBS website). C19th US history. Narrator, photographs, descendants’ testimony.

American Experience: Last stand at Little Big Horn – as above; C19th US history. Narrator, photographs, footage, testimony.

American Experience: Jesse James – as above; reconstruction, narrator, photographs, testimony.

American Experience: Custer’s Last Stand – as above; reconstruction, photographs, narrator, testimony.

American Experience: Annie Oakley – as above; footage, narrator, photographs, testimony

Geronimo and the Apache resistance – see above

Last stand at Little Big Horn – see above

Jesse James: the story of the outlaw – see above

Custer’s last stand – see above

American Experience: Buffalo Bill – as above; C19th US, photographs, narrator, testimony

Annie Oakley – see above

Geronimo and the apache resistance – see above

Last stand at Little Big Horn – see above

Jesse James – see above

Custer’s Last Stand – see above

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March 6

Yesterday

Pagans and pilgrims – see above

Antiques Roadshow – see above – see above

Diamond Decades – see above

Planet Earth – see above

Ganges: triple bill – orig. BBC; geography/anthropology/history of river; co-pro BBC/France 3. Narrator.

Human Planet – see above

Ganges – see above

Planet Earth (2 episodes) – see above

Great British Railway Journeys (2 episodes) – orig. BBC series, presenter-led (Michael Portillo) travelling around UK using Bradshaw’s railway guide from 1860s to ‘understand Britain of today’ – change over time etc. British mid-C19th social, economic and technological history to present. Interviews, photographs.

Bombay Railway – orig. BBC4 series, narrator and interviews; significance of railway to India; some e.g. history of Empire but mainly C20th/C21st.

Great British Railway Journeys (2 episodes) – see above.

She-wolves: England’s early queens – orig. BBC series, presenter-led (Helen Castor, medievalist, formerly of Cambridge University), footage, UK royal history medieval – present.

Find my past – series, presenter-led (BBC sports journalist Chris Hollins), ordinary people discovery ancestors’ roles in great events. C17th (e.g. Gunpowder Plot 1605) to C20th.  Footage, testimony and photographs.

Harlots, housewives and heroines: a 17^th century history for girls – series, orig. BBC4. Presenter-led by Lucy Worsley. Reenactment (e.g. clothing); reconstruction; interviews with historians.

History

Pawn Stars – see above

Storage Wars – see above

Pawn stars – see above

Pawn Stars Australia – see above, but in Australia

Ax men – series, timber workers in the present.

American restoration- series, restoration companies in the USA and their work.

Ancient Aliens – series, influence of aliens in ancient cultures. Narrator, expert testimony. Egypt – present.

Billion dollar wreck – 1909 shipwreck of the Republic; attempts to raise it; personal history of key personnel involved; photographs, testimony of descendants, those engaged in raising it, experts; reconstruction.

Pawn stars (double bill) – see above; 1930s grip tester and medal linked to Captain Cook

Pawn stars Australia – see above

Ancient Aliens – see above

Storage Wars – see above

Pawn stars – see above

Pawn stars – see above

Pawn stars Australia – see above

Pawn stars – see above

H2 – formerly History International (seems exactly the same as History; possibly aired slightly later: therefore only this sample taken)

Pawn Stars (2 episodes) – see above

Storage Wars (2 episodes) – see above

Pawn Stars – see above

Pawn Stars Australia – see above

Ax men – see above

American Restoration – see above

Ancient Aliens – see above

Billion Dollar Wreck – see above

Pawn Stars – see above

Pawn Stars – see above

Discovery History

Battlefield – see above

Tanks – see above

The rise of the Nazi party – see above

Combat Countdown – see above

Time team – see above

Rory McGrath’s best of British engineering- see above

Tanks – see above           

The rise of the Nazi party (2 episodes) – see above

Time team – see above –

Gunslingers – see above

SAS – see above

The rise of the Nazi party (repeat) – see above

Gunslingers – see above

Tanks – see above

Combat Countdown – see above

BBC4

The German Doctor film (2013) set in 1960s Argentina about Joseph Mengeles

Storyville: Himmler, the decent one documentary series (Storyville) – account of life of Himmler told through artefacts e.g. letters, photos and diaries found at his home.

The heart of country: how Nashville became music city USA – biography of Nashville; interviews, narrator, footage

Johnny Cash: the man, his world, his music 1969 documentary about Cash

Britain on film: Brits at play Britain in the 1960s; film footage and narration

PBS America

Horatio’s drive – Ken Burns’ series; 1903 car journey across US; first of its kind. Narrator, footage, photographs, expert testimony.

Brooklyn Bridge – ‘Ken Burns America’ season; 1981 film (KB’s first); testimony, footage, narrator. C19-C20 US history; social, economic, technological.

The statue of liberty – ‘Ken Burns America’ season; testimony, footage, narrator. C19-C20 US history; social, economic, technological.

Making North America – pre-colonisation – present US History; geographical; geological; presenter-led (Kirk Johnson, geologist and director Smithsonian)

Horatio’s drive – see above

Brooklyn Bridge – see above

The statue of liberty – see above

Making North America (3 episodes) – see above

Horatio’s drive – see above

Brooklyn Bridge – see above

The statue of liberty – see above

B-2: Stealth at war – plane developments 1970s – present. Technological and military history. Narration; expert testimony; footage.

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March 7

Yesterday

Pagans and Pilgrims – see above

The sixties: the years that shaped a generation – 2005 series; photographs, footage, eyewitness testimony, narrator. Social, political, cultural history.

Cash in the Attic – ‘turns hidden treasures into cash’ –antiques in people’s houses are valued and sold at auction.

Antiques Roadshow – see above – see above

The boats that made Britain: Time Team special – see above re. Time Team; reconstruction of a Bronze Age boat, the ‘Dover boat’

Great British railway journeys – see above

Britain’s stone-age tsunami: Time Team special – see above re. Time Team; Stone Age natural disaster.

Hidden killers of the Victorian home – series, ‘Hidden Killers’, orig. BBC4 2013. Tudor to Edwardian. Presenter-led (presenter/historian Susannah Lipscomb). Expert testimony, re-enactment (corset wearing).

Bombay railway – see above

The boats that made Britain – see above

The world’s weirdest weapons – see above

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

Coast – orig. BBC series co-funded by Open University; history, geography and archaeology of British Isles, later Northern Europe and Australia from Stone Age – present. Presenter-led (archaeologist Neil Oliver); footage, photographs, testimony.

Queen Victoria’s children – see above

Monarchy by David Starkey – series, orig. Channel 4, British monarchy medieval – present. Presenter-led, footage, photographs, expert testimony.

The Two Ronnies Spectacle – series, orig. Gold 2013; documentary about comedy duo Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, footage and testimony.

Blackadder II – comedy history series c.1982-1989; series 2/4 set in Elizabethan court.

Harlots, Housewives and Heroines – see above

She-wolves – see above

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip – orig. BBC; celebrities travelling around the UK, to antiques shops, to buy and sell at a profit for charity.

The Re-inventors – Canadian TV show 2008-11; making and testing historical inventions – experimental archaeology of sorts. C16th to C20th, technological, cultural, social history.

History/H2

Pawn Stars – see above

Pawn Stars Australia – see above

America Pickers- see above

Storage Wars – see above

Pawn Stars – see above

Pawn Stars Australia – see above

Shipping Wars – orig. A&E 2012-present, reality series about competitive shipping of goods across the USA.

Storage Wars – see above

Pawn Stars – see above

American Pickers – see above

Storage Wars – see above

Pawn Stars (3 episodes) – see above

American Pickers – see above

Pawn Stars Australia – see above

Storage Wars – see above

Pawn Stars – see above

American Pickers – see above

Pawn Stars Australia – see above

Storage Wars – see above

Pawn Stars – see above

American Pickers – see above

Discovery History

Showdown: air combat – mini-series 2008; comparing C20th aircraft. Technological and military history.

Top tens – orig. Military Channel; rates 10 weapons e.g. rifles. Technological and military history.

Greatest tank battles – series, orig. National Geographic 2010-present; CGI, eyewitnesses; expert testimony; footage. Technological and military history.

Ultimate weapons – series; comparison of contemporary weapons.

Battlefield – see above

Greatest tank battles – see above.

World War II in colour

Hitler: a profile

Rory McGrath’s best of British engineering- see above

Ultimate weapons– series; comparison of contemporary weapons.

Greatest tank battles – see above

World War II in colour – see above

Codes and conspiracies – orig. American Heroes Channel; 2014- series; investigating UFO cover ups

Biblical conspiracies – orig. Discovery Science; 2014- series; scientific investigation of e.g. Roman nails

Who was Jesus? – series; archaeological and historical evidence; 2013; biblical history

Treasures decoded – Turin Shroud – series, expert testimony; biblical history

Ultimate weapons– series; comparison of contemporary weapons.

Battlefield – see above

Codes and conspiracies – see above

Rory McGrath – see above

Weapons of war – series, WW2 and post-WW2 military and technological history, footage, photographs, narrator; expert testimony

Hitler: a profile – orig. ZDF 1995; reversioned series; pre- and WW2 history, footage, photographs, narrator, eyewitness testimony.

BBC4

Great Irish Journeys with Martha Kearney – series presented by Martha Kearney considering Ireland through works of C19th artist and geologist George Victor du Noyer

Return of Flying Scotsman (see above – repeat)

The Renaissance Unchained series, art history presented by Waldemar Januszczak

Imagine… the trouble with Tolstoy series presented by Alan Yentob; travels through Russia to explore Tolstoy’s life

Storyville: Himmler – see above

The Renaissance unchained – see above

PBS America

The Civil War – series, ‘highest rating PBS series ever’; expert testimony; photographs; narrator. C19th US military and political history.

The road from Christ to Constantine – series, 2016, 4 centuries to C5th CE. Presenter-led (Jonathan Phillips, historian). Religious and cultural history.

The Civil War – see above

The road from Christ to Constantine – see above

Jesse James – see above

The Civil War – see above

B29: frozen in time – 1996; the restoration of a B29 plane stranded in Greenland since 1947. Narrator, eyewitness testimony; footage.

Journeys to the bottom of the sea: D-Day the untold story – orig. BBC2 2000, underwater archaeology, why thousands of Allied troops did not arrive on the beach and died previous to the landing. Narrator, reconstruction, eyewitness testimony.

The Civil war – see above (repeat)

B29 – see above

Journeys – see above

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March 8

Yesterday

Pagans and pilgrims – see above

Oz and Hugh drink to Christmas – orig. BBC2 series c.2010, creating alcohol past and present; celebrity presenters Oz Clarke (wine aficionado) and Hugh Dennis (actor/comedian).

Cash in the Attic – see above

Antiques Roadshow – see above

War of the Roses: Time Team special – as above re. Time Team; C15th archaeology and military history

World’s Weirdest Weapons – see above

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

The secret of Lincoln jail: Time Team special – as above re. Time Team; medieval – C19th penal history.

Monarchy – see above.

Queen Victoria’s children – see above

Coast – see above

Wars of the Roses: a Time Team special – see above

The World’s Weirdest Weapons – see above

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

Coast – see above

Monarchy – see above

Impossible engineering – series, technological pioneering developments in present, developed from the past. C20th history.

Blackadder II – see above

Yes Minister – orig. BBC; political comedy 1970s-80s.

Steptoe and Son – orig. BBC; comedy 1960s-70s.

The man who discovered Egypt – see above.

History/H2

As for 7.3.16 except for:

Texas Rising (repeated in the same day) – drama series, Texas Revolution against Mexico, C19th US history.

Discovery History

As for 7.3.16

BBC4

The Taff: the river that made Wales series. Presenter Will Millard. First shown BBC1 Wales. Interviews, footage.

The Brecon Beacons with Iolo Williams series. Presenter-led, geographic and historic interest in area. First shown BBC1 Wales.

Indian Hill Railways series. Culture and history of India, C19th and C20th.

The story of British Pathe series. Narrator, footage.

The sound of cinema – see above

PBS America

World War II: for king and country – 6 part series, historian presenter-led (Norm Christie); footage; WW2; Canada’s role: little known histories.

The Civil war – see above

B29 – see above

Journeys to the bottom of the sea: D-Day – see above

The Civil war – see above

B29 – see above

Journeys – see above

The Civil war – see above

Killing Hitler – series. Drama-doc, Operation Foxley. Footage. Narrator. Eyewitness testimony.

The Civil war – see above (repeat)

Killing Hitler – see above (repeat)

World War II – see above (repeat)

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March 9

Yesterday

Pagans and pilgrims – see above

Agnetha: Abba and after – orig. Channel 4 documentary; eyewitnesses/commentators; footage about Abba and later years.

Cash in the attic – see above

Antiques roadshow – see above

The Somme’s secret weapon (Time Team special) – see above re. Time Team; WWI military history.

World’s Weirdest weapons – see above

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

The lost submarine of WWII (Time Team special) – see above re. Time Team; WW2 military history.

Impossible engineering – see above

Ancient black ops- series, ancient world, military history, Spartans etc. Reconstruction; expert testimony.

Coast – see above

The Somme’s secret weapon – See above

World’s Weirdest Weapons – see above

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

Coast – see above

Castle Builders – series, European castle building. Architecture.

Mummies Alive – series, narrator, expert testimony; ‘best preserved mummies’ ‘brought back to life’. Ancient period.

Steptoe and Son – see above

Yes Minister – see above

Open all hours – Comedy series, originally made 1970s.

World’s Weirdest Weapons – see above

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

Castle Builders – see above

History/H2

Same as 6.3.16

Discovery History

Same as 7.3.16 except for:

Treasures Decoded the secrets of El Dorado – Series, archaeology/history; expert testimony; ‘5 of the world’s greatest treasures’ with secrets not previously revealed.

Ultimate Warfare Fallujah in 2004 – orig. Military History series; modern battles and eyewitness testimony; narrator.

BBC4

Ancient Egypt: life and death in the Valley of the Kings series (repeat from previous Thursday) – 2 part series, presenter historian (Joann Fletcher).

Dreaming the impossible: unbuilt Britain series. Series orig. 2013; presenter-historian Olivia Horsfall-Turner; expert testimony. Stories behind the grandest designs never built.

Timeshift: crime and punishment – the story of corporal punishment – orig. 2011; archive footage, narrator, history documentary series; expert testimony (inc. pro and con corporal punishment).

PBS America

Same as 7.3.16 except for

Legacy of War – series orig. 2015, presenter –led (Walter Cronkite and Alastair Stewart); expert testimony; footage: creation of the UN, World Bank and Marshall Plan; seems a UK/US co-production, accounts from both nations.

Air Warriors – series, orig. Smithsonian Channel 2015; USAF’s most successful planes; narrator, footage, photographs; eyewitness testimony.

The children’s odyssey orig. Dec. 2015;  footage; photographs; narrator; eyewitness testimony; reconstruction; How 300,000 Polish Jews tried to escape by fleeing to Palestine

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March 10

Yesterday

Pagans and Pilgrims – see above

Town with Nicholas Crane – series orig. BBC2 2011-13; urban history; presenter-led by geographer NC; co-produced by Open University; was shown on the Blighty Channel 2012.

Cash in the Attic – see above

Antiques Roadshow – see above

Boudicca’s lost tribe – Time Team special – see above re. Time Team

The world’s weirdest weapons – see above

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

The boats that made Britain – see above

How earth made us – orig. BBC2; geology, geography and climate influencing humanity; presenter-led (Prof Iain Stewart);

Mummies alive – see above

Coast – see above

Boudicca’s lost tribe – see above

Ghost Army – orig. PBS; WW2 camouflage; narrator and footage.

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

Coast – see above

Forbidden history – series; ‘truth’ behind historical mysteries e.g. Dracula; celebrity-presenter-led by Jamie Theakston; expert testimony and reconstruction; footage

Alexander’s lost world – series; orig. 2013; CGI; presenter-led (David Adams) travelling through modern Afghanistan and Asia in footsteps on Alexander; testimony of local people (oral history).

Open All Hours – see above

Yes Minister – see above

Porridge – comedy orig. 1970s; set in prison

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

Martin Luther King: Roads to Memphis – orig. PBS America? Footage, eyewitness testimony; photographs; expert testimony.

History/H2

Same as 9.3.16 except for:

Counting Cars (3 episodes) – series, spin off of Pawn Stars, restoration of vehicles

Discovery History

Same as 9.3.16 except for:

Jesus in the Himalayas – series, narrator, presenter-led (anthropologist Jeff Salz), interviews with local people; myths around burial place of Jesus, including India

BBC4

Top of the Pops 1981 edition of music show broadcast in 1981

Indian Hill Railways series – see above

Digging for Britain  – orig. BBC2 2010-present, archaeological series; presenter-led (Alice Roberts, archaeologist), travelling across UK

Ancient Egypt series – as above

Top of the Pops 1981 – see above

Doris Day – see above

London on film – the West End – orig. BBC4 2012, narrator and archive footage

Digging for Britain – see above

PBS America

Same as 9.3.16 except for:

The Mosquito reborn: gaining altitude – orig. 2009, de Havilland fighter plane; narrator, eyewitness testimony, expert testimony, footage and interviews – follow on from Immortal Beaver

The immortal beaver – orig. 2008, narrator; expert testimony, photographs; footage; restoration of a de Havilland Beaver

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March 11

Yesterday

The Beauty of Maps – series, orig. BBC4 2010, medieval to C21st cartography; narrator, expert testimony

Town with Nicholas Crane – see above

Cash in the Attic – see above

Antiques Roadshow – see above

Secrets of the Saxon Gold (Time Team special) – see above re. Time Team

Ghost Army – see above

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

Wars of the Roses (Time Team special) – see above re. Time Team

Alexander’s lost world –see above

Nation on film: the Munich air disaster – orig. BBC4 2008; narrator, footage, eyewitness testimony, crash of plane carrying Manchester United footballers, 1958.

Coast – see above

Secrets of the Saxon gold – see above

Arctic convoys – orig. 2014, WW2, eyewitness testimony, footage, narrator

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

Coast – see above

Secrets of War – series 1997-2001; footage; narrator; photographs; expert testimony; reconstruction. Cold War espionage equipment

Forbidden History – Dracula – see above

Porridge – see above

Two Ronnies Spectacle – see above

Arctic Convoys – see above

WWII: countdown to victory – see above

Secrets of war – see above

The re-inventors – see above

Who’s in your history? – series, short (25 min.) episodes, genealogy, footage, narrator.

History/H2

Same as 9.3.16 except for:

Britain’s biggest heists: the 1975 robbery of a bank in Mayfair, London – series, 1970s-C21st history of bank robberies; narrator, footage, expert testimony.

Mobsters: the life of Sam de Stefano – series, narrator, footage, expert testimony, eyewitness testimony, photographs; US mafia 1920s-present.

Discovery History

Same as 9.3.16 except for:

Babylon Mystery – narrator, reconstruction, photographs, expert testimony: Babylonian civilisation’s development

The Holy Grail – narrator, archaeology/history, reconstruction, expert testimony, C5th BCE archaeology – present

BBC4

Top of the Pops 1981 – see above

Virtuoso violinists at the BBC – celebrity presenter-led (violinist Nicola Benedetti ), 60 years of archive footage, footage, photographs, Benedetti’s expert/eyewitness testimony. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b072x1qh/virtuoso-violinists-at-the-bbc

Kenny Rogers: cards on the table – orig. 2014, expert testimony, footage, interviews, life of Rogers.

Bob Harris: My Nashville – orig. 2014, celebrity presenter-led (DJ Harris), interviews and footage, history of Nashville and country music.

Country Kings at the BBC – orig. 2014, chronological collection of footage of country musicians’ performances 1950s-present, eyewitness/celebrity testimony, photographs, narrator.

Top of the Pops 1981 – as above

Kenny Rogers – as above

Bob Harris – as above

Country Kings – as above

PBS America

Same as 9.3.16 except for:

Lost king of the Maya – orig. 2001 PBS Nova Channel, archaeology, narrator, expert testimony, photographs, CGI, team of archaeologists investigating ruins of Copan in the rainforest

Cracking the Maya code –orig. 2008 PBS Nova, narrator, photographs, reconstruction, to read ancient Mayan script

Air heroes: as close as brothers – orig. History Channel 2010; Canadian-made; reconstruction, narrator, eyewitness testimony; Canadian crew of a Lancaster bomber brought down in 1944.

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Identification of programmes of particular interest to analysis:

1. Most popular TV programme related to history – see BARB audience figures for 5-11 March

Mainstream channels: factual and non-factual/drama per channel; analysis of top 30 of each:

BBC1

Call the Midwife 1^st most popular BBC1 c. 11.5m – drama, set in 1950s London, working-class women’s experiences, based on autobiography

*No factual series/one-off history documentaries for BBC1 in top 30 programmes*

BBC2

Back in time… 3^rd most popular BBC2 c.2.5 million. See above; documentary/living history

People v OJ 5^th most popular BBC2; c.2.5m. See above for details; drama based on historical events.

Dad’s Army 7^th most popular BBC2; c.1.9m

Land of hope and glory 9^th most popular BBC2; c.1.7m

Secret history of my family 12^th 1.6m

Dunblane 16^th 1.4m

Queen Victoria’s children 18^th 1.3m

ITV

Grantchester 13^th 5.4m. See above for details; crime drama set in 1950s.

Doctor Thorne 15^th 3.9m

Mr Selfridge 16^th 3.7m

Best walks 19^th 3.2m See above for details; history/geography/general interest.

*Otherwise no factual history programming in top 30*

Channel 4

Born to be different 12^th 1.4m. See above for details; personal histories/change in experiences of disabled children in recent years

Raised by wolves 17^th 1.2m. See above for details; 1990s West Midlands, working-class family.

*Otherwise no factual history programming in top 30*

Channel 5

*No Channel 5 history programming in top 30*

Specialist or predominantly history channels:

BBC4

Return of the Flying Scotsman 1.2m (biggest audience for BBC4 all week) – documentary on restoration project

No BBC4 history drama in top 10 (only 10 programmes available for non-terrestrial)

PBS America

Mosquito reborn 23,000 (biggest audience for channel all week)

No drama in top 10 (historical drama rarely aired on PBS America)

Yesterday

David Starkey’s Monarchy 191,000 (3^rd biggest audience for channel all week)

Blackadder II 174,000 (4^th biggest audience for channel all week)

History Channel

Texas Rising 104,000 (biggest audience for channel all week, one of few history docs on channel)

No drama in top 10 (historical drama rarely aired on History Channel)

2. Most popular TV documentary about the end of WW2 (first fortnight of May) – see below

3. Most popular TV documentary broadcast on National Remembrance Day (if VE Day, 8 May):

WW2 Documentaries broadcast on VE Day:

4. Main news broadcast on National Remembrance Day (if VE Day then 8 May).

Not much – BBC 10pm news included coverage of VE Day in Russia e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/36245409 and how it serves to show Russia’s C21st military strength; greater interest in significance of local, and mayor of London, elections. Lack of coverage was probably also because so much on TV last year to mark 70^th anniversary. Surprisingly little on local news e.g. Lincolnshire BBC – main story, sperm whale washed up on Lincolnshire beach.

BBC 5.30pm (weekend) news not available online.

NB BBC on Youtube This Week In History www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaRyKaiQzO8&list=PLS3XGZxi7cBXmZSG3_cOGqURFPXa1L9Vz only runs to 1 May (from November).

ITV – some local ITV news coverage e.g. Borders, 7pm 21 March 2016, school holding VE day celebration and inviting those who could remember it from local community: http://www.itv.com/news/border/update/2016-03-21/pupils-turn-back-time-for-ve-day-celebrations/

5. Main news broadcast on Europe Day (9 May) – check Radio Times.

BBC evening news 9 May:

As for ITV news (below).

ITV evening news 9 May:

Discussion of proposed Brexit. 44 days until referendum.

See also e.g. BBC Radio 4 1^st May Open Country (series) – ‘Dawn chorus across Europe’ (East to West, Russia to Ireland).

BBC News channel: coverage of European Parliament 9 May including Martin Schulz’ speech to mark Europe Day.

Aspects of interest (Luisa’s email, March 2016)

…What we would like to know is the kind of history offered to TV spectators in the countries of the EU, not the detail of programs:

Which periods are privileged (probably the 20th century, but which aspects of the century, wars? Dictatorships? “great” people?)

Ancient civilisations (e.g. Egypt)

WW2

1950s – post-war; ongoing poverty (e.g. Call the Midwife).

Which approach to the past: documentaries? Testimonies? Anecdotes and mysteries? Romanticized history? Biographies?

Documentaries including eyewitness and expert testimony, footage and narrator are the most common form of representation, even when including dramas set in the past, and this type of documentary appears across almost all channels analysed.

Some ‘history mystery’ type programming: tend to be more on the Discovery Channel although Secret History of my Family was on BBC2 – not very successful so may reflect a lack of interest in secret/mystery history programming on the BBC (more likely on Channels 4 or 5 and other, smaller channels).

A few biographies but not many: Shakespeare was a themed season but little biographical material; Call the Midwife is autobiographical; Johnny Cash documentary.

Which causes or motives are taken into account to explain historical evolutions: human decisions, chance, structural constraints such as economy, collective actions, love?

Geography

Human folly/decisions

Chance

Economy including e.g. Depression

The accounts are most likely to be narrative rather than offering analysis.

 

 

 

Radio Times cover for Shakespeare’s death-day