MEDIA LIST
TELEVISION
SATURDAY 21
o Opportunity Knocks ( BBCI) 7.45—8.35pm. L'ncle Bob (Monkhouse) takes over from lIughie (ireen who remains as programme consultant — well he did dream up the idea in the first place. A change ofchannel too —- it used to be on l'l‘\'— but the BBC promises to keep it faithful to the original.
0 The Houseman‘sTale ( marl) Ifi.3(l—l I .JSpm. Part one oftwo-part adaptation ofColin Douglas‘s thirteen year-old book about the pressures on the life of young Scottish hospital honsemen. A blacker Richard ( iordon to be sure. but the BBC has v cry funny material to draw on nevertheless.
o Rightto Reply ((4) (v (v.3llpm. (ins Macdonald returns to the chair of the programme that manages to achieve a consistently high level of challenging criticism oftelevision. Recent criticism of AIDS programmes for their sexist ‘establishment' attitude to the problems was particularly illuminating.
W
o The British Academy Awards (BBCI ) 8. IS- ] 1pm. 'I‘he two Ronnies host the show that anticipates next week‘s ()scars. In the television section The Singing Detective is .vc'l In .vivi'r’p all before ll.
WEEKE—
0 Just for Laughs ((4)
ll).5ti—I l .3llpm. Paul Jackson's round-up of the Fifth Annual International Comedy I‘iestival continues. Appearing tonight alongside Britain's Phil Cool is. amongst others. a [nibble-blowing act from Spain. 'I‘he programme is followed by Comedy Way elength — a platform for newcomers to 'l'\' comedy.
0 NetworkiBB(‘1)Irinpm. Postponed because of the recent indutrial dispute. the Anna Ford-presented analysis of’I'V itself has been pipped to the post by ('4‘s .I’It’rfiu Show. David Jessel co-presents.
W
0 Mother and Son ((4) (infinitlplii. Return of the comedy hit from Australia starring ( iarry McDonald in a role a long way from that of his inept interviewer creation. Norman (iunster.
o Sputniks, Bleeps and Mr Perry ( t ‘4) Ill—11.05pm. Kettering(irammar School hit the headlines when it
revealed the location ofa new rocket launch site in Russia. (ieoffrey Perry who taught at the school for thirty years set up with the help of his pupils a satellite monitoring system that was so successful that as well as supplying the press with a constant stream of reports on the extra-terrestrial goings-on by the world’s super powers. managed to embarrass a few governments. 'l'his dramatised documentary tells the storyofthe project.
0 A Dorothy Sayers Mystery: Strong Poison ( BB(‘2)<).25-- 10.30pm. Sayers was one of the wittiest and most literate of crime writers. Iltis new series brings her two famous sleuths to the small screen - Lord Peter Wimsey and l Iarn'et Vane. played by lidvv ard Pelherbridge and Ilarriel Walter.
o Murderatthe Farm (Scottish)
‘) lllpm. Important drama documentary written by Paul I’oot which recreates the investigation into the killingofCarl Bridgewater. the thirteen year-old Midlands
schoolbov. Now it is believed the
n ‘ w
Alastair Beid, director of the Houseman‘s Tale, describes it as ‘an outrageous, but realistic, portrayal at a young doctor’s first year in residence in hospital.’ Possibly a little too outrageous lorthe current state of feelings within the BBC. Author Colin Douglas has described the programme's ‘non-latal brush with the censor', which held up the completion olthe programme. Seemingly the project was conceived in the days of The History Man, but since then the BBC has become a little less broad
oocron’s oggorns ,
four convicted of murdering the boy may have been innocent.
THURSDAY 26
0 Another Country (‘4) 9— 10.45pm.
An examination of the roots of treachery based on Julian Mitchell's stage play about (iuy Bennet. Despite strong performances — Rupert Iiverett played the young Guy -— the film‘s interpretation of motives is unconvincing and at times it seems just another drama about the horrors of public schools.
[3313313-
0 Now—Something Else (BBt‘Z) 9—9.3(lpm. Rory B remner with a new series ofimpersonations.
SEEKE-
o The Mind Possessed (('-I)-I.3()pm. The first of two programmes about the controversial St) year-old psychiatrist William Sargent. who remains an advocate of the Physicalist approach to mental illness —v the use of drugs and electric shock treatments.
MONDAY3D ‘ ~-
0 No Exit: The Jewish Relusniks ((4) 11.55pm. Bernard Levin presents this documentary featuring secretly filmed interviews with Jews in Moscow.
0 Intimate Contact (Scottish ) ()—- Illpm. Alma Cullen‘sunmissabledrama about an upper middle class family who are forced to confront the AIDS disease continues.
Douglas himself is still a hospital doctorworking in Scotland, a prolession he finds well-suited to his work as a writer. Certainly it has provided rich material. In the series, newcomer Colin Forsythe (above) plays Dr David Campbell who encounters the strains of his first year as a houseman— the constant demands of alcohol and women are mixed with those of medecine, which results in a rather grisly black comedy. (Nigel Billen).
RADIO
Two recent deaths are recalled on Radio 4 this week. those of David Penhaligon. former Liberal MP for 'I‘ruro and Pop Artist Andy Warhol. Warhol. unaggressively but insistently controversial and enigmatic. was the most celebrated artist of his generation. I le made a great impact and reputation. but how profound an impact and how lasting a reputation is addressed in Famous for Five Minutes. a Kaleidoscope Extra. R4. line 24. 9.45pm. when Michael ()liver talks to artists. critics and friends of Warhol. More sadly. David Penhaligon’s tribute is his guest appearance on Desert Island DISCS. recorded only a few weeks before his death. 'I'he programme is transmitted on R4. Sun 33 Mar.
l3. 15pm at the express request of his widoe. .\Irs Annette Penhaligon. saying ‘My husband thoroughly enjoyed making the programme and I know he would have wanted it to go out. I would personally regard it as a tribute to him.’
A successionofcclcbrated personalities replace Janice Long on her R l evening programme at 7.30pm this week. Tom Watt. better known as Lofty from [iris/liiii/i'rs. fillsthe chair on Inc 34 .\Iar. when. in all likelihood he will be appearing simultaneoust in the on-screen soap: on Wed 35 Mar it‘s the ubiquitous Paula Yates and on 'I‘hurs 36 Mar it is Robert Elms. formerly of Private live. now t.f The line.
A series of Peter Barnes three-handers. Barnes‘ People makes a welcome return on R3. beginning 'l'hurs 3o Man with an impressive line-up. .lohn llurt. Sean Connery and Donald Pleasence star in After the Funeral. playing three pimps discussing the ‘good old days' after a tart‘s funeral. 'l’he series this time ends with the always-intended (but originally recorded too late)
monologue by Sir Laurence Olivier.
R3's continuing documentary The Jesuits looks at the political implications of their support for the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and Corazon Aquino in the Philippines. Sun 33. (v.4lipm.
The BBC Symphony ( )rchestra come ‘live‘ from the Moscow Conservatoryon R3. Sun 33 Mar. 4.30pm. with a concert given during a one—week Rtissian tour in late March. The programme includes filgar's Cello Concerto with the soloist Natalia ( iutman and Scriabin‘s 3rd Symphony ('l‘he Divine Poem). Lingerie Pubnov came to Britain from Russia in the I‘)7(ls and his fourth short story for Radio 3. Hygiene ot the Spirit. Is broadcast Mon 33 Mar. 7.35pm. Read by Sam Dastor. it's the story of the guilt a Moscow student suffers. having cheated an elderly second hand bookseller over the price of a book. Finding himself unable to make sense in a maths exam he sets out to find the old man again.
it... List 30 March — 2 April 39