MEDIA LIST
TELEVISION
FRIDA
o The RKO Story - Tales from Hollyrood (BBC2) Continuing the account of people and events who have loomed large in the History of RK(). tonight‘s programme features the chequered career of Orson Welles - and few have loomed larger than the director of Citizen Kane.
0 City Lights (BBCZ) 9-9.30pm Network rerun for the successful BBC Scotland comedy sitcom.
o The Life and Loves of 3 She Devil (BBCI ) 9.30- 10.25pm Dennis Waterman and Patricia Hodge star with perfectly cast She Devil wife Julia T Wallace as the excellent Fay Weldon adaptation gets a welcome rerun.
SATURDAY 25
0 Dark Eyes of London and Down Three Dark Streets (C4) 11.45pm-2.45am Double bill ofthrillers: the first is British from 1939. starring Bela Lugosi. the second a classic American FBI drama. made in 1954.
SUNDAY 25 —
0 Favourite Things ( BBC‘Z)
7. lS-7.45pm Margaret Thatcher reveals to Russell Harty her favourite things - not Ronald Reagan or (‘ecil Parkinson but poached eggs on Bovril toast and her string of pearls.
o Peterthe Great ( BBCI) 7.15-8.45pm Massive. Emmy winning. American historical drama with all star cast (Olivier. ()mar Sharif. Vanessa Redgrave. Trevor Howard and Ursula Andress) and location filming in the Soviet Union.
MONDAY 27
0 So We Bought a Computer ((‘4) (v.3(l-7pm The other day the Washington Post ran an apologetic little note on its front page telling its readers that the impossible had happened. the main computer and all its backups had failed. It was a pretty thin paper that day and another organisation had a tale beginning ‘So we bought a computer. . But this set of programmes is more concerned with individuals who have taken the user friendly (or not!) plunge and how they got on. The first programme deals with wordprocessors. I can report that my Amstrad and I are getting on nicely. thank you. . .
0 World in Action Special (Scottish) 8-9pm Granada television current affairs show with a special edition reporting on U2 recent concert in Dublin as their extraordinary career which now put them in the position
MEDIA
ofinfluencing political and religious leaders in their native Ireland. See Feature.
TUESDAY 28
0 Son of Man ( BBCl ) The season of Dennis Potter plays continues with his highly acclaimed story of .lesus which starred the late ('olin Blakely asJesus. First shown in 19W.
WEDNESDAY 29
o WalkaDOUHScottish) Nicolas Roeg's intriguing contrast of two ways of life in Australia starring the young Jenny Agutter who. with her younger brother. flees in to the Australian desert when their father turns a gun on them. Made in 1970.
THURSDAY 30
0 First Love: Experienced Preferred But Not Essential ((4) 9- 10.25pm Another fine film in this repeated series about an unsophisticated girl and her first job in a strange Welsh Hotel. A convincing performance as the girl from Iilixabeth Iidmonds who will soon be seen in the Merchant Ivory adaptation of ILM. I’orste rs .lluurit't'.
o In Sickness and in Health ( BM ‘1 ) S.3()-‘)pm The latest series repeated. Still offensive and still funny.
FRIDAY 31
o Bloodbrothers ((4) 12.45am. ’I‘elevision premiere of this film which depicts the tough. macho world of New York’s Bronx. Richard Gere plays the sensitive boy in a boisterous. sexy Italian family. Made in 1978. directed by Robert Mulligan.
o I Walked With a Zombie ( ism ‘2) ll.25pm-l2.35am .'\Irs 'l‘hatcher talks about her recent visit to America. No. sorry. My mistake - the latest ‘B movie in the RK() season. A sort of voodoo June Ifyrc.
SUNDAY 2
0 First Sight: Extras ((4) 9. If). 15pm (‘J’s First Sight series features the television writing debut of actor Alex Norton tonight. Iixtras is a fine uncompromising look at the attempts of three women involved in running a massage parlour - with the euphetnistic ‘extras' of the title - to break free of the dominance of the male owner and set up their own business. Phyllis Logan and Ken Hutchinson (with a strong supporting cast ) star in this frank (and often funny) film. (Kenny Mathieson).
0 Time on Barra ((4) 8. 15-9. 15pm Time on Barra is an attempt by 'outsiders' to understand the way of life on that remote island. As one of the locals reminds us. such probings
have become commonplace these days. and it traces a largely familiar story of de- and re-population. stressing their love of place and determination to improve the quality of life. hampered by insufficient work and leisure opportunities. especially for the young. The film retains interest largely by allowing the people to speak (somewhat selflconsciously) for themselves. while the film crew remain equally conscious of their own intrusive status. culminating in a polite but firm rebuttal at a Burns Supper. (Kenny Mathieson)
TUESDAY 4
o Fate of the Language ((4) (t-7pll] What chance does the fight to save the Welsh language really have of succeeding'.’ Saunders Lewis suggested that it would take a revolution to save it and amongst others this programme looks at the people who have resorted to violence in defence of their native tongue.
THURSDAY 6
0 First Love: Sharma and Beyond ((4) l)- 10.35pm. A romantic comedy of manners with science fiction obsessed young Iinglish teacher (Michael Maloney) falling for his favourite writer's daughter.
RADIO
We are currently slap hang in the middle of that curious radio phenomenon. the season of the outside broadcast. If it is not sporting events ( R3 brings us more genteel badinage in the Test Match Special as the I-‘ourthfl'est continues on 24 and 25 .luly. while R2 has ‘famous celebrity" Angela Rippon with Glorious Goodwood on so .luly at 2.05pm) it's any old excuse to get out of the studio and present. as we've been trained to call them. ‘letishovvs'.
Distinctly nostalgic in flavour. the sun is always expected to shine on a Roadshow. Broadcasters start sounding like radio Red ('oats and more often than not a cosy. knotted-hamlkcrchief-on-the—head. Northern seaside town is the location. Peter Powell takes the RI Roadshow to Iingland's North West Coast at l lam from 27 .luly and the following week Janice Long is off to North East Coast. Meanwhile ex-Rt D.J. Noel Edmunds will be importing the genre to R4 forAwayday which takes over the Start the Week spot and which openly admits it will be visiting only northern sea-side towns. The first. to Blackpool. is at 9.05am on Mon 3 Aug and has the Blackpool resident Les Dawson as special guest. ('lyde's Ross King is at it too; he winds up his jaunt down the West Coast with his lunchtime show coming live from Irvine on Fri 25 .luly. (And before we leave the subject completely even religious broadcasting is visiting the seaside with Hymns on Holiday R2 Sun 26 July. 8.30: Frank Topping introduces this new series.)
However. the real event ofthe radio fortnight is the return of Anthony Clare‘s illuminating interview show In The Psychiatrist's Chair (2‘) July 9.05am. repeated Sat 6.25pm). (‘lare recently revealed that some guests in past series had later asde for private consultations — he didn‘t reveal which! The first guest of this series is Dame Janet Baker. but on 5 Aug there is an unmissable encounter with Brian Redhead's hero ‘Sir' Geoffrey Boycott. And talkingoer Redhead. there is another edition of his quarterly reports on employment matters; Workforce (Tue 4 Aug. 7.20pm) which looks at The Cambridge Phenomenon and asks if these high tech industries have. or have not. benefitted the local population.
Hunter Davies presents what ought to be a useful scene setting programme for the forthcoming Edinburgh Festival. when he goes to Russia to report in Back in the USSR (R4. 27 July. 7.20pm) on the rapidly changing rock scene. And more Festival echoes when Tom Stoppard who made his name at the Festival has his radio play Where are They Now? repeated in R3‘s Morning Play series(Thur.3(lJuly.10.30am).
RichardJeffries the l9th century country writer is being discovered a-new by many contemporary readers who will no doubt find interesting the R4 biographical drama The Drift olTime (Fri 31 July.
I 1.l)2pm). The programme is compiled from Jeffries‘ writings and features Robert Stephens as the author looking back on his life — Jeffries died 1()()yearsagothis month. R3 has Buchner‘s classic drama Woyzeck in a new production on Tue 4 Aug at 9.25pm. while Simon Callow anticipates his (‘hannel Four television portrait of the unique film actor. Charles Laughton. with more material drawn from his biography in Charles Laughton in The Theatre (Fri 7 Aug. R4. 11.02am).
The Proms on R3 continue to supply outstanding musical occasions which include the world premiere ofSimon Ilolt‘s BBC commission ‘Syrensong‘ (Mon. 27July 7.30pm) and Hoyland‘s ‘In Transit (4 Aug 7.30pm). as well as the first UK performance of Donatoni‘s ‘Tema' (Fri. 31 July. 9. 10pm).
With the bleak announcement of British (.‘aledonian‘s merger with British Airways still in the news. it is nice to be celebrating with Radio Scotland the success of a Scottish Airline. 25 Years of Logan Air (Radio Scotland. Mon 27 July)is a portrait of Scott Grier who has turned the company into a profitable airline flying to more destinations in the UK than any other.
When Taking a Risk Paid OH is the first in a summer series that also celebrates success. On Wed 29 July the first programme talks to Ian Chapman who rose from humble beginnings to be chairman ofthe publishing group Collins‘. Amongst his risks was signing up the unknown author Alistair MacLean . . . (Sibyl Guinness)
38 The List 2-1 July — 6 August