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MEDIA
TELEVISIDNI
FRIDAY 18 Q
INaturalSelectioniliBCl )s .s‘.3()piit James Naughtie talks to ( 'liarles Kennedy. the rising star of the Sl)l’ w ho may well emerge as leader of the new merged party. I Rocklitte's Babiesmm‘l) “All I“ lepm. last in the series(andlast : beloie the lormat changes and Rocklilfe ' ‘spinsott‘ to new challenges) Adams. l ()‘liow d and llargriey es come up before a selection boaid comprising some otthe most famous names in 'l'\' policing liraiik Windsor. Bci naid ( iallahcr and John \Vtiotly lllL‘ I Arena: Robert Mapplethorpe ( BBCZ) URI) Ill..‘~llpm (iontroversial New York artist and detiner ol the city ‘s gay scene. Robert Mapplethorpe is profiled in Nigel l-inch‘s lilm.
I Friday Night Live ( Scottish)
lil..‘~(l ll45pm. The move to I’riday night may even have done the cabaret atmosphere comedy show good- certainly Ben l'lton is on good form. (iucststonight include Seotisliduo Moray llunterand .lolin l)ocherty.
SATURDAY 19
I Scottish Eye (( '4 ) (List) 7pm. Report made by l'dinburgh production company Sky line on the tight tosay e Scotland‘s unique system of statc-«lunded Roman Catholic Schools; Hie Bishops Defence. I The Comic Strip Presents. . . Didn‘tYou Kill My BrotheriC4) lilfitlpm 2.45am. Do you tind yourself increasingly left behind by the work ot the latter-day (‘ra/y'Gang'.’ l lave you stopped laughing'.’ Shotild there be a support group'.’ Alexei Sayle starsin the latest tilm as a trained cx-con inpursuit ot the man iesponsible. hispsycho bi'otliei . also played by Sayle.
SUNDAY 20 l
IScotsporttst-otiisli) I so 4pm. Live ti'om lbi‘ox. Rangers \ Celtic. The match that could decide the league title.
I Great Expectations ( tint ‘l L‘s-4.55pm. l)ay id l .ean's sty lish film \crsioli of Dickens‘snoyel shownaspaitotthe BB( “s celebrations for John Mills' Slith birthday (Made in two)
I Jesus at Naxarethit ‘4 ) ((25 8.15pm. I'Utll part i'esliowing ot Lew (irade‘s greatest epic Robert Powellportrays Jesus in the surprisingly watchable allstar i blockbuster which is directed by Franco /.ettirelli.
I The British Academy Awards ( Scottish)
" 4* lllpm. Michael Aspel- whoisn'the say s tempted by the Chance to present This (A Your [.1ft' hoststhe most iinportantol the British award ceremonies. where this year l'iiili l‘riirii is firm favourite.
I The Modern World: Ten GreatWriters ((11) S.45~4).45pm. l-ollowingthe serieson It 'th century writers. Mel). y'n Bragg chairs a discussion with literary experts wich tries to assess the over-all importance ofthe .iutliorscovered.
MONDAY 21
I Advice Shop I BBCZ) 4 4.30pm. Margo Macl )onald presents an analysis ofthe likely impact ot the changes in the social
security system.
MEDIA LIST
TUESDAY 22
I Couples ( BB( ~l ) .‘s .~.25piii. The new series starts by talking to Donaldand Wendy \Voodsm hose story wastoldin Richard .-\ttenburgh's ( 'rv Freedom) about the cycltts that led them tolcaye South Africa.
I The Media Show I ( ‘4 l ‘) lllpm. Muriel (iray . recently elected Rectorol lidinburgh l 'mversity presents another edition of the programme about television. Amongst the items on tonight's show . a report on the big cit-production deals that increasingly lie behind the prestige series
INetworliiliBCZ) IIISIL 11.35pm. The BB( "s look at 'l'\' w ith Anna l-'ordand (‘raig ('liarles w ho reports from Australia on down under TV.
WEDNESDAY 23
I Mavis on 4 ((4) 4 4.30pm. The daysarc apparently numbered for this particular incarnation of the Mavis Nicholson ( 'hat Show. but probably the most intelligent interviewer on TV at the moment. she will no doubt be back. This could be a vintage edition a rare intcry icw with Iidinburgh-born author. Muriel Spark.
w ho is already tipped to be on the Booker short list w ith her latest novel A I'tirCry I’rom Remington.
I OED: Putting You In The Picture ( BBCI) 9.30 llllltlpm. New directions incinema I Franz Schubert ((4) lll.3llpm ~12.2llam. This three-part dramatisation of the life of the great Austrian composer wliodied aged only 3] of venereal disease hasbeen compared to Peter Shatlei's .-Imud¢’u.s. l‘rit/ Lehnei . the film‘s director. hastwicc won the Prix Italia and this trilogy won high praise at last y'ear'sfestiyal.
THURSDAY 24
I The Time . . . The Place. . .(Scoitish) 10.30 ll.lllam. Mike Scott bringsliis morning chat show back to lidinburgh.
I The Education Programme ( BBCZ)
7.3tl Spm. As school rolls dwindle in Scottish schools. Strathclyde (‘ouncil has saved teaching posts by setting tip adult education centres. l)r Malcolm Green. Strathclyde [iducation Authority chairperson. talks about the policy.
I Film on Four: Lamb (C4 ) 9.30 11.35pm. Much praised adaptation of Bernard Maclaverty 's concentrated novel about a (‘hristian Brother w hose compassion for one of the boys in his care. and his disillusionment with the harsh regime at the children's home where he works. leads him to flee with the boy from Ireland to lingland. The film delicately examines the nature of his decision which has tragic consequences.
FRIDAY 25
IA Song ForEurope ( BBCI )7 v7.4llpm (part two with the results after the news). New format for choosing who'll go on to represent Britain in the Izuroyision Song (‘ontest this time we all get a vote. But then we all got a vote in the General lilection and that didn't make it worth listeningto the winners.
ITwo oIUstBBCZ) l 1.30pm 12.30am. (‘ontroversial drama made originally by BBCSchool ‘l'elevision. (‘ontroversial not because ofits subject matter - the play
sensitively deals with homosexuality and bisexuality as it affects two teenage school boys and the girl friend ofone of them- but because it poses the question whether under (‘lause 29 of the Local Government Bill. a school Could face prosecution for showing the film.
SATURDAY 26
I International Athletics (Scottish) 1.35—2. 15pm. World (‘ross ('ountry running from Auckland. New Zealand. I Scottish Eye (C4) 6.3(l—7pm. Jimmy Reid reports on the changes being made at Rangers football club which has taken a leaf out of the American book and adopted some of the basiness and promotional ideas of American football clubs. I Made in Hong Kong (C4) 7.3(L-8.3llpiit. (‘ontinuing Channel 4‘s (‘hina Season. a documentary that looks a‘ llong Kong and its uncertain future.
SUNDAY 27
I Man in a Suitcase (Scottish) 3.30—4.3(lpm. Another episode of the almost cult Sixties' espionage series.
I A Matter ot Lite and Debt (C4) 5—6pm Throughout the Seventies the world's banks poured money into developing countries through loans. But then interest rates doubled and now the level ofThird World debt — which some banks are being forced to write off ~ is endangering the whole banking system. This first programme in a seriesof three looks at the competition between the banks in the Seventies which helped bring about this position.
I Airport 75 (Scottish) 7. 15—9. 15pm. Funnier than the spoofs. disaster movie. I The Riddle ot Midnight((‘4) 8.45—1t).15pm. Salman Rushdie presents the real life counterparts of his Midnight's ( 'hildren.
I The South Bank Show(Scottish)
ll).3(l—l 1.30pm. The poet politiciansof Nicaragua.
MONDAY 28
I Krypton Factor International (Scottish) 7—7.3(lpm. International edition of the IQ and fitness contest.
I Sounds on the Beaten Tracli (C4)
9— lllpm. The 1977 Glastonbury ('Nl) Festival.
I New York Framed (C4) 1 1pm— 12.30am. Award winning. unconventional. documentary about New York.
TUESDAY 29
I Money Spinner ((4) 8—9pm Return of the personal finance show.
I Code Name Kypil (Scottish) w iiipm. lll.3t)- l l.3(lpm. Major mini series from llTV. An espionage thriller starring Iidward Woodward.
WEDNESDAY 30
I Code Name Kypil(Scottish)9—1()pm. 10.30—1 1.30pm. (‘oncluding part of IlTV's thriller.
I Black Dog and Girls Night Out (C4)
9.30- lllpm. Two British animated shorts— the second is not to be missed.
THURSDAY 31
I The Passion (C4) 5—6.45pm Iiaster repeat of one of the second ofThc National Theatre's acclaimed productions of The Mysteries
I The Ground Star Conspiracy ( Scottish)
1 l.3()pm—1.25am. George Peppard in a routine action thriller about an explosion at a secret rocket base. ( 1972).
I Film on Four: Maschenlia (C4)
9.3ll—l 1.25pm. John Mortimer adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov‘s autobiographical novel Mary. The story of an idealised perfect love with ('ary Iilwes as a Russian exile in Berlin in the 1920s. Irina Brook plays the vision ofperfect love.
RADIO
Lake Wobegon. "The little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve'; where people ‘never learned the art of conversation because they only talk to people they know" and where if it comesto a comparison between sex and sweetcorn. sweetcorn comes out tops.
Lake Wobegon is an imaginary town in Minnesota. the creation of author Garrison Keillor and this little tictitous entity. with its small tow n values and oddities became the subject ofan American radio show called .4 Prairie Home Companion. Keillor dclive red the programme every Saturday night for l3 years (until last June) and his book Leaving Home ptiblislied recently by I-‘aber. are transcripts from this radio show. Keillor. whose original collection Luke ll’uhegrm Days was a huge hit when it was readon R4. will be re-reading the stories in the Book at Bedtime slot from Mon 28 March. It). 15pm and though the publicity doesn't record whether or not he'll be wearing the tuxedo and characteristic red socks and braces he used to wear for broadcastson the Minneapolis St Paul public radio station in America. the spirit of the place. summed up by the typical opening refrain ‘It has been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon‘ will presumably be the same.
For all that John Walters. speaking recently on Loose Ends. laments the passing of the hiss. wow and crackle on LPs and 78s. (‘1) albums sold a very healthy 18.2 million copies last year. So successful have they been that (‘1) singles have become available and Radio I looks at The A8 at CD on Sat 2t), 2pm.
At the opposite end of the musical spectrum is R3's specially recorded broadcast of Nigel ()sborne's much-publicised opera The Electritication otthe Soviet Union. The libretto. basetion Pasternak's The Last Summer. is by poet and Oxford don. ('raig Raine. and the opera was commissioned for Glynebourne by the BBC last year. The title comesfrom Lenin: '(‘ommunism is So\ iet power plus the electrification of the whole country.‘
Desert Island Discs gets its first female presenter on R4. Sun 27. ll. 15pm when Stie Lawley (who‘s own luxury object was an iron) takes over from Michael Parkinson. Her first three guests are Lord Ilalisham (Sun 27). Jane Asher (April 3) and Arthur Scargill (April lll).
()ur perception of old age is full of anomalies; we admire it in houses. objects and antiques yet dislike it in ourselvesand society is not so arranged that many of us 0 have close friends who are twice our age. R4 is devoting a large chunk of itsoutput iirthe week beginning Sat 1‘) March to ‘thc elderly". who now comprise one fifth of the L'K population. Some important issues are covered. like marriage and sexualityMTimeIorAge Sat l‘).2pm) Woman‘s Hour. Mon 2 l . 2pm. (food and nutrition (Derek ('ooper‘s Food Programme: Dinner at 80. Mon 21.7.3iipm) and a far-sighted local authority home for the elderly (Home at Last. wed 23.
9. 15pm). Yet is this adequate or reasonable coverage of an age group which also includes Ronald Reagan. Muriel Spark. Michael 'l'ippet. Graham Greene and Paul I’ox. new Managing Directorofthe BB('. to say nothing ofthe two smallish and formidable ladies who are consititutional and elected headsof state in this country.
And from old to young: Treasure Islands. an interesting and informative programme about books for children. well-presented by Booker Prize Winner Penelope Lively, makes a welcome return on R4. Fri 1 April. I 1.47am. with a repeat on Saturdays at 2.45pm.
44 l’he l.lsl 117‘s) \larch wists