MEDIA LIST
FRIDAY 13 l
I Some Mothers Do 'ave 'em ( BBCI) 7.40—8. 10pm. Start ofa repeat showingof the slapstick comedy that made a star of Michael Crawford.
I Eric Gill (C4) 8—9pm. Portrait ofthe scuptor Eric Gill ( 1882—19-10) who made the statues of Prospero and Ariel on the outside of London's Broadcasting l louse. and who apparently shocked by working up on the scaffolding in his monkish habit without wearing underpants.
I Dynasty (BBCl ) 8. Ill—9pm. Returnof the super soap.
I A Bit of a DO (Scottish) 9—10pm. David Jason. who found real success on the BBC with Only Fools And Horses after years of energetic roles in series that never quite took off. returns to 1TV to star in this new comedy drama. Based on David Nobhs' novels. each of the six hour-long episodes chronicles a celebration of a small Yorkshire town.
I Arena: The Golden Mile ( BBCZ) 9.30—10.30pm. Blackpool. the quintessentially British seaside town. revisited by Norman Tebbit. Tony Benn. Paul Theroux and John Cole in a film by Charlie Pattinson.
I A Bit of Fry and Laurie (BBCZ) 9—9.3opm. New series for the a la mode comedians. I On His Way to the Club(BBC1) 10.20—11.30pm. Ludovic Kennedy. most laid back of all TV newsmen. looks back on his long career. The List will be talking to him about his life in the next issue.
I It’s Showtime at the Apollo (C4) 11.35pm—12.30am. Bill Cosby hosts the first in a new series of recordings ofshows from Harlem‘s Apollo Theatre. Terence Trent D'arby is amongst the first ofthe guests.
SATURDAY 14
I World Darts (BBCZ) 5—6.50pm (and 11.40pm—12.25am) Eric Bristow. MBE. in the £20,000 first prize contest. I Scottish Eye (C4) 6.30—7pm. Return of the Scottish-based current affairs show to which various north of the border programme makers contribute. including Skyline and Halfway to Paradise creators. Big Star in A Wee Picture. I You Only Live Twice (Scottish) 6.45—8.55pm. Yet another outing for the licensed to kill super spy. Made in 1967. I People to People (C4) 7.05—8.05pm. Return of the ‘community access‘ show with a wider brief than most. This is a film about the Brits who have emigrated to Spain. I The Harp in The South (C4) 8.05—9pm. Six part adaptation from Australia of Ruth Park's novel about a family of Irish immigrants in post war Australia. I Rhythms of the World (BBC2) 8.15—9.05pm. New series of the world music show. The first programme features the tenth anniversary of Africa Fete. Paris‘ annual concert of African music. IThe Film Club (BBC2)9.05—1 1.40pm. Two more early Stanley Kubrick movies. Paths ofGlory and Killer's Kiss. The former. made in 1957. is a telling account of the worst of human behaviour brought out by war (with Kirk Douglas). while Killer’s Kiss (1955) is a love story set in the
MEIA
world of boxing.
I Kane and Abel (BBC! ) lil.45~ lam. Repeat run ofthe mini-series starring Peter Strauss and Sam .\'eill based on Jeffrey Archer‘s novel.
IJim Kerr(Scottish) 5.4S-oam. Profile of the Simple Minds' singer.
SUNDAY 15
I Fragile Earth (C-l) 7. 15— 8. 15pm. The Goddess and the Computer: (‘hanncl Four's environment season continues with a fascinating account of what happens if you try to bring technology to the people of Bali without consulting the island's high priests.
I Mastermind (BBCI ) 8.05—8.35an First contest of the 1%") series.
I Life. Liberty and Laughter ( Scottish) 11.30am—noon. Profile of Scottish folk singer Alastair McDonald.
I Simply Mozart (maths. Ill-l). lopm. Three part series taking Mozart's later works into the workshop to analyse the master's intention and following tip with complete performances of the pieces. The first programme considers the C major Piano Sonata.
SNUBTV
It's thattime of the month again. In its latest attempt to capture the heart of the white rock market-place, the Beeb last week launched Snub TV upon the airwaves.
Or rather it didn’t, for not only is Snub the first show to concentrate exclusively upon the generally disenfranchised Indie and Alternative scene, it‘s also the first programme the BBC has ever commissioned from an outside production company— not for Snub the ore-packaged approximations of youth culture that the out-of-touch, in-house staff have tended to promulgate. instead, the team work
from their own base: in the words of Snub's director Peter Fowler, he is “just giving them the tape on a Wednesday ' morning and spending the rest of the week dodging their complaints.‘ Fowler’s background is in the field of video promo work, while his co-producer Brenda Kelly was previously editor ofthe indie bible, Catalogue magazine. How did a television project come about? ‘lnitially, itwas all down to the frustration of not being able to see our
I 3 Minute Culture (BBCZ) 9.30— 10.05pm. First full-length interview with Michael Grade since he took over at Channel Four. 1 {ere he comments on. amongst other things. the likelihood of British TV viewers becoming like American viewers. who apparently switch channels on average once every three minutes.
I The New Statesman (Scottish)
10— 10.30pm. New series ofthe comedy starring Rik Mayall as the objectionable MP.
I Screen Two: Angel Voices(BBC2) 1005—1 1 .20pm. Set in 1963. Michael Williams portrays a choirmaster whose annual outing for the choir to Blackpool runs up against a changing world and the start of'I‘he Beatles era.
I Summer of '42 (C4) 10.40pm—ll40am. Rather good example of the ‘summer of sexual awakening' genre with a carefully re-created atmosphere ofwartime America. Starring Gary Grimes asthe adolescent who falls for war bride Jennifer ()‘Neill. Directed in 1971 by Robert Mulligan.
I Scottish Books (Scottish) 11.3(L-midnight. William Mcllvanney‘s flit/king ll'mmded reviewed (amongst other recent Scottish publications) by Morag 1 lood. Mary Miller andJimmy Reid.
MONDAY 16
I Press Gang (Scottish) 4.45-5. 15pm. Children run newspaper — see Guestlist. I The NuclearAge (Scottish)
10.35- 1 1.35pm. Part Three ofCentral 'I‘elevision‘s illuminating chronicle ofthe age we live in. This programme examines
work shown on television. Video programmes in Britain reject promos which don’t have that corporate sheen to them. So we started producing a show for the US Cable station in New York- doing everything ourselves: the lighting, the design, the camera-work- which Janet Street Porter got to see.’
Ms Porter signed the idea up and included Snub in the schedule of her sometimes off-the-mark DEF II, a move whichPeter regards with mixed feelings. ‘Obviously it’s great,’ he says, ‘to see people like Sonic Youth and the House of Love on TV at last, but being involved with DEF It isn’t quite so much fun. The whole thing is so comfortably arranged and produced with some cosy little rap to linkthe programmes together. Very, very patronising.’
Snub hopes to challenge not only the traditionally conservative bias of rock shows but that most perennial of stumbling blocks, the Presenter Syndrome. ‘Rather than having some grinning face talking the whole time,’ says Peter, ‘We’d rather let the bands speak and perform forthemselves. If you take a show like The Tube, people loved or loathed it, not on the strength of its music but because of the high-profile hosts. Snub plans to leave things unmediated and allow the viewerto make his own mind up.‘
Over the next six weeks, the show will be allowing you to make your mind up about acts like Ciccone Youth, The Butthole Surfers, The Pixies, Dinosaur Jnr. and many others, but, despite their claims of editorial liberty, it’s a line-up which still represents the most conservative face of the independent music scene. The more adventurous among you will have to be content in the knowledge that all good things have to start somewhere. (Allan Brown)
. allover the world.
how financial constraints led Eisenhower to rely increasingly on nuclear weapons. I The Late Show (BBCZ) 11.15—1 1 .55pm. Start of the BBC new nightly (Mon to Thurs) arts show. Lots of money and several reputations are riding on its success, and all in all the programme itself will probably be more important than the events it covers— at least for a few weeks. The first ‘live' edition contains. following the launch of lTV‘s Eyewitness. a report on the British tradition ofinvestigative television.
I Electric Avenue (BBCl) 11.40pm—12.05am. Timely look at computerized fail safe systems used on airliners.
I The Beast Must Die (Scottish)
12.30-2. 10am. Peter Cushing and Calvin Lockhart in another really rather good film about werewolves. Made in 1974.
TUESDAY 17
I Ice Skating (Scottish) 4.45—5. 15pm. Start of lTV’s exclusive conve rage ofthe 1989 European Figure Skating Championships. More coverage throughout the week.
I Marblehead Manor (C4) 6—6.30pm. New situation comedy from the US with ex-Avenger. Linda Thorson. as the wife of an eccentric millionaire (played by Bob Fraser).
I Citizen 2000 (C4) 8—8.30pm. Programme three of the latest six-part chronicle of the children who will come of age in the year 2000. Now they are six and this week it's the girls' turn totalk revealingly about their lives. Perhaps unsurprisingly. their chief concern seems to be what is happening in Neighbours.
I Talking ileads (BBCZ) 9—9.35pm. Thora Hird in another of Alan Bennett‘s bleak solo comedies.
I The French Connection ( BBCl)
9.30—1 1 . 10pm. Another showing for the classic cop drama which stars Gene Hackman. Made in 1971.
I The Bangladesh Story (C4) 11.30pm—Midnight. New three-part history of Bangladesh. from the treacherous general who helped the British to conquer Bengal to the natural disasters that have hit the country.
WEDNESDAY 18
I Inspector Morse (Scottish) 8—10pm. John Thaw investigates murder which just isn‘t cflckeL
I Signals (C4) 9. 15—10. 15pm. The alternative arts programme with its contribution to the much chewed over renaissance in comics.
I Clive Jame’s Postcard From Paris ( BBCl) 9.35—10.25pm. James turns his Aussie wit on Paris. the city he would have made home when he first left Australia — ifhe could have afforded it.
IThe Late Show(BBC2)11.15—11.55pm. Reporting tonight on Thirrysomerhing. Channel Four‘s latest import from the states about the fortunes ofthe Yuppie generation.
THURSDAY 19
I Focal Point (BBC1)8.30—9pm. Examination of the use of genetic fingerprinting and how it is used in Scotland.
I Naked Video (BBCZ) 9—9.30pm. New series of BBC Scotland's comedy show starring Gregor Fisher. Andy Gray. Helen Lederer. Tony Roper. Elaine C. Smith and Jonathan Watson.
I 40 Minutes (BBCZ) 9.30—10. 10pm. ‘The Kingdom of Fun‘: report on Tyneside‘s Metro Centre. the spectacular shopping centre that despite its depressed location looks like being a huge success.
I The Blood is Strong (Scottish)
10.35-1 1.35pm. Start ofthe three-part series first shown on Channel Four tracing the roots of Gaelic Scots and looking at how Gaelic culture has influenced people
The List 13 — 26 January 25