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MEDIA LIST
third Film on Four. Brian Dennehy stars as the architect whose life faces one crisis after another. As controversial as Greenaway‘s other films. noteveryone greeted Belly ofAn Architect with rapture. but anyone interested in British filmmaking in the 1980s won‘t want to miss
1!.
I40 Minutes (BBC2)9.30—10. 10pm. Gerald Scarfe presents a special celebration of music hall star. cheeky chappie. Max Miller. Max Wall and Tommy Trindler are among the stars struggling in some cases to find a nice word to say about Miller in the documentary that marks 40 Minutes 200th programme. I Kay's Originals (Scottish) 10.35—11.05pm. Billy Kay (whose BBC Radio and TV Odyssey programmes broke new ground both as oral history and as a medium for the Scots tongue) presents
i this new. all in Scots. chat show. FolksingerJean Redpath isthe
programme‘s first guest.
I Northern Front (Scottish)
1 1.05pm—12. 15am. Second chance to see the documentary originally broadcast on Channel Four which examines Scotland‘s role in NATO.
I Clarence And Angel (C4) 12.30—1 .50am. British premiere of a warm hearted low budget comedy made in 1980. Darren Brown plays a near illiterate black youngster befriended by fellow-pupil. the Puerto Rican Mark Cardova. lt wasthe first feature film by the American independent filmmaker. Robert Gardner.
FRIDAY 17
I Redesigning Socialism (C4) 8—9pm. Start of a new four part series on the plight of socialism in Europe. Olivia O‘Leary looks at the social changes that appearto have eclipsed -— for now at least —socialist hopes and follows the attempts by politicians of the left to revitalise the movement. Taking part will be most of Europe‘s socialist leaders including Neil Kinnock. Francois Mitterand and Willi Brandt.
I Arena (BBC2) 9.30—10.30pm. Portrait of illusive writer of absurdist drama. Eugene Ioncsco, author of The Bald Prima Donna and The Rhinoceros (a production of which can be seen at Edinburgh‘s Bedlam Theatre). Ioncsco has now given up theatre in favour ofhuge abstract paintings. . .
I Railwatch(BBC1)10.20—11pm. Omnibus assemblage of the BBC‘s week oftrain spotting.
SATURDAY 18
I Film Club (BBC2) 10.05pm—1 .35pm. Film Club shows two films tonight as a tribute to John Cassavetes. The second is the celebrated Polanski horror movie Rosemary ‘5 Baby in which Cassavetes stars alongside Mia Farrow; the first another Hell raising movie the 1943 Seventh Victim. Cassavetes will be the subject of an A rena special on Friday.
I Scotsport Skol Cup Special (Scottish) 10.05—11pm. Coverage of the Skol Cup Final.
I Woman Chases Man (Scottish) 11.45pm—lam. Wacky US comedy from 1937 with Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrca.
SUNDAY 19
I Aly Bain and Friends (C4) 2—2.45pm. Aly Bain is joined in the first ofa new series by Violet Tulloch. Willie Johnson. Phil Cunningham and Junior Daugherty. See Feature.
I Big World Cafe (C4) 3.55—4.55pm. Start of Channel 4‘s new dance music based pop show. presented by Eagle-Eye Cherry. Mariella Frostrup and Jo Shinner.
I Laura and Disorder(BBC1) 7.15—7.45pm. New comedy series starring Wendy Craig and based on her and husband Jack Bentley‘s own idea.
Keeping it in the family, son Ross Bentley
is the co wn'ter. Craig plays a divorcee returning from America to a series of ‘adventures and mishaps‘.
I The Great Australian Camel Race (C4)
8. 15—9. 15pm. A new season ofAdventure Documentaries begins with this account of the 3000 kilometre camel race held in Australia‘s outback.
I A Romantic Imagination (BBC2) 8.35—9.35pm. A new three part programme featuring Simon Rattle. the Birmingham Synphony Orchestra and the music of Berlioz.
I Screen Two (BBC2) 1().15—11.40pm. Billy Whitelaw stars in The Picnic. a new film for television by Leslie Bruce about a middle-aged teacher who finds love second time around. But the return ofher grown up daughter focuses attention on the age gap between her and heryounger lover...
I The Browning Version (Scottish) 2.25—4am. Wonderful film version of Terrence Rattigan‘s account ofhuman failings set in a boy‘s public school. Made in 1951.
MONDAY 20
I Wogan(BBC1)7—7.30pm. Sue Lawley sits in for Terry tonight and for the next two weeks. Since it‘s Iiastender's fourth birthday week. I wouldn‘t be surprised to see some of the Albert Square residents popping up-
I Horizon (BBCl ) 8. 10—9pm. ‘Gaze in Wondcr‘; Eric Laithwaite argues that nature has beaten man to most ofour ‘technological‘ discoveries and found better uses for them to boot.
I Behaving badly (C4) 8.30-9.30pm. Judi Dcnch stars with Ronald Pickup and Francis Barber in a new four part comedy drama based on a novel by Catherine Heath and produced by Humphrey Barclay (who while at London Weekend was responsible for A Fine Romance). Dcnch plays a wife and mother oftwenty years who decides to stop being ‘splendid‘ about the break up of her marriage. ..
I BBC Scotland Photography Awards (BBC1)1().10—10.40pm.See panel.
I The Eleventh Hour (C4) 11.45pm—12.20am. Wooden Curtains recreates the events that lead, through racist intimidation and harassment, tothe enforced evacuation of their home for a black family living on a predominately white housing estate in Sunderland.
I The Haunted Palace (Scottish) 12.30—2.()5am. 1963 horror flic with
Vincent Price and Debra Paget.
TUESDAY 21
I Concerning Cancer (BBC2) 9—10pm. Start of a season of films made by different documentary makers about different aspects cancer. In the first programme. ‘The Nature ofthe Problem', Dr John Cormack gives a frank analysis ofthe current state of knowledge.
I Moonlighting (BBC2) $9.50. New series of the stylish US detective series begins tonight — although the first two episodes are stories left over from last season when the screenwriters‘ strike stopped production.
IThe Play on One (BBC1)9.30—1().55pm. A second series of one off plays produced from Scotland under the control ofBill Bryden begins tonight with Heartland. Written by Steve Gough from the story by John Berger it stars Anthony Hopkins in what from the preview looks like a tour de force performance. Hopkins plays a Welsh farmer who runs foul of EEC bureaucracy.
I Hour of the Gun (Scottish) 10.30pm—12.30am. John Voight made his screen debut in this John Sturges 1967 western which also stars James Garner
WEDNESDAY 22
I Bookmark Special (BBC2) ".35-9pm. Interview with Czech writer and founder of Charter 77, Vaclav Havel.
I Radio Pictures (BBC2) 9.25—1().2()pm. 1985 send up of the making of a radio play starring Dinsdale Landen, Frances Tomelty, and Geoffrey Palmer. Shown again in tribute to its late author. Stewart Parker.
I OED (BBCl) 9.35—10.()5pm. First ofa moving two part documentary on the fortunes of an eleven day-old baby operated on for a heart defect. IVoices(C4)12.40—1.40am.Bcginninga repeat showing of the fourth series ofthe heavyweight chat show: Michael lgnatieff talks to Saul Bellow and Martin Amis.
THURSDAY 23
I Film on Four (C4) 9.30-1 1 .25pm. Neil Jordan‘s Mona Lisa gets its first showing on British TV tonight. Despite the strong cast — Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine, Robbie Coltrane — the attempt to inject a new element into basic film noir territory doesn‘t quite come off.
I In Verse (Scottish) 12.20—1.20am. Scottish TV‘s monthly poetry programme.
When BBC producer Ken McGregor came up with the idea of a competition to celebrate the 150th anniversay of photography, he wasn’t prepared for the avalanche of entrants It would . inspire. Over 1000 ambitious snappers submitted a portfolio.
The winners were immediately apparent. ‘Initially, there was to have been a first and a second prize only but the standard was so high that, in the end, three equal first prizes were awarded’ says McGregor. ‘Having said that, a lot of the work from professional photographers was just diabolical. They always took the same shots — a football tackle, a picture of Royalty, preferably Princess DI, and one of a rugby player with his front teeth missing. And half were people’s holiday snaps; It's hardly surprising II the judges got a little acerbic.’
The judges were Harold Benson, photographer with Life magazine In New York and a reluctant exile from BritaIn; John Byme, artist and author, and Colin Ford, keeper of the National
Museum of Photography, Film and TV In Bradford.
‘I think If this competition demonstrates anything, it's the need for consistency rather than out and out brilliance’ says Mcoregor. ‘A good number of the amateur entrants submitted a portfolio that contained one real cracker but live mediocre ones.’ Forthe moment however, he is keeping the names of the winners under his lens-cap; for date of the award, see listings. (Allan Brown)
RADIO
One for the students this week.when Ann-Marie Di Mambro‘s playSl'Iella is aired by Radio Scotland (Sun. 12 Feb. 2.02pm). This gentle comedy was first staged at last year‘s ‘Scottish Accents‘ Festival by the Traverse Theatre Company (who are about to embark on tour with it — see Theatre) and concernsa Glasgow student whose bed-sit is invaded by two forcefully inquisitive house painters. The itinerant decorators harass the humble Sheila with their diatribeson class and feminism. and give her pause for thought — and the play is characterised by Mambro‘s excellent ear for dialect and dialogue. Hard to say how far Mambro developed these skills during her incumbency as a script writer on Take The High Road but she will redeem herself next month when she takes up office as Writer in Residence at the Traverse.
More drama of the Alma Mater variety is aired on Radio 4 next week, in episode one of the Soundtrack series (Thurs 16 Feb. 7.20pm) The tale of Pollyanna and Tariq, two oppositely-fortuned first years, it contrasts the various shades ofstudent opinion and catalogues the day-to day lives of our contemporary academics. Tariq is soon involved in organisingthe campaign against student loans; Pollyanna is not so convinced — ‘The government spends a lot of money on students, so loans are quite a good idea in theory!‘
February 14th is. of course. Valentine‘s Day and Radio 1's most eligible heart-throb is popping over to Paris forthe day to celebrate. Before any Peel fans tune in for this squelchy extravaganza, it should be noted that the jock in question is Simon Mayo, the man who has turned the Breakfast Show into a kind ofcommunal chimps‘ tea-party. True to form, Simes is taking his traffic-reading sidekick Sybil Ruscoe along. as well as the winners ofa Most Romantic Couple contest — ‘I thought it would be fun to see if there is anyone more romantic than me out there‘ quips the 26 year old smoothie. Bluggh. Live from the Eiffel Tower from 7.30am.
Nearer to home, Radio Clyde will be announcing the winners of their Valentine competition during Graeme Moreland‘s show on the great day. Entrants were asked to pen a piece ofdear-heart doggerel for their chosen one and the winner promised (you guessed it. . .)a romantic weekend in Paris. The cringe-worthy results will be broadcast far and wide from noon onwards.
Radio Clyde's in-concert schedule for the next fortnight includes Hue and Cry, fresh from their List-discovered inclusion in Private Eye's Pseuds Corner, live at the SECC (Sat 18 Feb. 9pm) and the following week it‘s country waifstress Nancy Griffiths from the Pavilion. Otherlive concert situations on the airwaves include the return of the blind blues guitarist Jeff Healey. live from the Marquee club, followed by RS. Land and the Reclines. No, I‘ve never heard ofthem either. (Radio 1. Fri 17 Feb. 9.30pm)
And when you have finished absorbing the mellifluous strains of youth culture. you can direct the dial towards Rock Around The Frock (groan) and trace the reciprocal influence that music and fashion have exerted upon each other. The hour-long documentary is compiled from 605’, 705‘ and 805‘ (is it that time already?) archive material, including a Radio 4 phone-in from 1973 on the subject of fashion, when a currnudgeonly old wrinkly aired his concerns about the ‘long-haired degenerates‘ who were swarming across the country. Interviews with Mary Quant, Malcolm McLaren and Vivien Westwood are also included in this history of‘the
trend'. (Radio 1. Sat 11 Feb. 2pm)
30 The List 10— 23 February