Celebrate ten years of BBC4, “a place to think”, and home to some of the best documentary, sci-fi, horror, comedy, and music programming around...
This month sees two significant anniversaries at the BBC. March 11th is the tenth birthday of 6Music, the BBC’s eclectic, muso-friendly radio station pitched somewhere between Radios 1 and 2. Before that is another tenth birthday, this time of the TV channel BBC Four. At 7pm on Saturday March 2nd 2002, BBC Knowledge became BBC Four. An evening about the artist Goya, with a documentary and a drama at the centrepiece, was the first night’s viewing. Branded by controller Roly Keating, subsequently controller of BBC2, as “a place to think”, BBC Four has become home to quality drama, intelligent documentary, foreign films and edgy satirical comedy.
To celebrate its ten years on screen, join our look at the ten things BBC Four does best.
Archive documentary strand Timeshift has produced some great programmes over the last ten years. At the heart of the show is the simple device of examining a topic in historical context as seen on TV over the years or looking at television programmes influenced by the subject. Timeshift is a wonderful use of the BBC’s vast archive. Recently Timeshift produced an excellent documentary on drinking. Reminiscences of teenage parties with Babysham and a Party Seven are tempered by footage from a selection of drink drive campaigns from the Seventies. The change to licensing laws in 1988 is compared to the more light-hearted lager advertising of the Eighties and Nineties.
From a geek point of view 2006’s Science Fiction Britannia was unmissable. A season of programmes including a documentary comparing science fact represented by Tommorrow’s World and science fiction. The season featured a series of short well-made documentaries The Cult of… looking at Blake’s 7 and Adam Adamant Lives! amongst others. And there was the welcome return of Nicholas Craig, Nigel Planer’s eminent character actor, with tips on ”How to Be Sci-Fi”.
Wallender, The Killing and Borgen are three of the most popular dramas the channel has ever broadcast. The idea of a Saturday night without the company of a Danish detective, especially Sarah Lund, now seems unthinkable. BBC Four has also become synonymous with stylish American series such as Mad Men, a sixties-set drama about the world of the ad men in Madison Avenue. BBC Four was the first UK channel to broadcast Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Daily Show.
Crooked House a spooky Mark Gatiss series of plays debuted on the channel. This followed a revival of the brilliant A Ghost Story for Christmas, the back catalogue of which was added to with two fresh productions. Robert Hardy narrated a particularly memorable Timeshift which explored the ghost story on TV. Clips from the early MR James productions were mixed with The Stone Tape, a rare outing for The Omega Factor and Ghostwatch. Mark Gatiss was frequently involved in some of the best output about the supernatural. He appeared in an updated version of A For Andromeda and The First Men on The Moon. Gatiss also presented a fine series of documentaries The History of Horror.
Every Friday, BBC Four is devoted to music. There are concerts and documentaries featuring a whole host of musical styles. It’s a great antidote to the traditional ”start of the weekend” approach of other channels. Being able to see a concert by a particular artist then see the relevant episode of Rock Family Trees or Classic Albums and then put it into historical context with The Rock n Roll Years has been a real treat. …At the BBC collected performances by a range of top artists from The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops and Later… so one can compare the artist/group with their contemporaries.
Arguably, the best political comedy since Yes Minister, Armando Iannucci’s The Thick of It made a star of Chris Addison. But it was Peter Capaldi’s spin doctor and swearbox botherer, Malcolm Tucker, that made most tune in. Initially the minister was played by Chris Langham, when he couldn’t continue in the role, the show concentrated on his opposite number. Rebecca Front became the minister in the third series. Such was the show’s success it spawned a movie In The Loop in 2008.
A real geek treat occurred in 2006 when the only surviving episode of The Web of Fear was shown as part of the Fantasy Sixties season. We’ve also been treated to the Pertwee classics Spearhead from Space and The Daemons. Last year, in tribute to Elisabeth Sladen, BBC Four showed The Hand of Fear across two evenings.
We’ll Take Manhattan, about photographer David Bailey’s infatuation with model Jean Shrimpton was the latest in a long line of dramas based on well-known public figures: Hancock and Joan which starred Ken Stott, detailed the destructive relationship between Tony Hancock and Joan Le Mesurier; Hattie starred Ruth Jones as Carry On star Hattie Jacques; The Curse of Steptoe which suggested the men behind Albert and Harold didn’t get on won the highest audience for the channel to date. Phil Davis and Jason Issacs starred as Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett; Fantabulosa starred Michael Sheen as Kenneth Williams in the story of the comedian’s life; The Road to Coronation Street looked at how the programme was developed by writer Tony Warren.
Part of the superlative Electronic Revolution technology season which also featured a drama about Sir Clive Sinclair starring Alexander Armstrong and Martin Freeman, Electric Dreams was a fascinating examination of how far the nation has come technology-wise and how much we rely on gadgets to get through the day. The Sullivan-Barnes family had their home time-warped back to 1970, removing everything which wasn’t available to them at the turn of the Seventies. They spent the next month progressing forward a year a day until they reached 1999. Each day brought a new year and a new gift: a stereo with turntable and early tape deck; a chest freezer which could only be stored in the garage; a Walkman which was to be used whilst jogging; a video, although finding relevant tapes proved problematic; a computer from a choice of a ZX Spectrum, Texas TI-99 4A or the humble BBC Micro; a camcorder and a chance to make their own film; an early mobile phone sans texting platform and eventually, the internet. Seeing the reaction of the children as various tech arrived was as interesting as seeing their parents reliving their youth.
The rise of the caustic, misanthropic Guardian TV critic, Charlie Brooker has, arguably, been the best shot in the arm for television comedy since Chris Morris’ Brass Eye series in 1997. Brooker contributed to the controversial Brass Eye special in 2001. Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe series began in 2004, he set about deconstructing television in an entertaining series which informed the viewer how the TV business worked and featured his legendary witty “on the sofa” critiques. As his career soared, BBC Four gave him plenty of backing. He did a one-off episode of Screenwipe called Gameswipe which showcased his love of Computer gaming. More recently he’s fronted the consistently amusing NewsWipe. Brooker’s outrage at television (mock and genuine) has lifted these programmes to “must see” viewing and made them one of the best things on BBC Four.
BBC Four is the pinnacle of the BBC’s output. It’s always the first TV listing I’ll check and often produces a real treat on an otherwise average evening. Its future is uncertain. For a ten year old it’s a very precocious child, however, the inevitable cuts the BBC are being forced to make mean it will probably be less great in future as BBC2 is strengthened at its expense. For the moment though, the BBC can be justly proud of an excellent TV channel. Happy Birthday BBC Four!
