Timeshift

Season 5

Series looking at changes in British society, employing archive footage from the BBC and other sources.

Where to Watch Timeshift • Season 5

22 Episodes

  • MPs on the Box
    E1
    MPs on the BoxTime Shift looks at how satirists have portrayed politicians in such television creations as Yes Minister Spitting Image and The New Statesman.
  • Je T'Aime... How We Learned to Love Europe
    E2
    Je T'Aime... How We Learned to Love EuropeSixty years ago, postwar Europe was seen as a dirty, chaotic place where you couldn't drink the water. Now Brits dream of restoring crumbling chateaux in rural France - so what happened to change our minds?
  • England Away
    E3
    England AwayTime Shift examines the history of English football fans travelling to Europe, and the attendant sub-culture of drinking and violence.
  • Court on Camera
    E4
    Court on CameraA member of OJ Simpson's "dream team", plus the lawyer who defended nanny Louise Woodward , are among contributors to Time Shift's history of the camera in the courtroom.
  • Apes in Hollywood
    E5
    Apes in HollywoodSince King Kong broke box office records, apes have been big business. Time Shift takes a wry look at a neglected genre, from Tarzan and Planet of the Apes to B-movies and cult films, like Bedtime with Bonzo.
  • Star Men
    E6
    Star MenAdam Hart-Davis explores the world of Britain's 40,000 amateur astronomers. While the last century saw amateurs eclipsed by high technology, increasingly sophisticated home equipment has seen the amateur community enter a new collaborative relationship with the professionals. Contributors include bestselling novelist Terry Pratchett, Colin Pillinger of the Beagle 2 project and the godfather of popular astronomy Patrick Moore.
  • Black and White Minstrels Revisited
    E7
    Black and White Minstrels RevisitedTime Shift takes a look at the now notorious show, whose blacked-up singing and dancing routines ruled the weekend schedules for 21 years.
  • Too Much, Too Young
    E8
    Too Much, Too YoungTime Shift charts the devastating effect on children - some as young as five - who care for infirm parents
  • The Jitterbug Years
    E9
    The Jitterbug YearsDocumentary recalling the social revolution which swept across Britain from 1946. A new dance craze, the Jitterbug, captured the mood of the country as years of war and austerity were cast off. The film uses archive footage and a soundtrack of classic hits, including music by Louis Jordan, Alma Cogan, Billie Holiday and Ray Charles.
  • Play It Again
    E10
    Play It AgainRemembering the golden age of the TV panel game as What's My Line?, The Name's the Same and Ask Your Dad make their debuts during the years 1945-55. Narrated by Hugh Dennis
  • The Battle for the Ashes
    E11
    The Battle for the AshesThe changing sporting fortunes of England and Australia as recounted in this Time Shift documentary.
  • The Lost Pictures of Eugene Smith
    E12
    The Lost Pictures of Eugene SmithTime Shift investigates how Life magazine's opposition to Attlee's radical Labour government inspired them to suppress photographs of the 1950 general election.
  • The Third Progamme: High Culture for All in Postwar Britain
    E13
    The Third Progamme: High Culture for All in Postwar BritainFrancine Stock narrates the story of the Third Programme, a high-culture radio show launched in 1946, focusing on how the series influenced the British arts scene.
  • Lost Road: Overland To Singapore
    E14
    Lost Road: Overland To SingaporeIn 1955 young producer of Travellers' Tales David Attenborough was persuaded by six Oxbridge undergraduates to give some money & filmstock so they could film their unique overland journey by Land Rover from London to Singapore.
  • A Study in Sherlock
    E15
    A Study in SherlockDocumentary explores the continuing appeal of Sherlock Holmes through his various screen incarnations, from early silent films through the classic portrayals by Basil Rathbone and Peter Cushing to the BBC's most recent Rupert Everett version. Contributors include Minette Walters, Kim Newman and Edward Hardwicke.
  • Baker Street Babylon: The Bizarre Afterlife of Sherlock Holmes
    E16
    Baker Street Babylon: The Bizarre Afterlife of Sherlock HolmesTime Shift presents clips of the strangest Sherlocks, with pastiche and parody from Roland Rat to John Cleese.
  • Stephen Poliakoff: A Brief History of Now
    E17
    Stephen Poliakoff: A Brief History of NowRobert Lindsay and Miranda Richardson guest in Time Shift's profile of the TV dramatist.
  • The British Way of Death
    E18
    The British Way of DeathDaniela Nardini narrates a documentary exploring why the British funeral has acquired a new spirit of informality. Today's departed are just as likely to be sent on their way to the strains of Robbie Williams as they are to a classic hymn. A bewildering array of coffin styles is available, with even an environmentally-friendly wicker casket for the organically-minded. Are we improvising new rituals to fill a more profound vacuum in our secular society?
  • Left of Frame: The Rise and Fall of Radical TV Drama
    E19
    Left of Frame: The Rise and Fall of Radical TV DramaJimmy McGovern and Ken Loach are among those reflecting on left-wing drama of the 1960s and 70s, looking at works as diverse as Take Me Home and Our Friends in the North.
  • Rude Britannia
    E20
    Rude BritanniaFrom Pygmalion to Paxman, Time Shift traces the cult of plain-speaking. Narrated by Tamsin Greig.
  • The Sun and the Moon
    E21
    The Sun and the MoonA quirky Time Shift compilation of TV appearances by these two heavenly bodies, including Patrick Moore 's meeting with a vicar who refuses to believe the Sun is hot.
  • Pay Attention Britain! Public Information Films
    E22
    Pay Attention Britain! Public Information FilmsMarking 60 years of the Central Office of Information, Time Shift celebrates PIFs, from HIV awareness to "Charley Says".

 

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