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🔔 Notify me about new seasonsSynopsis
Documentary series which ranges widely over Britain's social and cultural history, its narrative-led storytelling offering a richly immersive and varied window onto the past.
Themes
Episodes
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- E1 The Grunwick StrikeNext upOct 10, 2002 · 60 min
Synopsis
Documentary recalling the industrial dispute at the Grunwick film processing business in North London in 1976. Featuring film archive from the time and interviews with key players.
Guest stars: Veronika Hyks (self), Arthur Scargill (Self)
- E2 The Cannabis YearsOct 12, 2002 · 60 min
Synopsis
An in-depth examination of how the debate surrounding cannabis has evolved over the past 50 years.
Guest stars: Jonathan Miller (self), Harry Shapiro (self), George Melly (self), Don Letts (self), Rosie Boycott (self), Caroline Coon (self)
- E3 The Writer's TradeOct 19, 2002 · 60 min
Synopsis
Examining the changing image of the novelist over the last 50 years.
Guest stars: Doris Lessing (self), Zadie Smith (self)
- E4 The Sailing SixtiesNov 9, 2002 · 60 min
Synopsis
In the mid 1960s Britain went boating mad. This documentary tells the story of how an extraordinary maritime revolution that was kick-started by waterproof glues developed for bomber aircraft led to a whole generation of DIY dinghy builders, and ended in tragedy with the suicide of amateur yachtsman Donald Crowhurst.
Guest stars: Chris Serle (self), Barry Bucknell (self)
- E5 Attenborough: The Controller YearsNov 16, 2002 · 60 min
Synopsis
Charting the time of our favorite presenter at the head of the then struggling and controversial BBC2. Packed chock full of interviews, clips and reminiscences both old and new, including the very tasty Joan Bakewell of the 60s... Sir David Attenborough's reign as controller of BBC TWO, from 1965 to 1973, is still thought of as the golden age of television.
- E6 he Rise and Fall of the Comedy Straight ManNov 30, 2002 · 60 min
Synopsis
Timeshift celebrates the comedy double act's unsung half, with archive footage of Morecambe and Wise, Benny Hill and the Monty Python team. Contributors include Syd Little and Barry Cryer. Narrated by Mark Lamarr.
- E7 A Shadow Over EuropeDec 3, 2002 · 60 min
Synopsis
In 1945, two and a half million ethnic Germans were driven from their homes in Czechoslovakia. Thousands died. Now, as the Czech Republic heads for EU membership, Charles Wheeler reports on how the Czechs made the Sudeten German minority pay for Nazi occupation, and why it became a hot political issue. This is a story about Germans as victims of World War II.
- E8 Whatever Happened to the Working Class?Feb 11, 2003 · 60 min
Synopsis
This programme in the Time Shift strand explores the history of the current conflict over class
- E9 Notting Hill RiotsJan 18, 2003 · 60 min
Synopsis
Examining the west London riots of August 1958, which were the catalyst for black actMsm in Britain and inspired the annual carnival.
- E10 What Have the Germans Done for Us?Feb 16, 2003 · 60 min
Synopsis
From VW Beetles to Blue Nun and Kraftwerk, a look at Germany's conrtibution to British life
- E11 Greenham Common Changed My LifeFeb 23, 2003 · 60 min
Synopsis
The story of the women who occupied the Greenham Common Peace Camp from 1981 to 2000 - what brought them to Greenham, their protests, conflicts with authority and the life they led at the camp. Contributors include Fiona Bruce, Fay Weldon and Joan Ruddock, all of whom visited the site to show their support.
- E12 Car CrazyMar 2, 2003 · 60 min
Synopsis
The story of the British love of the motor car from the earliest days of mass production in the 1920s to today's MPVs and post-modern Minis told through a succession of classic models from the Austin 7 and Morris Minor to the Ford Cortina.
- E13 The Magic Roundabout StoryMar 16, 2003 · 60 min
Synopsis
Created by a French animator, the show was reinterpreted for Britain, with classic characters like Dougal. It transformed the careers of actor Eric Thompson and animator Ivor Wood and has spawned a movie.
- E14 Malcolm Muggeridge: Swimming Against the StreamMar 24, 2003 · 60 min
Synopsis
The controversial broadcaster is profiled by Time Shift. How did the son of a Croydon clerk become one of TV's geniune originals? Interviewees include Cormac Murphy O'Connor.
- E15 GurusMar 30, 2003 · 60 min
Synopsis
Time Shift examines how the philosophy of the Indian guru has travelled into mainstream British society.
- E16 A Brief InterludeFeb 16, 2003 · 60 min
Synopsis
A short film about "The Interludes" - a series of short films made by the BBC in the 1940s and 1950s to fill in during technical breakdowns and gaps in the schedules. The most famous ones showed a potter's wheel, a cat playing with a ball of wool and a horse-drawn plough.
