BBC 4 Listings for 26 December 2009 – 1 January 2010 Page 1 of 4 SATURDAY 26 DECEMBER 2009 Documentary series which celebrates the birth of motorways Imperial royal family facing the firing squad to sculpture in and hails the achievements of those behind the 'road revolution'. liquid oil; from Russia's embrace of the commercial art market SAT 19:00 The Orson Welles Sketchbook (b00plbtd) The first episode takes us from the excitement of the building to a return to Socialist Realism. Russia seems to stand on Episode 4 of the first motorway in Britain, the M6 Preston By-pass, to the another brink of revolution. celebration of the most complex, Spaghetti Junction. Series of talks by Orson Welles, illustrated by his own sketches. With amazing archive and often hilarious public information SUN 20:00 The Magnificent Ambersons (b0078b9s) films, we take a trip back to a time when not only were Orson Welles's period drama telling the story of a wilful son of SAT 19:15 The Third Man (b0074qmr) motorways exciting and new, but there was also no speed limit. the proud Amberson family who destroys his mother's hopes of Classic film noir about an American writer who visits postwar Interviews with the engineers who designed them, the navvies marrying her first love - a recent widower. Refusing to move Vienna to see an old friend, but is told that his friend is dead. who built them and the people who drove on them bring to life with the times, he not only causes his mother to suffer but also Incredulous at the suggestion his friend was a criminal, the and celebrate an achievement that we now take so much for brings about his own financial ruin. writer attempts to clear the dead man's name, but soon finds granted. events taking a strange turn - his friend is very much alive, Based on the novel by Booth Tarkington. dealing drugs on the black market. SAT 01:10 The Secret Life of the Motorway (b007xmbm) The Honeymoon Period SUN 21:30 Orson Welles over Europe (b00phtpq) SAT 21:00 Wallander (b00pjk2l) When Orson Welles went into self-imposed exile in Europe, he Series 1 The second episode in this evocative series about Britain's first found stardom with The Third Man and then immersed motorways explores how they have transformed where we live, himself in challenging films, television, theatre and bullfighting. The Secret work and play in Britain over the last 50 years. From Simon Callow trails the complex actor-director. unbelievably glamorous early service stations to contemporary Original Swedish TV adaptation of Henning Mankell's Kurt shopping centres with the infrastructure of a small town, this Wallander detective series. enthralling film is a journey through the wonderful, and the SUN 22:30 Cranford: Under the Bonnet (b00pk5nz) weird, places motorways have taken us. Contributors include Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell's tale of a 19th-century town and Wallander and the Ystad police investigate the death of an seminal planner Sir Peter Hall, author Will Self, caravanners, its female residents, has gripped the imagination of generations eleven-year-old boy. Stefan wants to help with the case as he hitchhikers and commuters, all on our eagerness to accelerate of readers and now television viewers. Actor Simon Woods, was friends with the boy's father but he's facing suspension down the slip road, and the social changes that have followed. who played Dr Harrison in the first series, is the guide for an pending a disciplinary procedure. exclusive journey behind the scenes of the BBC One series to explore the amazing success of Gaskell's work. In Swedish with English subtitles. SAT 02:10 The Secret Life of the Motorway (b007xmdn) The End of the Affair Part of the BBC Christmas 2009 season. SAT 22:30 Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe (b00pjj4s) When the first motorways opened they did so to national Review of the Year celebration. But after the first 1,000 miles had been built, their SUN 23:00 Arena (b00plc6x) impact on both town and country was becoming apparent and The Orson Welles Story Caustic comic and writer Charlie Brooker returns in a doomed people started to protest. bid to summarise 2009's TV output without vomiting. From the The Orson Welles Story - Part 2 unpleasant spectacle of Britain's Got Talent to the downright Middle England rose up and disrupted public inquiries to voice worrying The Execution of Gary Glitter, and everything in- their frustration at motorway building, but it continued and over Second of a two-part profile of Orson Welles, looking at films between, this is the only television programme you need watch time the frustration gave way to concerns about saving the including The Trial, Chimes at Midnight, The Immortal Story this year, or indeed ever again. Contains weeping and screaming planet. In the early 1990s that meant young people willing to and F for Fake and discussing his many unfinished projects, and words. risk everything to stop the motorways being built. The including The Other Side of the Wind and Don Quixote. programme shows how people began to question the promises made by the motorway, and along the way found their voice of SAT 23:10 We Need Answers (b00pht5v) protest. SUN 23:55 The Stranger (b0079704) Series 2 Drama in which a federal agent is assigned to track down an escaped Nazi war criminal, and eventually finds him in a small Christmas SAT 03:10 Caravans: A British Love Affair (b00hw3s0) Connecticut village. Documentary about the love affair between the British and their Anarchic comedy game show in which celebrity guests answer caravans, which saw the country establish the world's largest questions set by the public. caravan manufacturer and transformed the holiday habits of SUN 01:30 The Orson Welles Sketchbook (b00plhsq) generations of families. Episode 5 Mark Watson hosts, Tim Key is in the questionmaster's chair and Alex Horne provides expert analysis from a booth as two In telling the intriguing story of caravanning in Britain from the Series of talks by Orson Welles, illustrated by his own sketches. celebrities battle it out to be crowned the winner and avoid the 1950s through to the present day, the film reveals how caravans shame of donning 'The Clogs of Defeat'. were once the plaything of a privileged minority, but after World War II became a firm favourite with almost a quarter of SUN 01:45 Orson Welles over Europe (b00phtpq) In a Christmas-themed episode, writer, comic and performer British holidaymakers. [Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today] Neil Innes competes against TV presenter Kirsten O'Brien, with question master Alex dressed as Father Christmas. It explores how changes in caravanning across the years reflect wider changes in British society, in particular the increased SUN 02:45 Cranford: Under the Bonnet (b00pk5nz) The rules are simple - contestants must match their answer to availability of cars during the 1950s and 60s, but also the [Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today] the one given by a text answering service. Questions can range improved roads network and changing attitudes towards from 'How many gerbils would have to be stacked on top of holidaymaking and leisure time. each other to reach the moon?' to 'Is gravy a condiment?'. SUN 03:15 The Art of Russia (b00phtcz) Enthusiasts and contributors include Dorrie van Lachterop from [Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today] In the cunning physical challenge which pits the contestants the West Midlands and Christine Fagg from Hertfordshire, against each other, Neil takes on Kirsten in a Christmas present- remarkable and adventurous women who started touring alone wrapping contest. in their caravans during the 1950s. MONDAY 28 DECEMBER 2009 SAT 23:40 Cowards (b00gvhjn) MON 19:00 Victorian Farm Christmas (b00pccnn) Episode 1 SUNDAY 27 DECEMBER 2009 Episode 1 Cowards is a new 4-man sketch show packed with surprise and SUN 19:00 The Art of Russia (b00phtcz) Historical reality programme. The Victorian farmers - Ruth invention. Smashing the Mould Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn - return to the Acton Scott estate in Shropshire to celebrate a traditional Victorian Scenarios include disaffected judges, office bullying via Skype, Series in which art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the Christmas. Russian roulette at the dinner table, a jobseeker aiming to incredible story of Russian art - its mystery and magnificence - become Mick Hucknall’s PA and a dog with a secret – all until now untold on British television. There's an enormous amount of farm work to be done on the delivered with the unique Cowards brand of joyful deadpan estate in the lead-up to the festive season, including the hay absurdity. The final part examines political revolution and how art was at harvest, to make food for the animals over winter. Having been the forefront of throwing out 1,000 years of royal rule, from its thwarted last time by rain, the team anxiously monitor the The team of Tom Basden, Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key and earliest revolutionary days of enthusiasm and optimism when weather. Lloyd Woolf have honed their voice over two acclaimed painting died, the poster was king and the machine-made Edinburgh Festival shows, a returning series on Radio 4 and the triumphed over the handmade to the dead hand of Socialist Peter travels to the Royal Agricultural Society's annual show first online sketch show for BBC3. Their highly-accomplished Realism. with sheep expert Richard Spencer to choose a new ram for the TV debut is a thrilling new arrival in the comedy landscape. flock; back at the farm, Ruth makes mincemeat for the Andrew roots out great portraits of Stalin now hidden in Christmas mince pies.