Television (1985)
Exhaustive 13-part survey of the television medium from its hesitant beginnings in the 1920s to the multi-million dollar extravaganzas of today and the cable and satellite technologies of the future [relative to 1985]. Tackling the medium as a worldwide phenomenon, the series examines each of the principal areas of programming - news, drama, documentaries, and light entertainment - and the unique impact of "live" coverage.
Television: Season 1 - 13 Episode s
1x1 - Visions of Power
February 12, 1985
A look at the way that TV affects and manipulates viewers.
1x2 - The Race for Television
February 19, 1985
Goes back to TV's earliest flickering beginnings, in the first primitive TV camera built by the eccentric Scots inventor John Logie Baird - whose previous triumph had been the indestructible sock - out of hat-boxes, sealing-wax and an old tea chest. (The Guardian)
1x3 - We Bring You Live Pictures
February 26, 1985
The development and impact of outside broadcasts and live coverage of news, sport and pageantry. Peter Dimmock, then in charge of OBs at the BBC, recalls how the coronation in 1953 was a turning-point. When Prince Charles married Lady Di in 1981, 750,000,000 people in 74 countries followed their progress up the aisle. (Daily Telegraph)
1x4 - News Power
March 5, 1985
Continuing the worldwide history of the medium, this programme moves on to television news, tracing its development from the first TV news in America in the forties to today's high-powered satellite broadcasts. (Daily Telegraph)
1x5 - News: The Power of Pictures
March 12, 1985
Looks at the awesome ability of on-screen images to evoke a massive public response, as with the pictures of the starving children of Biafra in 1968; to shape the nature of the response, with American footage showing how protesters in close-up look far more violent than when filmed in long-shot; and ultimately to shape events like Nixon's downfall. (The Guardian)
1x6 - The Story Machine
March 19, 1985
From news to fiction as the series moves behind the scenes to look at how some of the most popular drama series are produced, what they cost and how they came about. Hollywood is the home of most of the world's TV drama, but there is also a look at Japanese Samurai drama, Brazilian soap opera and Nigerian comedy. (Daily Telegraph)
1x7 - Play Power
March 26, 1985
Considers TV drama and the practical influence, if any, of such controversial landmarks as the BBC's post-war "1984" and ITV's "Armchair Theatre" and the later drama-documentaries of the Sixties, most notably Jim Allen's "Cathy Come Home", which led to the creation of the charity Shelter. But as production costs rise, how will purely commercial considerations (saleability, for example) affect the quality? (Daily Telegraph) / Also charts the rise and fall of America's golden age of television drama - the fifties - featuring rare clips of the likes of Redford and Newman, in their earliest TV roles. (The Guardian)
1x8 - The Rise and Fall of the Documentary
April 2, 1985
After 30 years of recording every human problem, every aspect of the natural world, has the TV documentary run out of steam - and themes? And for all its work in informing millions about the plight of the homeless or the threat to the rain forests, has it ever been an agent of real social change? (The Guardian)
1x9 - Chewing Gum for the Eyes
April 9, 1985
Focusing on light entertainment, from variety to quiz and game shows, from chat shows to pop videos, with samples garnished from, among other countries, Britain, America, Brazil, Russia and the Philippines and even a Japanese version of "What's My Line?". (Daily Telegraph)
1x10 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
April 16, 1985
An examination of the beneficial effects of television, its help in education, its power to broaden the horizons of its audience, and then - the other side of the coin - its possible harmful effects, its power to influence the young, to encourage violence, to corrupt. (Daily Telegraph)
1x11 - Canned Laughter
April 23, 1985
The history and development of television comedy is examined, from its origins in American vaudeville and radio shows, through the social comment sit-coms to the ultimate send-ups in such productions as "Soap". (Daily Telegraph)
1x12 - The Selling of the President
April 30, 1985
The medium's revolutionary effect on the business of electioneering around the world, with politicians being taught how to maximise their television appeal, and image replacing issues as the key vote-catcher. (The Guardian)
1x13 - The Third Age of Broadcasting
April 30, 1985
Looks to the medium's future in a satellite and cable world where the viewer may be spoilt for choice in terms of quantity of channels. But what of the quality of programmes, of standards and mandatory public service content of the schedules, with satellites crossing frontiers and national regulations a thing of the past? (The Guardian)
Television: 1 Season
Actors in Television
Shows like Television
Apocalypse: The Rise of Hitler
2 Episode s . Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was a mediocre who rose to power because of the blindness and ignorance of the Germans, who believed he was nothing more than an eccentric dreamer. But when the crisis of 1929 devastated the economy, the population, fearful of chaos and communism, voted for him. And no one defended democracy. As the dictatorship extended its relentless shadow, the leader claimed peace, but was preparing the Apocalypse.
Apocalypse: The Rise of Hitler
2 Episode s . Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was a mediocre who rose to power because of the blindness and ignorance of the Germans, who believed he was nothing more than an eccentric dreamer. But when the crisis of 1929 devastated the economy, the population, fearful of chaos and communism, voted for him. And no one defended democracy. As the dictatorship extended its relentless shadow, the leader claimed peace, but was preparing the Apocalypse.
Pride
6 Episode s . Six renowned LGBTQ+ directors explore heroic and heartbreaking stories that define America as a nation. The limited series spans the FBI surveillance of homosexuals during the 1950s Lavender Scare to the “Culture Wars” of the 1990s and beyond, exploring the queer legacy of the Civil Rights movement and the battle over marriage equality.
Pride
6 Episode s . Six renowned LGBTQ+ directors explore heroic and heartbreaking stories that define America as a nation. The limited series spans the FBI surveillance of homosexuals during the 1950s Lavender Scare to the “Culture Wars” of the 1990s and beyond, exploring the queer legacy of the Civil Rights movement and the battle over marriage equality.
John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial
3 Episode s . For the first time, key figures from John Lennon's life and death—including friends, doctors, and investigators—share personal memories and reveal what happened on the night of his killing.
John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial
3 Episode s . For the first time, key figures from John Lennon's life and death—including friends, doctors, and investigators—share personal memories and reveal what happened on the night of his killing.
When We Left Earth : The NASA Missions
6 Episode s . When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions or NASA's Greatest Missions: When We Left Earth in the UK is a Discovery Channel HD documentary miniseries consisting of six episodes documenting American human spaceflight, spanning from the first Mercury flights through the Gemini program to the Apollo moon landings, the Space Shuttle, and the construction of the International Space Station. It was created in association with NASA to commemorate the agency's fiftieth anniversary in 2008. It first aired on June 8, 2008, and concluded on June 22. Each airing consisted of two hour-long episodes. The miniseries was released on DVD on July 10, 2008, and was released on Blu-ray disc on August 12. The third episode, "Landing the Eagle", was re-aired on July 20, 2009 for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It featured improved images from the moonwalk.
When We Left Earth : The NASA Missions
6 Episode s . When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions or NASA's Greatest Missions: When We Left Earth in the UK is a Discovery Channel HD documentary miniseries consisting of six episodes documenting American human spaceflight, spanning from the first Mercury flights through the Gemini program to the Apollo moon landings, the Space Shuttle, and the construction of the International Space Station. It was created in association with NASA to commemorate the agency's fiftieth anniversary in 2008. It first aired on June 8, 2008, and concluded on June 22. Each airing consisted of two hour-long episodes. The miniseries was released on DVD on July 10, 2008, and was released on Blu-ray disc on August 12. The third episode, "Landing the Eagle", was re-aired on July 20, 2009 for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It featured improved images from the moonwalk.
Daughters of the Cult
5 Episode s . A deep-dive into the history of a splinter group of Mormon fundamentalist cult members who perpetrate a deadly wave of violence and abuse for decades in the name of their fanatical prophet, Ervil LeBaron.
Daughters of the Cult
5 Episode s . A deep-dive into the history of a splinter group of Mormon fundamentalist cult members who perpetrate a deadly wave of violence and abuse for decades in the name of their fanatical prophet, Ervil LeBaron.
The American Presidency with Bill Clinton
6 Episode s . Hosted by President Bill Clinton, the series explores the history of the American presidency and the struggle for a more perfect union across six themed episodes: race, extremism, the struggle for rights, presidential vision, global power.
The American Presidency with Bill Clinton
6 Episode s . Hosted by President Bill Clinton, the series explores the history of the American presidency and the struggle for a more perfect union across six themed episodes: race, extremism, the struggle for rights, presidential vision, global power.
Reinventing China
3 Episode s .
Reinventing China
3 Episode s .
Reel Stories
10 Episode s . Dermot O'Leary relives moments from the lives of some of the biggest stars in music and film. Together they view both seen and unseen footage from the star's career.
Reel Stories
10 Episode s . Dermot O'Leary relives moments from the lives of some of the biggest stars in music and film. Together they view both seen and unseen footage from the star's career.
Tuning In: Fifty Years on the CBC
5 Episode s . Taking a deliberately post-modern approach to the CBC and Canadian culture, the series raids the bulging vaults of the national broadcaster. Viewers will see images of Canada’s past five decades, ranging from the long-running celebrity quiz show Front Page Challenge through ’70s pop star Rene Simard to stirring footage of legendary hockey icons. Deliberately using a stylistic melange, the series will use contemporary footage shot in Betacam video and Super 8 with old kinescopes from the ’50s, black-and-white footage of the ’60s and the more standard color format from the ’70s through the ’90s.
Tuning In: Fifty Years on the CBC
5 Episode s . Taking a deliberately post-modern approach to the CBC and Canadian culture, the series raids the bulging vaults of the national broadcaster. Viewers will see images of Canada’s past five decades, ranging from the long-running celebrity quiz show Front Page Challenge through ’70s pop star Rene Simard to stirring footage of legendary hockey icons. Deliberately using a stylistic melange, the series will use contemporary footage shot in Betacam video and Super 8 with old kinescopes from the ’50s, black-and-white footage of the ’60s and the more standard color format from the ’70s through the ’90s.
Saturday Night at the Movies
3 Episode s . For most of the past one hundred years Australians have been going out to the pictures. Today, despite movies being delivered in multiple formats, more than half of us still go out to a cinema at least once a year. But there was a time when most people went every week, and it was by far the most important entertainment event in their lives.
Saturday Night at the Movies
3 Episode s . For most of the past one hundred years Australians have been going out to the pictures. Today, despite movies being delivered in multiple formats, more than half of us still go out to a cinema at least once a year. But there was a time when most people went every week, and it was by far the most important entertainment event in their lives.