The Edwardians on BBC Four

[Milky Tears]

Didn't sound too interesting (for a BBC Four season) when I first heard about it a few months ago, but the excellent trailer and programme info make it look quite good:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/edwardi...ghlights.shtml

Season highlights include:

EDWARDIAN SUPERSIZE ME
Monday 16 April
Giles Coren and Sue Perkins dine on the gluttonous menus of Edwardian high society for a week. How will they fare on a diet of mutton, offal, puddings and port?

DIARY OF A NOBODY
Hugh Bonneville stars as the pompous diarist Mr Pooter in Andrew Davies' drama adaptation of the comic masterpiece by George and Weedon Grossmith.

A TABLOID IS BORN
Ex-Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie compares the state of the tabloids in Edwardian times to today's red tops.

WHO KILLED MRS DE ROPP?
Three-part drama based on the work of the short story writer Saki, who was a deliciously cruel critic of Edwardian social mores.

MUSIC HALL MELTDOWN
A host of entertainers gather together for a night of music, comedy and variety performances inspired by Edwardian Music Hall. With Harry Enfield, Phill Jupitus, Jo Caulfield, Milton Jones, Frankie Boyle, Marcus Brigstocke, Madness, Puppini Sisters and We Are Klang.

MARIE LLOYD
Jessie Wallace plays music hall star Marie Lloyd in a drama revealing the performer's racy songs and eventful life.

SCOUTING FOR BOYS
Ian Hislop celebrates scouting's 2007 centenary with an examination of its founder Robert Baden-Powell and his landmark book.

It's a six week season, so there are probably a few documentaries that aren't even listed yet. Some of them are mentioned in the Press Office stuff:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pro...wardians.shtml

Edwardians In Colour

It all starts on 15th April.

One of these days BBC Four will show a season of programmes that I don't actually watch.

[Perry Vale]

Nice, especially this bit......

MUSIC HALL MELTDOWN
A host of entertainers gather together for a night of music, comedy and variety performances inspired by Edwardian Music Hall. With Harry Enfield, Phill Jupitus, Jo Caulfield, Milton Jones, Frankie Boyle, Marcus Brigstocke, Madness, Puppini Sisters and We Are Klang.

What will Phillllll Jupitus be doing, selling the peanuts?

[Milky Tears]

Edwardian Supersize Me pulled in 503,000/2.67% last night (according to Broadcast). Excellent audience figures by BBC Four standards.

Some more programmes have been added to the schedule, including repeat runs of The Lost World Of Mitchell And Kenyon, the excellent Silent Britain (on right now) and CBBC's 1997 version of E Nesbit's The Phoenix and the Carpet (starring Miriam Margolyes, Christopher Biggins, David Suchet, Lesley Dunlop/showing on Monday nights at 8:30pm). They even squeezed in a repeat of Ripping Yarns: The Curse of the Claw last night.

The Winslow Boy is on Sunday 22nd April at 10pm.

The Shadow of the Noose is also listed for next Tuesday (24th) from 7:10-8pm.


Wednesday's main show is The Edwardian Larder at 9pm:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documen...n-larder.shtml


Coming up this week:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/whatso...earch+Listings

[Milky Tears]

Might as well reply to the clown above.

There's been some good stuff shown so far. I've seen Shopping For England twice, but still haven't managed to watch all of Edwardian Supersize Me yet. I'll have to try and catch tonight's repeat.

Some new programmes are listed on the BBC Four site:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/edwardi...ghlights.shtml

It looks like the 2001 version of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World begins a rerun on Saturday and tonight'sThe Menace of the Masses documentary looks interesting:

THE MENACE OF THE MASSES
Wednesday 25 April 9pm-10pm; rpt 12.10am-1.10am; rpt 2.50am-3.50am (signed); rpt Wednesday 2 May 10.55pm-11.55pm; rpt 2.20am-3.20am

In this eyebrow-raising documentary, writer and critic John Carey delivers a critique on the response of Edwardian intellectuals to the rise of popular culture and mass education.

As well as Edwardian Supersize Me setting an audience record for a BBC Four factual programme, the first part of the excellent Edwardians In Colour pulled in over 300,000 viewers last Thursday night.

I'm sure they'll be expecting Miss Marie Lloyd: The Queen Of The Music Hall(starring Jessie Wallace) to challenge their all-time record audience figure. Loads of trailers/teasers round about EastEnders should help.

It's good to see such a major BBC Four season (running for six weeks, it's "their biggest season to date") performing so well. Even Paul O'Grady was raving about this Sunday'sThe Worst Journey In The World (Mark Gatiss drama about Captain Scott's second Antarctic expedition) last week.

[Dave Tudor]

I'm sure there's some great stuff in this season, but it just hasn't drawn me in, I don't know why.

I did want to watch 'The Diary Of A Nobody' last night, and I was going to tape it... but failed to do so, on each of its three showings.

[Nathan]

Sue Perkin's anachronistic glasses spoilt it for me

They should have made her wear a monocle or something.

Maybe some of those ladies spectacles on a stick.

[Logo Polish]

A lorgnette?