Timeshift

Épisode 1 - The Grunwick Strike

5 octobre 2002

Time Shift recalls the bitterly fought dispute at a north London film-processing business in 1976, which had profound repercussions for the trade-union movement in Britain.

Épisode 2 - The Cannabis Years

12 octobre 2002

An in-depth examination of how the debate surrounding cannabis has evolved over the past 50 years.

Épisode 3 - The Writer's Trade

19 octobre 2002

Examining the changing image of the novelist over the last 50 years.

Épisode 4 - The Sailing Sixties

9 novembre 2002

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.

Épisode 5 - Attenborough: The Controller Years

16 novembre 2002

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. He was responsible for a number of programme strands that were, and many argue still remain, the high point of public service broadcasting. Match of the Day and Pot Black sat alongside comedy such as The Likely Lads and Not Only But Also. Horizon, Man Alive, One Pair of Eyes, Masterclass, The Forsyte Saga and The Money Programme set the standard for years to come. Sir Attenborough also commissioned series on a grand scale: Kenneth Clark's Civilisation and Jacob Bronowski's Ascent of Man remain two of the great creations of television. These series are still benchmarks in TV history for their ability to mix breadth and insight with delight and entertainment value.

Épisode 6 - The Rise and Fall of the Comedy Straight Man

30 novembre 2002

Time Shift 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.

Épisode 7 - A Shadow Over Europe

3 décembre 2002

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. It has been suppressed for half a century, ever since Czechoslovakia expelled its three million strong German minority - the Sudeten Germans - at the end of the war. It is also a story of two communities with a common past, each clinging to diametrically opposed versions of the same event. To the Germans, their expulsion was a war crime, an early case of violent, ethnic cleansing. To the Czechs, after six years of Nazi occupation, the expulsions were simply retribution. What cannot be disputed is the brutality of the expulsions, especially during the chaotic transition from war to approximate peace. Newsreel film shows Germans being beaten up in the streets of Prague, forced to wear the swastika, painted on their overcoats. The expulsions were decreed by Eduard Benes, Czechoslovakia's president-in-exile, during his wartime years in Britain. One particularly controversial decree granted immunity from prosecution to Czechs who committed crimes against the Germans.

Épisode 8 - Whatever Happened to the Working Class?

11 janvier 2003

This programme in the Time Shift strand explores the history of the current conflict over class.

Épisode 9 - Notting Hill Riots

18 janvier 2003

Examining the west London riots of August 1958, which were the catalyst for black actMsm in Britain and inspired the annual carnival.

Épisode 10 - What Have the Germans Done for Us?

16 février 2003

From VW Beetles to Blue Nun and Kraftwerk, a look at Germany's conrtibution to British life.

Épisode 11 - Greenham Common Changed My Life

23 février 2003

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.

Épisode 12 - Car Crazy

2 mars 2003

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.

Épisode 13 - The Magic Roundabout Story

16 mars 2003

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.

Épisode 14 - Malcolm Muggeridge: Swimming Against the Stream

24 mars 2003

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.

Épisode 15 - Gurus

30 mars 2003

Time Shift examines how the philosophy of the Indian guru has travelled into mainstream British society.

Épisode 1 - The​ Great​ British​ Seaside​ Holiday​

5 mai 2003

Timeshift presents a bank holiday celebration of the British seaside holiday experience from its Victorian origins and heyday in the 1950s to its slow decline and attempts at reinvention since. Interviewees including Jonathan Meades, Martin Parr and Bill Pertwee explain the way that the seaside has always been the place we all visit to lose our inhibitions and reveal a different side to ourselves. We look at how our different experiences of the seaside - end of the pier shows, fearsome landladies and holiday camps - have given rise to different traditions and a nostalgia, both working-class and middle-class, for a time when life's pleasures were simpler and foreign holidays were the preserve of the very rich.

Épisode 2 - Children's News

15 mai 2003

Time Shift explores the significance of children's programmes in developing young people's worldview. With Jon Snow and John Craven.

Épisode 3 - Watching You

1 décembre 2003

Undercover reporter Donal Macintyre is among the interviewees as Time Shift looks at hidden-camera TV. Nigel Kneale discusses how his satire The Year of the Sex Olympics feels prescient in the Big Brother world.

Épisode 4 - TV and Charity

5 juin 2003

Terry Wogan, Lenny Henry, Michael Buerk and Esther Rantzen guest on Time Shift's look at how charity and TV are interwoven - from the early days of Christmas collections for needy children to the successful annual telethons of today.

Épisode 5 - Tyneside

12 juin 2003

Time Shift celebrates Tyneside's cultural contribution and its development through the eyes of writers, actors and others.

Épisode 6 - Political Thrillers: Plays of State

15 juin 2003

From banned 1950s drama Party Manners to House of Cards and State of Play, the secrets of TV thrillers are uncovered in an edition of the Time Shift strand.

Épisode 7 - High Rise Dreams

19 juin 2003

Time Shift looks back at how a group of idealistic architects changed the face of council housing in Britain, inspired by the modernist philosophy of Le Corbusier and new materials, only to be thwarted by financial restraints, poor craftsmanship and Margaret Thatcher 's private ownership creed.

Épisode 8 - Vicars: Dearly Beloved?

3 juillet 2003

Time Shift looks at the changing role of the Church of England parish priest over the last 40 years.

Épisode 9 - Footballers’ Lives

21 septembre 2003

In the last 40 years, money and fame have transformed footballers from working class heroes to multimedia icons. Time Shift explores how this change has come about and asks if today's lower league players aren't worse off than they were before.

Épisode 10 - Six Days to Saturday

21 septembre 2003

John Boorman-directed documentary from 1963, recounting a week in the life of the players and manager of Swindon Town football club, a fascinating snapshot of a profession a world away from Premiership and sponsorship.

Épisode 11 - The Kneale Tapes - DUPLICATE

15 octobre 2003

Time Shift celebrates the career of pioneering TV writer Nigel Kneale, whose Quatermass serials terrified audiences in the 1950s, and whose later works such as The Stone Tape are regarded as modern classics. For many aficionados of science fiction and the paranormal, Nigel Kneale is a hero. Cited as an influence by John Carpenter, Stephen King and the creators of The X-Files, Kneale's eclectic and intelligent dramas seem even more impressive and prescient today than when they were written in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Kneale had a 50-year career as one of British TV's leading dramatists. As well as his groundbreaking adaptation of 1984, his original work - from Quatermass to The Year of the Sex Olympics - still has the ability to shock and disturb a modern audience: not least because so much of what he predicted over the last half century has come true. As The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss remarks in John Das' celebration of Kneale's work: "I think Nigel should have a 5-minute slot on TV where the Epilogue used to be, entitled 'I Told You So...'"

Épisode 12 - Hard Drive Heaven - DUPLICATE

9 février 2004

The unstoppable rise of the home computer, from the early days when PCs were the size of a room, to their current micro-accessibility. Today the computer pervades both the workplace and home. What started as the hobby of a group of enthusiasts - computer nerds - has ballooned into a billion-dollar business. Time Shift charts the development of the PC from its precarious early days. The 1970s and 80s saw the explosion of the Sinclair, Spectrum, Apple Mac and Amstrad into the domestic market, while video games brought the arcade into the living room. Sally Thomson's programme investigates how an alien and inaccessible machine has become part of the fabric of everyday life.

Épisode 1 - Cold War Kids

1 octobre 2003

Paul Morley and Michael Rosen are among those discussing the changing experiences of children who grew up in the shadow of the Cold War.

Épisode 2 - The Kneale Tapes

15 octobre 2003

Time Shift profiles Nigel Kneale, the brains behind such disconcerting chillers as The Stone Tapes and The Ouatermass Experiment.

Épisode 3 - James Cameron: A Pain in the Neck

22 octobre 2003

Time Shift profiles the journalist, a conflict-battered idealist who feared for the worst and campaigned for the best.

Épisode 4 - Apocalypse Now… and Then

29 octobre 2003

Time Shift examins mankind's obsession with the end of the world, looking at how science and religion fuel the belief that armageddon is just around the corner.

Épisode 5 - The Lie of the Land

5 novembre 2003

The conventional view of the country-side is of a rural idyll perpetuated by our cultural tradition - but does this idyll really exist? Time Shift investigates.

Épisode 6 - Child Prodigies

19 novembre 2003

Time Shift looks at how precocious children challenge thinking about education - and whether labelling a child as "gifted" does more harm than good.

Épisode 7 - Raj to Rhondda: How Indian Doctors saved the NHS

26 novembre 2003

The story of the generation of doctors who came from the Indian subcontinent to become the hidden heroes who have provided the backbone of the NHS for the last 40 years. Despite enduring years of discrimination, they fulfilled Britain's health needs and carved successful careers that took them to the heart of the British medical establishment. Now, as they collectively reach retirement age, Britain faces a crisis in healthcare.

Épisode 8 - Jet Set

17 décembre 2003

Rich, distant and opulent, the jet set fascinated the public as they waved to us from airplane doorways before winging their way across the skies heading for yachts and exotic locations that the rest of us could only dream of. They were the aristocrats, the high fliers and high earners whose lives and loves fascinated us long before celebrity became a dirty word. This film looks back at the glamorous heyday of the jet set from the 1950s to the 1970s. Contributors include former Formula One world champion Jackie Stewart, psychologist Dr Martyn Dyer Smith, society columnist Ross Benson, travel writer Simon Calder, Concorde pilot Christopher Orlebar and former women's magazine editor Marcelle d'Argy Smith.

Épisode 9 - Missing Believed Wiped

29 décembre 2003

The story of Britain's lost generation of TV entertainment, from the golden age of light entertainment in the 1950s, via the "sacrilegious" tape erasing of the 1960s and 1970s, to recent lucky finds.

Épisode 10 - Prog Rock

19 janvier 2004

A look back to the years when progressive rock ruled the universe, with bands such as Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and King Crimson filling stadia with their grandiose stage shows. Contributors include Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, Yes drummer Bill Bruford, Old Grey Whistle Test presenter Bob Harris, DJ John Peel and rock critic Charles Shaar-Murray.

Épisode 11 - Hard Drive Heaven: The History of the Home Computer

9 février 2004

The PC has shrunk in size, but grown in power - Time Shift charts its evolution. Contributors include Sir Clive Sinclair.

Épisode 12 - Whistleblowers

2 mars 2004

Until the 1980s Whitehall was able to use the Official Secrets Act to suppress information it didn't want disclosed. Time Shift recalls those who spoke out on stories the Government did not want to be told.

Épisode 13 - Charles Wheeler: Edge of Frame

4 mars 2004

A look at the decisive moments of the latter 20th century through the eyes of the late Charles Wheeler. One of journalism's most dedicated yet modest professionals, Wheeler was at the forefront of world news reporting for over 50 years. Contributors include Jeremy Paxman, John Simpson and son-in-law Boris Johnson.

Épisode 1 - Art School

19 juin 2004

A look at the history of Britain's art schools, the most exciting educational establishments in Britain for two decades. The engines of the 1960s counter culture, they produced a generation of young go-getters who would take on the establishment and create the new industries of fashion, graphic design and pop music. Contributors include Brian Eno, Mary Quant, Kim Howells and Brian Rice.

Épisode 2 - Fantasy Sixties

26 juin 2004

Épisode 3 - Rosenthal

18 juillet 2004

Time Shift profiles the late Jack Rosenthal from humble beginnings to his success as writer of such dramas as The Evacuees and Cold Enough for Snow.

Épisode 4 - The Carnival Years

28 août 2004

Notting Hill Carnival is Britain's biggest street party and a celebration of London's cultural melting pot. But, as Time Shift reports, its success has been dogged by controversy. With Trevor Nelson

Épisode 5 - The History of Pubs

7 octobre 2004

Time Shift examines the very special place occupied by the pub in British society. Arthur Smith narrates, with contributions from Jeremy Hardy , Rowan Pelling and Pete Brown.

Épisode 6 - Live on the Night

14 octobre 2004

In the days before editing ensured slick production values and blemish-free performances, TV drama was a live medium. Bill Nighy narrates a Time Shift retrospective on a time when things didn't always go to plan on screen.

Épisode 7 - New Age Travellers

21 octobre 2004

Soap-dodging scroungers or free-thinking champions of an alternative lifestyle? Time Shift examines the origins of those regarded by many as social pariahs, revealing how at one time their ideas had a surprising degree of government support.

Épisode 8 - Drugs in Sport

28 octobre 2004

Time Shift tells the stories of athletes ruined by drugs - or allegations of them.

Épisode 9 - Hey Mr. DJ: The Rise and Rise of the Disc Jockey

4 novembre 2004

Pete Tong and Ranking Miss P contribute to Time Shift's look at the evolution of the DJ from pirate radio outlaw to modern superstar.

Épisode 10 - British Space Race

16 novembre 2004

Britain was, briefly, the unlikely player in the field of rocket research. Time Shift tells the story of unsung pioneers of space exploration: the rocket engineers, the scientists and, ultimately, the dreamers who never gave up on a vision of bringing the future into the present. Interviewees include Professor Colin Pillinger, lead scientist of Beagle 2.

Épisode 11 - Pile It High, Sell It Cheap

20 janvier 2005

Time Shift charts the spectacular growth of the supermarket over the past 50 years, examining how it has influenced British society.

Épisode 12 - Red Robbo

2 février 2005

Time Shift traces the rise and fall of British Leyland shop steward Derek Robinson. In the mid 70s, he wielded immense power over management at the Longbridge plant in Birmingham. But by the end of 1979 he had been fired, a victim of the Conservative government's bid to break union power.

Épisode 13 - Gambling Britain

3 février 2005

The National Lottery's launch in 1994 confirmed Britain as a nation of gamblers - yet just over 40 years ago, betting shops and casinos were illegal. Time Shift traces governmental efforts to control gambling through legislation.

Épisode 14 - The Story of Circus

10 février 2005

Time Shift explores how television's early days exploited the spectacle of the circus. Including the first live outside broadcast from Calais where a French circus artist's act was witnessed by Richard Dimbleby.

Épisode 15 - Pop Svengalis

22 février 2005

Time Shift celebrates the dynamos behind great British bands from the 1950s to today.

Épisode 16 - Conchies: Questions of Conscience

1 mars 2005

Time Shift looks at conscientious objectors from the first World War to today; those who refused to serve for religious, moral or political reasons.

Épisode 17 - Kenneth Tynan

2 mars 2005

The rise and fall of the theatre critic - who brought swearing to the BBC and nudity to the West End - is traced by Time Shift. Presented by New Yorker critic John Lahr, it features rare contributions from Tynan's daughters.

Épisode 18 - Jewish Entertainers

15 mars 2005

Jewish entertainers have dominated parts of the industry in the UK and US for decades, Time Shift investigates why American Jews celebrate their ethnicity while their British counterparts have often masked or even denied their roots.

Épisode 19 - Alan Plater: Hearing the Music

26 mars 2005

Writers Alan Bleasdale and Lee Billy Elliot Hall discuss the work of the writer for Time Shift. With critics Chris Dunkley and Dave Gelly, and director John Glenister.

Épisode 20 - Speak No Evil: The Story of the Broadcast Ban

4 avril 2005

When Margaret Thatcher 's government starved Sinn Fein of the "oxygen of publicity", it was the most direct level of censorship since 1945. Time Shift recalls an era in which the voice of Gerry Adams was replaced by that of an actor.

Épisode 21 - Russel T. Davis: Unscripted

11 avril 2005

Doctor Who and Casanova have both benefited from the writing of Russell T Davies. Time Shift examines his work from children's TV to Queer as Folk and beyond, with contributions from Mark Lawson, Christopher Eccleston and Andi Peters.

Épisode 1 - MPs on the Box

19 mai 2005

Time Shift looks at how satirists have portrayed politicians in such television creations as Yes Minister Spitting Image and The New Statesman.

Épisode 2 - Je T’Aime… How We Learned to Love Europe

31 mai 2005

Sixty 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?

Épisode 3 - England Away

31 mai 2005

Time Shift examines the history of English football fans travelling to Europe, and the attendant sub-culture of drinking and violence.

Épisode 4 - Court on Camera

16 juillet 2005

A 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.

Épisode 5 - Apes in Hollywood

17 juillet 2005

Since 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.

Épisode 6 - Star Men

6 août 2005

Adam 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.

Épisode 7 - Black and White Minstrels Revisited

8 août 2005

Time Shift takes a look at the now notorious show, whose blacked-up singing and dancing routines ruled the weekend schedules for 21 years.

Épisode 8 - Too Much, Too Young

9 septembre 2005

Time Shift charts the devastating effect on children - some as young as five - who care for infirm parents

Épisode 9 - The Jitterbug Years

1 octobre 2005

Documentary 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.

Épisode 10 - Play It Again

4 octobre 2005

Remembering 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

Épisode 11 - The Battle for the Ashes

20 octobre 2005

The changing sporting fortunes of England and Australia as recounted in this Time Shift documentary.

Épisode 12 - The Lost Pictures of Eugene Smith

25 octobre 2005

Time Shift investigates how Life magazine's opposition to Attlee's radical Labour government inspired them to suppress photographs of the 1950 general election.

Épisode 13 - The Third Progamme: High Culture for All in Postwar Britain

25 octobre 2005

Francine 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.

Épisode 14 - Lost Road: Overland To Singapore

30 octobre 2005

In 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. The team fly across the Channel, travel through France, brewing tea at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Then onward through Germany, Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey. They inspect ancient ruins in Syria, learn to waterski in The Lebanon and spend time a Nairn Bus workshop in Iraq. They demo the landrovers to the Iranian Army, travel through Pakistan to India where they visit the Taj Mahal and the tea plantations of Darjeeling. Onto previously inaccessible Nepal and through fairly incessible Burma. There they are escorted by soldiers whose jeep they have to repair. Then through Malaya and onto the Singapore causeway where a welcoming committee awaits.

Épisode 15 - A Study in Sherlock

24 décembre 2005

Documentary 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.

Épisode 16 - Baker Street Babylon: The Bizarre Afterlife of Sherlock Holmes

26 décembre 2005

Time Shift presents clips of the strangest Sherlocks, with pastiche and parody from Roland Rat to John Cleese.

Épisode 17 - Stephen Poliakoff: A Brief History of Now

15 janvier 2006

Robert Lindsay and Miranda Richardson guest in Time Shift's profile of the TV dramatist.

Épisode 18 - The British Way of Death

6 février 2006

Daniela 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?

Épisode 19 - Left of Frame: The Rise and Fall of Radical TV Drama

8 février 2006

Jimmy 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.

Épisode 20 - Rude Britannia

13 février 2006

From Pygmalion to Paxman, Time Shift traces the cult of plain-speaking. Narrated by Tamsin Greig.

Épisode 21 - The Sun and the Moon

6 mars 2006

A 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.

Épisode 22 - Pay Attention Britain! Public Information Films

30 mars 2006

Marking 60 years of the Central Office of Information, Time Shift celebrates PIFs, from HIV awareness to "Charley Says".

Épisode 23 - Pop Svengalis - DUPLICATE

23 février 2005

A look at the Svengali-like managers that have been behind some of Britian's great pop acts, and how they came to dominate the music business. Are they exploitative or crucial to the act's success?

Épisode 1 - Switch Off Something: Britain and the Three-Day Week

1 avril 2006

Welcome to 1973 - the year that saw the three-day week and the arrival of a fictional character from 2006 in the BBC1 drama Life on Mars. The success of the latter has acted as a springboard for a week-long BBC4 season. This excellent Time Shift concentrates on the winter of strikes and power cuts.

Épisode 2 - Creating Life on Mars

2 avril 2006

In conversation with writer and broadcaster Andrew Collins, the creators of the time-travel cop show Life on Mars reveal the story behind the series, including their seven-year battle to bring it to the screen and how they drew inspiration from their own experiences of life in the 70s. They offer insights into the show's characters and explore how the programme has broken the mould of popular TV drama.

Épisode 3 - The Da Vinci Code: The Greatest Story Ever Sold

1 mai 2006

An exploration of how Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code was able to influence popular culture and challenge the traditional view of Christianity, thus to be attacked by the church, the art world and academics.

Épisode 4 - Carry On Campus

10 mai 2006

Over the past sixty years, a university education has gone from being the preserve of the privileged few to an expected rite of passage for more than a million young adults a year. This spectacular expansion transformed the expectations of generations and provided the crucible for everything from sexual liberation to political revolution, and it inspired a unique literary phenomenon rich in controversy and comedy - the campus novel.

Épisode 5 - Machine Men

13 mai 2006

Daisy Donovan narrates a documentary looking at the rollercoaster fortunes of robots, androids and cyborgs in fact and fantasy, from the Flash Gordon serials via the Six Million Dollar Man to Marvin the Paranoid Android. For decades we were alternately warned that robots could take over the planet or promised that they would liberate us from the drudgery of everyday labour, but in the real world scientists struggled to design robots that could even climb the stairs. Yet the continued appeal of the Star Wars films, the remake of the TV classic A for Andromeda and the return of the Cybermen to Doctor Who all prove that there is artificial life in the machine men yet.

Épisode 6 - Oz and Them

1 août 2006

Looking at how the relationship between Australia and the UK has changed since the Queen's trip Down Under in 1954.

Épisode 7 - Spy Stories: British Espionage in Fact and Fiction

29 août 2006

Bill Nighy narrates a documentary telling the story of the long and often extraordinary relationship between fact and fiction in the mysterious world of British espionage. The programme charts the evolution of spying through the twentieth century and looks at the parallel development of spy fiction during the same period. Contributors include Stella Rimington, Daphne Park, David Shayler, John le Carre, Charlie Higson, Bernard Porter, Nick Hiley and Stephen Dorril.

Épisode 8 - Planet Ping Pong

11 septembre 2006

Time Shift enters the world of table tennis and traces how an English parlour game once known as ‘whiff-whaff’ became the most popular sport in Asia, championed by Mao Zedong and how it almost brought an end to the Cold War. The programme revisits the glory days of table tennis in the 1930s and 1940s, when thousands packed Wembley Stadium in London to watch heroes like Johnny Leach do battle with the greats of Europe. It researches how a simple bat made of sponge changed the game forever in 1952 and the programme interviews one of the game’s mavericks, the New York hustler Marty ‘the Needle’ Reisman.

Épisode 9 - Parallel Worlds: A User's Guide

28 novembre 2006

Playful viewer's guide to entering another dimension, narrated by Richard Ayoade, featuring some of TV and cinema's best-known alternate universes, from the likes of Star Trek, Sliders, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Futurama and Doctor Who.

Épisode 10 - Transylvania Babylon

28 décembre 2006

A comic exploration of the cult of Dracula. From Bela Lugosi to bloodsucking bikes, with a Mexican tag-wrestling version thrown in for good measure, this ghoulish compilation is an entertaining homage to the vampire tradition gifted us by Bram Stoker's famous Count.

Épisode 11 - The New Middle Classes

4 mars 2007

Time Shift presents a humorous look at Britain's cultural landscape, comparing the way that the traditional middle class places more emphasis on status than the possession-orientated generations who have recently risen up the social ladder.

Épisode 12 - Rover: The Long Goodbye

20 mars 2007

This documentary traces the rise and fall of a great British brand. In the days when Britain's car industry was the envy of the world, Rover epitomised everything to which the driver of taste aspired, but in 2005 it reached the end of the road. The film explores how Rover cars went from defining their eras to becoming victims of their times, telling the story behind the key models to the controversial joint ventures with Japanese and Indian manufacturers in later years.

Épisode 13 - First Rites: From the Cradle to the Prom

24 mars 2007

Timeshift looks at how the reduced influence of religion for children today means that milestones in their lives are rapidly changing from the previous norm.

Épisode 14 - Wedding Rites: In Sickness and in Health

25 mars 2007

Documentary, narrated by Caroline Quentin, looking at how and why weddings are on the increase and divorce rates in decline in the UK. It asks if we've rediscovered love and romance or if we're just getting swept along by the hype of celebrity weddings and the marketing powers of the mushrooming wedding industry.

Épisode 15 - Goodbye Children Everywhere

26 mai 2007

Documentary which celebrates the high and lows of children's TV and asks if the future of mainstream television be one where children are neither seen nor heard, as ITV cuts back on its commitment and the BBC now only makes programmes for under-11s.

Épisode 16 - Live on the Night - DUPLICATE

Bill Nighy recalls the early days of television drama, when programmes were not recorded and cast and crew had to get it right on the night. Contributors include Brian Blessed and Trudi Goodwin.

Épisode 17 - Hey Mr DJ: The Rise and Rise of the Disc Jockey - DUPLICATE

David Hepworth chronicles the history of the disc jockey. The DJ has often been a neglected profession but today's globe-trotting jocks enjoy superstar status. Contributors include Pete Tong, Annie Nightingale, Johnnie Walker and Ranking Miss P.

Épisode 18 - The British Space Race DUPLICATE

22 mai 2006

The space race has been traditionally linked with America and Russia, battling it out to be the first into outer and space and then the Moon. But, for a short time, Britain was an unlikely third key player in the world of rocket research. This is the story of the unsung pioneers of British space exploration who never gave up on their vision.

Épisode 1 - The Edwardian Larder

18 avril 2007

Documentary about the first mass-produced food brands focusing on Perrier water, Cadbury's Dairy Milk, Typhoo tea and Marmite. The tea-tasters of Typhoo explain how their predecessors turned a waste product into a bestseller. Chef Matthew Kay tries out some Edwardian recipes designed for vegetarian marmite fans.

Épisode 2 - How To Be a Good Prime Minister

22 septembre 2007

Political commentator Andrew Marr assesses what it takes to be a successful British premier based on the performance of the twenty prime ministers of the 20th century.

Épisode 3 - Gagging For It: TV's Hunger for Radio Comedy

1 octobre 2007

Since its earliest days, television has looked to radio comedy for the 'next big thing'. Radio hits from Hancock's Half-Hour to Little Britain have become TV classics. But other long-running radio favourites have died a death on the screen. So what makes for a sure-fire transfer?

Épisode 4 - Whatever Happened to Radio 2?

5 octobre 2007

Radio 2 was created out of the old Light Programme, but the modern station, with its targeted playlists and big-name DJs like Jonathan Ross and Chris Evans, is now light years away from its origins - or is it? In the evenings, small and cherished slots still exist for devotees of Folk, Organ, Jazz, Brass and Light Music. This programme is an affectionate celebration of the unusual and much-loved corners of 88-91FM, of the fans and of those who continue to broadcast to them.

Épisode 5 - Emmylou Harris's Ten Commandments of Country

12 octobre 2007

Live performance in which Emmylou Harris presents her ten rules of what makes a great country song, personally chosen from her own extensive repertoire. Filmed in Los Angeles in an intimate venue, the show features songs with Emmylou accompanied by her blue grass band. Each track illustrates one of her 10 Commandments, with a short introduction to explain why it was chosen and what element of country music it best represents.

Épisode 6 - Emmylou Harris at the BBC

12 octobre 2007

BBC collection of performances which traces Emmylou Harris's musical development from her first British TV appearance on the Old Grey Whistle Test right up to recent UK festival shows. Rarely seen archive from the BBC vaults nestles alongside more widely known material as Harris covers a broad spectrum of styles from country rock to Celtic traditional.

Épisode 7 - Archaeology: Digging the Past

21 octobre 2007

An exploration of the way archaeology has been presented on television over the past 50 years, from panel show Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?, which made celebrities out of its host Professor Glyn Daniel and resident character Sir Mortimer Wheeler, to Channel 4's contemporary Time Team.

Épisode 8 - Sir Mortimer Wheeler: A Life in Ruins

21 octobre 2007

Profile of Mortimer Wheeler, who became the public face of archaelogy for almost 40 years. With the arrival of television in the 1950s, the energetic and charismatic Wheeler became a celebrity and was the first to bring the subject to a mass audience. From Dorset to the Himalayas, from Television Centre to Zimbabwe, a vast array of archive footage shows how Wheeler informed and entertained the viewing public.

Épisode 9 - Watching the Russians

21 novembre 2007

Beginning with the rise of Russophobia in Victorian Britain, former MI5 director general Stella Rimington explores our love-hate relationship with Russia over the past 150 years.

Épisode 10 - Never Had It So Good?

10 décembre 2007

Writer Colin Shindler returns to Manchester to revisit his childhood and tell his own intensely personal, boys own story of a paradoxical year, 1957, the one in which prime minister Harold Macmillan declared that 'most of our people have never had it so good'. In the company of leading historians, he takes a snapshot of 1957 to explore what it was really like to live in Never Had It So Good Britain and to find out whether Macmillan was right.

Épisode 11 - A Game of Two Eras: 1957 v 2007

13 décembre 2007

John Inverdale hosts a unique experiment, using the latest football technology, to find out how English football has really changed in the past fifty years. Through computerised analysis it compares every aspect of the FA Cup finals of 2007 and 1957 - the year of the dramatic encounter between Manchester United and Aston Villa. The results uncover a lost era of English football via interviews with the surviving members of the 1957 final and contributors including Tom Finney and Graham Taylor.

Épisode 12 - Stuffed: The Great British Christmas Dinner

23 décembre 2007

Documentary looking at the history and tradition of the British Christmas dinner and the role it still plays. With contributions from actor Simon Callow, cultural critic Jonathan Meades, food writers Paul Levy, Pru Leith and Diana Henry and historians Kate Colquhoun and Kathryn Hughes, it asks why the British remain so wedded to this meal, what it says about us as a nation, and whether it can survive in a changing and culturally diverse Britain of different faiths, food fads and health concerns.

Épisode 13 - The Rise and Fall of the Ad Man

9 mars 2008

Cultural commentator Peter York takes a look at the changing fortunes of British advertising, through the story of the personalities who led it through its highs and lows. Inspired by the US advertisers of Madison Avenue, a new generation of 1970s British ad men created a unique style of advertising based on authentic British culture which tapped into home-grown humour. But the same combination of ambition, big spending and oversized egos led to a fall when the business climate changed in the 1980s.

Épisode 15 - ice

Épisode 16 - Xmas Turkey on the Telly

22 décembre 2007

The Time Shift strand continues with Christmas cooking catastrophes from the archives

Épisode 1 - Charles Wheeler: Edge of Frame

22 juillet 2008

When veteran journalist Charles Wheeler died aged 85, he was just one year younger than the BBC itself. As the corporation's longest-serving foreign correspondent, Wheeler was at the forefront of world news reporting for more than 50 years. Showing again in a specially extended version as a tribute to Charles Wheeler, this documentary looks at the decisive moments of the latter 20th Century through the eyes of one of journalism's most dedicated, yet modest, professionals. Contributors include Jeremy Paxman, John Simpson and Wheeler's son-in-law Boris Johnson, as well as Charles Wheeler himself.

Épisode 2 - How To Be A Good President

14 septembre 2008

In a whistle-stop tour through the history of the US presidency, journalist and author Jonathan Freedland asks what qualities make a great president and what we can learn from the likes of Theodore Roosevelt, JFK or even Richard Nixon about what it takes to make a mark in the White House. Freedland is helped by distinguished contributors including James Naughtie, Shirley Williams, Douglas Hurd, Simon Hoggart and Bonnie Greer, who give frank assessments of some of America's greatest presidents.

Épisode 3 - Between the Lines: Railways in Fiction and Film

9 octobre 2008

Novelist Andrew Martin presents a documentary examining how the train and the railways came to shape the work of writers and film-makers.

Épisode 4 - Last Days of Steam

16 octobre 2008

Documentary which tells the surprising story of how Britain entered a new age of steam railways after the Second World War and why it quickly came to an end. After the war, the largely destroyed railways of Europe were rebuilt to carry more modern diesel and electric trains. Britain, however, chose to build thousands of brand new steam locomotives. These were designed to stay in service well into the 1970s, but in some cases they were taken off the railways and scrapped within just five years. When Dr Richard Beeching took over British Railways in the 1960s the writing was on the wall, and in 1968 the last steam passenger train blew its whistle. But while steam use declined, steam enthusiasm grew. As many steam engines lay rusting in scrapyards around Britain, enthusiasts raised funds to buy, restore and return them to their former glory. In 2008, the first new steam locomotive to be built in Britain in nearly 50 years rolled off the line, proving our enduring love of these machines.

Épisode 5 - How to Write a Mills and Boon

2 novembre 2008

To mark 100 years of romance publishers Mills and Boon, literary novelist Stella Duffy takes on the challenge of writing for them.

Épisode 6 - How to Solve a Cryptic Crossword

10 novembre 2008

A look at the world of cryptic crosswords, offering up the secrets of these seemingly impenetrable puzzles.

Épisode 7 - The Comic Songbook

22 décembre 2008

Documentary which celebrates Britain's rich and much-loved tradition of comic songs, from Noel Coward's Mad Dogs and Englishmen to Benny Hill's Ernie, and reveals the skill involved in creating them.

Épisode 8 - Fashion versus the BBC

22 janvier 2009

Documentary which takes a provocative and entertaining journey through the BBC's own fashion collection.

Épisode 9 - The North-South Divide

9 avril 2009

Journalist John Harris travels around England to find out why the north-south divide is still an economic reality and if anything can be done to close it.

Épisode 1 - Farm to Pharma: The Rise and Rise of Food Science

30 avril 2009

Documentary which explores the history of British food science, taking a fascinating voyage through over a century of petri-dishes, vitamins and E-numbers. The connection between food manufacturers and the white coat brigade is nothing new. One hundred and fifty years before Heston Blumenthal, Birmingham chemist Alfred Bird was reinventing custard because his wife had an allergy to eggs. By the 1930s, George Orwell was already complaining about the chemical by-products that the British people were eating, but when war gave scientists a chance to remake the British diet the improvement in the nation's health was extraordinary. Charting the growing role that food science has played in our daily lives, we meet Tony Blake, the food scientist who pioneered instant soup for Batchelors, and we learn about biochemist Jack Drummond, the tragic mastermind of British food in the Second World War, who died alongside his family as in a mysterious murder. We discover how vegetarian product Quorn was invented to prevent a global food crisis and how breakthroughs in flavour chemistry helped create the day-glo processed foods of the 1970s. We recall Margaret Thatcher's early career as a food scientist and find out why there was no such thing as a free lunch when it came to the promise of fat-free snacks Professor Bob Rastall demonstrates how an artificial gut is being used to develop new food ingredients that will inhibit the growth of pathogens in the human gut.

Épisode 2 - The Golden Age of Liners

22 octobre 2009

Paul Atterbury embarks on an alluring journey into the golden age of ocean liners, finding out how these great ships made such a mark on the popular imagination and why they continue to enchant to this day. Paul's voyage takes him around Britain and reveals a story of design, politics, propaganda, Hollywood glamour and tragedy. Along the way, he uncovers some amazing survivals from the liners of the past - a cinema in Scotland built from the interiors of the SS Homeric, a house in Poole in which cabins from the Mauretania are lovingly preserved - as well as the design inspiration behind the first great liners.

Épisode 3 - The Men Who Built the Liners

29 octobre 2009

Many of the most famous passenger liners in history were built in the British Isles, several in the shipyards along the banks of the Clyde. This series combines personal accounts and archive footage to evoke a vivid picture of the unique culture that grew up in the Clyde shipyards. Despite some of the harshest working conditions in industrial history and dire industrial relations, it was here that the Queen Mary, the Queen Elizabeth and the QE2 were built. Such was the Clyde shipbuilders' pride in their work, and the strength of public support, that in 1971 they were able to defy a government attempt to close them down and win the right to carry on shipbuilding.

Épisode 4 - The Last Days of the Liners

3 novembre 2009

Documentary which tells the story of how, in the years following World War 2, countries competed to launch the most magnificent passenger ships on the great ocean routes. National pride and prestige were at stake. The Americans had the United States, the fastest liner of all; the Dutch had the elegant Rotterdam; the Italians had the sleek Michelangelo; the French had the France as their supreme symbol of national culture and cuisine; and Britain had the Queens Mary and Elizabeth. The coming of the jetliner and the 1960s' assault on class and privilege might have swept this world away, but as the film explains, the giant vessels sailed on. Today, more people than ever travel on big ships - liners that have a modern take on glamour and romance.

Épisode 5 - How to Win at Chess

21 décembre 2009

Many people know the basic rules of chess, but few can play really well. This programme offers some essential tips on how to raise our game. British grandmasters Dan King and Ray Keene go through a special demonstration game from opening gambit to checkmate, revealing the key moves that can lead to victory. They explain the opening, middle and end games, and how to outwit an opponent with techniques such as forks, pins and skewers. Along the way the colourful and diverse world of British chess playing is celebrated, including speed chess and chess boxing, and useful advice is offered on how not to be humiliated by a child prodigy. Also taking part are novelist Martin Amis, writer Dominic Lawson, Britain's youngest grandmaster David Howell and under-16 champion Sheila Dines.

Épisode 6 - Oliver Postgate: A Life in Small Films

22 décembre 2009

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a man whose name was Oliver Postgate. He had a shed where he made things. With his friend Peter Firmin, Oliver created entire worlds for characters including Bagpuss, The Clangers and Ivor the Engine. These stories fired the imaginations of generations of children, and his lullaby voice became a universal reminder of childhood. Time Shift celebrates Oliver Postgate's life and work through a treasury of clips from well-known and rarely seen films, alongside film and photos from the family archive. Fans including Lauren Child (Charlie and Lola) and Andrew Davenport (In the Night Garden) are on hand to heap praise on the man who is such an inspiration for their work. Postgate's family help delve deep into his history and discover the inventions, such as Oliver's old camera adapted with Meccano, that powered his imagined worlds. Co-creator Firmin reveals the story behind his most celebrated characters and introduces his daughter Emily, familiar to millions as the owner of Bagpuss. The documentary also reveals how, as the grandson of Labour leader George Lansbury, Postgate's life was shaped by radical politics. His deeply held beliefs influenced his classic creations, and campaigning became his focus until his death in December 2008.

Épisode 7 - Clement Freud: In His Own Words

22 décembre 2009

When Clement Freud died in April 2009, Britain lost not only one of its best-loved broadcasters but also one of its last great polymaths - a man whose long and varied career encompassed being a Liberal MP, cookery expert, newspaper columnist and author. Freud's lugubrious expression and distinctive voice launched him as a TV personality in the 1960s with a series of dog food commercials, but his early life was just as colourful - the grandson of Sigmund Freud, he was a commis chef at the Dorchester Hotel and a liaison officer at the Nuremberg war crimes trials of 1946. This documentary draws together interviews with Freud from across four decades, including previously unaired material, to allow him to tell the story of his remarkable life in his own inimitable way.

Épisode 8 - Bread: A Loaf Affair

24 mars 2010

The aptly-named Tom Baker narrates a tale of aspiration, industrialisation and plain old-fashioned snobbery in a documentary which unwraps the story of the rise of the popular loaf and how it has shaped the way we eat. Historically, to know the colour of one's bread was to know one's place in life. For centuries, ordinary people ate brown bread that was about as easy on the teeth as a brick. Softer, refined white bread was so expensive to make that it became the preserve of the rich. Affordable white bread was the baker's holy grail - but almost as soon as it became possible to achieve, dietary experts began to trumpet the virtues of brown. Not surprisingly, the British public proved reluctant to give up their white loaves, and even a war couldn't change their eating habits.

Épisode 9 - Disappearing Dad

29 juin 2010

Novelist Andrew Martin investigates the curious case of absent fathers in fiction. Far from being a repository of fatherly role models, English literature has preferred to do away with dads. If literary fathers survive the first chapter of a novel - which they often don't - their idea of quality time seems to be going off to kill foreigners or sailing round the world. Alternatively, they absent themselves mentally, brooding in their studies, conducting mysterious experiments and generally being keen on activities that can't possibly involve their children.

Épisode 1 - The North on a Plate

8 septembre 2010

Paris-based cultural historian Andrew Hussey follows his success with France on a Plate by travelling back to his homeland, the north west of England, in search of its lost food culture.

Épisode 2 - 1960: The Year of the North

14 septembre 2010

This programme sets out to show that the 60s - the most creative decade of the 20th century - began not in swinging London but in smokestack Northern England. It was from there that a new kind of voice was heard: cocky and defiant, working class, affluent, stroppy and sexy.

Épisode 3 - When Britain Went Wild

5 octobre 2010

Documentary which explores the untold story of how Britain 'went wild' in the 1960s. It shows how the British people fell in love with animals and how, by the end of the decade, wildlife protection had become an intrinsic part of our culture. Before that time people knew very little about endangered species or the natural world - the very word 'environment' was hardly recognised. But the 1960s saw a sea change.

Épisode 4 - Nordic Noir: The Story of Scandinavian Crime Fiction

20 décembre 2010

Draw the curtains and dim the lights for a chilling trip north for a documentary which investigates the success of Scandinavian crime fiction and why it exerts such a powerful hold on our imagination. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a literary blockbuster that has introduced millions of readers to the phenomenon that is Scandinavian crime fiction - yet author Stieg Larsson spent his life in the shadows and didn't live to see any of his books published. It is one of the many mysteries the programme investigates as it travels to Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland in search of the genre's most acclaimed writers and memorable characters. It also looks at Henning Mankell's brooding Wallander series, with actor Krister Henriksson describing the challenge of bringing the character to the screen, and it asks why so many stories have a political subtext. The programme finds out how Stieg Larsson based the bestselling Millennium trilogy on his work as an investigative journalist and reveals the unlikely source of inspiration for his most striking character, Lisbeth Salander. There are also segments on Jo Nesbo, the Norwegian rock star-turned-writer tipped to inherit Larsson's mantle, and Karin Fossum, an author whose personal experience of murder has had a profound effect on her writing.

Épisode 5 - Italian Noir: The Story of Italian Crime Fiction

27 décembre 2010

Documentary which profiles a new wave of Italian crime fiction that has emerged to challenge the conventions of the detective novel. There are no happy endings in these noir tales, only revelations about Italy's dark heart - a world of corruption, unsolved murders and the mafia. The programme features exclusive interviews with the leading writers from this new wave of noir, including Andrea Camilleri (creator of the Inspector Montablano Mysteries) and Giancarlo De Cataldo (Romanzo Criminale), who explains how his work as a real-life investigating judge inspired his work. From the other side of the law, Massimo Carlotto talks about how his novels were shaped by his wrongful conviction for murder and years spent on the run from the police. The film also looks at the roots of this new wave. Carlo Emilio Gadda (That Awful Mess) used the detective novel to expose the corruption that existed during Mussolini's fascist regime and then, after the Second World War, Leonardo Sciascia's crime novels (The Day of The Owl) tackled the rise of the Sicilian mafia. These writers established the rules of a new kind of noir that drew on real events and offered no neat endings. Also featuring Italian writers Carlo Lucarelli and Barbara Baraldi, the film uses rarely seen archive from Italian television.

Épisode 6 - The Golden Age of Coach Travel

5 janvier 2011

Documentary which takes a glorious journey back to the 1950s, when the coach was king. From its early origins in the charabanc, the coach had always been the people's form of transport. Cheaper and more flexible than the train, it allowed those who had travelled little further than their own villages and towns a first heady taste of exploration and freedom. It was a safe capsule on wheels from which to venture out into a wider world.

Épisode 7 - The Modern Age Of The Coach

12 janvier 2011

Documentary which brings the story of the coach up to date, as it explores the most recent phase of Britain's love affair with group travel on four wheels - from school trips and football awaydays to touring with bands and 'magic bus' overland treks to India. The establishment of the National Coach Company may have standardised the livery and the experience of mainstream coach travel in the 1970s, but a multitude of alternative offerings meant the coach retained its hold on the public imagination, with even striking miners and New Age travellers getting in on a very British act.

Épisode 8 - The Story of Corporal Punishment

4 avril 2011

Timeshift lifts the veil on the taboo that is corporal punishment. What it reveals is a fascinating history spanning religion, the justice system, sex and education. Today it is a subject that is almost impossible to discuss in public, but it's not that long since corporal punishment was a routine part of life. Surprising and enlightening, the programme invites us to leave our preconceptions at the door so that we may better understand how corporal punishment came to be so important for so long.

Épisode 9 - The Story of Capital Punishment

5 avril 2011

Time Shift digs into the archive to trace the extraordinary story of the ultimate sanction. At the beginning of the 19th century you could still be hanged in Britain for offences such as stealing a sheep or shooting a rabbit. Even children as young as seven were sent to the gallows. The last hanging in this country took place as recently as 1964. By opting for a dispassionate history rather than staging the usual polarised debate, the programme breaks new ground with its fascinating attention to detail, such as the protocols of the public execution or the 'science' of hanging. With contributions from both sides of the argument, it provides an essential guide to a subject that still divides us.

Épisode 1 - Retrial by TV: The Rise and Fall of Rough Justice

3 avril 2011

It is almost exactly 30 years since the BBC's Rough Justice team began investigating miscarriages of justice. The programme can claim to have achieved the overturning of the convictions of 18 people in 13 separate cases, continuing sporadically for over 25 years until it was finally axed in November 2007. Timeshift looks at the creation of this extraordinary series and reveals what a shock to the system it was. Featuring contributions from many of those involved, it asks how it was that a television programme took it upon itself to question one of the oldest judicial systems in the world.

Épisode 2 - Hotel Deluxe

29 juin 2011

Timeshift invites you to make a reservation in the world of hotels for the super rich. The Savoy, the Ritz, the Dorchester - the very names of Britain's grand hotels spell luxury around the world. The film charts how luxury hotels have met the needs of new forms of wealth, from aristocrats to rock stars and beyond, with comfort, innovation and, above all, service.

Épisode 3 - All the Fun of the Fair

2 août 2011

Timeshift explores rarely-seen images from the University of Sheffield's National Fairground Archive to ride back to the origins of the fairground. From the sideshows to the freak shows and early hand-powered rides to the arrival of steam and electricity, the story of fairs is the tale of one of our first forms of popular entertainment. The film shows how fairgrounds often provided the only entertainment to rapidly-expanding industrial towns. It looks at how, from the 50s, the fairground was the site of youth rebellion and why we are still entranced by these travelling carnivals that arrive overnight and then vanish just as mysteriously.

Épisode 4 - When the Circus Comes to Town

8 septembre 2011

Roll up! Roll up! Join Timeshift under the big top for unique access to the University of Sheffield's National Fairground Archive which tells the story of the circus. From Billy Smart to Gerry Cottle and Archaos to Cirque du Soleil, the documentary captures the appeal of this enduring mass entertainment. Find out what a josser is, discover why clowns are one of the few acts to achieve lasting celebrity and marvel at the sheer spectacle of some of the biggest circuses of all time. In an age when almost every form of popular entertainment owes something to the circus, When the Circus Comes to Town is a nostalgic journey into the origins of one of the ultimate expressions of human athleticism and showmanship.

Épisode 5 - The Picture Postcard World of Nigel Walmsley

15 septembre 2011

The surprising story behind the humble picture postcard, playfully told by comic creation Nigel Walmsley. With their own language and bespoke rules, postcards were the texts and emails of their era, at a time when households received up to four postal deliveries a day. Postcards became a holiday staple, but they were once an important means of communicating events - from election results to rail crashes. Entering the world of collectable cards, it's easy to understand the value of a card posted from the Titanic. It's harder to see why anyone would want to collect cards of holiday camps or motorway service stations, but they do. Some consider postcards an art form, others are fascinated by the messages on the back, poignantly stranded in time. Nigel Walmsley is mostly amused.

Épisode 6 - Dear Censor

29 septembre 2011

Lifting the lid on the world of cinema censorship, this programme has unique access to the files of the British Board of Film Classification. Featuring explicit and detailed exchanges between the censor and film-makers, 'Dear Censor' casts a wry eye over some of the most infamous cases in the history of the board.

Épisode 7 - Of Ice and Men

3 novembre 2011

Time Shift reveals the history of the frozen continent, finding out why the most inhospitable place on the planet has exerted such a powerful hold on the imagination of explorers, scientists, writers and photographers.

Épisode 8 - The Golden Age of Trams: A Streetcar Named Desire

5 décembre 2011

Move along the car! Timeshift takes a nostalgic trip on the tram car and explores how it liberated overcrowded cities and launched the age of commuter. The film maps the tram's journey from early horse-drawn carriages on rails, through steam to electric power.

Épisode 9 - Epic: A Cast of Thousands!

24 décembre 2011

Timeshift reveals the ten commandments of big cinema as it goes behind the scenes of the biggest film genre of them all - the epic. See the biggest sets ever known! Hear the sound of Ancient Rome! Count the spiralling costs as budgets soared! From Ben-Hur to The Ten Commandments, from El Cid to Cleopatra, these were films that set a new standard in BIG. In the days before computers they recreated ancient worlds on a vast scale, and they did it for real. Epic cinema hired armies, defied the seasons and changed cinema. Even the screen wasn't big enough for the epic, so Hollywood made it bigger - and some cinemagoers experienced vertigo watching these vast productions. Today, the epic lives on in the Oscar-laden Gladiator and the spectacular sweep of Avatar. As this documentary reveals, the stories behind the films are as spectacular as the films themselves.

Épisode 10 - The Smoking Years

4 janvier 2012

Timeshift reveals the story of the creature that is 'the smoker'. How did this species arrive on our shores? Why did it become so sexy - and so dominant in our lives? Was there really a time when everywhere people could be found shrouded in a thick blue cloud? Enlisting the help of Barry Cryer, Stuart Maconie and others, The Smoking Years tells the unnatural history of a quite remarkable - and now threatened - creature. Warning: smoke-filled nostalgia may damage your health.

Épisode 11 - The Rules of Drinking

11 janvier 2012

Timeshift digs into the archive to discover the unwritten rules that have governed the way we drink in Britain. In the pubs and working men's clubs of the forties and fifties there were strict customs governing who stood where. To be invited to sup at the bar was a rite of passage for many young men, and it took years for women to be accepted into these bastions of masculinity. As the country prospered and foreign travel became widely available, so new drinking habits were introduced as we discovered wine and, even more exotically, cocktails. People began to drink at home as well as at work, where journalists typified a tradition of the liquid lunch. Advertising played its part as lager was first sold as a woman's drink and then the drink of choice for young men with a bit of disposable income. The rules changed and changed again, but they were always there - unwritten and unspoken, yet underwriting our complicated relationship with drinking

Épisode 1 - Health before the NHS: The Road to Recovery

24 septembre 2012

Robert Winston narrates the shocking story of health in Britain before the National Health Service. In the early 20th century, getting treated if you were ill was a rudimentary, risky and costly business - a luxury few could afford. Using rare archive footage and personal testimony, the programme tells how ordinary people, GPs, midwives and local councils coped with a chaotic and ramshackle system as they struggled to deal with sickness and disease in the homes and communities of pre-World War Two Britain

Épisode 2 - Health before the NHS: A Medical Revolution

1 octobre 2012

The Robert Winston-narrated mini-series concludes with the story of hospitals. At the beginning of the 20th century these were forbidding places very much to be avoided - a last resort for the destitute rather than places you would go to get better. Using unique archive footage from an era when infectious disease was virtually untreatable and powerful first-hand accounts from patients, doctors and nurses, the programme explores the extraordinary transformation of the hospital from Victorian workhouse to modern centre of medicine.

Épisode 3 - Magnificent Machines: The Golden Age of the British Sports Car

8 octobre 2012

Timeshift sets its rear-view mirror to look back at the golden age of the British sports car. It's the story of how - in the grey austerity of the postwar years - iconic marques like Jaguar, Austin-Healey, MG and Triumph sparked a manufacturing frenzy that helped to democratise speed and glamour. From the MG Midget, much loved by American GIs, through to the more affordable Austin Healey 'frog-eye' Sprite and the E-Type Jaguar, seen by many as the ultimate sports car, this is a tale of how, for a brief time, Britain was home to two-seater heaven.

Épisode 4 - Klezmer

14 octobre 2012

Michael Grade narrates the story of klezmer, the 'original party music'. From its origins in Jewish folk music performed at weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, klezmer has now gone global, played from Amsterdam to Australia to audiences who find its spirit and energy hard to resist. Timeshift explores the sounds, influences and shifting fortunes of this infectious music and shows that beneath its joyful strains lies an emotional appeal that you don't need to be Jewish to respond to.

Épisode 5 - The British Army of the Rhine

22 octobre 2012

The affectionate story of British servicemen and their families who had to make Germany a home from home in the decades after the Second World War. For nearly 70 years, generations would grow up on bases with special schools, shops, housing and even their own radio station, as parts of the Rhineland became little bubbles of Britishness. Featuring a nostalgic soundtrack of German language versions of period pop hits and contributions from military historians such as Max Hastings and former BBC sports commentator Barry Davies - himself a former British Army of the Rhine soldier - as well as those of military wives and children. Once the frontline in the Cold War, the BAOR is now being called home as the Ministry of Defence begins preparations to finally pull British forces out.

Épisode 6 - When Wrestling was Golden: Grapples, Grunts and Grannies

13 décembre 2012

Timeshift turns back the clock to a time when villains wore silver capes, grannies swooned at the sight of bulky men in latex and the most masculine man in the country was called Shirley. In its heyday, British professional wrestling attracted huge TV audiences and made household names of generations of wrestlers from Mick McManus and Jackie 'Mr TV' Pallo to Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy. With contributions from inside the world of wrestling and surprising fans such as artist Peter Blake, this is an affectionate and lively portrait of a lost era of simpler pleasures, both in and out of the ring.

Épisode 7 - The Joy of (Train) Sets: The Model Railway Story

23 janvier 2013

From Hornby to Triang and beyond, this documentary explores how the British have been in love with model railways for more than a century. What began as an adult obsession with building fully-engineered replicas became the iconic toy of 1950s and 60s childhood. With unique archive and contributions from modellers such as Pete Waterman, this is a celebration of the joys of miniaturisation. Just don't call them toy trains.

Épisode 8 - Eyes Down! The Story of Bingo

30 janvier 2013

It is one of Britain's most popular leisure pursuits, but high street bingo came about almost by accident as the result of a loophole in an obscure piece of gambling legislation. Almost overnight, in January 1961 what had been a quiet parlour game or occasional seaside flutter was turned into a brash multi-million pound business. As Timeshift affectionately recalls in this documentary, soon nearly a quarter of the population were playing and becoming fluent in the rhyming slang of 'bingo lingo' - from 'Legs Eleven' to 'Clickety Click, Sixty Six'. This explosion of interest quickly led to a moral panic about the dangers of easy prize money, but bingo was defiantly here to stay - and not just as the preserve of older women, as today's mega-halls full of hen-night parties show.

Épisode 9 - Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting: The Rise of Martial Arts in Britain

24 février 2013

Timeshift, the black belt of the archive world, takes a look at the rise of martial arts in Britain. From the early days of bartitsu, through judo and karate to kung fu, Britain has had a long and illustrious involvement with the martial arts. Gold medals have been won, Sherlock Holmes's life has been saved and aftershave has been worn - all thanks to the martial arts.

Épisode 10 - How To Be A Lady: An Elegant History

26 mars 2013

Journalist Rachel Johnson goes in search of what seems an almost vanished social type: the lady. With a handful of vintage etiquette books to guide her and a generous helping of film archive, she wants to find out how the idea of the lady changed over time - and what it might mean to be one now. Along the way she tries out etiquette classes and side-saddle lessons, as well as discovering that debutante balls have been revived for export.

Épisode 1 - Full Throttle: The Glory Days of British Motorbikes

28 octobre 2013

Timeshift returns with an exploration of the British love of fast, daring and sometimes reckless motorbike riding during a period when home-grown machines were the envy of the world. From TE Lawrence in the 1920s, to the 'ton up boys' and rockers of the 1950s, motorbikes represented unparalleled style and excitement, as British riders indulged their passion for brands like Brough Superior, Norton and Triumph. But it wasn't all thrills and spills - the motorbike played a key role during World War II and it was army surplus bikes that introduced many to the joy and freedom of motorcycling in the 50s, a period now regarded as a golden age. With its obsession with speed and the rocker lifestyle, it attracted more than its fair share of social disapproval and conflict.

Épisode 2 - When Coal Was King

4 novembre 2013

Timeshift explores the lost world of coal mining and the extraordinarily rich social and cultural lives of those who worked in what was once Britain's most important industry. It's a story told through a largely forgotten film archive that movingly documents the final years of coal's heyday from the 1940s to the 1980s. One priceless piece of footage features a ballet performance by tutu-wearing colliers. Featuring contributions from those who worked underground, those who lived in the pit villages, those who filmed them at work and at play and those - like Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall - who have been inspired by what made coalfield culture so unique. Narrated by Christopher Eccleston.

Épisode 3 - Bouffants, Beehives and Bobs: The Hairstyles That Shaped Britain

13 novembre 2013

It is said that the average woman gets through around 30 hairstyles in a lifetime, with some changing their look entirely every 15 months. Timeshift takes a loving and sometimes horrified look back at the iconic hairdos and 'must have' haircuts that both men and women in Britain have flirted with over the past 60 years. And it's some journey... from the meringue-like confections of Raymond 'Teasy Weasy' via the geometric 'bob' cuts of Vidal Sassoon, stopping off to take in the 'big hair' heyday of bouffants and beehives, and not forgetting the mullet, the feather cut and the ultimate 'bad hair day' look of 1970s perms. Our hair is the one part of our identity we can change in an instant and which speaks volumes about who we are, where we've come from and where we're going. Today, young women are revisiting hair fashions of an earlier generation - big hair and blowdrying are back in demand, whilst many young men sport Edwardian 'peaky blinder' short back and sides. Narrated by Wayne Hemingway.

Épisode 4 - A Day at the Zoo

20 novembre 2013

Using unique home movie footage, this is the story of how zoos captured the imagination of the British - from the first 'scientific zoological garden' in Regent's Park to Gerald Durrell's 'conservation ark', which became Jersey Zoo. It's a nostalgic tale of show-stopping animals - such as the original Jumbo the elephant and Bristol Zoo's Alfred the gorilla - as well as bold innovations like the make-believe mountains of London Zoo and Dudley's animal enclosures without bars. No wonder, despite modern concerns about keeping animals captive, a day at the zoo remains one of Britain's most popular family days out.

Épisode 5 - The Ladybird Books Story: The Bugs That Got Britain Reading

22 décembre 2013

To millions of people, Ladybird books were as much a part of childhood as battery-powered torches and warm school milk. These now iconic pocket-sized books once informed us on such diverse subjects as how magnets work, what to look for in winter and how to make decorations out of old eggshells. But they also helped to teach many of us to read via a unique literacy scheme known as 'key words'. Ladybird books were also a visual treat - some of the best-known contemporary illustrators were recruited to provide images which today provide a perfect snapshot of the lost world of Ladybirdland: a place that is forever the gloriously ordinary, orderly 1950s.

Épisode 6 - Hurricanes and Heatwaves: The Highs and Lows of British Weather

8 janvier 2014

A glorious national obsession is explored in this archive-rich look at the evolution of the weather forecast from print via radio to TV and beyond - and at the changing weather itself. It shows how the Met Office and the BBC have always used the latest technology to bring the holy grail of accurate forecasting that much closer - even if the odd messenger like TV weatherman Michael Fish has been shot along the way. Yet as hand-drawn maps have been replaced by weather apps, the bigger drama of global warming has been playing itself out as if to prove that we were right all along to obsess about the weather. Featuring a very special rendition of the shipping forecast by a Cornish fishermen's choir.

Épisode 7 - How to be Sherlock Holmes: The Many Faces of a Master Detective

12 janvier 2014

For over 100 years, more than 80 actors have put a varying face to the world's greatest consulting detective - Sherlock Holmes. And many of them incorporated details - such as the curved pipe and the immortal line 'Elementary, my dear Watson' - that never featured in Conan Doyle's original stories. In charting the evolution of Sherlock on screen, from early silent movies to the latest film and television versions, Timeshift shows how our notion of Holmes today is as much a creation of these various screen portrayals as of the stories themselves.

Épisode 1 - Mods, Rockers and Bank Holiday Mayhem

26 mai 2014

A trip back to the days when 'style wars' were just that - violent confrontations about the clothes you wore. Spring 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the bank holiday 'battles of the beaches', when hundreds of mods and rockers flocked to seaside resorts on scooters and motorbikes in search of thrills and spills. Timeshift tells the story of how this led to violence, arrests and widespread concern about the state of British youth. But mods and rockers had more in common than was first obvious - they were the first generation of baby boomers to reach their teenage years at a time when greater prosperity and wider freedoms were transforming what it meant to be young.

Épisode 2 - Killer Storms and Cruel Winters: The History of Extreme Weather

28 juillet 2014

If you think Britain has recently been on the end of some of the worst floods and storms ever experienced, think again. So says solar scientist Dr Lucie Green, as she takes a journey back through our most turbulent and dramatic weather history. She finds an 18th-century storm surge that killed over a thousand people working in open Somerset fields, a hurricane that drowned a fifth of the British Navy and winters so bitter that the country came close to total shutdown. But she also explores how our reactions to killer storms and cruel winters helped forge a weather science that today allows us to predict - and protect ourselves from - the worst extremes.

Épisode 3 - Bullseyes and Beer: When Darts Hit Britain

15 décembre 2014

Timeshift tells the story of how a traditional working-class pub game became a national obsession during the 1970s and 80s, and looks at the key role television played in elevating its larger-than-life players into household names. Siobhan Finneran narrates a documentary which charts the game's surprising history, its cross-class and cross-gender appeal, and the star players that, for two decades, transformed a pub pastime into a sporting spectacle like no other. Featuring legendary names such as Alan Evans and Jocky Wilson and including contributions from Eric Bristow, Bobby George, John Lowe and Phil Taylor.

Épisode 4 - Battle for the Himalayas: The Fight to Film Everest

26 janvier 2015

Between the 1920s and the 1960s the world's great powers sent vast military-style expeditions to conquer the peaks of the Himalayas, with Everest at their head. This was a great game played - camera in hand - by Imperial Britain, Nazi Germany and superpower America. As a result, Himalayan mountaineering's most iconic, epic and tragic moments didn't just go down in history, but were caught on film - from the deaths of Mallory and Irvine on Everest in 1924, to Everest's final conquest in 1953 by Hillary and Tensing. Using footage never before seen on British television, this is the story how of how film-makers turned the great peaks into great propaganda.

Épisode 5 - The Nation's Railway: The Golden Age of British Rail

24 février 2015

Timeshift revisits Britain's railways during the era of nationalisation. For all its bad reputation today, the old British Rail boldly transformed a decayed, war-torn Victorian transport network into a system fit for the 20th century. With an eye firmly on the future, steam made way for diesel and electric, new modern stations like Euston were built, and Britain's first high-speed trains introduced. Made with unique access to the British Transport Films archive, this is a warm corrective to the myth of the bad old days of rail, but even it can't hide from the horror that was a British Rail sandwich.

Épisode 6 - Spicing Up Britain: How Eating Out Went Exotic

11 mars 2015

Timeshift looks at how post-war Britain went from a place where eating out was more of a chore than a pleasure to a nation of food adventurers, now spending up to a third of our food budget on restaurant meals. It's the story of the British palate being slowly introduced to a range of what would then have been 'exotic' cuisines by successive generations of migrants opening eateries - first Italians, then Chinese and Indians. By encouraging us to try something new - be it spaghetti, stir fry or samosa - they spiced up not just our food but our high streets and our lives.

Épisode 1 - The Trains That Time Forgot: Britain's Lost Railway Journeys

2 septembre 2015

Writer and presenter Andrew Martin asks why we once named trains and why we don't do so anymore. He embarks on three railway journeys around Britain, following the routes of three of the most famous named trains - the Flying Scotsman, the Cornish Riviera Express and the Brighton Belle. We reflect on travel during the golden age of railways - when the journey itself was as important as reaching your destination - and compare those same journeys with the passenger experience today.

Épisode 2 - A Very British Map: The Ordnance Survey Story

9 septembre 2015

For over 200 years, Ordnance Survey has mapped every square mile of the British Isles, capturing not just the contours and geography of our nation, but of our lives. Originally intended for military use, OS maps were used during wartime to help locate enemy positions. In peacetime, they helped people discover and explore the countryside. Today, the large fold-out paper maps, used by generations of ramblers, scouts and weekend adventurers, represent just a small part of the OS output. As Ordnance Survey adjusts to the digital age, Timeshift looks back to tell the story of a quintessentially British institution.

Épisode 3 - The Engine That Powers the World

23 septembre 2015

The surprising story of the hidden powerhouse behind the globalised world - the diesel engine, a 19th-century invention that has become indispensable to the 21st. It's a turtle versus hare tale in which the diesel engine races the petrol engine in a competition to replace ageing steam technology - a race eventually won hands down by diesel. Splendidly, car enthusiast presenter Mark Evans gets excitedly hands on with some of the many applications of Mr Diesel's - yes, there was one - original creation, from vintage submarines and tractors to locomotive trains and container ships. You'll never feel the same about that humble old diesel family car again.

Épisode 4 - The People's Liners: Britain's Lost Pleasure Fleets

20 octobre 2015

Timeshift casts off for a colourful voyage of 'high teas on the high seas' in the company of passengers and crew of the vintage steamers which were once a common sight on the rivers and coastal waters around Britain. Far more than a means of transport, these steamers attracted a devoted following, treating their passengers, whatever their pocket, to the adventure and trappings of an ocean voyage whilst actually rarely venturing out of sight of land. A highlight of the great British seaside holiday from the 1820s until the early 1960s - and open to all - they were 'the people's liners'.

Épisode 5 - Looking for Mr Bond: 007 at the BBC

28 octobre 2015

After more than 60 years tracking James Bond in print and on screen, the BBC opens up its vaults to reveal the forgotten files on the world's most famous secret agent. Featuring rare and candid interviews with all six actors to play 007, and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, this is James Bond unguarded, unrestricted and unseen.

Épisode 6 - How Britain Won the Space Race: The Story of Bernard Lovell and Jodrell Bank

16 novembre 2015

The unlikely story of how one man with some ex-WWII army equipment eventually turned a muddy field in Cheshire into a key site in the space race. That man was Bernard Lovell, and his telescope at Jodrell Bank would be used at the height of the Cold War by both the Americans and the Russians to track their competing spacecraft. It also put Britain at the forefront of radio astronomy, a new science which transformed our knowledge of space and provided the key to understanding the most mind-bending theory of the beginnings of the universe - the Big Bang.

Épisode 1 - Bridging the Gap: How the Severn Bridge Was Built

19 octobre 2016

2016 sees the fiftieth anniversary of the Severn Bridge, which completed the motorway link between England and Wales. Timeshift tells the inside story of the design and construction of 'the most perfect suspension bridge in the world', and how its unique slim-line structure arose by accident

Épisode 2 - Sailors, Ships and Stevedores: The Story of British Docks

26 octobre 2016

For generations, Britain's docks in cities like Liverpool, London and Cardiff were our commercial portals to the world but, as Timeshift shows, they were so much more. Docks were gateways for the arrival of new sounds, styles and cultures to the British Isles. But the docks have also been in the front line of traumatic economic changes that have forced their transformation in the 21st century into clean, contemporary hubs for leisure and the arts. Narrated by Sue Johnston.

Épisode 3 - Penny Blacks and Twopenny Blues: How Britain Got Stuck on Stamps

14 novembre 2016

Timeshift charts the evolution of the British postage stamp and examines how these sticky little labels became a national obsession. Like many of us, writer and presenter Andrew Martin collected stamps when he was young, and now he returns to that lost world to unpeel the history of iconic stamps like the Penny Black and the Blue Mauritius, study famous collectors like King George V and the enigmatic Count Phillip de Ferrary, and to meet present-day philatelists at a stamp club.

Épisode 4 - Booze, Beans & Bhajis: The Story of the Corner Shop

19 décembre 2016

What is it about the British and the corner shop? The corner shop has always been there for us, it's a British institution. It was on the front line of what was happening in society from the '40s to the noughties. It saved our bacon during World War II and it has become a rite of passage for new immigrants. Journalist Babita Sharma, the daughter of shopkeepers, explores the growing and shifting fortunes of the corner shop to discover why this unsung hero has been at the centre of ordinary lives for more than 70 years. With contributions from comedian Sanjeev Singh Kholi and actor Nitin Ganatra, Booze, Beans & Bhajis uses the shop as a way to explore the social fabric of Britain - from economic change to immigration. The death of the corner shop has been predicted many times - but still it soldiers on. So just how has it managed to survive?

Épisode 5 - Flights of Fancy: Pigeons and the British

7 février 2017

Timeshift ventures inside places of sporting achievement, scientific endeavour and male obsession - the lofts of pigeon fanciers - to tell the story of a remarkable bird. As racer, messenger and even beauty pageant contestant, the humble pigeon has been a steadfast part of British life for centuries. Pigeons have served in two world wars, flown over oceans and crossed barriers of age, class and race to take their place as man's best feathered friend. Meanwhile, pigeon fanciers have contrived to make them faster and more eye-catching, using backyard genetics to breed the perfect bird. Popular affection for pigeons has nosedived in recent decades due to growing distaste at what they leave behind, and legislation has seen them chased out of public spaces. But as this programme shows, dedicated British pigeon fanciers are determined to keep their pastime alive. So what does the future hold for the 21st century pigeon? Narrated by Miles Jupp.

Épisode 1 - Roof Racks and Hatchbacks: The Family Car

3 avril 2017

Exploring the British experience of family cars, from the Morris Minor to the Ford Cortina, the VW Golf to the Volvo estate, school runs to family holidays.

Épisode 2 - Blazes and Brigades: The Story of the Fire Service

13 avril 2017

Timeshift looks back on nearly two centuries of British firefighting, and explores how major incidents and the evolution of equipment from manual pumps to motorised fire engines have helped forge the modern fire service.

Épisode 3 - Dial B for Britain: The Story of the Landline

20 avril 2017

Timeshift tells the story of how Britain's phone network was built. Incredibly, there was once a time when phones weren't pocket-sized wireless devices, but bulky objects wired into our homes and workplaces. Over the course of 100 years, engineers rolled out a communications network that joined up Britain - a web of more than 70 million miles of wire.