The BBC Unveils Its Spring Schedule
Big names and bright stars form part of BBC TV’s £255 million Spring and Summer package. Auntie has fifteen brand new entertainment shows and nine new dramas lined-up for transmission.
Drama addicts will be spoilt for choice, with both Channel 4 and the BBC promising a bag of goodies in this genre. Channel 4 lifted the lid of its new season earlier this week Spring In At 4. BBC 1 is carrying an intriguing new mystery series by Victor Meldrew’s creator, David Renwick; Jonathan Creek will star Alan Davies and Caroline Quentin. Another household name, Nigel Havers stars in The Heart Surgeon, a story of a man with a golden future who has an affair with his best friend’s wife.
No BBC schedule is complete without a couple of epic historical dramas; Drover’s Gold is a five-parter about the adventures of a band of 19th century ‘Celtic cowboys’ on a cattle drove to London, and Plotlands is a serial set in 1920’s Hertfordshire. The Locksmith is another multi-part drama; Warren Clarke plays an unlikely vigilante who takes the law into his own hands.
Moving back to the present, the veil is lifted on the closed world of the modern scientist in the thriller Breakout. Thriller fans will also enjoy Martin Sheen in Hostile Waters on Screen One and, over on Screen Two, Juliet Stevenson stars in the award-wining Stone, Scissors, Paper.
A number of favourites are returning to the Beeb; Smith and Jones, The Mrs Merton Show, Backup, Preston Front and Pie in the Sky are back on 1, while Rab.C Nesbitt, Room 101 and Murder One make a welcome comeback to 2.
There are also a number of new entertainment shows to look forward; Gaby Roslin will be making dreams come true in Whatever You Want and Dale Winton presents The Other Half, a gameshow centring around matching two halves of a couple. Two never seen before sitcoms will also be on Beeb’s side of the box, The Peter Principle and Sunnyside farm are the shows to look-out for.
The BBC continues to try to fulfill its ground-breaking role in the factual programming department; Michael Wood follows an incredible 22,000 mile journey across 16 countries in The Footsteps of Alexander The Great. And, back in Britain, United Kingdom builds a portrait of the groups and individuals that make up this green and pleasant land. While, the controversial scientist, Stephen Harking explores the roots of existence in Stephen Hawking’s Universe. Staying with science, BBC 2 has a Weekend on Mars, featuring live coverage of NASA’s Pathfinder probe’s landing on Martian territory.
Exploring life closer to home Relate is a new BBC 2 series that looks at relationships and Angus Deayton delves into the world of deceit in a four-part series The Lying Game.
Of course, the BBC will be covering all the major events of the Summer; the General Election, the Royal anniversary and the Hong Kong hand-over will unfold as they happen on our screens.
Meanwhile, The Dynasty and After the Raj mark another golden anniversary, 50 years of independence in India and Pakistan
Getting arty farty now, Jonathan Miller’s Opera Works set-out to unravel opera and Summer dance will feature a range of new and classic works. Culture is wide and varied and BBC arts is trying to reflect this; BBC 2 and Radio 1 are joining forces for the first time to cover Glastonbury and The Works will, among other things, be investigating what makes a rock bands successful.
Sport may be slowly leaving the Corporation, but The Grand National, the FA Cup Final and Wimbledon are still ‘free’ at the BBC.
Hopefully, this schedule will look as good as it sounds; popular shows intermingle with promising new programmes and a few potential flops. With five terrestrial channels on the air though there should be something watchable on another side if things get desperate.
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