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The Secret Life of the Motorway Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
3 Episodes 2007 - 2007
Episode 1
Falling in Love
59 mins
Takes us from the excitement of the building of the first motorway in Britain, the M6 Preston bypass, to the celebration of the most complex, Spaghetti Junction. With amazing archive and often hilarious public information films, we take a trip back to a time when not only were motorways exciting and new, but there was also no speed limit. Interviews with the engineers who designed them, the navvies who built them and the people who drove on them bring to life and celebrate an achievement that we now take so much for granted.
Episode 2
The Honeymoon Period
58 mins
From glamorous early service stations to contemporary shopping centers with the infrastructure of a small town, this film is a journey through the wonderful, and the weird, places motorways have taken us. Contributors include seminal planner Sir Peter Hall, author Will Self, caravanners, hitchhikers and commuters, discussing our eagerness to accelerate down the slip road and the social changes that have followed.
Episode 3
The End of the Affair
59 mins
When the first motorways opened they did so to national celebration. But after the first 1,000 miles had been built, their impact on both town and country was becoming apparent and people started to protest. Middle England rose up and disrupted public inquiries to voice their frustration at motorway building, but it continued and over time the frustration gave way to concerns about saving the planet. In the early 90s that meant young people willing to risk everything to stop the motorways being built. The program shows how we began to question the promises made by the motorway and along the way found our voice of protest.