Timeshift Season 4 Episodes

Episode 1

Art School

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.

Episode 2

Fantasy Sixties

TV fantasies played out on our TV screens in the mid sixties, Timeshift take a look back at the wild ideas, that took center stage.

Episode 3

Jack Rosenthal: The Voice of Television Drama

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.

Episode 4

The Carnival Years

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.

Episode 5

Time Gentlemen, Please: The History of The British Pub

The pub has been the mainstay of British society since medieval times, a cornerstone of any community playing a unique role in national life. But in the past 50 years the pub has undergone massive change. This program examines the core values of this definitively British institution and questions its survival. With contributions from Jeremy Hardy, Rowan Pelling and Pete Brown. Narrated by Arthur Smith.

Episode 6

Live on the Night: The Story of Live TV Drama

60 mins

Programme looking at the history of live television, as well as what it means for us today.

Episode 7

New Age Travellers

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.

Episode 8

Drugs in Sport

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

Episode 9

Hey Mr. DJ: The Rise and Rise of The Disc Jockey

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.

Episode 10

The British Space Race

40 mins

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.

Episode 11

Pile It High, Sell It Cheap

The rise and rise of the British supermarket, and the price we paid for the dream it sold us.

Episode 12

The Lost World of Red Robbo

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.

Episode 13

Gambling Britain

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.

Episode 14

The Story of Circus

Timeshift 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.

Episode 15

Pop Svengalis

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

Episode 16

Conchies: Questions of Conscience

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

Episode 17

Kenneth Tynan: Critical Condition

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.

Episode 18

Jewish Entertainers

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.

Episode 19

Alan Plater: Hearing the Music

A biographical documentary about the life and work of Alan Plater. With contributions from critics, actors, directors and other writers detailing Alan's work through the years and especially the influence of his love of music on his writing.

Episode 20

Speak No Evil: The Story of the Broadcast Ban

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.

Episode 21

Russell T. Davis: Unscripted

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.