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Posts tagged ‘BBC Radio 4’

18
May
inthered

The black comedy with TVs biggest names

It stars some of the biggest names of British television including Warren Clarke, Stephen Fry, Richard Griffiths, Rik Mayall, richard Willson, John Bird, John Sessions and more and is based on a novel by Mark Tavener that later became a radio series before making its way to television.

In the Red is a black comedy about a serial killer attacking bank managers and leaving them covered in coins. Read moreRead more

1
Dec

Number 10 show may yet be prophet of political future

There is a drama series hidden away in the ‘afternoon play’ slot on BBC Radio 4 that may hold the warnings signs and possibly answers for the mid-term future of British politics.

Number 10, written by Jonathan Myersen and staring Antony Sher as Adam, the Prime Minister – the series portrays life inside Downing Street as the Government attempts to govern the country.

It has come under criticism in the past for showing the Labour Government in an overly friendly light (even though it is technically a fictional government).

In the first couple of series it showed a Government with a working if strong majority in the House of Commons that gave them more freedom to do more of what they want.

But the new series, currently airing Friday’s at 14:15 on BBC Radio 4 started after a General Election that resulted in no party with an overall majority or at least no obvious claim to form a Government.

Without giving anything away a lot of deal making, wrangling, name calling, bargaining and diplomacy between the Palace and the parties takes place before Labour the LibDems eventually negotiate a coalition and form a Government.

Given the news today of a poll for the Independent Newspaper showing an increasing likelihood of a hung parliament at the next election – this could be a case of Life following Art.

Here is a video of the most recent edition of Number 10 that is set in a single room involving high and tense diplomacy between the UK PM and the Ambassador of an African island in the Swedish Embassy in London.

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11
Nov

Desert Island Discs goes digital but I have ideas

Most of the BBC’s radio and television output is available on the iPlayer for at least seven days after broadcast – some of the TV is even available for download.

The iPlayer team are now introducing a number of other features like linking to a specific point and chapters – next up I’d love to see comments and ratings.

But one of the shows missing from iPlayer, a major part of the BBC Radio 4 output is Desert Island Discs – as a format there is so much you could do with it online.

But there has always been a rights issue around it as it was created in a pre-digital era by someone obviously not under a BBC staff contract.

However that problem seems to be solved with an announcement on the BBC Radio 4 blog that not only will DDI be available on the iPlayer but will also eventually be a podcast and there will be some cool web features surrounding it.

The suggestion on the original Radio 4 blog post said: “we have plans to make the website an all-singing, all-dancing affair – encouraging people to compare their choices with the choices of castaways, looking at the most selected tracks etc.”

Which all sounds brilliant – but I hope it amounts to more than just a list of people that have been on the show with details of the songs the songs and selection – that is great content but not ‘all singing and all dancing’.

You can see an example of this approach in place on the pre-March 2009 Desert Island Discs BBC site.

That information still exists, it’s just that now you go to the /programme site for that edition of DID – which means that in theory this info exists in a data form somewhere.

So what I’d like to see is a cool web app – let me sign in with my BBC iD account, let me enter my choices (songs, book, luxury item) and then match me to the closest DID guest.

In fact this could be expanded to match me with other DID users with the data posted to my BBC iD profile page along with my iPlayer viewing et al.

And finally – on the new DID site, as well as this cool matching app, how about linking the song titles to Spotify so they can be listened to again while splitting out the music and making the interview portion available for ever.

If a link straight to spotify isn’t possible (for legal/impartial reasons) why not create a version of the Buyer’s Guide (currently being trialled with The Archers Audiobooks) and have a page for every song (tied to /music) with details of all legal online sources for that song including last.fm and Spotify.

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21
Apr

Radio 4 and the vote button

I’m not normally one to complain, in fact I’ll usually go out of my way to avoid complaining at all costs – even putting up with broken things for the sake of avoiding conflict.

So, if I’m prepared to put up with a dead watch because I don’t want to go through the process of taking it back – you can imagine my opinion on complaining about programming or the BBC.

r4_large

In fact, as the BBC employs me I try to complain about it as little as possible. But there is something that got me a little riled.

So, for the first time in my life here is an ‘open letter of complaint’ about the BBC Radio 4 website.

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t about the website itself, I love the new look and will love it even more as the programme teams start to fill the wonderful /programme pages with the mass of content they used to put into the old Radio 4 pages.

No my complaint is about a small 68×68 pixel, 1.6kb GIF that has appeared on the far right of the top navigation bar.

Dear BBC Radio 4

I’m usually a big fan of the BBC Radio 4 website, even in its latest implementation.

I’m also a very big fan of the BBC Radio 4 output for its quality, humour, intelligence and the fact that it expects the same level of intelligence of me.

However, imagine my surprise when I pointed my browser towards bbc.co.uk/radio4 only to discover a blemish, a little black and white square in the corner of the otherwise pristine BBC centre piece of excellence.

webbyI had to look twice at the text of the abomination because, surely the mighty Rado 4, home of Humphries, Archers and the Now Show aren’t prostituting their homepage for votes like a normal, every day cheap website (yes I know I’ve done it but that’s different – ed).

The great BBC Radio 4 is asking me, through a permanent graphic on their homepage to vote for them in the Webby Awards – ok so it isn’t ugly – but it feels OH SO WRONG on BBC Radio 4.

Yes, please ask me to vote for you, I don’t mind that but do it through an article – write something and link to it from the promo space – not through a permanent blemish at the top of your banner.

Then I start to click around only to discover this blemish on EVERY SINGLE PAGE of the BBC Radio 4 website.

Please, for the love of all that is good and normal – remove it. I’ll vote for you but I don’t want to be preached at and pushed in this way.

Radio 4 you are bigger than that.

From Disgruntled of Cyberspace

As you can see from my little rant above – I got a bit wound up at the sight of this little spot on an otherwise Clearasil manufacturer disappointing face.

The BBC Radio 4 design team do deserve the Webby Award – it’s the People’s Choice award for the amazing World on the Move site.

Throughout 2008, Radio 4′s World on the Move tracked the most awe inspiring natural spectacle – great animal migration.

Through a worldwide legion of reporters, scientists and amateur naturalists they built an interactive map and full site packed with reports to create a record of the journeys of animals as diverse as Humpback whales and Monarch butterflies.

As you can see – a great thing to vote for that is, unfortunately, let down by the way they’re asking for vote.

I voted anyway.

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25
Mar

iPlayer pick: Third Reich and Roll

It was something of a tough call for me when thinking up an iPlayer pick for today – mainly because I couldn’t decide between Stephen Fry and David Mitchell.

Stephen Fry hosting QI in Series A.
Image via Wikipedia

On one hand you have The Unvelievable Truth which mixes lies, lies and a bit of truth in a format that, on paper at least, sounds very much like an earlier vehicle for Sandi Toksvic – Call my bluff – but funnier.

This is fronted by David Mitchell, has been proved by QI (and Stephen Fry) to be wrong even when it thinks it is being right, is on Radio 4 and is VERY GOOD.

Then on the other hand you have a three part documentary tucked away on BBC Radio 2 charting the technological development of audio recording.

This second one, although at first glance sounding ever so slightly dull – is actually brilliant. It’s fronted by Stephen Fry has the amazing name ‘Third Reich and Roll‘ and looks at recording technology from Hitlers Gemany to today.

That is my iPlayer Pick of the week and here is episode two (unfortunately I caught episode one too late to bother posting it – but if it isn’t repeated I’m sure you’ll find ‘other‘ ways of getting hold of it – like Audible.

OK finished? As you will have heard – it is a Stephen Fry special of a documentary – in a similar, easy to understand vein as the Gutenberg press TV one.

I really can imagine Stephen in a large living room surrounded by old and new recording and playback devices – iPhone and MacBook complete with Garage Band taking pride of place of course.

There was another reason (other than the brilliance of this as a documentary) that led to this being picked over David Mitchell and his Unbelievable Truth – that was simply that this was a bit of a hidden gem.

David Mitchell’s show is a big promo show, it is heavily advertised, is on the iPlayer homepage and seriously pushed by BBC Radio 4 – a station famed for its speech, comedy and documentary content.

Third Reich and Roll was a Radio 2 documentary – a station that produces some incredible documentaries but isn’t as renowned for them as Radio 4 and I certinaly didn’t hear as much about this as I have about The Unbelievable Truth.

I’ll update this page with next weeks episode when it comes out and then give you a new tip after the third part has aired.

If this hasn’t tickled your taste bones then why not visit the brilliant Watchification for a more varied and regularly updated series of iPlayer picks.

Here is a little bit of Call My Bluff for memories sake.

iPlayer video code generated by PIP.

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25
Feb

Fry, Brydon and Dee have no clue

Since the sad passing of Humphrey Lyttelton, trumpet player and presenter of the ever increasingly brilliant I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue last year – there has been talk and speculation over what will happen to the show.

An enamel sign at the Mornington Crescent stat...
Image via Wikipedia

Humph really made it his own with an amazing ability to say or suggest things that others might have got a six month suspension for – and come away looking innocent and like butter wouldn’t melt.

So there were big questions over what would happen – would this Radio 4 institution be left to die with its headline act or would it get a new person in the middle and carry on with a slightly new format.

Well the answer was clearly that it would carry on – Humph was VERY important to the show, he almost was the show – but not quiet the whole show. Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor et al make up just as much of this show.

So a new host would be needed – but who? Well the decision was taken last year to follow Have I Got News for You and have a rotating host chair with a different host each week.

What’s actually happened is that there will be three hosts, all of them have been guests before and so know the format well. They are Stephen Fry (@stephenfry), Rob Brydon (@realrobbrydon) and Jack Dee.

It won’t be the same show as before, ok so things like Mornington Crescent will probably still be in place, the singing will probably still happen and everything else will be the same – but hopefully we won’t see the three hosts try to copy Humphs jokes – I can’t imagine Samantha will survive under Jack Dee or Stephen Fry – Rob I’m not so sure about.

(L-R) Ross Noble, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Humph, th...
Image via Wikipedia

Rob Brydon told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: “You’re not filling Humphs shoes, you’re filling the role of the person that overseas and initiates it.”

The new series starts airing in June but recording starts in April.

Two episodes are recorded at each session with the first on Sunday 26 April with Stephen Fry in the chair, the second with Jack Dee on 17 May and the third on 4 June with Rob Brydon.

I can’t wait until the new series starts but have one concern – a concern that stems from the same reason I seem to have missed all of the last series of Just a Minute.

I listen to my iPod, I listen to everything on my iPod – I listen to radio on my iPod in podcast form and, unless I remember to use the iPlayer Downloader App miss almost all radio that isn’t podcasted.

I very much doubt I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue will be avaialble as a podcast (please let it happen though!) so will probably still miss everything but the first episode.

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10
Sep

Download big bang Torchwood

UPDATE

The Torchwood Radio4 show downloads were only available for seven days after broadcast. That included the first one mentioned below and the four Afternoon Play episodes from this year.

You can purchase them from Audible for about £5.

Big Bang Torchwood

Martha Jones has travelled in time and space, saved the world (more than once) and is buddies with a Lord of Time. She is also a doctor for the UN trask force and has just been called to CERN.

Torchwood

Her friend is a Doctor at CERN who reported scientists going missing ahead of the switching on of the Large Hadron Collider before going missing herself.

“Where have the missing scientists gone? What is the secret of the glowing man? What is lurking in the underground tunnel? And do the dead ever really stay dead?”

These are some of the questions we might get answers to over the course of the episode – an episode that has all the stars of the TV show in it and is the same legnth as a TV episode (45 minutes).

Lost Souls is a spin-off from the award-winning BBC Wales TV production Torchwood. It stars John Barrowman, Freema Agyeman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Lucy Montgomery (of Titty Bang Bang) and Stephen Critchlow.



Obviously it would be great to listen to this as it goes out, after all BBC Radio 4 is available on the internet and should be available to most people sitting at their desks – but even then there are problems.

In Jersey tommorrow there is a major international air display and today (at 2.15) the bloody noisy jets have been practicing and getting a feel for the arena – and as my office is just up the road from the arena I couldn’t hear a thing.

Not only could I not hear a thing but the wholly bloody room was shaking as well – but it was worth it as it was a brilliant sight and equally brilliant sound – but still, they interupted Torchwood.

Now I could just wait until its added to the iPlayer – but why wait. Torchwood is going to be made available as an mp3 for download so I can just put it on my iPod and listen on the move.

I actually got so fed up with not being able to hear anything I just turned it off and went back to listening to the States of Jersey GST debate instead!

You can download Torchwood: Lost Souls from the BBC Radio 4 Big Bang website.

Digg the story (you’ll be digging a link to the actual BBC Big Bang Torchwood page).

24
Aug

Torchwood on Radio 4

TorchwoodI love Torchwood, I love science, I love Radio 4 and I equally love it when you get all of those things put together in celebration of a major scientific breakthrough – The Big Bang!

Read moreRead more

19
May

Giving them a hard time

British journalists, especially the likes of John Humphrys and Jeremy Paxman are notorious for giving politicians and business leaders a hard time. Read moreRead more