BBC Four Collections

Last updated

BBC Four Collections is a selected variation of factual television episodes and series available on British video-on-demand service BBC iPlayer. The collections themselves primarily involve "experts" like Richard Osman, [1] Janet Street-Porter [2] and David Attenborough [3] selecting various programmes from the BBC Archive to be made available on the iPlayer service. Every programme is marked with a short introduction marking the collection with BBC Four branding. Each collection has a particular theme like modern classical music, [4] the British Army [5] and interviews with famous figures. [6] Some collections were established in 2012, more being added to the service until 2014. As of 2023, most of the content is still available on the iPlayer service, with some becoming unavailable due to rights or other reasons, like the Tim Westwood sexual assault allegations.

Contents

List of collections

Only collections with a noted author (mentioned at the start of each programme) are included in this list.

ExpertCollectionYearProgrammeEpisode Title or DateAvailable (as of 2023)
Mark Urban Army: A Very British Institution1968Breakaway5. "My Friends Think I'm Mad"Yes
1990 Everyman "A Game of Soldiers"
1977In Her Majesty's Service6. Corporal of Horse Christopher Slater, The Life Guards Squadron of the Household Cavalry Regiment
1989In the Highest TraditionN/A, 6-episode series
1989Inside Out: Ticking with the Crow/The Officers' MessN/A
1960Meet the Red Devils: Parachute Regiment
1985Moment of TruthEpisode 6
1969 Omnibus Makers of the Queen's Music
1975 Panorama Sandhurst
1983The ParasN/A, 7-episode series
1977The RegimentN/A
Silver Jubilee Review of the British Army
Trooping the Colour Silver Jubilee
19521952
1974Tuesday DocumentaryThe Bomb Disposal Men
1968Death or Glory
Simon Jenkins London 1987 Open Space Bad Meaning GoodNo [a]
1975Going Places12Yes
1964A City Crowned with GreenN/A
1950The Debate Continues
1946First-Year Flashbacks
1999Inside StoryFish Tales
1968 One Pair of Eyes Georgia Brown: Who are the Cockneys Now?
1956Special EnquiryA Girl Comes to London
1960A House in BayswaterN/A
1969How They Dug the Victoria Line
1971 Man Alive Hyde Park
1969I Love This Dirty TownN/A
1985Ours to KeepIncomersNo
1959After the BattleLondon - Ed Murrow ReportsYes
1957Eye To EyeLondon-New York
1955Cities of EuropeLondon: We Live by the River
1968Contrasts Marble Arch to Edgware
1976Inside StoryThe Market
1991 Clive James Postcard from London
1985 Just Another Day Soho
The Tower of London
1996Modern TimesStreetwise
1967Three Swings on a PendulumN/A
1985To the World's End: Scenes and Characters on a London Bus Route
Clemency Burton-Hill Modern Classical Music 2005 Boulez at 80N/A
BBC Proms 2005 Michael Berkeley, Ben Britten & Vaughan Williams
1964Celebrity Recital Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears.
2004 John Cage Live at the Barbican N/A
1978 Julian Bream MasterclassN/A, 5-episode series
2001Music Masters Stockhausen No
John Adams Yes
1968Omnibus Diaghilev: The Years Abroad
2001'' Philip Glass Concert: Live at the BarbicanN/A
2013The Sound and the Fury in ConcertN/A, 3 episode series
1964 War Requiem N/A
Gary Boyd-Hope Steam Railways 1968 4472 - Flying Scotsman N/A
1963Let's ImagineA Branch Line Railway with John Betjeman
1975 The World About Us The Romance of Indian Railways
1986Steam DaysN/A, 6 episode seriesNo
1979The Rainhill Story: Stephenson's RocketN/AYes
1988The Train Now DepartingN/A, 6 episode seriesNo
1969Tuesday DocumentaryEngines Must Not Enter the Potato SidingYes
1962In ViewMen of Steam
1980The Past at WorkRailway Mania
1980The Great Railway Cavalcade: Rocket 150 at Rainhill N/A
1977With a Fine Feeling for Steam
Robin Lane Fox Archaeology at the BBC 1956 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? 3 May 1956
19581 October 1958
1960The Grandeur That Was RomeN/A, 3 episode series
1958Armchair Voyage: Hellenic Cruise
1974 Sir Mortimer and Magnus N/A, 6 episode series
1966ChronicleVikings in North America
The Roman Goose March: The Holy Sailors
1973The Ape Man That Never Was
1954Buried Treasure Stonehenge
1956 The Walls of Jericho
1958King Solomon's Mines
1957 Mohenjo-daro
1954 The Peat Bog Murder Mystery
Julian Joseph Blues 1985 Arena Blues Night (5-episode series)
1979The Devil's Music (series 2)N/A, 4-episode series
1972Sounding Out B.B. King
Janet Street-Porter Post-War Architecture1986Architecture at the CrossroadsDoubt and Reassessment
Stop the Bulldozer
Houses Fit for People
1988Building SightsSchlumberger Building
Byker Wall
Alexander Fleming House
1989 Janet Street-Porter
1991 Lloyd's Building
Trellick Tower
Boarbank Hall Oratory
1996 Canary Wharf
Worsley Medical Building
Hauer-King House
Humber Bridge
Wood Street Police Station
Alton Estate
Willis Corroon
1972Nairn Across BritainN/A, 3-episode series
1969OmnibusThe More We Are Together
1979Where We Live NowNew Town, Home Town
David Attenborough The Early Years2013David Attenborough: The Early YearsN/A
1963AdventureQuest under Capricorn (6-episode series)
1965 Zambezi (3 episodes)
1961 Zoo Quest To Madagascar (5 episodes)
1956for a Dragon (6 episodes)
1955to West Africa
1960 The People of Paradise First 5 episodes of 6
1969 The Miracle of Bali N/A, 3-episode series
1961 Elsa the Lioness N/A
Michael Parkinson Talk1959 Face to Face Bertrand Russell
Dame Edith Sitwell
Carl Jung
1960 Stirling Moss
Evelyn Waugh
Adam Faith
1961 Martin Luther King
1994 Maya Angelou
Jeanette Winterson
1995 Lauren Bacall
Ken Dodd
1972 Parkinson David Niven
1974 Dr Jacob Bronowski
1998 Billy Connolly & David Attenborough
1974The Frost Interview David Frost interviews Muhammad Ali
Brian Clough
2003 Breakfast with Frost Tony Blair
Dominique de Villepin
2004 Donald Rumsfeld
1965 Late Night Line-Up 16 October 1965
196620 November 1966
Coco the Clown
Imtimations10. John le Carre
People to Watch Ronald Reagan
1960 Monitor Henry Moore
1955 In Town Tonight 22 October 1955
29 October 1955
Panorama Salvador Dalí
Ed Murrow
Press Conference Orson Welles
1982Arena Desert Island Discs
1963The Solitary Billionaire: J. Paul Getty N/A
1971 Daphne Du Maurier
1984 Wogan 18 February 1984
25 December 1984
19879 November 1987
1970Personal Choice Jane Fonda
1956Picture Parade Joan Crawford No
Adam Curtis All American 1972 Alistair Cooke's America The First Impact
1981Arena Chelsea Hotel Yes
2004 Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus
1999Close Up Jackson Pollock: Love and Death on Long Island
1965Inside America13. The Quiet Persuader
1985Omnibus Stud Terkel's Chicago
1966Panorama California 2000
2001 Timewatch The Empire State Story
1967 Whicker's World Conflict in Kentucky
Richard Osman Classic Game Shows 2000 Friends Like These 18 November 2000
1982 Ask the Family 2 November 1982
2009 The Weakest Link 27 January 2009No
2001 Big Break 19 May 2001Yes
1987 Bob's Full House 19 December 1987
1974 What's My Line? 19 January 1974No
1999 Call My Bluff 19 November 1999
1966 Quiz Ball 22 December 1966Yes
1954Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?28 October 1954
Max Hastings The Great War Interviews1960sThe Great War InterviewsN/A, 13-episode series

Notes

References

  1. "Richard Osman: My love affair with the quiz show". BBC. April 15, 2015.
  2. "BBC - Janet Street-Porter introduces the Post-War Architecture Collection". BBC.
  3. "BBC - Sir David Attenborough introduces his BBC Four Collection". BBC.
  4. "BBC - Clemency Burton-Hill introduces the Modern Classical Music Collection". BBC.
  5. "BBC - Mark Urban introduces the Army Collection". BBC.
  6. "BBC - Michael Parkinson introduces the Talk Collection". BBC.