Channel 4

The Orchid House

A white, plantation owning family in Dominica waits for the return of the patriarch from WWI, but things change when he does. Its focus on the declining power of the white plantocracy on the island of Dominica between the war years, handled through the prism of an intimate family drama, has great depth while remaining accessible. The series was shot in its entirety in Dominica.

This Is David Harper

Centrepoint

A young man is reunited with his father, who has been presumed dead for ten years, and then tries to unravel the truth behind his disappearance.

The Word

The Word was a 1990s Channel 4 television programme in the United Kingdom.

Drop the Dead Donkey

Drop the Dead Donkey is a situation comedy that first aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998. It is set in the offices of “GlobeLink News”, a fictional TV news company. Recorded close to transmission, it made use of contemporary news events to give the programme a greater sense of realism. It was created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. The series had an ensemble cast, making stars of Haydn Gwynne, Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson. The series began with the acquisition of GlobeLink by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant, an allusion to either Robert Maxwell or Rupert Murdoch. Indeed, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin note on their DVDs that it was fortunate for their libel lawyers that the two men shared the same initials. The series is mostly based on the on-going battle between the staff of GlobeLink, led by editor George Dent, as they try to maintain the company as a serious news organisation, and Sir Roysten’s right-hand man Gus Hedges, trying to make the show more sensationalist and suppress stories that might harm Sir Roysten’s business empire. The show was awarded the Best Comedy Award at the 1994 BAFTA Awards. At the British Comedy Awards the show won Best New TV Comedy in 1990, Best Channel 4 Comedy in 1991, and Best Channel 4 Sitcom in 1994.

A TV Dante

A TV Dante is an experimental mini-series directed by Tom Phillips and legendary filmmaker Peter Greenaway. It covers eight of the thirty-four cantos in Dante Alighieri's Inferno, part of his 14th century epic poem The Divine Comedy. The eight cantos of the film are not conventionally dramatised, rather they are illuminated with layered and juxtaposed imagery while the text is read entirely in "talking head" fashion, and punctuated with a kaleidoscopic blend of both newly shot and archival footage.

The Gravy Train

A four-part comedy about bureaucratic bribery and corruption in the European Union.

Set Of Six

Vic Reeves Big Night Out

Vic Reeves Big Night Out is a British cult comedy stage show and later TV series which ran on Channel 4 for two series in 1990 and 1991, as well as a New Year special. It marked the beginnings of the collaboration between Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and started their Vic and Bob comedy double act. The show was later acknowledged as a seminal force in British comedy throughout the 1990s and which continues to the present day. Arguably the most surreal of the pair's work, Vic Reeves Big Night Out was effectively a parody of the variety shows which dominated the early years of television, but which were, by the early 1990s, falling from grace. Vic, introduced by Patrick Allen as "Britain's Top Light Entertainer and Singer", would sit behind a cluttered desk talking nonsense and introducing the various segments and surreal guests on the show. Vic Reeves Big Night Out is notable as the only time in their career where Vic solely took the role of host, while Bob was consigned to the back stage, appearing every few minutes as either himself or as a strange character. The two received equal billing in the series credits. On 3 October 2007, the first episode was re-broadcast on More4 as part of Channel 4 at 25, a season of classic Channel 4 programmes shown to celebrate the channel's 25th birthday.

Nightingales

Nightingales is a British situation comedy set around the antics of three security guards working the night shift. It was written by Paul Makin and produced by Alomo Productions for Channel 4 in 1990.

Cutting Edge

The flagship documentary series show distinctive, compelling films that offer a snapshot of life in Britain today.

The Crystal Maze

The Crystal Maze was a British game show, produced by Chatsworth Television and shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 15 February 1990 and 10 August 1995. The series is set in "The Crystal Maze", which features four different "zones" set in various periods of time and space. A team of six contestants take part in a series of challenges in order to win "time crystals". Each crystal gives the team five seconds of time inside "The Crystal Dome", the centrepiece of the maze where the contestants take part in their final challenge.

Border Warfare

A three-episode mini-series chronicling the history of Scotland from ancient times through the union with England and culminating with the rise of Thatcherism and the introduction of the Poll Tax.

The Secret Cabaret

The Secret Cabaret was a magic-based television programme that ran for two series, of six episodes each, on Channel 4 in the UK during the early 1990s. It was conceived and fronted by British magician Simon Drake and was praised for giving a new and shocking twist to the presentation of illusions. In addition to various magicians the show featured sideshow acts and presentations by experts on fraud and confidence tricks, all interspersed with vintage archive footage of freak shows and daredevil stunts. It was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award.

Ric the Raven

It's a British/German cartoon with 51 episodes of 5 minutes. It's about a blue raven called Ric, an optimist who tries things out for fun.

Traffik

Traffik is a 1989 British television serial about the illegal drugs trade. Its three stories are interwoven, with arcs told from the perspectives of Afghan and Pakistani growers and manufacturers, German dealers, and British users. It was nominated for six BAFTA Awards, winning three. It also won an International Emmy Award for best drama. The 2000 crime drama film Traffic, directed by Steven Soderbergh, was based on this television serial. In turn, the 2004 American television miniseries Traffic was based on both versions.

The Manageress

The Manageress is a television series about a woman who becomes manager of a professional football team. It ran from 1989 to 1990 and had two seasons. The series starred Cherie Lunghi as Gabrielle Benson and Warren Clarke as the chairman of the second division club. It was independently produced for Channel 4 by Glenn Wilhide and Sophie Belhetchet at their production company, ZED Ltd. The series aired for two series of six episodes on Channel 4 in 1989 and 1990.

Absolutely

Absolutely is a popular UK television comedy sketch show shown on Channel 4 between 1989 and 1993. The cast and crew were mainly Scottish; the principal writers and performers were Moray Hunter, Jack Docherty, Peter Baikie, Gordon Kennedy, Morwenna Banks and John Sparkes. It was directed by Phil Chilvers, Alan Nixon, Alistair Clark, and Graham C Williams. The show's producers were Alan Nixon, and David Tyler

The Channel Four Daily

The Channel Four Daily was a breakfast television news magazine produced by Independent Television News, in collaboration with other independent production companies for Channel 4. The programme was the first breakfast programme for Channel 4, broadcasting between 06:00 and 09:25 each weekday morning. The first edition of the programme was broadcast on 3 April 1989, with the last edition being broadcast on 25 September 1992. Conceived as a television newspaper, output was based heavily on news and current affairs. Also, a number of bite-sized feature segments lasting between 5 and 10 minutes were slotted around the news output and were shown several times each day. These included a business programme, Business Daily - which had been on air as a lunchtime programme since October 1987 - sporting discussion, lifestyles, arts and entertainment, Countdown Masters - an abbreviated version of Countdown - and a cartoon slot called Comic Book. The Channel Four Daily failed to gain enough viewers and the last broadcast was shown on Friday, 25 September 1992. It was replaced with the relatively more popular programme, The Big Breakfast from Monday, 28 September 1992.

Clive Anderson Talks Back

Clive Anderson mixes comedy and his legal training to conduct a series of irreverent interviews with various guests. Also included is a satirical look at topical events.