Channel 4

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.

The Endless Game

A British agent comes back from retirement after several of his former colleagues, including his former lover, are murdered. He must examine events from his own past to determine who killed them and why.

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.

Behaving Badly

Behaving Badly is a 1989 British television serial directed by David Tucker. The teleplay by Catherine Heath and Moira Williams is based on Heath's novel of the same name. It was initially broadcast by Channel 4. The series was released on DVD in 2005. The plot focuses on Bridget Mayor, a middle-aged housewife and part-time teacher who is forced to re-evaluate her life when her husband of twenty years abandons her for a younger woman.

Desmond's

Desmond's was a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. With 71 episodes, Desmond's became Channel 4's longest-running sitcom. The first series was shot in 1988, with the first episode broadcast in January 1989. The show was made in and set in Peckham, London, England and featured a predominantly Black British Guyanese cast. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, this series starred Norman Beaton as barber Desmond Ambrose. Desmond's shop was a gathering place for an assortment of local characters.

Park Avenue

Park Avenue was a daily teletext based soap opera on ITV's ORACLE Teletext service, which was written by Robbie Burns. It was launched in 1988, and 1,445 episodes were written during its time on air. It later moved to Channel 4 after ORACLE was reorganised, before ending when the service lost its franchise at the end of 1992.

The Secret Life of Machines

The Secret Life of Machines is an educational television series presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod, in which the two explain the inner workings and history of common household and office machinery. According to Hunkin, the show's creator, the programme was developed from his comic strip The Rudiments of Wisdom, which he researched and drew for the Observer newspaper over a period of 14 years. Three separate groupings of the broadcast were produced and originally shown between 1988 and 1993 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, with the production subsequently airing on The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel.

This Is David Lander

This Is David Lander was a TV show that parodies Roger Cook style door-stepping investigative journalism shows, starring Stephen Fry as David Lander and written by Tony Sarchet. It began as the BBC Radio 4 show Delve Special, which became this six part Channel 4 series in 1988.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

An un-scripted comedy show in which four guest performers improvise their way through a series of games, many of which rely on audience suggestions.

A Very British Coup

A Very British Coup is a British political thriller series based on the novel by Chris Mullin. It stars Ray McAnally as the newly elected left-wing prime minister Harry Perkins, who soon finds himself up to his neck in conspiracy.

The Storyteller

The Storyteller aided by his cynical dog, narrates classic folk tales, fables, and legends.

Chelmsford 123

Chelmsford, Britain in the year AD 123; there is a power struggle between Roman governor Aulus Paulinus and the British chieftain, Badvoc. Britain is a miserable place, cold and wet – just the place to exile Aulus for accidentally insulting the Emperor's horse, but also give him something useful to do. Aulus, probably a play on Aulus Platorius Nepos, the governor of Roman Britain between 122 and 125, was a rather delicate Roman, who was usually outwitted by the scheming Badvoc, who hadn't had a haircut for twenty-five years.

The Management

Smash Hits Poll Winners Party

Dispatches

Dispatches is the British TV current affairs documentary series on Channel 4, first transmitted in 1987. The programme covers issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current affairs and the environment, and often features a mole inside organisations under journalistic investigation.