Channel 4

Norbert Smith – a Life

Norbert Smith – a Life is a spoof TV documentary film charting the life and career of the fictitious British actor Sir Norbert Smith. It stars Harry Enfield in the title role. It was written by Harry Enfield and Geoffrey Perkins and directed by Geoff Posner. It was made by Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4 and was first broadcast on 3 November 1989. The film is presented as if it were an edition of the ITV arts programme The South Bank Show, and features Melvyn Bragg, the presenter of the real South Bank Show, playing himself as the interviewer visiting Sir Norbert at his home, and encouraging him to reminisce about his past career. The humour arises from the fact that although Sir Norbert is acclaimed as one of Britain’s “Knights of the Theatre”, in the mould of a Laurence Olivier or John Gielgud, actually none of his contemporaries has anything particularly good to say about him, and he appears to have had limited success in landing good film roles. Interviewed now in his old age, he is demented, and has confused memories about his past. The main point of the film, however, is the parodying of various 20th century film genres, through interspersed clips that feature Enfield as Sir Norbert in a variety of film roles.

Masters and Servants

Masters and Servants is a reality television show by RDF Media, which aired in the summer of 2003 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. There were four episodes. The show has not since been recommisioned.

The Summer of Knobheads and Scones

Engineering Announcements

Engineering Announcements for the Radio and Television Trade, sometimes abbreviated to Engineering Announcements, was a weekly magazine of news and information intended for technicians and salespeople in the United Kingdom, produced and transmitted by the Independent Television Authority from 23 November 1970 until 31 July 1990. It covered technical advances in the industry such as the launch of satellite television and NICAM stereo, along with details of new transmitters and the scheduling of transmitter downtime. Engineering Announcements, and the BBC's similar Service Information, are examples of regularly scheduled "ghost programmes," so called because they were never advertised in on-air schedules, in newspaper TV listings, the TV Times or on teletext.

Runners

The Weekenders

The Weekenders was a one-off comic television pilot starring Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, produced by Granada Television for Channel 4. Broadcast on Wednesday 17 June 1992 as part of a series of pilots entitled Bunch of Five, it was a surreal sitcom in which two friends, Jim and Bob visit a meat festival taking place in an open field. They are then chased by aliens who want the meat they have brought to feed their queen.

Pet Rescue

Pet Rescue was a British daytime TV series broadcast on Channel 4. Launched in January 1997, it chronicled various pets and animals being rescued, cared for, and then either rehoused or returned to the wild. Produced by Bazal Productions/Endemol for Channel 4, and with a theme tune penned by Simon May, it ran to a set format, which developed little over time: ⁕A central presenter ⁕A location, based around an RSPCA office ⁕A couple of 'show' stories which were intertwined, and reached conclusion within that show - i.e.: animal rehoused/released into wild ⁕A longer story about a particular animal, species or animal issue The program closed with an "advert" for a particular animal which had spent a lot of time in a rescue home, which the public could call in to apply to rehouse. This later feature followed normal RSPCA rehousing procedures, and was not a "lottery". Presenters included: ⁕Mark Evans ⁕Tris Payne ⁕Matthew Robertson ⁕Wendy Turner Webster ⁕Helen Page Channel 4 axed the series in November 2002, shortly after it had reached its 1,000th episode. Repeats can now be seen on Animal Planet, National Geographic Wild, and DMAX. In 2005, Wendy Turner Webster re-recorded her voice over of the show, to keep viewers up to date with animals progress due to repeat airings.

Superfrank!

Superfrank! was a 1987 one-hour television special starring English comedian Frankie Howerd OBE. The special show marked his return to television performance after an absence of five years. The show was made by Channel 4 and HTV. The script was written by Miles Tredinnick, Vince Powell and Andrew Nickolds and recorded before a live audience at the Playhouse Theatre in Weston-super-Mare close to where Howerd had his country home in the Mendips. At one stage he is joined by some donkeys who do their best to upstage him. Howerd ends the show with some songs accompanied on the piano by Sunny Rogers. The show was produced by Cecil Korer and Derek Clark. It was transmitted in January 1987. The show's working title was 'Let's Be Frank!'

The Deal

The Deal is a 2003 British television film directed by Stephen Frears from a script by Peter Morgan, based in part upon The Rivals by James Naughtie. The film stars David Morrissey as Gordon Brown and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, and depicts the Blair-Brown deal—a well-documented pact that Blair and Brown made whereby Brown would not stand in the 1994 Labour leadership election, so that Blair could have a clear run at becoming leader of the party and Prime Minister. The film begins on 9 June 1983, as Blair and Brown are first elected to Parliament, and concludes in May 1994 at the Granita restaurant—the location of the supposed agreement—with a brief epilogue following the leadership contest. The film was first proposed by Morgan in late 2002 and was taken on by Granada Television for ITV. After Frears agreed to direct, and the cast were signed on, ITV pulled out of it over fears that the political sensitivity could affect its corporate merger. Channel 4 picked up the production and filming was carried out for five weeks in May 2003. The film was broadcast on 28 September 2003, the weekend prior to the Labour Party's annual party conference. The film was critically lauded. Morrissey received considerable praise, winning a Royal Television Society award for playing Brown, and Frears was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television Movie/Serial by the Directors Guild of Great Britain. The film also nominated for an International Emmy for Best TV Movie/Miniseries. Sheen later reunited with Morgan, Frears, and producer Christine Langan in 2006 to reprise his role as Blair in The Queen, that depicts the death of Princess Diana on 31 August 1997. Sheen reprised his role once again in 2010 in The Special Relationship, that chronicles the "special relationship" between Blair and US President Bill Clinton up until the September 11 attacks, and was broadcast on BBC Two in the United Kingdom and HBO in North America.

Spirituality Shopper

Spirituality Shopper was a short lived British television series that ran on Channel 4 for 3 episodes in 2005. It was presented by Christian athlete, Jonathan Edwards. In each episode, a person looked at four different religious practices that could be implemented in their lives to see if it would bring them inner peace in the hustle and bustle of the 21st century. In each episode, four of the practices were looked at: ⁕Episode 1 - Michaela, who looks at Sufi Whirling, Buddhist Meditation, Christian Lent and Jewish Shabbat. ⁕Episode 2 - Karen, who looks at Christian Gospel singing, Sikh langars, Hindu yoga, and Christian Meditation. ⁕Episode 3 - Charlie, who looks at Taoist Tai Chi, Pagan drumming, Quaker contemplation and Islamic prayer.

You Are What You Eat

You Are What You Eat is a dieting programme aired in various forms between 2004 and 2007 on British broadcasting company Channel 4, and presented by Gillian McKeith. The fourth series was called You Are What You Eat: Gillian Moves In.

Desperately Seeking Something

Desperately Seeking Something is a British television series first broadcast on 6 November 1995, presented by travel writer and presenter Pete McCarthy. In it, McCarthy looked at various spiritual practices from across the globe, and meeting their practitioners. It ran for three series. The third series involved him looking at world traditional beliefs like Australian Aboriginal beliefs and Hawaiian religion. The second season looked more at Christian and Pagan sects, including the Fellowship of Isis and the Golden Dawn. Before going on what would be referred to as a "spiritual journey", McCarthy said "I've taken on the role of everyman, I'm like lots of people who have given up religion and never replaced it with anything else."

Gophers!

Gophers! was a Channel 4 children's programme about a family of American gophers who move into a new neighbourhood, called Sycamore Heights, living next door to a family of uptight but well-intentioned rabbits, The Burrows. There were many recurring jokes within this short lived show such as Arthur Burrows' vegetables planning a rebellion to escape his garden, a mad scientist ferret called Dr Wince, whose ambition was to conquer the world by obtaining a crystal buried in the Gophers' garden with the help of his reptilian servant Sly, and an alien in love with a zucchini determined to get home. Also there were Stereotypical "Mexican" cockroaches who lived in the Gophers' house or Trailer Park Mobile Home always trying to steal their food.

True Stories

Showcasing the best of international feature documentaries.

18 Stone of Idiot

18 Stone of Idiot is a British television programme broadcast on Channel 4 in 2005 designed as a vehicle for Johnny Vegas and produced by Chris Evans. The first show was broadcast on 27 May 2005 and a further five episodes were broadcast weekly thereafter. Vegas' stated intention was to make a programme "so ridiculous that there was no way they'd recommission it." Each show had one primary guest whom Vegas interviewed, and who were further involved in various stunts and skits.

California Dreaming

California Dreaming is a British reality television programme, broadcast on Channel 4's T4 strand, that followed six British celebrities seeking success in Hollywood. They lived in a Hollywood mansion and were trained by doing challenges set by acting guru Bernard Hillier. The programme's title came from the song "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas.

The Great Global Warming Swindle

The Great Global Warming Swindle is a polemical documentary film that suggests that the scientific opinion on climate change is influenced by funding and political factors, and questions whether scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming exists. The program was formally criticised by Ofcom, the UK broadcasting regulatory agency, which upheld complaints of misrepresentation made by David King. The film, made by British television producer Martin Durkin, presents scientists, economists, politicians, writers, and others who dispute the scientific consensus regarding anthropogenic global warming. The programme's publicity materials assert that man-made global warming is "a lie" and "the biggest scam of modern times." Its original working title was "Apocalypse my arse", but the title The Great Global Warming Swindle was later adopted as an allusion to the 1980 mockumentary The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle about British punk band the Sex Pistols. The UK's Channel 4 premiered the documentary on 8 March 2007. The channel described the film as "a polemic that drew together the well-documented views of a number of respected scientists to reach the same conclusions. This is a controversial film but we feel that it is important that all sides of the debate are aired." According to Hamish Mykura, Channel 4's head of documentaries, the film was commissioned "to present the viewpoint of the small minority of scientists who do not believe global warming is caused by anthropogenic production of carbon dioxide."

College Girls

College Girls is a Channel 4 documentary series, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 8 September 2002. The documentary followed the lives of six students who studied at St Hilda's College, Oxford, the last remaining single-sex college at the University of Oxford, between 1998 and 2001.

Right to Reply

Right to Reply was a British television series shown on Channel 4 from 1982 until 2001, which allowed viewers to voice their complaints or concerns about TV programmes. It featured reports, usually presented by a viewer, and interviews with the programme-makers concerned.

First and Last