Channel 4

Walter

Walter is a British television drama first broadcast on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982. Based on a 1978 novel of the same name by David Cook, it was the first ever Film on Four.

Little Armadillos

Little Armadillos was an alternative comedy sketch show in sitcom format that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in 1984. Set in a nightclub run by the psychotic brothers Wayne and Donny Armadillo, the show ran for seven 30-minute episodes from 13 September to 25 October 1984 and has never been repeated or released on video or DVD. Written by Pete Richens & Colin Gibson, it starred Steve Steen and Jim Sweeney as Wayne and Donny respectively and co-starred Daniel Peacock, Helen Lederer, Phil Nice, Steve Frost & Mark Arden, among other members of the alternative comedy scene of the early Eighties.The show also featured The Flatlettes, who sang short songs within the show which were written by Colin Gibson & Kenny Craddock. the show was directed by Bob Spiers. "Those that can remember this dark 'alternative comedy' have fond memories of it however the show has now faded into oblivion." British Sitcom Guide.

They Came From Somewhere Else

They Came From Somewhere Else is a British sitcom that was broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in 1984. It pastiches numerous horror films including Dawn of the Dead, Don't Look Now and Carrie. The single series comprised six thirty-minute episodes starring Robin Driscoll, Rebecca Stevens, Pete McCarthy, and Tony Haase. The writing is credited to "Cliffhanger" and the series was developed from a 1982 theatrical production by Cliffhanger Theatre Company founded by Driscoll, Stevens and McCarthy and Martin McNicholas. The story is set in the fictional British new town of Middleford where Wendy, Colin and Martin are leading very dull, formulaic lives. The arrival of an American suffering from amnesia coincides with a series of increasingly bizarre events including a rain of liver, people getting sucked into drains, migraines so severe that they cause heads to explode, and zombies taking over the supermarket. Martin believes a strange, radioactive briefcase is behind the town's problems. The American has the key to the briefcase and he, Colin and Wendy open it and learn the truth of the situation: Middleford is a 21st-century rehabilitation prison located on a satellite orbiting Earth. The town's residents are all inmates who have had their memories and true personalities erased. Colin was the prison's designer but later rebelled against the evil nature of system and was sentenced there himself. The American is a pulp fiction writer who had been tasked with writing new personalities for the inmates until his wife, Wendy, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and he has now come to break her out. Unfortunately, his arrival has triggered a B-movie style doomsday scenario based on his book, "The Night it Rained Liver" and the only way he can stop it and save Wendy from a grisly death is to sacrifice his own life. The series ends with Wendy making her escape, Colin being recaptured and forced to watch as his prison starts receiving child prisoners, and Martin promising retribution after regaining his own identity as a political activist.

House of Rock

House of Rock is a satirical animation that aired on the UK's Channel 4 from 2000 to 2002. It revolved around the afterlives of some of the world's most famous dead rock stars, including Freddie Mercury, John Denver, The Notorious B.I.G., Kurt Cobain and Marc Bolan. Bolan was replaced in the second series by John Lennon. Forced to share a house in limbo, they try to cope with isolation, clashing personalities and relentless boredom. The show aired as part of Channel 4's late-night 4 Music. Often, segments of the episode would appear as links between videos, reminiscent of Beavis and Butthead. On average, each episode was 15 minutes long. The characters occupy a huge rundown house in a bleak, depressing landscape with nothing around seemingly for miles. Much of the comedy comes from each character's frustrations with their surroundings, associates and inability to do anything further now they're dead.

The Big One

The Big One is a 1992 British comedy-drama television series starring Sandi Toksvig as Deddie Tolbert and Mike McShane as James Howard. Seven episodes were broadcast on Channel 4 from 5 March to 16 April 1992. The series was written by Elly Brewer and Toksvig, and directed by John Henderson. Guest actors included Mel Martin, Jim Sweeney and Dexter Fletcher. The show is referenced negatively in Bottom Live by Ade Edmondson.

Wanted

Wanted was a British 1990s game show on Channel 4, although more similar to modern Reality Television than the classic gameshow format. Conceptually, it was similar to an advanced game of hide and seek. It is also somewhat similar to the game show featured in Stephen King's novel The Running Man.

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

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.