BBC Two

Jazz 625

Jazz 625 is a BBC jazz music programme, featuring concerts by British and American jazz musicians, which was first broadcast between April 1964 and August 1966. The programe was created by Terry Henebery, a clarinetist by training, who was recruited back to television in 1963 as one of the new producer intake for the opening of BBC2.

Moon Landing Special

To celebrate the Apollo moon landing's 50th anniversary, Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain travel to where the historic Apollo 11 mission began – Cape Canaveral in Florida. They hear first hand from astronaut general Charlie Duke what it was like to guide Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the surface of the Moon in the Lunar Lander and how he followed in their footsteps three years later. They also look at the most exciting new developments and, with privileged access, they broadcast from the top of launch tower that is being prepared for crewed missions and from the assembly line of a spacecraft factory. They are joined by astrophysicist and medic Dr Kevin Fong and mathematician Dr Hannah Fry, who explore the latest developments in human space flight - from cutting-edge spacewalk technology to a future Mars buggy.

Shakespeare On the Estate

Award-winning documentary in which theatre director Michael Bogdanov tries to persuade residents of a Birmingham estate to perform the Bard. After initial indifference, in three weeks he builds a company of enthusiastic amateur actors whose performances of scenes from the plays are riveting. Here's a thuggish Caliban, a black Shylock full of conviction, and exuberant gang members from Romeo and Juliet. It's only a temporary triumph, but it does demonstrate the power and appeal of Shakespeare, and you wonder at the talent going to waste.

Comrades

Comrades was a 1983-84 BBC television documentary series and the related book about life in the Soviet Union composed mainly of interviews and fly on the wall filming of 'normal' Soviet citizens. BBC producer Richard Denton was able achieve a largely unprecedented degree of freedom in selecting and interviewing people.

Music makers

Show Me the Monet

Show Me the Monet is a British television series first aired on BBC2 in May 2011. It is presented by Chris Hollins. The programme has been described as the "artworld's version of The X Factor and Dragons's Den".

The Planners

The Planners is a British television documentary series broadcast on BBC Two. It follows the work of local planning officers in the United Kingdom, including planners in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, the Scottish Borders and Gloucestershire. The series comprises eight episodes and was first broadcast on 31 January 2013.

Breakaway

Breakaway was a British quiz show presented by Nick Hancock, which aired on BBC Two from 12 March to 2 November 2012. In it, six contestants compete for a maximum of £10,000. The money can be won by the contestants working together for a smaller amount of money, or one or two contestants deciding to "breakaway" from the group to win all the money for themselves.

Bring Your Husband To Heel

Bring Your Husband To Heel was a "hidden camera" documentary series produced by Talkback Thames and shown on BBC Two in 2005. The show featured a professional dog trainer, Annie Clayton, teaching women to use dog training techniques to improve the behaviour of their husbands. The men participating in the programme were told that they were actually taking part in a show about relationship roles. The BBC received a large number of complaints about the show, with some claiming the show was "sexist, offensive and degrading", "grossly insulting", and "insulting to men and insulting the intelligence of women". The BBC claimed the series "plays on the long-standing stereotype of wives nagging husbands about their failings". Ofcom later ruled that the show was not sexist: "It was clear from the context that the programme was not seriously proposing a demeaning view of men." In the Evening Standard, the TV critic Victor Lewis-Smith described the programme as "brainless dross", criticized the BBC for commissioning the series and said that "you'd have to have an IQ commensurate with your shoe size to find this old boot [Clayton] entertaining". Garry Bushell listed it as the worst new show of 2005 in a column in The People.

Protecting Our Children

Protecting Our Children is a British documentary television series about social workers in the child protection department in Bristol. Lesley Sharp narrates the series, which was shown on BBC Two from 30 January - 13 February 2012.

The Ultimate Marathon Man

They Who Dare

They Who Dare was a BBC TV series that ran for two series from 1995 until 1996. It consisted of short documentaries profiling individuals or groups who take part in extreme sports or perform dangerous stunts. It was narrated by Terry Molloy. The programme was repeated but has not been rebroadcast since 1998 the theme was taken from The Mission soundtrack, composed by Ennio Morricone.

The Car's the Star

The Car's the Star was a British classic car television series hosted by Quentin Willson. In each episode, a biography of the car described by Willson was interspersed by interviews with the cars' owners. The show would sometimes show footage of owners club events and race days.

Did You See...?

Did You See...? was a long-running British television documentary series which began on the BBC in 1980. The programme took a look back at the week's television with a discussion between the presenter and three guests. In the first run there was also an item on related issues. The presenters of Did You See...? were the journalist and broadcaster Sir Ludovic Kennedy, who fronted the programme from 1980 to 1988, and from 1991 to 1993 Jeremy Paxman. Sarah Dunant hosted the show while Kennedy was absent due to ill health. The format was to review the week's TV highlights, followed by an in depth review and critique of three selected shows with a panel of three notable public figures. The last segment of the show was a commissioned review of an aspect of TV by an independent reporter. Notable editions of Did You See...? include a 1986 edition which featured a look at the history of Blue Peter in which former presenter Peter Purves recalled that on the death of Blue Peter pet parrot Joey, the show's editor Biddy Baxter called him in floods of tears. He speculated that had he himself died, Baxter would have been far less upset and wouldn't have been likely to be calling his co-presenters telling them he'd died! This particular feature was one of several that was later expanded and extracted from the series, shown in a stand alone documentary format. Sea of Faith, a 1984 documentary series examining the history of Christianity in the modern world, was featured on another edition. In 1982, the programme featured a visual history of Doctor Who's recurring enemy The Cybermen, to mark their first appearance in the series in seven years. Another later Doctor Who feature took a look at monsters from the series in general.

Hotch Potch House

Hotch Potch House is a BBC TV show from 1996 aimed at preschool children. Hotch Potch House featured Richard Coombs as Raggs, Francis Wright as Shelley and Rebecca Nagan as Woolie. It was directed by Vivienne Cozens. It was shot at Grip house Studios. The stated aim was to "have the puppets teach children about their emotions and feelings in a way that relates to them." One feature was an animated storytime called "The Mouse House" told by Nana. The series is no longer in production. A recycled home made model Hotch Potch House spins round once and the camera zooms in at a different bit of it which indicates something. ⁕Eye - Eyewitness ⁕Front Door - Letter of the Week - a b c d e f ⁕Chimney - Number of the Week - 1 2 3 4 5 ⁕Tree - Activities ⁕Window - Songs & Rhymes ⁕Garden Door - Out and About The Mouse House ⁕Animation - Ealing Animation ⁕Nana's Voice - Tina Gray Letter/Number of the Week ⁕Animation - Alan Rogers and Peter Lang ⁕Number Song - Steve Brown Music ⁕Paddy Kingsland ⁕Stephen McNeff ⁕Sandy Nuttgens Episode List Hide and Seek Raggs always hides behind the door and wants to find a new place to hide. ⁕Eye - Camouflaged Animals

Troubleshooter

Troubleshooter was a British reality television series, produced and shown by the BBC, focusing on experienced business leaders visiting and advising small and often struggling UK businesses. Launched in 1990 with Sir John Harvey-Jones MBE ex of ICI, the series ran successfully for five series. After the series won a BAFTA, Harvey-Jones decided that he didn't want to become a television personality, after one newspaper called him the "most famous industrialist since Isambard Kingdom Brunel." The greatest achievement of the Troubleshooter programmes was to make business management a popular discussion subject in the homes of millions of British people, and to provide a role model for people wanting to enter business. The series was revived a decade later in 2004 under the stewardship of Gerry Robinson, under the title I'll Show Them Who's Boss!'

Great Ormond Street

Great Ormond Street is a British television documentary series. It was first broadcast on BBC Two on 6 April 2010. Each episode focuses on a different department at the world famous Great Ormond Street Hospital. A second series commenced on 8 May 2012.

Cats' Eyes

Cats Eyes was an educational television programme which was part of the BBC Schools programming airing in the daytime. The show, which aimed at teaching primary science to children, is widely considered to be one of the best and most successful of its kind. The series began in 1994 and has continued to be broadcast each year up to and including 2003, producing over forty episodes .Whilst now off air, the show was often shown on BBC Two during schools programmes, and was often a favourite for teachers to show to a class in schools amongst other BBC Schools shows.

I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band!

I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band! is a documentary television series broadcast on BBC Two, narrated by Mark Radcliffe and first broadcast on 1 May 2010. The series charts the history of rock music, with the first five episodes focusing on different members of a typical band, such as the singer or the guitarist. The final episode is special live episode, featuring "industry experts discuss their favourite musicians before creating the ultimate fantasy band." This will also feature the result of a public vote, which will ask viewers who their think are the greatest rock bands and band members. At the end of the series, Led Zeppelin were named the best ever band, while the make-up of the Ultimate Fantasy Band was announced as Freddie Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, John Bonham and Flea.

ChartJackers

Chartjackers documents the lives of four teenage video bloggers over the course of ten weeks, as they attempt to write, record and release a pop song for charity, with the goal to achieve a number-one single. When first broadcast, the programme ran in real time: its first ten episodes documented the events of the previous seven days, while the final episode was an extended compilation that summarised all ten weeks.