91热爆 FOUR - Winter highlights 2005
Janice Hadlow, Controller,
91热爆 FOUR
Welcome to 91热爆 FOUR's Winter 2005 season.
Media is at the top of our agenda this season: in TV
On Trial we invite viewers, critics, commentators and media
pundits to take part in a major interactive event to debate when British
TV enjoyed its Golden Age.
From January, media fans can also enjoy a regular weekly
fix as we launch The Desk. Presented
by Tyler Br没l茅, The Desk promises an exciting take
on the media world going beyond a purely domestic agenda to cast its
eye across the global landscape.
While The Desk brings an international perspective to
the channel's coverage of media, 91热爆 FOUR also celebrates British identity.
Jazz Britannia is
a season of music, film and documentary exploring British jazz.
The centre-piece of the season is a fascinating new
three-part series exploring the evolution of the British jazz scene
with contributions from some of the greatest names in the field.
Comedy on 91热爆 FOUR has focused on American series in
the past few seasons - this winter, we have some new and exciting home-grown
pieces: Don't Watch That Watch This a
topical, news-based satire, uses re-syncing, judicious editing and overdubbing
to offer a unique vision of the world; and Armando Iannucci's The
Thick Of It, a new political comedy featuring an ensemble of
some of the best of British comedy writing - and performing - talent.
Last winter, The Alan Clark Diaries was a great success
for the channel; this winter, we have a new drama about an equally charismatic
and controversial figure - Kenneth Tynan.
Written and directed especially for the channel by Chris
Durlacher, this feature-length drama explores the personal and professional
life of this larger-than-life man of words - and ideas.
Enquiring, informed and thought-provoking documentaries
have always been a major part of 91热爆 FOUR's output and this season is
no exception.
Churchill's Forgotten Years
explores the time after the Second World War when Winston Churchill
battled against the odds to reinvent himself as a man of peace.
In Europe - A Natural History,
the incredible span of Europe's landscapes are brought to life.
And travelling further afield, Baghdad
Or Bust follows the experiences of Ken O'Keefe, a former US
marine, who led 60 volunteers in three double-decker buses on a 3,000-mile
journey from London to Baghdad.
As we approach our third anniversary, 91热爆 FOUR, the
winner of the Non-Terrestrial Channel of the Year at the 2004 Media
Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, continues to offer
its unique blend of world cinema, news, talk and debate.
Janice Hadlow