Counter Culture

Saturday 16 July 2022

Timeshift: Italian Noir – The Story of Italian Crime Fiction 1220am BBC4

A documentary that profiles a new wave of Italian crime fiction that has emerged to challenge the conventions of the detective novel.

Vice (2018) 1130pm BBC2

The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today.

Sunday 17 July 2022

Tongue and Talk: The Dialect Poets – Hull 4.30pm BBC RADIO 4

Playwright, poet, and comedian Gill Adams explores dialect and poetry in her native Hull, the East Yorkshire city with a long association with fishing, ships, and the sea. Niche, but interesting.

Murder in Provence (1/3) 8pm ITV1

Adapted from the books by M.L. Longworth, Murder in Provence follows Antoine Verlaque, an Investigating Judge in Aix-en-Provence, and his romantic partner Marine Bonnet as they investigate the murders, mysteries, and dark underbelly of their idyllic home. Their efforts are aided by Hélène, a detective and Antoine’s trusted confidante.

The Proms BBC4 8pm

The eagerly anticipated return of audience favourite John Wilson kicks off BBC Four’s 2022 Proms season. He conducts award-winning orchestra Sinfonia of London in a packed all-British programme.

Much-loved classics, including Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and Elgar’s Enigma Variations, sit alongside Walton’s colourful Partita and Arnold Bax’s portrait of the Arthurian castle Tintagel. And it’s the Proms premiere of Huw Watkins’s dazzling Flute Concerto, written especially for tonight’s soloist, Adam Walker.

Monday 18 July 2022

Peter Brook 8pm BBC RADIO 4

This intimate and personal look at Peter Brook’s theatre work is in conversation with Glenda Jackson and was recorded just a year before his death. With landmark productions that changed the face of British theatre, such as the electrifying Marat Sade and the liberating, landmark acrobatic production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, and since moving to Paris, internationally renowned The Mahabharata, this is a moving tribute to a world-class director.

Tuesday 19 July 2022

Freddie Flintoff`s Field of Dreams 8pm BBC1

Has he found a home for his newly-formed cricket team of disadvantaged teenagers?

Lucy In The Sky (2019) 11.10pm Film 4

Astronaut Lucy Cola returns to Earth after a transcendent experience during a mission to space and begins to lose touch with reality in a world that now seems too small.

Wednesday 20 July 2022

Unvaccinated BBC2 9pm

Covid-19 is on the rise again in the UK. After multiple lockdowns and more than 197,000 deaths, experts are warning we’re now entering a fifth wave of the pandemic. So why are around four million adults in the UK still yet to receive a single dose of the vaccine? In this timely, eye-opening investigation Professor Hannah Fry seeks to understand why so many remain unvaccinated against Covid-19.

To fully explore this complex and deeply divisive debate, Hannah brings seven unvaccinated participants together under one roof to unpack long-held opinions, beliefs, and fears that have prevented them from getting the vaccine. Together, they meet leading experts, confront the latest science and statistics to emerge in the field, and dissect how misinformation spreads on social media. At the end of the experiment, each contributor is asked if what they have learned has changed their mind and whether they will now take up the vaccine.

Billy Wilder: Nobody’s Perfect 1200 Sky Arts

A documentary by Clara and Julia Kuperberg that draws on interviews made with the six-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Billy Wilder to create an in-depth profile of one of cinema’s greats.

Thursday 21 July 2022

The Undeclared War Episode 4. 9pm Channel 4

Marina moves to London for a new opportunity, and Danny is unconvinced by information Saara shares from an anonymous source. Saara’s hand is forced when Kathy informs her that GCHQ is about to reveal the names of the FSB coders.

All episodes are available on More 4

For Bette Davis fans BBC4 has some treats tonight for us. Star of over 100 films and the first person to receive ten Oscar nominations.

Bette Davis: A Basically Benevolent Volcano 8pm BBC4

A documentary about and an interview with Hollywood actress Bette Davis about her life and career from the late 1920s to the 1980s on stage and mostly before the camera.

Now, Voyager (1942) 8.45pm BBC4

A frumpy spinster blossoms under therapy and becomes an elegant, independent woman.

Dark Victory (1939) 10.40pm BBC4

A young socialite is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and must decide whether or not she’ll meet her final days with dignity.

1220 Bette Davis: Talking Pictures 12.20 BBC4

A look back at television appearances made by Hollywood legend Bette Davis, capturing the milestones and highlights of her life and career.

Friday 22 July 2022

Cobain: Montage of Heck 9pm Sky Documentaries

Filmmaker Brett Morgen explores the Nirvana frontman’s childhood, career, and tragic death, using material from the Cobain family’s personal archives.

Selections by Henry Falconer and Patrick Harrington

And on Discovery+

Jussie Smollett: A Faking It special. Investigates the case of actor Jussie Smollett who was convicted of falsely claiming to have been the victim of a violent hate crime in 2019. Available from Saturday 16 July 2022.

Selections by Henry Falconer and Patrick Harrington