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BBC Four Collections

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BBC Four Collections is a selected variation of factual television episodes and series available on British video-on-demand service BBC iPlayer. The collections themselves primarily involve "experts" like Richard Osman,[1] Janet Street-Porter[2] and David Attenborough[3] selecting various programmes from the BBC Archive to be made available on the iPlayer service. Every programme is marked with a short introduction marking the collection with BBC Four branding. Each collection has a particular theme like modern classical music,[4] the British Army[5] and interviews with famous figures.[6] Some collections were established in 2012, more being added to the service until 2014. As of 2023, most of the content is still available on the iPlayer service, with some becoming unavailable due to rights or other reasons, like the Tim Westwood sexual assault allegations.

List of collections

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Only collections with a noted author (mentioned at the start of each programme) are included in this list.

Expert Collection Year Programme Episode Title or Date Available (as of 2023)
Mark Urban Army: A Very British Institution 1968 Breakaway 5. "My Friends Think I'm Mad" Yes
1990 Everyman "A Game of Soldiers"
1977 In Her Majesty's Service 6. Corporal of Horse Christopher Slater, The Life Guards Squadron of the Household Cavalry Regiment
1989 In the Highest Tradition N/A, 6-episode series
1989 Inside Out: Ticking with the Crow/The Officers' Mess N/A
1960 Meet the Red Devils: Parachute Regiment
1985 Moment of Truth Episode 6
1969 Omnibus Makers of the Queen's Music
1975 Panorama Sandhurst
1983 The Paras N/A, 7-episode series
1977 The Regiment N/A
Silver Jubilee Review of the British Army
Trooping the Colour Silver Jubilee
1952 1952
1974 Tuesday Documentary The Bomb Disposal Men
1968 Death or Glory
Simon Jenkins London 1987 Open Space Bad Meaning Good No[a]
1975 Going Places 12 Yes
1964 A City Crowned with Green N/A
1950 The Debate Continues
1946 First-Year Flashbacks
1999 Inside Story Fish Tales
1968 One Pair of Eyes Georgia Brown: Who are the Cockneys Now?
1956 Special Enquiry A Girl Comes to London
1960 A House in Bayswater N/A
1969 How They Dug the Victoria Line
1971 Man Alive Hyde Park
1969 I Love This Dirty Town N/A
1985 Ours to Keep Incomers No
1959 After the Battle London - Ed Murrow Reports Yes
1957 Eye To Eye London-New York
1955 Cities of Europe London: We Live by the River
1968 Contrasts Marble Arch to Edgware
1976 Inside Story The Market
1991 Clive James Postcard from London
1985 Just Another Day Soho
The Tower of London
1996 Modern Times Streetwise
1967 Three Swings on a Pendulum N/A
1985 To the World's End: Scenes and Characters on a London Bus Route
Clemency Burton-Hill Modern Classical Music 2005 Boulez at 80 N/A
BBC Proms 2005 Michael Berkeley, Ben Britten & Vaughan Williams
1964 Celebrity Recital Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears.
2004 John Cage Live at the Barbican N/A
1978 Julian Bream Masterclass N/A, 5-episode series
2001 Music Masters Stockhausen No
John Adams Yes
1968 Omnibus Diaghilev: The Years Abroad
2001 ''Philip Glass Concert: Live at the Barbican N/A
2013 The Sound and the Fury in Concert N/A, 3 episode series
1964 War Requiem N/A
Gary Boyd-Hope Steam Railways 1968 4472 - Flying Scotsman N/A
1963 Let's Imagine A Branch Line Railway with John Betjeman
1975 The World About Us The Romance of Indian Railways
1986 Steam Days N/A, 6 episode series No
1979 The Rainhill Story: Stephenson's Rocket N/A Yes
1988 The Train Now Departing N/A, 6 episode series No
1969 Tuesday Documentary Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding Yes
1962 In View Men of Steam
1980 The Past at Work Railway Mania
1980 The Great Railway Cavalcade: Rocket 150 at Rainhill N/A
1977 With a Fine Feeling for Steam
Robin Lane Fox Archaeology at the BBC 1956 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? 3 May 1956
1958 1 October 1958
1960 The Grandeur That Was Rome N/A, 3 episode series
1958 Armchair Voyage: Hellenic Cruise
1974 Sir Mortimer and Magnus N/A, 6 episode series
1966 Chronicle Vikings in North America
The Roman Goose March: The Holy Sailors
1973 The Ape Man That Never Was
1954 Buried Treasure Stonehenge
1956 The Walls of Jericho
1958 King Solomon's Mines
1957 Mohenjo-daro
1954 The Peat Bog Murder Mystery
Julian Joseph Blues 1985 Arena Blues Night (5-episode series)
1979 The Devil's Music (series 2) N/A, 4-episode series
1972 Sounding Out B.B. King
Janet Street-Porter Post-War Architecture 1986 Architecture at the Crossroads Doubt and Reassessment
Stop the Bulldozer
Houses Fit for People
1988 Building Sights Schlumberger Building
Byker Wall
Alexander Fleming House
1989 Janet Street-Porter
1991 Lloyd's Building
Trellick Tower
Boarbank Hall Oratory
1996 Canary Wharf
Worsley Medical Building
Hauer-King House
Humber Bridge
Wood Street Police Station
Alton Estate
Willis Corroon
1972 Nairn Across Britain N/A, 3-episode series
1969 Omnibus The More We Are Together
1979 Where We Live Now New Town, Home Town
David Attenborough The Early Years 2013 David Attenborough: The Early Years N/A
1963 Adventure Quest under Capricorn (6-episode series)
1965 Zambezi (3 episodes)
1961 Zoo Quest To Madagascar (5 episodes)
1956 for a Dragon (6 episodes)
1955 to West Africa
1960 The People of Paradise First 5 episodes of 6
1969 The Miracle of Bali N/A, 3-episode series
1961 Elsa the Lioness N/A
Michael Parkinson Talk 1959 Face to Face Bertrand Russell
Dame Edith Sitwell
Carl Jung
1960 Stirling Moss
Evelyn Waugh
Adam Faith
1961 Martin Luther King
1994 Maya Angelou
Jeanette Winterson
1995 Lauren Bacall
Ken Dodd
1972 Parkinson David Niven
1974 Dr Jacob Bronowski
1998 Billy Connolly & David Attenborough
1974 The Frost Interview David Frost interviews Muhammad Ali
Brian Clough
2003 Breakfast with Frost Tony Blair
Dominique de Villepin
2004 Donald Rumsfeld
1965 Late Night Line-Up 16 October 1965
1966 20 November 1966
Coco the Clown
Imtimations 10. John le Carre
People to Watch Ronald Reagan
1960 Monitor Henry Moore
1955 In Town Tonight 22 October 1955
29 October 1955
Panorama Salvador Dali
Ed Murrow
Press Conference Orson Welles
1982 Arena Desert Island Discs
1963 The Solitary Billionaire: J. Paul Getty N/A
1971 Daphne Du Maurier
1984 Wogan 18 February 1984
25 December 1984
1987 9 November 1987
1970 Personal Choice Jane Fonda
1956 Picture Parade Joan Crawford No
Adam Curtis All American 1972 Alistair Cooke's America The First Impact
1981 Arena Chelsea Hotel Yes
2004 Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus
1999 Close Up Jackson Pollock: Love and Death on Long Island
1965 Inside America 13. The Quiet Persuader
1985 Omnibus Stud Terkel's Chicago
1966 Panorama California 2000
2001 Timewatch The Empire State Story
1967 Whicker's World Conflict in Kentucky
Richard Osman Classic Game Shows 2000 Friends Like These 18 November 2000
1982 Ask the Family 2 November 1982
2009 The Weakest Link 27 January 2009 No
2001 Big Break 19 May 2001 Yes
1987 Bob's Full House 19 December 1987
1974 What's My Line? 19 January 1974 No
1999 Call My Bluff 19 November 1999
1966 Quiz Ball 22 December 1966 Yes
1954 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? 28 October 1954
Max Hastings The Great War Interviews 1960s The Great War Interviews N/A, 13-episode series

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Richard Osman: My love affair with the quiz show". BBC. April 15, 2015.
  2. ^ "BBC - Janet Street-Porter introduces the Post-War Architecture Collection". BBC.
  3. ^ "BBC - Sir David Attenborough introduces his BBC Four Collection". BBC.
  4. ^ "BBC - Clemency Burton-Hill introduces the Modern Classical Music Collection". BBC.
  5. ^ "BBC - Mark Urban introduces the Army Collection". BBC.
  6. ^ "BBC - Michael Parkinson introduces the Talk Collection". BBC.