Recommended Television Programmes

[smittims]

I didn't see Cracker, but I accept that violence can be an important part of some narratives (Yojimbo, for instance) . I lost my liking for the later series of Wycliffe and Van der Valk, where violence was inserted to boost flagging ratings (or so I suspected).

[LMcD]

'Up Late With Nicola Benedetti' - Wynton Marsalis and friends from the Edinburgh Festival on Sky Arts. Repeated tonight at 11.00 p.m.

[Cockney Sparrow]

In the past I have mentioned 'Crowdie and Cream' on BBC Alba. It appears every so often on the channel - it's a three-part account based on Finlay J MacDonald's book about growing up in the Hebrides in the 1930s. Last night, flicking, through the channels, I caught episode three once again and was immediately sucked into that pre-war Hebridean world with its wonderful land and sea scapes. Part One is available for another 15 days and if you haven't seen the series before, well worth investigating. Here's the link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod...wdie-and-cream

Thanks for drawing attention to this series - we are watching it with enjoyment. Unsophisticated but good quality in vision and sound - and mercifully free of crashing musical overlays etc (and if they are there, they are not impinging on me...). Episode 1 is available for 7 days, 2 for 14 and 3 for 21.

I recall Finlay J MacDonald reading the serialisation of the work on the radio - in particular his voice and accent (there is a small fragment of his voice on You Tube). I presume the radio series are long lost, although I wish they weren't and could be broadcast again. (A search of the BBC genome showed he was producer for many BBC radio programmes in Scotland).

[AuntDaisy]

Thanks for drawing attention to this series - we are watching it with enjoyment. Unsophisticated but good quality in vision and sound - and mercifully free of crashing musical overlays etc (and if they are there, they are not impinging on me...). Episode 1 is available for 7 days, 2 for 14 and 31 for 21.

I recall Finlay J MacDonald reading the serialisation of the work on the radio - in particular his voice and accent (there is a small fragment of his voice on You Tube). I presume the radio series are long lost, although I wish they weren't and could be broadcast again. (A search of the BBC genome showed he was producer for many BBC radio programmes in Scotland).

Not lost & I remember hearing it as well.

The radio series of "Crowdie & Cream" (and "Crotal & White") are in the BBC archives & off-air recordings also exist. You could contact Radio 4extra and ask for a repeat...
BTW It was released on cassette (~1991 as part of the "BBC Radio Collection") and sometimes appears on eBay, Abebooks, Amazon,...

[LMcD]

In the past I have mentioned 'Crowdie and Cream' on BBC Alba. It appears every so often on the channel - it's a three-part account based on Finlay J MacDonald's book about growing up in the Hebrides in the 1930s. Last night, flicking, through the channels, I caught episode three once again and was immediately sucked into that pre-war Hebridean world with its wonderful land and sea scapes. Part One is available for another 15 days and if you haven't seen the series before, well worth investigating. Here's the link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod...wdie-and-cream

I've just finished watching Episode 3. I wonder what other dramas of this quality I may have missed by not regularly checking BBC Alba on my EPG!
The BBC in Scotland have brought us some fine dramas over the years. Two that spring immediately to mind are 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Takin' Over The Asylum'.

[Nick Armstrong]

I too can be facetiously simplistic.

I really need to remember this phrase!

[Cockney Sparrow]

Not lost & I remember hearing it as well.
The radio series of "Crowdie & Cream" (and "Crotal & White") are in the BBC archives & off-air recordings also exist. You could contact Radio 4extra and ask for a repeat...
BTW It was released on cassette (~1991 as part of the "BBC Radio Collection") and sometimes appears on eBay,

Many thanks Aunt Daisy.
I've emailed R4 extra (also as to "The Corncrake and the Lysander") set up alerts on Abebooks and Ebay as I've not found a copy of the cassettes presently available. A waiting game.

On You Tube I found “The Corncrake and the Croft” – from “The World About Us” series of TV programmes (1977) - he wrote it and narrated. I haven’t found anything as to the radio series.

(*I have a high quality Sony Cassette Deck - and Fisher Price portable* which I'll introduce to my granddaughter at the right time - both unused for some years. (I recall a documentary where an elderly Michael Tippett had a Fisher Price portable one of his friends had given him!)).

[johncorrigan]

[FONT=Verdana]Many thanks Aunt Daisy.
I've emailed R4 extra

Please can I ask what e-mail address you use for this, CS? I'd like to make a suggestion to them.

[LMcD]

Please can I ask what e-mail address you use for this, CS? I'd like to make a suggestion to them.

radio4extra@bbc.co.uk should do the trick!

[Cockney Sparrow]

radio4extra@bbc.co.uk should do the trick!

Yes, that's the address I found and used - and received an acknowledgment of receipt including:

"Thanks for contacting BBC Radio 4 Extra. If you have made a suggestion for a programme you think we should broadcast, your email will be reviewed by the scheduling team."

[johncorrigan]

Thank you both.

[LMcD]

Series 5 of 'A House Through Time' (BBC2 and iPlayer) - fascinating and chilling in equal measure.

[Serial_Apologist]

Series 5 of 'A House Through Time' (BBC2 and iPlayer) - fascinating and chilling in equal measure.

Absolutely agree - everyone should watch this new series, which is head-and-shoulders above anything else on telly right now. No one at the moment (in my opinion) supersedes Olusoga in erudition and authority, backed up commendable spadework by all those helpful behind-the-scenes individuals.

[LMcD]

Absolutely agree - everyone should watch this new series, which is head-and-shoulders above anything else on telly right now. No one at the moment (in my opinion) supersedes Olusoga in erudition and authority, backed up commendable spadework by all those helpful behind-the-scenes individuals.

Just to say that I agree with every word.

[Jonathan]

Rather later than most of you, we've started watching "Ludwig". Definitely the best thing on TV in a long time. Thanks for making me aware of it!