Please email oxstallsmediaservices@glos.ac.uk if you would like any of the following series or programmes recording. * *This applies to staff members and students at the University of Gloucestershire. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.
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Saturday 18th December
Documentary
Making War Horse 7:55pm - 9:00pm More4
How do you transfer Michael Morpurgo's powerful children's novel about the horrors of the First World War, where the main character is a horse called Joey, into a major piece of theatre? Simple: employ stunning life-size puppets, courtesy of the South African Handspring Puppet Company, and the skills of the National Theatre team, who explain, with Morpurgo, how they worked together to produce a powerfully moving, award-winning play. It's eye-opening stuff, and the care taken to make the puppet horses seem lifelike will take your breath away. If you're not usually convinced by the magic of theatre, this might just change your mind.
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Wednesday 22nd December
Documentary
Close Up With Sir Peter Hall and Julie Taymor 7:25pm - 7:55pm More4 3/5
The doyen of British theatre, Peter Hall, and The Lion King director Julie Taymor mentor two young theatre directors for one year. Peter takes South African director Lara Foot Newton under his wing, while Julie helps Selina Cartmell with her musical theatre ambitions. Part of the More4 Arts season
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Thursday 23rd December
Film
Jesus Christ Superstar 11:50pm - 1:45am ITV1 London
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's ground-breaking rock opera chronicling the last seven days of Jesus Christ works better on stage than screen, judging from director Norman Jewison's worthy adaptation. The score is brilliant, and Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson and Yvonne Elliman give great performances. However, they're undermined by Jewison's attempts to give the Passion Play a mod credibility: a busload of students arriving in the desert to put on a show, for example, or Judas ducking jet fighters halfway through a song. The result is a disappointment that would look less infantile and shallow without such a wrong-headed, anachronistic approach.
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Friday 24th December
Film
Scrooge 4:00pm - 5:45pm Channel 5
Released in the US under Dickens's original title, A Christmas Carol, this is easily the best screen version of the much loved yuletide tale. The ever-versatile Alastair Sim is impeccable as the miser who comes to see the error of his ways through the promptings of the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Michael Hordern makes a splendid Jacob Marley and Mervyn Johns a humble Bob Cratchit, while George Cole does well as the younger, carefree Scrooge. Beautifully designed by Ralph Brinton and directed with unexpected finesse by Brian Desmond Hurst, this is not to be missed.
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Saturday 25th December
Music
Birmingham Royal Ballet's Cinderella 3:00pm - 5:00pm BBC2
Elisha Willis and Iain McKay star in a new production of the fairy tale by director and choreographer David Bintley, who collaborates for the first time with renowned artist John Macfarlane and lighting designer David Finn. In its 20th anniversary year, the company retells the classic story of good triumphing over evil as the downtrodden Cinderella overcomes the exploits of her wicked stepmother and ugly step-sisters to win the heart of Prince Charming, with the help of her fairy godmother. Set to Prokofiev's melodious score, the ballet is filmed by Ross MacGibbon - a former dancer with the Royal Ballet.
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Sunday 26th December
Drama
Upstairs Downstairs 9:00pm - 10:00pm BBC1 The Fledgling1/3, series 1
New series. Thirty-five years after the original series ended on ITV, the BBC returns to one of the most famous addresses on TV. It is January 1936, and diplomat Sir Hallam and Lady Agnes Holland (Ed Stoppard and Keeley Hawes) move into Eaton Place - closely followed by his widowed mother and her wayward sister. But they also need a full serving staff, for which Lady Agnes turns to an agency run by none other than Rose Buck (Jean Marsh), who used to work at the house. Eileen Atkins, Art Malik, Anne Reid and Adrian Scarborough co-star. Continues tomorrow.
Film
Great Expectations 12:45pm - 3:00pm More4
David Lean will always be best remembered for his Technicolor epics, but this black-and-white adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel is one of his early masterpieces. It's a carefully pruned version of the book that excises entire characters but retains the magical Dickens spirit as it tells the tale of orphaned Pip (played as a boy by Anthony Wager and as an adult by John Mills), who comes into an unexpected fortune. From the opening sequence on the Kentish marshes, when the young Pip encounters Finlay Currie's terrifying escaped convict, through to his love for Estella (played by Jean Simmons as a child and Valerie Hobson as an adult), this is superlative film-making from one of Britain's greatest directors. It looks magnificent and earned Oscars for cinematographer Guy Green and designers John Bryan and Wilfrid Shingleton.
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Monday 27th December
Drama
Upstairs Downstairs 9:00pm - 10:00pm BBC1 The Ladybird 2/3, series 1
It is five months since the Hollands moved into Eaton Place, and Rose is officially installed as housekeeper, while Lady Agnes has manoeuvred the house to the centre of London society - and her joy is compounded by the news she is pregnant. But storm clouds are gathering in Europe, and Lady Persie falls under the spell of Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists, forming an alliance that will drag her into moral and physical peril. Keeley Hawes, Jean Marsh and Claire Foy star. Concludes tomorrow.
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Tuesday 28th December
Drama
Upstairs Downstairs 9:00pm - 10:00pm BBC1 The Cuckoo 3/3, series 1
Lady Persie's life has become increasingly complex, as she continues her illicit affair and pursues her right-wing political interests with little regard of the potential danger to those she loves. Meanwhile, Lady Agnes prepares for motherhood by having her picture taken by celebrated photographer Cecil Beaton - a visit that causes excitement for one particular member of the downstairs staff - and Sir Hallam finds himself dragged into the abdication crisis facing the monarchy. Keeley Hawes, Ed Stoppard, Anne Reid and Claire Foy star in the period drama. Last in the series.
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Wednesday 29th December
Arts and culture
Les Mis at 25: Matt Lucas Dreams the Dream 8:00pm - 9:00pm BBC2
Matt Lucas's preparations to appear in the 25th anniversary gala performance of Les Miserables at the O2 arena in October. The documentary follows the comedian through rehearsals to the performance of a lifetime in the role of innkeeper Thenardier, alongside a cast of more than 300 stalwarts from previous productions, including Alfie Boe, Nick Jonas and Lea Salonga. Featuring contributions from producer Cameron Mackintosh, original director Trevor Nunn, and members of the original London cast Michael Ball and Frances Ruffelle.
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Please email oxstallsmediaservices@glos.ac.uk if you would like any of the following series or programmes recording. * *This applies to staff members and students at the University of Gloucestershire. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.
