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| BBC ONE Sunday 12 October 2008 |
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Imagine
– The Story Of The Guitar:
Out Of The Frying Pan
Ep 2/3
Sunday 12 October
10.20-11.25pm BBC ONE
 Feature
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Les Paul, one of the pioneers
who helped turn the guitar
electric, speaks to Alan Yentob Alan Yentob continues to explore the history and culture surrounding the world's favourite instrument and the personal stories of those who have dedicated their lives to it.
The second episode of the series continues with the story of how the guitar went electric. It begins with the legend of Robert Johnson, a blues guitarist from the Mississippi Delta.
The blues has a deep hold on the mythology of the guitar but, surprisingly, the first electric guitar arose not from the world of blues and jazz, but from the requirements of the leading popular guitar players of the Twenties and Thirties.
Alan Yentob talks to Les Paul – one of the pioneers who helped turn the guitar electric. He is still playing in New York at the age of 93. He gave his name to one of the most popular electric guitars ever made, which is still revered today.
Another of the great survivors from this era is living legend BB King, who has been playing for more than 60 years and is still on the road today. He tells the story of how his guitar, Lucille – almost as famous as BB himself – got its name.
On entering the Fifties, a solid-body guitar war began, thanks to the mass-produced Telecaster, the brainchild of former radio repairman Leo Fender. He went on to produce arguably the most successful guitar, the Fender Stratocaster.
A chorus of British-based players, from Hank Marvin to Mark Knopfler, describe the extraordinary influence of The Shadows and the first red Fender Stratocaster to hit these shores. Bought by Cliff Richard, it seemed like an object from another planet. It reached its apotheosis in the hands of legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
TM
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| BBC TWO Sunday 12 October 2008 |
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Charley Boorman –
Ireland To Sydney By Any Means Ep 6/6
Sunday 12 October
8.00-9.00pm BBC TWO
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Charley Boorman arrives in
Sydney as he completes his
journey through three
continents, 25 countries and
over 20,000 miles by land and
sea Tension fills the air when the team's water-logged cargo boat begins to sink, as Charley Boorman continues his trip from Ireland To Sydney By Any Means. They are on their way to Borneo to help with a UNICEF vaccination project. With the boat out of action, they have to find another way.
Three hundred miles of lush rainforest later, Charley and the UNICEF team arrive with the vaccines in a village up the Pawan River, deep in the heart of Kalimantan on Borneo. Having missed the one ferry that would take them to Bali, the team have no choice but to double back and fly to their destination.
From Bali, Charley embarks upon a series of boat journeys – navigating his way across the Indonesian archipelago. From speedboats to hand-built traditional phinisi craft and hugely overcrowded ferries, he makes his way to Kupang.
After a turbulent, five-day crossing from Kupang, on board a hand-made boat, Charley and the team are delighted to finally hit the shores of Australia. The end of the journey is in sight.
Despite being on the right continent, there's still a huge distance to cover across the outback. Charley and the team decide to take the most direct route to Sydney, over the snowy Mountains, but they are thwarted by bad weather.
Charley tests out all sorts of weird and wonderful modes of transport, from campervans to camels, road graders to road trains. To complete the final leg into Sydney, Charley leads an epic biker convoy over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge.
RF
James May's
Big Ideas – Power To The People Ep
3/3
Sunday 12 October
9.00-10.00pm BBC TWO |
James May sets off to find smarter, brighter and bolder ways of powering the planet for future generations, in the last in his series of Big Ideas.
James begins his journey by looking at the energy produced by the sun. In a unique experiment, he pushes a solar-powered car – one that has raced thousands of miles across the Australian desert – to its limits. But just how far will a solar car travel in Guildford at night?
In Seville, James visits the world's first solar power station. This extraordinary cathedral of lights towers over the Spanish countryside. But, for all its high-tech glory, James discovers its curiously low-tech Achilles' heel.
Continuing his journey in the US, James encounters a group of dedicated aerospace engineers, who are planning to make a lift that will reach 20,000 miles into the skies, in a bid to build a power station in space. James watches, enthralled, as they take their first tentative steps towards their goal and a $2m prize.
While in Holland, James meets the first Dutchman who travelled into space – a man who has now put away his rockets and spacesuit, swapping them instead for kites, in an attempt to harvest the powerful winds of a high-altitude jet stream.
And, finally, James heads off into the deserts of New Mexico to seek out some modern-day alchemists. This group of scientists is hoping to conjure petrol out of thin air, with the help of only a few mirrors.
LK
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| BBC THREE Sunday 12 October 2008 |
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Lou persuades Danny and Shay to give the record label another try in the last episode of the comedy series about the owners of a fledging record label.
Furious with the lads for giving up on the label, Lou draws up a list of unsigned bands and orders them to sign one. She even has a plan to stop their constant bickering.
The lads persuade Danny's dad, Dennis, to lend them some money and they hit the road. But, when the car breaks down in the middle of The Pennines, it looks like the label is doomed. Can Hebden Bridge five-piece The Pott Shrigleys restore their faith in music? And can Tony and Lorraine save Dennis from his fire demons?
Meanwhile, love is in the air as Nancy makes a move on Swing; Shay gets lustful in the countryside; and Lou reveals a secret.
Lou is played by Christine Bottomley, Danny by Ralf Little, Shay by Carl Rice, Dennis by Philip Jackson, Tony by Johnny Vegas, Lorraine by Lorraine Cheshire, Nancy by Jo King and Swing by Joel Fry.
JP
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