Radio Times

a true world leader

EARTH DAY SPECIAL FORGET HOLLYWOOD’S finest, or the biggest stars of television, or even the hottest names in pop music, Greta Thunberg must be the most famous teenager on the planet. How one Swedish schoolgirl managed to capture the mood of a generation in a silent vigil outside the Swedish parliament, which rapidly turned into a global movement that thrust her to international star status is a story of our times. Climate change is a question that predates the pandemic and will dominate it long after Covid-19 becomes a footnote in history. But what of Thunberg, the girl who made a stand in Stockholm in 2018 and found the eyes of the world staring at her? On page 8 we meet Greta, now an 18-year-old studying social science, who unlike most students who take…

this week 17—23 month 2021

WHAT I’M WATCHING… PROF SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB ‘I’d like to give a plug to The Terror, which was shown on BBC2,” says the historian and presenter. “It’s a truly chilling (pun intended) evocation of a historical era – the mid-19th century – and of the perils and horrors of the natural (and supernatural) world, and it features some superb acting from Ciaran Hinds, Tobias Menzies and the ever-watchable Jared Harris.’ Viewpoint — page 7 GRETA THUNBERG ‘I watch the news, I don’t know how many times a day,” says the climate change activist. “Every time the news is broadcast in any form, I watch it. I watch lots of TV to stay updated. I watch a lot of documentaries.’ ‘I laugh at everything’ — page 8 JANE GARVEY ‘I’m doing Line of Duty but don’t ask me any questions…

bbc self-harm could be fatal

IN MARCH 2002, BBC4 was launched. The press release promised a “rich mix of intelligent, enriching and diverse programming”, while controller Roly Keating explained that the channel would be “outward-looking and global-minded. It’s for people who want more from television – more depth, more range, more stimulus for the mind.” The channel’s slogan was “everybody needs a place to think”. But now, it seems there will be no new thinking. The BBC’s Annual Plan 2021/22 discloses that BBC4 will become an archive channel, broadcasting “classic drama, comedy and documentary”. There will, in other words, be no more original content; it will be a channel of repeats. This is devastating news for arts, science, music and history documentaries. I admit to having a dog in this race: I made Hidden Killers of the…

from the rt archive… 18—24 april 1981

WHAT WE WATCHED Superman II was about to open in cinemas, so BBC2’s Arena was devoting an edition to the lasting appeal of Clark Kent and his heroic alter-ego. RT, too, was honouring him and, oddly, revealing the plotline of the blockbuster sequel without giving so much as a spoiler warning: “Lois (Margot Kidder) actually succeeds in blowing Superman’s (Christopher Reeve) cover, as she has done several times in the comic books. But, as usual, an ingenious way is found to repair the damage.” The Man of Steel’s popularity has hardly waned since then — in fact, a new big-budget TV series, Superman & Lois, has just debuted in the US. WHAT YOU SAID Triangle, the BBC1 drama set aboard a North Sea ferry, has come to be regarded as a TV embarrassment.…

‘you need to laugh sometimes’

IN GRETA THUNBERG’S BBC1 series, A Year to Change the World, there is a moment where it feels as though a baton is being passed: the first in-person meeting between the now 18-year-old environmental campaigner and Sir David Attenborough, 94. The veteran broadcaster tells the young Swedish activist that, while his generation has not done enough for the climate crisis, she has brought real hope, and real change. It is an emotional exchange. “It was,” says Thunberg, warmly. “He’s such a genuinely nice and down-to-earth person. Much more than you can imagine.” Thunberg is at home in her family’s apartment in Stockholm. After a year of travelling the world, she is back at school, where she is studying social science. She has a piece of embroidery with her as she talks,…

‘it’s nuns, cakes and bikes…’

I’M OFTEN ASKED what the key ingredients to Call the Midwife are. And I always say there has never been anything so cynical as a formula! However, what I think people have always enjoyed is the blend we have in each episode – our mixture of quite serious storytelling and things that are lighter, more hopeful and more fun. It means people can watch the show in a way that matches their mood that evening. If they want to slump on the sofa before the trials of their working week resume, then it does offer a degree of escapism. But because we also tell important stories about major things in life, it’s also possible to dig deep and find some meaning. In the new series, for instance, we look at changing attitudes…