The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday initiated the first Christmas Lecture series in 1825. This came at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Faraday presented a total of nineteen series in all.
The Mimic is a British shown on Channel 4, starting 13th March 2013. The series centers on the fortunes of Martin Hurdle, an everyday maintenance man with an uncanny ability to mimic voices and stars Terry Mynott in the lead role.
The Courtroom is a British legal drama created by Phil Redmond, which aired between June and December 2004.
The programme was notable for starring many former British soap stars, particularly those who starred in Redmond's other productions Brookside and Hollyoaks.
Saturday Live was a British television comedy and music show broadcast by Channel 4 from 1985 to 1987, and in 1988 as Friday Night Live. Influenced by the American show Saturday Night Live, it was produced by Paul Jackson.
The series made stars of Ben Elton, Harry Enfield, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, and featured appearances by Patrick Marber, Morwenna Banks, Chris Barrie, Emo Philips, Craig Ferguson, Craig Charles and many others. The show featured comic duo Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in their act The Dangerous Brothers.
All episodes were transmitted live, although some material was pre-recorded. Recordings of shows were edited into compilation repeats, retitled Saturday Almost Live.
The show was succeeded by Friday Night Live, a shorter and slightly more tightly-formatted show with Elton as the permanent host, which ran for a single series in 1988. The show's titles consisted of reforming clay animations, highly comparable to early MTV idents.
Dubplate Drama is a British television series that aired on Channel 4 between 11 November 2005 and 3 July 2009. The premise of the series involved a group of young musicians, attempting to make it big by securing a record deal. Three series of the show were broadcast - the first series contained six fifteen-minute episodes, the second contained six thirty-minute episodes, and the third contained two feature-length specials of sixty minutes each. The show was described as "the world's first interactive drama series", as it allowed viewers to vote on the outcome of each episode. The first two series of the show were released on DVD, with the third remaining unreleased. The show was notable for its well-known British talent, including roles played by Noel Clarke, Adam Deacon, N-Dubz and Tim Westwood.
Spaced: the anti-Friends, in that it examines the lives of common 20 somethings, but in a way that is more down to earth and realistic. Here we have Daisy and Tim; two 'young' adults with big dreams just trying to get by in this crazy world. They are thrown together in a common pursuit of tenancy, which they find by posing as a couple. The house has a landlady and an oddball artist living there. The series explores the ins and outs of London living.
1945 London. Feef is seduced by a rogue American spy into spying on her own country. Her task? To uncover a Russian agent in the heart of the British Government.
Sugar Rush is an Emmy Award–winning British television comedy drama series developed by Shine Limited and broadcast by Channel 4, based on the Julie Burchill novel of the same name. It follows the trials and tribulations of teenager Kim Daniels, who is dealing with all the usual adolescent issues, plus one - she thinks she might be gay. Her family has recently moved to Brighton from London, and she finds herself with a huge crush on her new best friend, Maria `Sugar' Sweet. Sugar has a bit of a wild side, and frequently gets Kim into trouble, though Kim can find trouble on her own as well. Despite attractions to other girls, and a few attempts at being interested in guys, Kim continues to long for Sugar.
PhoneShop is a British sitcom that was first broadcast on Channel 4 as a television pilot on 13 November 2009, as part of the channel's Comedy Showcase season of comedy pilots. It was then followed by a six-episode series that was commissioned on E4 and broadcasting began on 7 October 2010.
A rolling cast of famous faces, some of Britain's best loved personalities, turn their hand to being the country's most opinionated viewers, sharing their opinions on what they have been watching during the week.
The landmark documentary series that captures real life drama at its most intense, following police detectives around the clock as they investigate major crimes.
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former Boomtown Rats singer and Live Aid organiser Bob Geldof.
The programme was distinctive for broadcasting live from former lockkeepers' cottages commonly referred to as "The Big Breakfast House", or more simply, "The House", located on Fish Island, in Bow in east London.
The show was a mix of news, weather, interviews, audience phone-ins and general features, with a light tone which was in competition with the more serious GMTV and even more serious BBC breakfast programmes.
A thrilling and raw crime drama following a gang of drug dealers in Hackney, London - an honest and gripping rendition of inner-city drug and gang culture.
Secret History was a long-running British television documentary series. Shown on Channel 4, the Secret History brandname was used as a banner title in the UK, but many of the individual documentaries can still be found on US cable channels without the branding. It can be seen as Channel 4's answer to the BBC's Timewatch.
The chaotic lives, loves and drinking sessions of a group of hapless teachers. They might be qualified to teach, but they've still got a lot to learn...
Rock School is a British reality TV series starring Gene Simmons, in which he has a short time to turn a class of school children into a fully fledged rock band, at the end of which they must perform in a supporting slot for a leading rock band.
Rock School is made by British production company RDF Media and has been shown on Channel 4 in the UK, RTL 7 in the Netherlands, Channel Ten and Channel V in Australia, TVNZ's TV2 in New Zealand, VH-1 in the United States and Latin America, TV2 Zebra in Norway, Nelonen in Finland, TV4 in Sweden, Much Music in Canada, Vitaya in Belgium and ORF1 in Austria.
A comedy film with a similar theme, starring Jack Black, called School of Rock, was released in 2003, before the first series began although the creative team and Gene Simmons insist that it was not because of the success of that film they made it, and say it was in the works since 2002.
Since series 2, Simmons seems not to be planning any more series yet due to commitments with KISS.
Drop the Dead Donkey is a situation comedy that first aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998. It is set in the offices of “GlobeLink News”, a fictional TV news company. Recorded close to transmission, it made use of contemporary news events to give the programme a greater sense of realism. It was created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. The series had an ensemble cast, making stars of Haydn Gwynne, Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson.
The series began with the acquisition of GlobeLink by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant, an allusion to either Robert Maxwell or Rupert Murdoch. Indeed, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin note on their DVDs that it was fortunate for their libel lawyers that the two men shared the same initials. The series is mostly based on the on-going battle between the staff of GlobeLink, led by editor George Dent, as they try to maintain the company as a serious news organisation, and Sir Roysten’s right-hand man Gus Hedges, trying to make the show more sensatio