About this season
Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.
Episodes (26)
1. Tommy Steele: My Life, My Song
Aired 8 October 1974
2. The Goldwyn Touch
Aired 20 October 1974
3. Joseph Conrad
Aired 27 October 1974
4. Music from the Flames
Aired 10 November 1974
This film is a documentary about Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
5. The O De Cologne Show
Aired 17 November 1974
6. The Jean Rhys Woman
Aired 24 November 1974
7. Oscar Peterson & André Previn
Aired 1 December 1974
8. Find Me
Aired 8 December 1974
9. The Need for Nightmare
Aired 15 December 1974
How nightmares inspired the greatest horror writers of the 19th Century
10. Cuckoo: A Celebration of Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy
Aired 22 December 1974
Documentary about the classic comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, featuring many film clips and reminiscences from entertainers and associates. Narrated by Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.
11. A Circus for a School
Aired 29 December 1974
12. Cathedral
Aired 5 January 1975
13. Cracked Actor
Aired 26 January 1975
BBC documentary showing David Bowie looking back on his Ziggy Stardust character during his Diamond Dogs tour.
14. Auguste Rodin: Changes
Aired 2 February 1975
A partially dramatized arts programme about the life and work of Auguste Rodin
15. 21 Not Out
Aired 16 February 1975
16. Alphabets, Wild Things, Peter and a Golden Canary
Aired 23 February 1975
17. Charles Chaplin: Tramp & Philosopher
Aired 2 March 1975
18. The Friendly Invasion from Stephen Foster to Ragtime
Aired 9 March 1975
19. Fidelio Finke: Where Are You Now?
Aired 16 March 1975
20. African Sanctus
Aired 30 March 1975
21. Nijinsky: God of the Dance
Aired 6 April 1975
22. The Grierson Award
Aired 13 April 1975
23. Great Orchestras: The Vienna Philharmonic
Aired 27 April 1975
24. Claes Oldenburg: The Formative Years
Aired 4 May 1975
25. Irving Berlin
Aired 11 May 1975
Presented by Benny Green and Roy Castle this is a delightful song-filled affectionate tribute to the career of Irving Berlin
28. A Step in the Jungle: Ronald Searle
Aired 15 June 1975