About this season
Documentary series which ranges widely over Britain's social and cultural history, its narrative-led storytelling offering a richly immersive and varied window onto the past.
Episodes (13)
1. Cold War Kids
Aired 1 October 2003 • 60 min
Paul Morley and Michael Rosen are among those discussing the changing experiences of children who grew up in the shadow of the Cold War.
2. The Kneale Tapes
Aired 15 October 2003 • 60 min
Time Shift profiles Nigel Kneale, the brains behind such disconcerting chillers as The Stone Tapes and The Ouatermass Experiment.
3. James Cameron: A Pain in the Neck
Aired 22 October 2003 • 60 min
Timeshift profiles the journalist, a conflict-battered idealist who feared for the worst and campaigned for the best.
4. Apocalypse Now… and Then
Aired 29 October 2003 • 60 min
Time Shift examins mankind's obsession with the end of the world, looking at how science and religion fuel the belief that armageddon is just around the corner.
5. The Lie of the Land
Aired 5 November 2003 • 60 min
The conventional view of the country-side is of a rural idyll perpetuated by our cultural tradition - but does this idyll really exist? Timeshift investigates.
6. Child Prodigies
Aired 19 November 2003 • 60 min
Timeshift looks at how precocious children challenge thinking about education - and whether labelling a child as "gifted" does more harm than good.
7. Raj to Rhondda: How Indian Doctors saved the NHS
Aired 30 November 2003 • 60 min
The story of the generation of doctors who came from the Indian subcontinent to become the hidden heroes who have provided the backbone of the NHS for the last 40 years. Despite enduring years of discrimination, they fulfilled Britain's health needs and carved successful careers that took them to the heart of the British medical establishment. Now, as they collectively reach retirement age, Britain faces a crisis in healthcare.
8. The Jet Set
Aired 17 December 2003 • 60 min
Rich, distant and opulent, the jet set fascinated the public as they waved to us from airplane doorways before winging their way across the skies heading for yachts and exotic locations that the rest of us could only dream of. They were the aristocrats, the high fliers and high earners whose lives and loves fascinated us long before celebrity became a dirty word.
9. Missing Believed Wiped
Aired 29 December 2003 • 60 min
The story of Britain's lost generation of TV entertainment, from the golden age of light entertainment in the 1950s, via the "sacrilegious" tape erasing of the 1960s and 1970s, to recent lucky finds.
10. Prog Rock
Aired 19 January 2004 • 60 min
A look back to the years when progressive rock ruled the universe, with bands such as Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and King Crimson filling stadia with their grandiose stage shows. Contributors include Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, Yes drummer Bill Bruford, Old Grey Whistle Test presenter Bob Harris, DJ John Peel and rock critic Charles Shaar-Murray.
11. Hard Drive Heaven: The History of the Home Computer
Aired 9 February 2004 • 60 min
The PC has shrunk in size, but grown in power - Time Shift charts its evolution. Contributors include Sir Clive Sinclair.
12. Whistleblowers
Aired 2 March 2004 • 60 min
Until the 1980s Whitehall was able to use the Official Secrets Act to suppress information it didn't want disclosed. Time Shift recalls those who spoke out on stories the Government did not want to be told.
13. Charles Wheeler: Edge of Frame
Aired 4 March 2004 • 60 min
A look at the decisive moments of the latter 20th century through the eyes of the late Charles Wheeler. One of journalism's most dedicated yet modest professionals, Wheeler was at the forefront of world news reporting for over 50 years. Contributors include Jeremy Paxman, John Simpson and son-in-law Boris Johnson.