The BEST episodes directed by Tim Kirby
#1 - The Greek Thing
Ancient Worlds - Season 1 - Episode 3
Richard Miles examines the paradoxes of Greek civilisation. The archaeologist and historian explains how despite being famed for its artistic, cultural and scientific achievements, this society based around city-states was also renowned for its political intrigue, brutal warmongering and deep social inequalities
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#2 - Touched
My Mad Fat Diary - Season 1 - Episode 2
With her best friend Chloe in a secret relationship with a mystery man, Rae also longs for a boyfriend, but is worried she'll never get one while she's overweight. She's annoyed when Kester recognises she's uncomfortable with her appearance and refuses his request to try and look in the mirror more. She's also embarrassed by her complete lack of sexual experience - she's never seen anyone naked, been kissed or had an orgasm.
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#3 - The Age of Iron
Ancient Worlds - Season 1 - Episode 2
Archaeologist and historian Richard Miles examines the collapse of the Bronze Age 3,000 years ago, and how the civilisations of the subsequent Iron Age emerged. He explores the former Phoenician cities of Byblos and Tyre and their technological contributions, including the alphabet and deep-water sailing, before heading to Israel to learn how the Assyrian war machine affected small local powers
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#4 - Big Wide World
My Mad Fat Diary - Season 1 - Episode 1
Rae has continue to have therapy sessions at the hospital - initially unsure whether she can trust her new therapist, Kester, she starts to tell him about her first week back on ‘the outside'. On her way home from the hospital with her mum, Rae bumps into her old friend, Chloe - who she's recently drifted apart from, and who has no idea where Rae's been these few months. Chloe is hanging out with a new gang, which includes three gorgeous boys - Chop, Finn and Archie. Rae instantly finds Archie irresistible. Back home, Rae is shocked when she discovers her mum has a new boyfriend living with her - an illegal Tunisian immigrant, Karim, who she's hiding from the neighbours.
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#5 - Come Together
Ancient Worlds - Season 1 - Episode 1
Richard Miles explores the roots of civilisation. Starting in Uruk, the 'mother of all cities', in southern Iraq, he travels to Syria, Egypt, Anatolia and Greece.
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BBC Documentaries - Season 2016 - Episode 2
In August 1942, a concert took place in Leningrad that defies belief. A year earlier, the Germans had begun the deadliest siege in history which would kill three quarters of a million civilians. In the midst of the terror, a group of starving musicians assembled to perform Shostakovich's 7th Symphony in what would become a defiant moment in the city's ultimate survival. Historian Amanda Vickery and BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service reveal the extraordinary story of triumph of the human spirit over unspeakable terror. Amanda shows how Leningrad was simultaneously persecuted by Stalin and Hitler, the 'twin monsters' of the 20th century. Meeting with siege survivors and uncovering diaries and photographs, she reveals the reality of life in Leningrad as it literally starved to death. Meanwhile, Tom explores the thin line walked by Dmitri Shostakovich as the composer came perilously close to becoming a victim of Stalin's paranoia, and reveals how, as Leningrad starved, his 7th Symphony was performed around the world, uniting audiences against a common enemy before finally returning to the city. Shot entirely on location in St Petersburg, the story is interwoven with excerpts of the symphony performed specially by the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maxim Shostakovich, the composer's son.
#7 - La traviata: Love, Death and Divas
BBC Documentaries - Season 2015 - Episode 158
La traviata is the world's most popular opera. Its arias are instantly recognisable and have become staples for opera houses across the globe. Yet at its London premiere in 1856, La traviata was denounced for bringing 'the poetry of the brothel' to the stage and unleashing uncomfortable truths on Victorian society. Historian Amanda Vickery and Radio 3 presenter Tom Service reveal the extraordinary story behind the opera's first night in London and its scandalous heroine, the courtesan Violetta Valéry, whose dramatic life and tragic death were based on real-life characters and events. Tom and Amanda's journey goes from the luxury of the Parisian demi-monde to the teeming streets of Victorian London, where prostitution was seen as a threat to society itself. Amanda explores the story of Marie Duplessis, a highly-prized courtesan whose life inspired the play on which the opera was based, whilst Tom discovers how Verdi, on a visit to Paris with his mistress soprano Giuseppina Strepponi, seized this risqué story for the subject of his new masterpiece. Together, Amanda and Tom follow the opera's journey to London and examine how its incendiary premiere marked a historic moment in which art confronted reality, redefining the role of the opera diva forever. Scenes from Verdi's masterpiece have been specially recreated for the film alongside location photography in Venice, Milan, Paris and London.