The BEST BBC Four shows of all time
Every BBC Four show, ranked
We've compiled the average episode rating for every BBC Four show to compile this list of best shows!
#1 - Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe
Screenwipe is a television programme about television programmes; the cost, the surprising amount of work and bureaucracy involved, how programmes are selected for broadcast, and, usually scathing, analysis of specific programmes and genres. Brooker often pays particular attention to more obscure channels on satellite, freeview and cable, such as those dedicated to gambling, shopping, horoscopes, and pornography. He explores the probable effects of television in society, and how often programmes can create in the viewer feelings of inadequacy, depression, fear, and anxiety. To balance things, usually one segment of each show is dedicated to positive reviews, with analysis on why the style and content is so absorbing.
View Episode Rankings#2 - Chemistry: A Volatile History
Series in which Jim Al-Khalili traces the story of how the elements, the building blocks that make up our entire world, were discovered and mapped.
View Episode Rankings#3 - Newswipe
Charlie Brooker returns to train his sights firmly on news and current affairs.
View Episode Rankings#4 - A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss
Three-part series in which actor and writer Mark Gatiss celebrates the greatest achievements of horror cinema.
View Episode Rankings#5 - A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley
Dr Lucy Worsley chronicles the birth of the whodunit in a new three-part series, A Very British Murder. Exploring how a spate of grisly killings in Regency London entered the national psyche, she’ll show how the murder tale gradually became a staple of Victorian entertainment and helped to inspire the works of authors such as Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.
View Episode Rankings#6 - Order and Disorder
The great 19th century Austrian physicist, Ludwig Boltzmann was one of the most important proponents of the idea that all matter is made of atoms. Today no one doubts this is true but in Boltzmann's day it was a controversial idea and many of his contemporaries disagreed with him. But Boltzmann used brilliant mathematical arguments to show that many aspect of the world we observe, like the behaviour of heat, can be explained if one accepts that atoms are real.
View Episode Rankings#7 - A History of Christianity
Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch - one of the world's leading historians - reveals the origins of Christianity and explores what it means to be a Christian.
View Episode Rankings#8 - James May: The Reassembler
When we look around our homes, sheds and garages we see an array of household objects that with one click of a button or twist of a knob will spring to life, and - most of the time - do exactly what we want them to. But how on earth do these objects work? To find out, James May (fuelled by endless cups of tea) heads into his workshop with thousands of little pieces to assemble some of our most beloved and recognisable objects from scratch to see what it actually takes to get them to work.
View Episode Rankings#9 - Sea Monsters
In this thrilling adventure from the creators of Walking with Dinosaurs, renowned zoologist Nigel Marven plunges into the prehistoric deep to face some of the largest and most fearsome sea predators that ever existed – creatures so awesome, they make the great white shark look like a goldfish. Scour the depths of seven different prehistoric seas with Nigel as your guide – and marvel at the computer animation techniques that bring each aquatic world to life. Get up close and personal with creatures like the vicious sea scorpions of 450 million years ago, the armor-plated fish of the Devonian Period and a whale-chomping shark called Megalodon. Finally, wade out into the deadliest sea of all time – "Hell's Aquarium" of the late Cretaceous, an ominous body of prehistoric water that gets its name from its elevated water temperatures and the devilish creatures that call it home
View Episode Rankings#10 - Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries
View Episode Rankings#11 - Yellowstone
A natural history portrait of a year in Yellowstone, following the fortunes of America's wildlife icons as they face the challenges of one of the most extraordinary wildernesses on Earth.
View Episode Rankings#12 - Storyville
Storyville has developed an enviable reputation since it was launched by the BBC in 1997 as a showcase for the best in international documentaries. Screening over 340 films, from some 70 different countries, the strand has garnered a staggering array of awards: five Oscars, 15 Griersons, three Peabodys and two International Emmys.
View Episode Rankings#13 - The Secrets of Quantum Physics
Professor of physics Jim Al-Khalili investigates the most accurate and yet perplexing scientific theory ever - quantum physics.
View Episode Rankings#14 - Detectorists
Detectorists follows the relationship between two friends who share a passion for metal detecting. When Andy and Lance are together, they're like an old married couple. They gripe at each other, but there is a true bond underneath. Each has their own slightly dysfunctional lives but together they dream of finding a priceless Saxon hoard that will cement their place in detecting history. Helping them along the way is a delightfully quirky crowd of characters who are drawn to this all-absorbing hobby.
View Episode Rankings#15 - Atom
Jim Al-Khalili, the head of theoretical nuclear physics at the University of Surrey, brings absorbing and accessible views on the development of fundamental physics ideas to the screen for both non-scientists and scientists.
View Episode Rankings#16 - Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity
Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the electrifying story of our quest to master nature's most mysterious force - electricity. Until fairly recently, electricity was seen as a magical power, but it is now the lifeblood of the modern world and underpins every aspect of our technological advancements. Without electricity, we would be lost. This series tells of dazzling leaps of imagination and extraordinary experiments - a story of maverick geniuses who used electricity to light our cities, to communicate across the seas and through the air, to create modern industry and to give us the digital revolution.
View Episode Rankings#17 - The Beginning and End of the Universe
Prof Jim Al-Khalili tackles the biggest subject of all, the universe, through a series of critical observations and experiments that revolutionized our understanding of our world.
View Episode Rankings#18 - Everything and Nothing
Two-part documentary which deals with two of the deepest questions there are - what is everything, and what is nothing? In two epic, surreal and mind-expanding films, Professor Jim Al-Khalili searches for an answer to these questions as he explores the true size and shape of the universe and delves into the amazing science behind apparent nothingness.
View Episode Rankings#19 - Dirk Gently
Drama featuring writer Douglas Adams' holistic detective Dirk Gently, who operates based on the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. An investigation into a missing cat is inextricably linked to a chance encounter with an old friend, an exploding warehouse, a missing billionaire and a plate of biscuits.
View Episode Rankings#20 - Lead Balloon
Jack Dee stars as Rick Spleen, a successful but world-weary stand-up comedian who spends too much of his time hosting corporate events. He and Marty, his American co-writer, spend their days arguing, drinking too much coffee, and devising work avoidance strategies. Further distractions are provided by Magda, Rick’s home help, his show-biz agent wife Mel, their teenage daughter Sam and her feckless boyfriend Ben. Lead Balloon is co-written by Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair.
View Episode Rankings#21 - The Sky At Night
Sir Patrick Moore (1923-2012) began presenting The Sky at Night in April 1957. Airing a new episode every month, the show continues to explore our solar system and beyond. It is the longest running science show on TV. Many famous people have appeared on The Sky at Night, among them: Harlow Shapley, Carl Sagan and Jocelyn Bell-Burnell. Many astronauts have also appeared, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Recordings of most of the early episodes no longer exist.
View Episode Rankings#22 - Twenty Twelve
Comedy series following the personal and professional challenges faced by those responsible for delivering the biggest show on earth, as the Olympic Deliverance team try to get through to the end of the day, the end of the week and the end of the year without all the wheels falling off at once.
View Episode Rankings#23 - She-Wolves: England's Early Queens
In the medieval and Tudor world there was no question in people's minds about the order of God's creation - men ruled and women didn't. A king was a warrior who literally fought to win power then battled to keep it. Yet despite everything that stood in their way, a handful of extraordinary women did attempt to rule medieval and Tudor England. In this series, historian Dr Helen Castor explores seven queens who challenged male power, the fierce reactions they provoked and whether the term 'she wolves' was deserved.
View Episode Rankings#24 - Getting On
Getting On is a satirical British sitcom based on a geriatric ward in an NHS hospital. It is written by its core cast, Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine, and Joanna Scanlan. Several episodes were directed by Peter Capaldi. It first aired in July 2009.
View Episode Rankings#25 - The Story of Maths
The history of mathematics from ancient times to the present day. Narrated by Oxford mathematics professor Marcus du Sautoy, the series covers the seminal moments and people in the development of maths.
View Episode Rankings#26 - Women in Love
Follows Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen, as they struggle with their own desires and passions.
View Episode Rankings#27 - Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema
British film critic Mark Kermode presents his guide to cinema.
View Episode Rankings#28 - Genius of the Ancient World
Historian Bettany Hughes travels to India, Greece and China on the trail of three giants of ancient philosophy - Buddha, Socrates and Confucius.
View Episode Rankings#29 - Derren Brown: Apocalypse
A member of the public is given a second chance at life when mentalist Derren Brown makes him realize how important life is by tricking him into believing that a meteor has hit the earth and is now populated by zombies.
View Episode Rankings#30 - Up the Women
It's 1910 and we're in Banbury church hall at the Banbury Intricate Craft Circle. Margaret has been to London and discovered the Women's Suffrage movement so she decides they need to set up their own movement and The Banbury Intricate Craft Circle becomes the hilariously ineffectual Banbury Intricate Craft Circle Politely Request Women's Suffrage. Gwen is the only member who actually enjoys the craft element of the meetings, while Helen thinks that craft is a little unnecessary, but she's not interested in women's rights: "What on earth do women need a vote for? My husband votes for who I tell him to vote for. What could be a better system than that?"
View Episode Rankings#31 - Spies of Warsaw
A military attaché at the French embassy is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal and intrigue in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of Warsaw Classic tale of spying, intrigue and romance, based on the novels of Alan Furst and adapted by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.
View Episode Rankings#32 - Genius of the Modern World
Historian Bettany Hughes explores the intellectual landscapes that helped shape the work of Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud.
View Episode Rankings#33 - Queers
Eight short monologues in response to the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act.
View Episode Rankings#34 - Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe
Charlie Brooker sets his caustic sights on video games. Expect acerbic comment as he looks at the various genres, how they have changed since their early conception and how the media represents games and gamers. Features interviews with Dara O'Briain, sitcom scribe Graham Linehan and Rab and Ryan from Consolevania.
View Episode Rankings