NEWS
What's coming up on UK TV, Radio, new DVD releases, events etc
Note: BBC Radio programs can usually be heard up to 7 days after the broadcast date on the BBC
website.
27 Apr 2008
Radio 3: Words and Music - Poetry and music on the theme of the spirit world.
23 Feb 2008
Radio 4 presents "The Voyage of the Demeter"
- a retelling of the Dracula legend set on board a schooner in 1897. Dramatised
by Robert Forrest.
18 Feb 2008
Scheduled release of the DVD set of the 1990's supernatural comedy series "Mulberry" (starring Karl Howman).
XMAS Radio 2007
Radio 4 presents "M. R. James at Christmas". A series of daily dramatised readings (5 x 15 min) of supernatural tales
by the famous ghost story writer.
24 Dec: O Whistle and I'll come to you my lad.
25 Dec: The Tractate Middoth.
26 Dec: Lost Hearts.
27 Dec: The Rose Garden.
28 Dec: Number 13.
Introduced by Derek Jacobi (as M. R. James).
23 & 28 Dec: R4 presents a 2-part play - "The Witches" (by Roald Dahl) dramatised by Lucy Catherine.
24 Dec: O Whistle and I'll come to you my lad.
25 Dec: The Tractate Middoth.
26 Dec: Lost Hearts.
27 Dec: The Rose Garden.
28 Dec: Number 13.
Introduced by Derek Jacobi (as M. R. James).
23 & 28 Dec: R4 presents a 2-part play - "The Witches" (by Roald Dahl) dramatised by Lucy Catherine.
XMAS TV 2007
BBC4 is showing a series of vintage supernatural dramas including three from the definitive 1970s "Ghost Story for Christmas" anthology and a rare showing of "The Exorcism" (1972"). Also a welcome repeat of Jonathan Miller's superb "Whistle and I'll come to you" (1968)
16 Dec: "A View from a Hill" (rpt.).
17 Dec: "The Stalls of Barchester" (rpt.) starring Robert Hardy.
18 Dec: "Number 13" (rpt.).
19 Dec: "Whistle and I'll Come to You" (rpt.).
20 Dec: "Lost Hearts" and "The Signalman" (rpt.)
22 Dec: The Exorcism (rpt.).
24 Dec: Blackadder's Christmas Carol: Repeat of the 1988 comedy Xmas special.
16 Dec: "A View from a Hill" (rpt.).
17 Dec: "The Stalls of Barchester" (rpt.) starring Robert Hardy.
18 Dec: "Number 13" (rpt.).
19 Dec: "Whistle and I'll Come to You" (rpt.).
20 Dec: "Lost Hearts" and "The Signalman" (rpt.)
22 Dec: The Exorcism (rpt.).
24 Dec: Blackadder's Christmas Carol: Repeat of the 1988 comedy Xmas special.
28 Nov 2007
Radio 4 presents "The Sensitive"
by Alastair Jessiman, the second play in a series about a Psychic who aids Police in their investigations
(see also entry under 11 Aug 2006).
27 Nov 2007
Radio 4 presents "The Poet of Albion", a tribute to the English artist and visionary William Blake on the 250th anniversary of his birth.
31 Oct 2007
Radio 4 presents a play, "Hands",
by Courttia Newland (rpt.). A woman struggles to
reclaim her ancestral gift of spiritual healing.
29 Sep 2007
Radio 4 presents the Saturday play, "Feluda
- The Mystery of the Elephant God" by Satyajit
Ray. And on Radio 3, "The Turn of the Screw"
- supernatural opera by Benjamin Britten.
30 & 31 Aug 2007
Radio 4 presents 2 plays with Angel themes: Otherkin
(Writer: Laura Wade / Starring Sam West) and Quintessence
(Writer: Rachel Joyce).
27 Aug 2007
Casting the Runes,
a 1979 ITV supernatural drama adapted from a story
by M R James, is released on DVD.
4 Aug 2007
A new supernatural drama, Empathy,
to be shown on BBC1, starring Stephen Moyer.
9 July 2007
Ace of Wands
released on DVD.
2 July 2007
BBC R4 presents the afternoon play, "The
Midnight House" by Jonathan Hall. Period
ghost story set in the tin quarries of Wales.
28 May 2007
BBC2's 1990 supernatural Drama series The
Green Man (starring Albert Finney) gets
a welcome DVD release.
20 May 2007
Third series of American supernatural drama Medium starts on BBC1 (22
eps).
24 & 26 Apr 2007
Lifeline (starring Ray Stephenson,Joanne Whalley,
and Jemima Rooper) on BBC1. Fantasy drama based
on an unlikely supernatural premise.
4 Mar 2007
Radio 3 presents "The Fiery World"
by Peter Ackroyd. A play about the life of
William Blake, the renowned English mystical Artist
and Poet. With Robert Glenister as Blake.
16 Feb 2007
Radio 3 presents The Queen of Spades, an
opera by Tchaikovsky. A gambler is helped to win
by the ghost of a woman who he had frightened to
death.
4 - 18 Feb 2007
Radio 4 presents a
three part drama based on the Ancient Indian spiritual
epic, The Mahabharata (adapted by Jatinder Verma and
Claudia Mayer).
2 Feb 2007
A new series of Haunted
Homes starts on (digital) ITV2.
19 Jan 2007
BBC Radio 4: A play, "My Blue Piano"
by Marty Ross. A homeless writer has a series of
strange encounters including an Angel and the ghost
of a Chimpanzee!
8 Jan - 12 Feb 2007
BBC2: "Trust me I'm a Healer".
A six part documentary highlighting the work of
individual Spiritual healers.
XMAS 2006 TV
21 Dec 2006: BBC4
- "A View from a Hill". M R James ghostly drama
(rpt.).
22 Dec 2006: BBC4 - "The Corner of the retina". Documentary (rpt).
22 & 23 Dec 2006: BBC4 - "Number 13". A new drama based on an M R James ghost story.
22 Dec 2006: BBC4 - "The story of the ghost story". Documentary (rpt).
22 Dec 2006: ITV3 - "The Turn of the Screw". A repeat of ITV1's Xmas 1999 ghost drama.
28 Dec 2006: BBC1 - Dracula. A new production starring Marc Warren and David Suchet.
22 Dec 2006: BBC4 - "The Corner of the retina". Documentary (rpt).
22 & 23 Dec 2006: BBC4 - "Number 13". A new drama based on an M R James ghost story.
22 Dec 2006: BBC4 - "The story of the ghost story". Documentary (rpt).
22 Dec 2006: ITV3 - "The Turn of the Screw". A repeat of ITV1's Xmas 1999 ghost drama.
28 Dec 2006: BBC1 - Dracula. A new production starring Marc Warren and David Suchet.
XMAS 2006 Radio
18 - 21 Dec, Radio 2: A Christmas Carol
(in 7 pts). Shane Ritchie reads a new version of
the Dickens classic.
9 Dec 2006
BBC Radio 4 presents "The Saturday
Play: When Marnie Was there" by Beaty
Rubens (based on a story by Joan G. Robinson).
A spooky tale set in an isolated village on the
coast of Norfolk.
27 - 29 Oct 2006
Darkness Over Britain film festival. The classic supernatural TV dramas, Ghostwatch (1992) and Penda's
Fen (1974) will be screened with writers Steven Volk and David Rudkin
in attendance to answer questions. See www.cornerhouse.org
for details.
20 Oct 2006
BBC Radio 4 presents the afternoon Play, Friday
when it rains by Nick Warburton. A girl on a
late night train meets a man with a ghostly tale
to tell. Starring Clive Swift and Lyndsey Marshal.
15 Oct - 19 Nov 2006
Weekly (sunday morning) repeat of readings from
the supernatural anthology "Thou shalt not
suffer a witch" by Dorothy K. Haynes (see
entrty of 13 Dec 2004).
28 Sep 2006
BBC Radio 4 presents a play, Mum by Ronnie
Barker. A lonely young woman finds her life dramatically
changed when she is visited by the ghosts of
her father and her ex-fiancé. Starring Maxine Peake.
22 Sep 2006
BBC Radio 4 presents a play, Angelophany
by Miles Gibson: The vicar of St. Gilberts discovers
a vagrant in the church who claims to be an angel.
16 Sep 2006
The Supernatural drama Afterlife returns
for a second series on ITV1. Starring Lesley Sharpe
and Andrew Lincoln.
28 Aug 2006
ITV1 presents a new 6-part investigative
series, Haunted Homes.
11 Aug 2006
BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Play: "The Sensitive".
Police call on the services of a Psychic to
help them locate a woman who has gone missing (Writer:
Alistair Jessiman, starring Jimmy Chisholm).
7 Aug 2006
Channel 4. "Cutting Edge: My Child's
Psychic". Documentary about two families
who claim that their children possess psychic abilities.
4 Aug 2006
BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Play: "Hands".
A woman struggles to claim her ancestral gift
of healing (Writer: Courttia Newland, starring
Seroca Davies).
31 July - 4 Aug 2006
BBC Radio 4 presents "A Book at Bedtime: Algernon Blackwood Ghost Stories (5 x 15mins).
(1) The Willows (2) The Empty House (3) Ancient
Sorceries (4) Smith: An episode in a lodging house
(5) The Glamour of the snow.
27 July 2006
Another chance to see the one-off supernatural comedy-drama
"The Last Will and Testament of Billy Two Sheds" on BBC1.
23 July 2006
Start of a repeat run of the supernatural drama series Afterlife on ITV.
13 Mar 2006
BBC R4 presents a play, "The Bride's Chamber".
Set in northern England during the 19th century,
writers Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins stop off at an inn in Lancaster where they hear a ghostly tale
(based on a Dickens short story - "The lazy tour
of two idle apprentices").
20 Feb 2006
BBC Radio 4 presents "Cast
in Stone". Set in 12th century England.
A young country girl, steeped in the old pagan
ways, is taken to Wells to model for the stonemasons,
who are carving sculptures for a new cathedral. A tale
of magical revenge.
3 Feb 2006
BBC Radio 4 presents a play, "The
Withered Arm" starring Victoria Hamilton
(based on a short story by Thomas Hardy).
10 Jan 2006
The second series of the American
supernatural drama, Medium,
starring Rosanna Arquette, begins on BBC1 (22 eps, weekly).
7 Jan 2005
"Sea Of
Souls" is back for a third series on BBC1.
Christmas 2005
BBC4 are showing repeats of "Lost
hearts", "The
Ash Tree", "The
Signalman", and "A
Warning to the Curious" from the classic "Ghost
Story for Christmas" series, and Jonathan
Miller's 1968 highly regarded adaptation of M R James's "Whistle
and I'll come to you". Also showing,
a new supernatural drama "A
View from a Hill" (also based on an M R James
short story).
The excellent 1990 three part ghost drama "The Green Man" (starring Albert Finney) gets a very welcome rerun, and there is a documentary - "The Story of the Ghost Story" (again on BBC4).
25 - 29 Dec, BBC Radio 2: "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. A series of late night readings of the novel.
The excellent 1990 three part ghost drama "The Green Man" (starring Albert Finney) gets a very welcome rerun, and there is a documentary - "The Story of the Ghost Story" (again on BBC4).
25 - 29 Dec, BBC Radio 2: "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. A series of late night readings of the novel.
17 Dec 2005
There is a review of this Christmas's supernatural
dramas on BBC4 in a Guardian
article by Sarah Dempster.
26 Nov 2005
BBC Radio 4: "The Dorabella
Variation" by Alick Rowe. A troubled teenager
encounters the spirit of Edward Elgar while walking
inthe Malvern Hills.
20 Nov 2005
BBC R3 presents Shakepeare's "Macbeth".
Directed by Richard Eyre.
31 Oct 2005
DVD release of ITV1's Afterlife.
28-30 Oct 2005
Annual "Darkness
over Britain" film festival, Manchester.
Showing "Sapphire and Steel
- Assignment IV", "The
Ash tree" (Ghost story for Xmas series)
and an episode of "Beasts:
Baby". Details at Cornerhouse
Arts centre.
24-28 Oct 2005
Radio 4 presents "Haunting
Women", a series of 5 x 15 minute supernatural
dramas inspired by Irish female ghosts: (1) The Linen
Mill; (2) The Wedding Bouquet; (3) The Waiting wall;
(4) The Shimmering dress (5) The Riding crop.
4 Sep 2005
Afterlife,
a new supernatural drama series, starts on ITV1.
6 Sep 2005
US supernatural drama series "Medium"
starts on BBC1 (16 eps, weekly).
16 July 2005
Radio 4 presents a play, Haunted
Hospital by Trevor Hoyle.
20 Jun 2005
DVD release of The
Omega factor.
2 - 6 May 2005
Cornish Tales
(on Radio 4): Myths and legends from the south-west
of England, including some supernatural tales.
23 Apr 2005
R4 presents The
New Lands of Charles Fort. A play based on the
life of the American writer and paranormal investigator
who founded the Fortean Society.
16 Mar 2005
The World's
Scariest Ghosts - caught on camera on ITV1. A
documentary about real life ghost stories. Plus a repeat
of Haunted Homes (also on
ITV1).
12 Mar 2005
R4 presents a repeat run of Ghost
Stories, a 5 part anthology (see below) - every
Saturday evening for the next 5 weeks.
Mar 2005
The series Hammer
House of Horror gets a rerun on ITV3.
28 Feb 2005
DVD release of the Channel 5 anthology
Urban Gothic (series 1 and
2).
27 Feb 2005
Radio 3 presents The
Gospel according to Mary Magdalene, starring
Jane Lapotaire (based on the the ancient "Gospel
of Mary Magdalene" which was published in 1955).
24 Feb 2005
Channel 4 are showing The
Real Exorcist, a documentary about the events
that inspired the 1973 film, The Exorcist. This is followed
by The Exorcism, a "live" investigation
into the practice of Exorcism.
15 Feb 2005
Some future DVD releases to look
forward to: Hammer House of Mystery
on 21 February ; Sea of Souls
(series 2) on 25 April. Catweazle,
The Owl Service, The
Ghosts of Motley Hall, Orson
Welles Great Mysteries, The
Omega Factor, Beasts,
and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
are also scheduled for release this year.
31 Jan 2004
22 Jan 2005
BBC R4 Play: The
Drover's Path starring
Jeff Hordley and Malcolm Hebden. A ghost story
set on a remote Yorkshire sheep farm in the late 19th
century.
20 Jan 2005
BBC R4 Play, Language
of Angels: An art dealer attempts to sell a mysterious ancient
manuscript which purports to act like a "beacon
for angels".
8 Jan 2005
Sea
of Souls (BBC1) returns for a second
series (6 episodes).
Christmas 2004 Television.
ITV's modern reworking of A
Christmas Carol (starring Ross Kemp) gets another
airing
on 19 Dec.
Four classic BBC supernatural dramas get a welcome repeat on successive nights on BBC4 (22 - 25 Dec). All based on short stories by MR James: Whistle and I'll come to you (1968), The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974), A warning to the curious (1972), The stalls of Barchester (1971). There is also a half-hour documentary on MR James on BBC4 (22 and 25 Dec). Highly recommended.
Haunted Homes, an ITV documentary, investigates paranormal activity in ordinary homes around the UK (27 Dec).
Four classic BBC supernatural dramas get a welcome repeat on successive nights on BBC4 (22 - 25 Dec). All based on short stories by MR James: Whistle and I'll come to you (1968), The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974), A warning to the curious (1972), The stalls of Barchester (1971). There is also a half-hour documentary on MR James on BBC4 (22 and 25 Dec). Highly recommended.
Haunted Homes, an ITV documentary, investigates paranormal activity in ordinary homes around the UK (27 Dec).
Christmas 2004 Radio
9.30 pm, 19 Dec on BBC R3: Travels
with Blavatsky, a documentary about the life
of the famous esotericist Madame Blavatsky.
3.30 pm , 20 - 24 Dec on BBC R4: Angelic Hosts, 4 stories about angels inspired by art and songs.(1) And we flew into Bethlehem. (2) Kali is dancing for me). (3) Mrs Marvel's Angel. (4) The Green Angel.
11.45 pm, 26 - 30 Dec on BBC R2: Christopher Lee's Fireside Tales. Christopher Lee reads 5 classic tales of the supernatural by various authors - (1) The Black Cat (by Edgar Allan Poe). (2) The Man of Science (by J K Jerome). (3) John Charrington's wedding (by E A Nesbit). (4) The man and the snake (Ambrose Bierce). (5) The Monkey's Paw (by W W Jacobs).
2.15 pm, 28 Dec on BBC R4. A play, The Sorceror's apprentice.
3.30 pm , 20 - 24 Dec on BBC R4: Angelic Hosts, 4 stories about angels inspired by art and songs.(1) And we flew into Bethlehem. (2) Kali is dancing for me). (3) Mrs Marvel's Angel. (4) The Green Angel.
11.45 pm, 26 - 30 Dec on BBC R2: Christopher Lee's Fireside Tales. Christopher Lee reads 5 classic tales of the supernatural by various authors - (1) The Black Cat (by Edgar Allan Poe). (2) The Man of Science (by J K Jerome). (3) John Charrington's wedding (by E A Nesbit). (4) The man and the snake (Ambrose Bierce). (5) The Monkey's Paw (by W W Jacobs).
2.15 pm, 28 Dec on BBC R4. A play, The Sorceror's apprentice.
13 - 17 Dec 2004
3.30 pm BBC R4 presents Thou
Shalt Not suffer a Witch, a daily series of 5 stories
with a supernatural theme written by Dorothy K Haynes:
(1) Gas. (2) The Gay Goshawk. (3) Pentecost - a flashback.
(4) The Memory. (5) Windfall.
6 Dec 2004
10.45 pm. BBC R4 presents Frankenstein
, a ten part reading of Mary Shelley's famous Gothic
horror novel (Reader: David Rintoul).
8 Nov 2004
2.15 pm. BBC R4 presents The
Cyhiraeth, a play about 2 psychic children, one
contemporary, the other living in the18th century.
Channel 4 at 8 pm.The Haven, First in a 3 part documentary about life at Findhorn, the well-known "new age" community in Scotland.
Channel 4 at 8 pm.The Haven, First in a 3 part documentary about life at Findhorn, the well-known "new age" community in Scotland.
29 - 31 Oct 2004
Annual "Darkness over Britain"
film festival in Manchester. Includes screenings of
Schalken the Painter
(1979), The Exorcism (1972),
and Murrain (1975). Cornerhouse
Arts centre .
25 - 29 Oct 2004
Ghost Stories.
A BBC R4 series of 5 x 15 minute stories by John Connelly with various guest
narrating: (1) The Inkpot Monkey. (2) The shifting of
the sands. (3) Some children wander by mistake. (4)
Miss Froom, Vampire. (5) The new daughter.
2 Oct 2004
2.30 pm. BBC R4 presents a play - "The Woman in Black"
by Susan Hill.
20 Oct 2004
The first series of Anglia TV's
early 1970s drama anthology, Thriller,
is released on DVD. 4 out of the 10 episodes have
a supernatural theme.
29 Sep 2004
A new 3-part documentary series,
Mediums:Talking to the Dead,
starts on BBC2, Wednesday at 9 pm. It investigates
four well-known mediums who claim to receive communications
from the spirits of the dead.
3 Sep - 22 Oct 2004
Ghostly Tales
of the Unexpected, an 8-part documentary series
starts on ITV1 ANGLIA (11 pm). Introduced by Joss Acland
and featuring Psychic Lizzie Falconer who investigates
reported cases of hauntings around the UK. Details at
the Ghostly
Tales website.