Week 33 Highlights

3 August 2011

Graffiti Wars, Sunday, 10:30pm

 

According to Muslim prophet Al-Ghazali, the dwellers of Heaven will exist eternally in a state of being aged 33.

In France, Italy, Romania, Spain and Portugal, patients are asked to say 33 when a doctor is listening to his or her lungs with a stethoscope (Trente-Trois, Trentatre, Treizeci si trei, Treinta y Tres and Trinta e Tres)

33 is one of the symbols of those ghost-impersonating scamps the Ku Klux Klan. (K is the 11th letter of the alphabet, 3 times 11 is 33 - is anyone else surprised they got the maths right?)

33 was the number of workers trapped, and also the number of survivors of, the 2010 Chilean mining accident.

Week 33 also represents a characteristically magnificent seven days of programming on Channel 4, outlined below in all its square-eyed glory.

 

Saturday, 13/08/2011
8pm
Streetdance 1/2
Part of Channel 4's Street Summer season, two-part series StreetDance documents the teams competing in the UK's original street dance competition. Powerful personal stories combined with jaw-dropping street-dance routines reveal a rich history of an art form that up until now has been widely seen as the preserve of the Saturday night TV talent show. In a dramatic finale to the series, the best of British take on America in a unique UK versus USA dance-off in New York.

 

Saturday, 13/08/2011
9pm
Exit Through the Gift Shop
This is the inside story of Street Art: a brutal and revealing account of what happens when fame, money and vandalism collide. Oscar-nominated Exit Through the Gift Shop follows an eccentric shop-keeper turned amateur film-maker as he attempts to capture many of the world's most infamous vandals on camera, only to have a British stencil artist named Banksy turn the camcorder back on its owner with wildly unexpected results. One of the most provocative films about art ever made, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a fascinating study of low-level criminality, comradeship and incompetence. By turns shocking, hilarious and absurd, this is an enthralling modern-day fairytale... with bolt cutters. Part of Channel 4's Street Summer season.

 

Saturday, 13/08/2011
10:45pm
The Antics Roadshow
The Antics Roadshow is a celebration of the pranksters, hoaxers, jokers, activists and stunt merchants who use public space for their own unauthorised ends. This film brings together a wide range of individuals with all sorts of motivations, who have all hijacked the public arena to make a noise, be it for comedic, artistic or political ends, and have all done so using a variety of illicit and eccentric methods, which the audience should probably not try at home. Part of Channel 4's Street Summer season.

 

Sunday, 14/08/2011
10:30pm
Graffiti Wars
Graffiti is transcending social nuisance to gain cultural and artistic credibility, unprecedented prices at auction and even Presidential and Prime Ministerial approval. However, at street level a bitter war is being waged between graffiti writers, street artists and the authorities. While graffiti writers face trial and prison sentences for their art, some street artists' work is lauded and protected behind Perspex. This issue is at the heart of a graffiti war being fought on the streets of London between King Robbo, one of the founding fathers of the British graffiti scene, and the most famous street artist in the world, Banksy. Part of Channel 4's Street Summer season.

 

Sunday, 14/08/2011
11:35pm
Life of Rhyme
Life of Rhyme explores British MC culture and its unique contribution to spoken word and poetry, through rap, jungle, drum and bass, garage and grime. Presented by rapper Akala, the film celebrates the incredible flourishing of lyricism and poetry amongst British youth, as seen by the success and popularity of artists such as Roots Manuva, Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Tinie Tempah, Wretch 32 and Devlin. Featuring a mixture of performance, interview and actuality, the film explores the history of how this scene has developed, evolved and exploded into the mainstream; and the power of words to motivate and inspire. Part of Channel 4's Street Summer season.

 

Monday, 15/08/2011
9pm
Concrete Circus
A new generation of the very best urban sports stars are teaming up with incredible young filmmakers. Together they've produced stunning films that have captured the attention and the imagination of tens of millions of viewers. Concrete Circus brings together five of the world's best street sport talents and their amazing filmmakers, as part of Channel 4's Street Summer season, from parkour to urban trial riding, skateboarding, free running and BMX flatland.

 

Monday, 15/08/2011
10:40pm
One Man Walking
One Man Walking, part of Channel 4's Street Summer season, explores some of the intensity and challenges of life in the metropolis, using krump - an expressive and highly energetic dance movement - combined with the uplifting, soaring excitement and relief of free-running. A powerful and stylish collision of krump, hip hop and parkour set in the streets of London, it shows the raw side of street dance, full of energy and emotion.

 

Monday, 15/08/2011
11pm
Coming Up: Magic
Coming Up, the season showcasing some of the UK's most exciting new film-makers, continues. The local branch of magic enthusiasts suspect their chairwoman Felicity (Jane Horrocks) has some involvement in the death of their favourite magician. So when she suggests a dramatic and spectacular finale for the society, the members resolve to stop Felicity at any cost.

 

Tuesday 16/08/2011
9pm
Seven Dwarves
During the Christmas pantomime season all across Britain, dwarves take on paying roles in the theatre. This brand new observational documentary series follows the lives of seven dwarf actors as they live together and perform in a production of Snow White at Woking's New Victoria Theatre. Seven Dwarves offers rounded insight into the personal and professional lives of the dwarves and aims to cut across some of the preconceptions that small people often encounter.

 

Wednesday 17/08/2011
8pm
Twilight
(2008) Robert Pattinson stars in Catherine Hardwicke's winning adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling series of romantic fantasy novels about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire. Network premiere.

 

Thursday, 18/08/2011
8pm
Country House Rescue 1/4
Ruth Watson returns for a new series. Gissing Hall in Norfolk is an impressive country mansion that was built in the early 1820s. It fell into disrepair after years of neglect but was given a new lease of life when William and Ann Brennan bought it in 1986. They put every penny of their savings into restoring it and making it their dream family home, but it wasn't long before the colossal costs of running the country house got the better of the family and they were forced to open the doors to paying guests as Gissing became a hotel. But now the hotel business is struggling so William and Ann have asked Ruth Watson to help rescue their country house.

 

Thursday, 18/08/2011
10pm
Jaycee: My 18 Years in Captivity
This film explores how was it possible for one man, without being caught, to kidnap an 11-year-old girl, keep her captive for 18 years and father two daughters by her. Jaycee Lee Dugard, now free to tell her story, presents her testimony in this documentary alongside new video evidence, released by the District Attorney's Office.

 

Friday, 19/08/2011
7:35pm
A Perfect Murder
In 1991 the bodies of Trevor Buchanan and Lesley Howell were found in a car in Castlerock, Northern Ireland. At the time it was believed that Trevor and Lesley had formed a suicide pact, devastated, it was said, by the discovery of an affair between their spouses. For their surviving spouses, Colin Howell and Hazel Buchanan, life slowly returned to normal. But in January 2009 Colin contacted the police and told them that he and Hazel had murdered their respective spouses. Judy Kelly's First Cut film examines the story behind the murders and features unique access to Hazel's husband and her children, who are standing by her.

 

Friday, 19/08/2011
10:25pm
The Inbetweeners Top Ten Moments
This one-hour special counts down the top ten moments taken from all three series of The Inbetweeners. As well as revealing the top ten clips as voted for by the viewers, the programme meets the four actors who play Neil, Simon, Will and Jay, and hears from celebrity fans of the show, including Jimmy Carr, Harry Enfield, Matt Dawson, Ricky Gervais, The Saturdays and The Only Way Is Essex stars Mark Wright and James Argent.

 

For highlights of programmes on More4, E4, Film4 and 4Music, please visit the Listings section of the site (available to registered users only).