Jessie Matthews
40 Minutes (1981)
Season 4
40 Minutes was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. The documentaries could be on any possible subject, the only connection being that they last forty minutes. Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, Forty Minutes On.
Released Sept. 30, 1981
Episode 40 min
None+
Genres: Documentary
Keywords: imdb.running-time-in-the-title, imdb.two-word-title
Network: BBC Two
Country: United Kingdom
Languages:
English
S4E10 - Talking Proper
Accents and dialects provoke strong prejudices and reactions. In a 40 Minutes film that examines why this should be, broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, Radio 4 announcer Susan Rae and actor Peter Bowles are among those who have suffered because of the way they speak. Meet the Queen's English Society, which keeps a candle burning for the purity of the spoken word, and the Devon Dialect Society, which has very different ideas about how vowels should sound. Eavesdrop on an elocution class, hear from Scottish schoolchildren whose accents might affect their job prospects, and go behind the scenes at the BBC Pronunciation Unit and the northern auditions for the Speaking Clock. See how fashions have changed over the years, and how trends are likely to develop in the future as we enter a world of talking robots and computers.
Jan. 17, 1985, midnight
S4E1 - Gigolo
Gigolos and the different types.
Nov. 1, 1984, midnight
S4E2 - The Happy Medium
About the medium Doris Stokes.
Nov. 8, 1984, midnight
S4E3 - The Grendon Experiment
Grendon prison in Buckinghamshire, Britain's only voluntary psychiatric prison.
Nov. 15, 1984, midnight
S4E4 - Love in Exile
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in self-imposed exile.
Nov. 22, 1984, midnight
S4E5 - On the Throne
The history of lavatories.
Nov. 29, 1984, midnight
S4E6 - Rent Boys
Young male prostitutes in Manchester and Birmingham.
Dec. 6, 1984, midnight
S4E7 - Asylum
The mental asylum in Choroszcz in Poland where patients work in the community.
Dec. 13, 1984, midnight
S4E8 - The Loved Ones
The Animal Medical Centre in New York.
Dec. 20, 1984, midnight
S4E9 - The Promised Land
Britain forty years ago, contrasted with present day Britain.
Jan. 10, 1985, midnight
S4E11 - Sweet F.A.
The group 'Fascinating Aida' and the making of their first pop record.
Jan. 24, 1985, midnight
S4E12 - The End of the Pier Show
The problems of putting on a show in the old style of pier entertainments at Cromer, Norfolk.
Jan. 31, 1985, midnight
S4E13 - The Outcasts
A group of 'Hell's Angels' in East Anglia.
Feb. 7, 1985, midnight
S4E14 - Love Story
A film for St Valentine's Day.
Feb. 14, 1985, midnight
S4E15 - Free!
Old Victorian mental hospitals are being closed down and the former patients face problems.
Feb. 21, 1985, midnight
S4E16 - Whose House Is It Anyway?
A local Council has a compulsory purchase order on the home of two elderly men.
Feb. 28, 1985, midnight
S4E17 - The Eternal Triangle: The Mistress
The first film in a trilogy which examines the Eternal Triangle.
March 7, 1985, midnight
S4E18 - The Eternal Triangle: The Wife
The second film in a trilogy which examines the Eternal Triangle.
March 14, 1985, midnight
S4E19 - The Eternal Triangle: The Husband
The third film in a trilogy which examines the Eternal Triangle.
March 21, 1985, midnight
S4E20 - Union Street
Plymouth, the area near the docks.
March 28, 1985, midnight
S4E21 - Whatever Happened to Baby Paul?
The story of a woman who took her baby to hospital where he was found to have several fractures. She denied having caused the injuries but he was taken from her care.
April 4, 1985, midnight
S4E22 - Matters of Life and Death
The effects of government cuts leading to the closure of a ward in Guy's Children's Hospital.
April 11, 1985, midnight
S4E23 - Star Paws
Animals used in advertising.
April 18, 1985, midnight
S4E24 - Laughter in Gabrovo
The biennial festival of humour in Bulgaria. Can humour cross national boundaries?
May 2, 1985, midnight
S4E25 - Dear Mr President
The story of a family whose daughter is handicapped because of a drug taken by her mother during pregnancy. The American drug company claims the drug is safe.
May 9, 1985, midnight
Network: BBC Two
Episode Runtime: 40 min.
Season Runtime: 40 min.
Released: Sept. 30, 1981
Last Air Date: April 19, 1994, midnight
Status: Ended
Certification: NR
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