Jessie Matthews
40 Minutes (1981)
Season 7
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
S7E1 - Terror
How three people's lives were permanently affected by the TWA plane hi-jack.
Nov. 5, 1987, midnight
S7E2 - Girls Apart
Two South African school-girls, one black, one white - their contrasting attitudes and lives.
Nov. 12, 1987, midnight
S7E3 - Love at First Sight
Five couples describe what happened when they first met - and the long-term consequences.
Nov. 19, 1987, midnight
S7E4 - Poor Man's Eton
The only inner London Education Authority boarding school, in a Suffolk country house.
Nov. 26, 1987, midnight
S7E5 - East Side Story
Two contrasting 26-year-olds in London's newly-developing Docklands.
Dec. 3, 1987, midnight
S7E6 - The Case of Sherlock Holmes
Tim Piggot-Smith investigates the famous sleuth of 221b Baker Street.
Dec. 10, 1987, midnight
S7E7 - Party Time
Seven entertaining parties.
Dec. 17, 1987, midnight
S7E8 - Catch a Fallen Star
A portrait of the once-famous British singer, dancer and film star, Jesse Matthews.
Dec. 23, 1987, midnight
S7E9 - Convictions
Jan. 7, 1988, midnight
S7E10 - If You Love Him, Let Him Go
Dilemmas faced by parents of mentally handicapped offspring who reach childhood and independence.
Jan. 14, 1988, midnight
S7E11 - Jackpot
Three young adults addicted to gambling on fruit machines, with disastrous results.
Jan. 21, 1988, midnight
S7E12 - Scarfe's Follies
Scarfe's Follies with Bob Geldof, Jane Asher, Terry Jones, Ian McKellen, Robin Bailey, Julian Glover, Marcia Warren, John Bird, John Challis, John Watts, Nellie the elephant and Ivy the camel. Gerald Scarfe records the follies of man in his cartoons. Now he wants to create his own folly. But what are follies - and why did eccentrics build them? Surrounded by high-kicking follies girls and borne by noble beasts, Scarfe sets off on a quest of discovery. He encounters a naughty vicar who built a folly garden for his gypsy girlfriend; a Welshman who burned his own son; a politician who got voters drunk; a man whose house resembles a jungle; and 'Mad Jack' Fuller, who built a steeple overnight to win a wager, and was buried in a pyramid with a bottle of port and a cold chicken. And as all the best follies contained a resident hermit, Scarfe advertises for one in the Times - with startling results.
Jan. 28, 1988, midnight
S7E13 - Thames Wallah
A specialist with the Thames Water Authority attempts to clean up the Ganges.
Feb. 4, 1988, midnight
S7E14 - Changing Places
Ten pupils from an independent public school (Rugby) and a state comprehensive school (Ruffwood) exchange places and lives.
Feb. 11, 1988, midnight
S7E15 - Diary of a Frontliner
A self-operated video camera was set up in Peter Tilson's home to record a personal diary in his battle with AIDS.
Feb. 18, 1988, midnight
S7E16 - Annie Doesn't Work Here Any More
Annie, a nurse from Manchester, leaves the NHS to set up a new life as a nurse in Los Angeles.
Feb. 25, 1988, midnight
S7E17 - The Great North Road
Lucinda Lambton travels along the Great North Road, the backbone of Britain that links London to Edinburgh, discovering many weird and wonderful delights en route.
March 3, 1988, midnight
S7E18 - I, Alison...
The story of a remarkable young woman. It's Alison French's wedding day. She's 24 - vivacious, candid, attractive, with a warm smile and a lively sense of humour. Alison, professionally qualified as a youth worker, is marrying Mark John. What makes her wedding different is that she's an athetoid spastic - her body's never still, and she has difficulty with her speech. Seven years ago, 40 Minutes made an acclaimed film about Alison, telling of her bid to gain independence in the able-bodied world. Tonight's follow-up is a passionate love story. But in marrying the man she loves, Alison has to leave her family in Watford, set up a new home in South Wales, and adapt to being a clergyman's wife. Her heart is still set on finding an independent job. The harsh reality is that despite her skills and rare qualities, she may face rejection. But Alison doesn't give up easily...
March 10, 1988, midnight
S7E19 - Children of the Open Road
Catrine Clay presents the disturbing story of gypsy children abducted from their parents in clean and ordered Switzerland.
March 17, 1988, midnight
S7E20 - Five Go to Florida
Perhaps the last holiday for a group of children, some of whom are gravely ill. They fulfil their dream of visiting Disney World.
March 24, 1988, midnight
S7E21 - Who Will Love Billy?
A 13-year-old boy hopes to be adopted by Dave, a single man of 42 - but things go wrong.
April 7, 1988, midnight
S7E22 - Who Needs a Machine Gunner?
Long-term unemployment in rural Herefordshire.
April 14, 1988, midnight
S7E23 - Women in Black
Three widows at different stages of their recovery.
April 21, 1988, midnight
S7E24 - My African Farm
An old white woman colonial settler staying on in up-country Kenya.
April 28, 1988, midnight
S7E25 - Separate Tables
An old-fashioned sea-side hotel, with many retired residents, is to be refurbished. The residents must go.
May 5, 1988, midnight
S7E26 - Waiting
Two people are waiting on an NHS hospital waiting list - one for a minor operation, the other for a major one.
May 12, 1988, midnight
S7E27 - Mixed Blessings
The story of a mix-up in a Nottingham nursing-home. Margaret Wheeler and Blanche Rylatt each gave birth to a baby girl on the same day. Margaret is convinced that she was given the wrong baby.
May 19, 1988, 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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