Take One Museum
Take one explorer… take half an hour…
Take One Museum
There are 2000 museums in the country, all packed
with hidden gems - treasures from around the world with tales of intrigue
and adventure. In an experimental new series for BBC4, explorer and
expedition leader Paul Rose takes us on a tour of some of the best museums
throughout the British Isles: discovering unexpected artefacts and the
exciting stories behind them. From the world’s first flushing
lavatory pre-dating the Egyptians, to the First World War German ships
orbiting the planet in space.
In an innovative new format Take One Museum is filmed
in real time. Each programme is one non-stop 30-minute tour. For Presenter Paul Rose it was a challenge that he relished. With no
autocue, no stopping, no fixed script – it is television filmed
without the safety net.
But Paul is used to pushing himself. As a world class explorer he’s
been Vice-President of the Royal Geographical Society, climbed high on Everest,
run the British Antarctic Survey and regularly leads expeditions around
the globe. His natural curiosity about the world makes him an energetic
and informative guide to the stories behind Britain’s best local
museums.
This series has been enhanced with innovative interactive
support. MP3 audio versions of the tours can be downloaded from the
BBC website, so that viewers can listen to Paul’s specially recorded
commentary as they visit each museum. For viewers with broadband, there
is an interactive first – a new way of using the programme as
a springboard to extra specially-made TV content – aiming to enhance
the viewing experience.
Take One Museum in Oxford
- Tuesday 31st January. 8.30pm, BBC FOUR
Our understanding of the natural world has been profoundly shaped by
one museum – the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
The discovery of dinosaurs was made here, in 1815, and it held one of
the most explosive debates in modern science – when Darwin first
announced his theory of evolution. The stunning building is also home
to the Pitt Rivers Museum. This is where the study of anthropology started
and it is rich with stories about human culture. Paul discovers some
of his heroes’ treasures – a fragile kayak, symbol of a
polar controversy, and the captivating ‘power figure’ which
changed lives in Africa.
Take One Museum in London
- Tuesday 7th February. 8.30pm, BBC FOUR
Tucked away on the first floor of the Royal College of Surgeons is one
of London’s best, hidden treasures - the Hunterian Museum. This
fascinating place charts the history of surgery and celebrates our understanding
of the human body. The Hunterian Museum honours the most famous surgeon
of the 18th century, John Hunter, who brought surgery out of the Dark
Ages. On a captivating tour involving toothed chickens, grave-robbers
and international statesmen, Paul discovers how world history could
have been changed by a bladder stone, and the secrets behind Churchill’s
false teeth…
Take One Museum in Portsmouth
- Tuesday 14th February. 8.30pm, BBC FOUR
The Royal Navy Submarine Museum is one of the most fascinating and moving
museums in the country. It is packed with surprises – from the
lavatory that changed the course of submarine history, to the pigeon
that solved a problem that baffles even the most advanced nuclear sub
on the planet. Paul meets a World War Two veteran with an astonishing
tale of adventure and survival against the odds in a miniature submarine
– the very sub that’s on show in the museum. Paul is an
underwater expert himself (he used to train US Navy rescue divers),
but he is left in no doubt that submariners are the true unsung heroes
of the ocean – battling both the elements and the enemy under
extreme pressure.
Take One in Portsmouth will also be available to
view on broadband on the BBC website, with additional interactive elements.
Take One Museum in Bradford
- Tuesday 21st February. 8.30pm, BBC FOUR
Few people know that Bradford was the first place outside London to
receive TV pictures. Now it’s home to the National Museum of Photography,
Film and Television. It’s full of landmark photos and equipment
– including the first ever photograph and the first TV camera
in the world. On a remarkable tour from Victorian seaside charm to Bohemian
Rhapsody, Paul discovers how photography and film changed our world.
The museum holds 3 million photos, covering every major photograph and
event since photography began, but Paul explores the surprising origins
of the very first photograph – the hurt pride of a man whose wife
was better at drawing than him!
Take One Museum in Manchester
- Tuesday 28th February. 8.30pm, BBC FOUR
Powered machinery, factories, discovering the atom and splitting it,
our national network of trains and electricity, even standardised time
– all of these inventions and discoveries originate in Manchester.
The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester proudly displays it
all, and Paul discovers that the building itself was the first purpose
built railway station in the world. Paul started life as a tool-making
apprentice in a car factory so has a natural fascination for machinery,
but he also reveals the human stories that made our world what it is
today – including the man who experimented on his servant and
went on to prove the most fundamental law of nature.
Take One Museum in Orkney
- Tuesday 7th March. 8.30pm, BBC FOUR
One of Paul’s favourite parts of the country, Orkney boasts an
exciting and significant cultural heritage that belies its apparent
remoteness. Artefacts in the Stromness Museum tell the compelling story
of John Rae, our country’s best polar explorer, who became embroiled
in controversy and was spitefully wiped from history. Exploring Orkney’s
unique treasures, Paul uncovers how a fascinating 5,000 year old village
is a window onto how we all lived in the past, and why parts of the
WW1 German Fleet are now orbiting the earth above us…
For dvd’s of the series contact
BBC or Paul Rose Take One Museum
|
