0:00:12 > 0:00:16Good afternoon and welcome to a special edition of Points Of View.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20I'm here at the Imperial War Museum because this week we will be looking
0:00:20 > 0:00:25at the BBC's plans to mark the 100th anniversary of World War I,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Plans drawn up in partnership with the museum.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31In a while I'll be talking to the BBC controller
0:00:31 > 0:00:33in charge of this big four-year-long project
0:00:33 > 0:00:36and putting your comments to him, but first here's our round-up
0:00:36 > 0:00:40of your views on the TV you've watched this week.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44I have no alternative but to discharge the jury
0:00:44 > 0:00:46and release the defendant.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54A new role for the former Dr Who, David Tennant, in The Escape Artist.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57This time, without the power of teleportation,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Tennant plays a junior barrister skilled at spiriting other people
0:01:00 > 0:01:03out of tight legal corners.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Congratulations, well done.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10It was a mistake, I just made sure they paid for it. Well, good man.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12I'm just doing my job. Thank you, my friend.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Pleasure. Take care.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21This was the first of three parts and for you - the jurors -
0:01:21 > 0:01:23the verdict so far is good.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Very much on the wrong side of the law now
0:01:46 > 0:01:50and Monday saw the return of the crime series Ripper Street.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54You wish me to fight for your entertainment do you?
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Quite the Roman emperor, ain't ya?
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Jack the Ripper may be fading into memory,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05but East London has found no peace.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08The gritty melodrama proved a hit last series -
0:02:08 > 0:02:10how is it fairing this time round?
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Can I have some privacy? So is the criticism fair?
0:02:50 > 0:02:52We put the complaints to the production team.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54This is what they said.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08So you speak and make amends, sergeant.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10We just need to hear the words.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Train enthusiast Michael Portillo embarking on a second series
0:03:15 > 0:03:19of his Great Continental Railway Journeys.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25dated 1913,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel
0:03:28 > 0:03:30for the British tourist.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33He returned to his native Spain, travelling from Madrid to
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Gibraltar with history-packed stops on the way.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Now, Gonzalo, how do we drink sherry? Well, in England, very badly.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50So, two easy rules, drink it cold and drink it fast.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53To sherry and to the railways. Thank you. Thank you.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Mmm. How's that? Well, I think it's pretty good.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Smell it, smell it, smell it.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04It's really good.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Panorama tackled the issue of filth on Monday night
0:04:30 > 0:04:32and I'm talking litter here.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35# I'm addicted to you Don't you know that you're toxic? #
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Since the '60s, the population of the UK
0:04:39 > 0:04:41has risen by a little over 20%, but the amount of litter
0:04:41 > 0:04:47being dropped has increased by an alarming 500%.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50But were dirty streets really a subject for a serious
0:04:50 > 0:04:52investigative current affairs programme?
0:05:10 > 0:05:13'People can't wait for others to solve the problem - they're getting
0:05:13 > 0:05:15'on with it for themselves.'
0:05:15 > 0:05:17There's some over here, this is my big chance.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Feels good when you've done that.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Well, it is wonderfully autumnal here in the grounds of the museum
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and it is of course a perfect time of year for the return
0:05:28 > 0:05:31of one of our seasonal traditions.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33And, Martin, you're going to be out and about, aren't you?
0:05:33 > 0:05:35I am, Michaela, it's an Autumnwatch first.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38I'm about to leave in this very vehicle
0:05:38 > 0:05:39right out into the darkness
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and become Autumnwatch's live roving reporter.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47What could possibly go wrong? Welcome, it's Autumnwatch!
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Packham, Strachan and Hughes-Games' annual look at the wonders
0:05:53 > 0:05:55and beauty of our ever-changing countryside,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58getting four seasons in one day type of responses.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36So a bit of a Marmite programme. Some liked it, some not so much.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41Next year, 2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of World War I,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43and to commemorate it the Beeb has planned
0:06:43 > 0:06:48what's been described as the biggest and most ambitious BBC season ever undertaken.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51So here's a little preview of just some of the highlights.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56At 11.20, British forces were sent the fateful telegram,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58which read simply -
0:06:58 > 0:07:01"War, Germany, act."
0:07:02 > 0:07:05A new landmark series launches a season packed with
0:07:05 > 0:07:08documentaries like Gallipoli and The World's War,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11offering new perspectives on the conflict.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12It drew men in.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17Men from every continent, men of every religion and every race.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20My Great War unlocks never-before-seen interviews
0:07:20 > 0:07:24recorded 50 years ago with those who survived the war.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27What was it that we soldiers...
0:07:30 > 0:07:32..stabbed each other.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Lots of World War I drama on the way as well,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36covering all aspects of the conflict.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Such as The Ark, the story of a fictional field hospital
0:07:39 > 0:07:41behind the trenches.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44'The reason this hospital is different is
0:07:44 > 0:07:47'because the men here have come from hell.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51'Real hell.'
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Just some of what we can expect over the next four years.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59And Adrian Van Klaveren, who is the controller
0:07:59 > 0:08:02of the World War I centenary is the man in charge of it all.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03Welcome to you. Thank you.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Huge project, and it's been in the planning for a long time.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07It is a huge project.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09I think it's the most ambitious season
0:08:09 > 0:08:10the BBC has ever mounted.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12We've been planning some of the programmes for years.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Some of the documentaries have been researched over a period of time.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Some of the dramas have been written and cast and then been produced.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21So a huge amount of work right across the BBC,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24every service involved in it, and offering a huge range of programmes.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28Well, it's 2,500 hours of content - TV, radio, online.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30And some of our viewers have been trying to do the maths
0:08:30 > 0:08:32on what all of that entails.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35And some were a bit concerned, as you can see.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58So, is there a danger of audience saturation, here?
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Yes, that's something we've thought about.
0:09:00 > 0:09:01The centenary does last four years
0:09:01 > 0:09:04because the First World War lasted that length of time
0:09:04 > 0:09:06and there are events to mark all the way through.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08What we are trying to do is to make sure
0:09:08 > 0:09:09we mark the appropriate moments
0:09:09 > 0:09:11and that we concentrate activity at particular points
0:09:11 > 0:09:14so that people know where to find what we're doing.
0:09:14 > 0:09:15And there's a range of programmes
0:09:15 > 0:09:17that will appeal to different people in different ways.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19You won't exhaust them?
0:09:19 > 0:09:21No, we won't do that because it won't all be at a constant level.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23There will be different moments
0:09:23 > 0:09:25when we're looking at different aspects of the war,
0:09:25 > 0:09:26whether that's the origins of it,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28whether it's the military side of it,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30looking at what went on at the home front.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33We'll be doing that at different points, in different ways.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36So I think each person will be able to find something of interest there.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39The other issue for some of our viewers is, of course,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43tone and whether the BBC gets the tone right.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45So just see what they're saying about that.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11So, the tone. Celebration, commemoration, which is it?
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Yes, we've thought about that long and hard.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15What we're trying to do are two things, really.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17One is to commemorate the war,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19commemorate those who died, those who were injured
0:10:19 > 0:10:21and to make sure we mark the centenary of that properly.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23But it's also about increasing understanding.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25What we want to do across the whole four years
0:10:25 > 0:10:28is to help people know more about the First World War -
0:10:28 > 0:10:30what caused it, what took place during it
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and what its consequences were, as well.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34And we believe by doing that, we will end up
0:10:34 > 0:10:36giving people a much better sense of what the war was about
0:10:36 > 0:10:38and why it's still relevant today,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40how it's changed the world in which they live.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42The word "jingoistic" came up there
0:10:42 > 0:10:45and the worry that that's how these programmes may seem
0:10:45 > 0:10:47to people outside the UK.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Yes. I think both for audiences outside the UK
0:10:49 > 0:10:51and actually many people in the UK,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53I don't think people want us to be jingoistic.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55We will tell the story of Britain during the war,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57and I think people would expect that.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59But equally, we're very much trying to take
0:10:59 > 0:11:00an international perspective.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02One of the things we're trying to do
0:11:02 > 0:11:03is to tell people the stories of the war
0:11:03 > 0:11:05that they're not so familiar with.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Stories which are beyond the trenches,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09which are beyond the barbed wire and the mud,
0:11:09 > 0:11:10to help people understand the war.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Why it was a global war.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14The fact that people from so many countries fought in it,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16and what that actually led to.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19But this is not just about the content the BBC generates.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23It's also about people revealing their connections to the Great War.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25And I guess that's really what it should be about,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27it's capturing those individual stories
0:11:27 > 0:11:29of heroism or self-sacrifice.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Yes, I think that's vital, that we tell those individual stories.
0:11:32 > 0:11:33We're at the point now
0:11:33 > 0:11:35where there are no survivors from the conflict alive,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37when it's moving from memory into history.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39But actually, what we know is that
0:11:39 > 0:11:41so many families have an individual story to tell.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44So many places have a story that is about that place
0:11:44 > 0:11:46and will help people understand more what the war meant,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48why it was relevant.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50And by getting to those individual stories and telling them,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52both on radio, online and on television,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56we think will give a real sense of why the First World War still matters.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58The Director-General, Tony Hall, has said
0:11:58 > 0:12:00that this season is going to have a profound impact
0:12:00 > 0:12:02on the way we think about World War I.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05So if I could ask you to, sort of, spin forwards to 2018,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08how do you think it will have changed the way we see that war?
0:12:08 > 0:12:10I think what we can do is to surprise people,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13to tell them things about the war they didn't know before.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15And to help them understand it much better, as well,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18so that people have a much broader sense of what started the war,
0:12:18 > 0:12:20why Britain was part of it
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and a sense of actually what took place as a result of the war -
0:12:23 > 0:12:25how it changed Britain in so many ways.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27From the changes in the class system, the role of women,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29through to all sorts of small things
0:12:29 > 0:12:32which we still experience in our everyday lives.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34I think by putting the First World War in that context,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36people will feel over the next four years,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38they've got a much better sense of why it matters.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Adrian Van Klaverin, thank you very much indeed. Thank you.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48An epic project that I'm sure will keep us all talking
0:12:48 > 0:12:49over the next four years.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Well, that's about it for this week,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53except to remind you that in a few weeks' time,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55we're going to have a special interview
0:12:55 > 0:12:57with the BBC's Director-General.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Now is your opportunity to put your questions to Tony Hall.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03And you can do so in one of many, many ways.
0:13:03 > 0:13:04By post...
0:13:09 > 0:13:10By phone -
0:13:10 > 0:13:13the number is charged as a local rate call from any landline
0:13:13 > 0:13:14and it is...
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Or join the message boarders, where it's always lively.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24There's also e-mail.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29And don't forget, we're also on Twitter.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33That's it for this week.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36From this spectacular place, goodbye.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd