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Timewatch clocks up 25 years
³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ history strand Timewatch, on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Two, celebrates 25 years on air this year – the UK's longest running history series.
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When it launched in 1982, it was a studio-based magazine show fronted by John Tusa, "about history and historians, about how the past can influence the present."
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Twenty five years on, it is still going strong. Timewatch has become known for the narrative storytelling power of its single films, its eyewitness and expert interviews, and its blend of archive, re-enactment and CGI.
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It has even dabbled in drama – sourced back to the original Latin of course!
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Timewatch has retained its popularity with audiences and critics alike, by remaining true to its guiding principles: academic integrity, curiosity, and above all a real passion for the past.
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John Farren, Editor of Timewatch, says: "The best Timewatch films over the years have been the ones that really let the audience understand the feelings of the subjects as their story unfolds.
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"Watching then as a viewer I was gripped by Catrine Clay's films like Love Story, and Jonathan Gili's beautiful films. These are the beacons for our current generation of producers."
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Timewatch has always sparked debate with its audiences but now, with new opportunities online, that debate is so much more inclusive.
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Within minutes of the end of the Timewatch film about the Minoans (20 April 2007), more than 50 comments had been posted on the Timewatch discussion forum. Viewers were debating with each other and with the experts from the programme.
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Timewatch is now working towards content that will play across all platforms and speak to different audiences.
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Watch out for a fantastic adventure involving a Viking long-ship travelling from Denmark to Dublin this summer – you'll be able to follow its progress day-by-day online, then watch a Timewatch film of the journey in the autumn.
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"Timewatch has evolved a great deal in the last 25 years, and continues to evolve. It's a privilege to work on this strand, serving such a loyal audience, with such a strong sense of community," says John Farren.
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John Lynch, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Head of Science & History, says: "To be such a successful history strand for 25 years is an outstanding achievement. Timewatch offers extraordinary range of subject and story, and is constantly evolving its approach to be relevant for today's changing audience."
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Timewatch – 25 key facts
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1. Timewatch is the longest-running history series in the UK.
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2. When it first transmitted on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Two on 29 September 1982, it was the only wide-ranging history strand in the schedules.
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3. The launch team – Editor Tim Gardam and presenter John Tusa – came from ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Two's Newsnight, with a brief to take historical subjects and give them a contemporary feel. Gardam went on to run Channel 4, Tusa (now Sir John) the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s World Service and London's Barbican Centre.
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4. Timewatch began life as a monthly magazine programme. The first edition included a heated studio debate about the wartime role of the Windsors, launching the TV career of historian David Cannadine.
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5. Other now famous historians whose broadcasting talents were first spotted by Timewatch include David Starkey, Saul David and Christopher Andrew.
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6. Timewatch pioneered the use of computer graphics in documentary. One early item on the Norman Conquest, inspired by Peter Snow's General Election techniques, used graphics to show changes in land ownership.
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7. The first edition to feature a single story appeared in September 1983, and looked at the life and career of Prince Albert. By the late Eighties the magazine format had been completely replaced by single films.
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8. Since its launch, there have been 312 Timewatch programmes, made under four editors: Tim Gardam, Roy Davies, Laurence Rees and John Farren.
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9. Timewatch has been winning nominations and awards throughout its history. Past triumphs include International Emmys and several Bafta nominations. Earlier this year Pol Pot The Journey To The Killing Fields was shortlisted at the Grierson awards.
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10. As well as being revealed by a Daily Mirror report to be amongst Her Majesty the Queen's favourite programmes, Timewatch has been presented by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In 2003 he fronted a film about George III.
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11. A Timewatch team worked in secrecy with the National Museum of Ireland for over two years to report the discovery of two rare bog bodies – an archaeological sensation.
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12. Timewatch research has regularly made the front pages across the world. Stories range from archaeological scoops like the Bog Bodies, or the Mystery Of The Headless Romans, to Prince Charles' comments on George III, and the revelations about British Secret Service involvement in Rasputin's murder.
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13. Timewatch gained exclusive access to the work of JPAC (Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command), the world famous forensic laboratory arm of the US Military, leading to three films about American Servicemen missing in action from World War One, the American Civil War and the Vietnam War. These stories were widely reported on US news networks.
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14. The strand has co-produced with PBS, Discovery, The History Channel, and with nearly every major broadcaster in Europe. It currently co-produces with the prestigious Smithsonian Institute and the Open University.
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15. The London Evening Standard described Timewatch as "History with Attitude". The strand has twice been the subject of complaints from the Japanese government prior to the transmission of shows on Emperor Hirohito.
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16. Timewatch is watched around the world, from Australia to the Middle East. The Hunt for U864, a co-production with Speigel TV and ZDF, was recently watched by seven million viewers in Germany.
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17. The highest-watched show in the UK is The Greatest Storm. Transmitted three times in 2003, its total audience was more than nine million viewers.
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18. Timewatch offers the UK's most popular history newsletter. More than 16,000 people have signed up for the weekly update.
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19. A recent Timewatch – Beatlemania– was based around a find of Beatles archive, which included ten minutes of unseen footage of The Beatles' last ever concert, at Candlestick Park in 1966. It had previously been believed not to have been filmed.
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20. Timewatch is now at the forefront of modern technology. It produces its own computer graphics in-house, is shot in high definition, and has helped pioneer video podcasting on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳.
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21. Timewatch went back to the original Latin source material as the basis for its dramatised documentary on Cicero's first trial, Murder In Rome, transmitted in 2005.
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22. Since the Open University's Open2.net history discussion forum formed an alliance with Timewatch, it has experienced an annual increase of 592% in messages posted.
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23. After 45 years of searching for confirmation of the event, one Open2.net forum user was finally able to confirm that he had indeed seen The Beatles in Wimbledon in 1962 and that it had not been a dream.
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24. To mark the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, Timewatch recreated a dramatic realistic fly-through of the House of Commons – before and after the explosion that never happened. It received one million page impressions in just four days.
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25. The Timewatch computer graphics went on to form the centrepiece of the Palace of Westminster/House of Commons' own 400th anniversary exhibition. Thousands still watch it every week on line at bbc.co.uk/timewatch.
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