We Can Be Heroes
In the first programme, Suzy Klein tells the story of a creative outpouring unrivalled before or since - the 19th century witnessed the emergence of composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, Chopin, Wagner, Verdi and Liszt, just to name a few of the stellar array whose genius we venerate to this day.
As the aristocracy weakened following the French Revolution, the industrial revolution created new wealth and the middle classes flourished, Suzy shows how it was possible for composers and performers to become the superstars of their age, no longer the servants of kings and princes.
Masters like Paganini and Liszt were idolised, commanded immense fees and had a following as adoring as any of the rock stars and singers of today. Composers tore up the rulebooks, embraced the spirit of Romanticism and poured out their souls in their bold and experimental work. And, freed from the chains of aristocratic patronage, they became entrepreneurs too, organising and profiting from their concerts, and winning unprecedented wealth, fame and status.
But with commercial success came a very modern backlash - artistic credibility v X Factor-style fame. Which would win out? Or could one coexist with the other? As music gained increasing power and influence as the art form of the 19th century, composers started to believe that they could change the world... and remarkably, they really did.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
Saint-Pierre
After Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Inspector Donny "Fitz" Fitzpatrick digs too deeply into a local politician's nefarious activity, he is exiled to work in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (the French Territory nestled in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of Newfoundland). Fitz's arrival disrupts the life of Deputy Chief Geneviève "Arch" Archambault, a Parisian transplant who is in Saint-Pierre for her own intriguing reasons. Saint-Pierre is a police procedural with French star Joséphine Jobert as Arch and Canadian star Allan Hawco as Fitz, and James Purefoy rounding out the stellar team. As if by fate, these two seasoned officers — with very different policing skills and approaches — are forced together to solve unique and exciting crimes. Although the islands seem like a quaint tourist destination, the idyllic façade conceals the worst kind of criminal activity which tend to wash up on its beautiful shores. At first at odds and suspicious of each other, Arch and Fitz soon discover that they are better together... a veritable crime-fighting force.
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Jimmy Carr hosts as Sean Lock and Jon Richardson play the words and numbers game.
Upload
Upload is a sci-fi sitcom that takes place in the near future, where people who are near death can be "uploaded" into a virtual afterlife of their choice. In 2033, secretly romantic Brooklyn-born Nora works customer service for a luxurious virtual reality environment. When handsome L.A. party boy Nathan's self-driving car crashes, his high-maintenance girlfriend uploads him permanently into Nora's VR world. Nora starts as Nathan's customer service "angel", but becomes so much more as she helps him find friendship, love and purpose.
Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches
Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches centers on an intuitive young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.
The Institute
When 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped, he awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did, and who are all possessed of unusual abilities. In a nearby town, haunted former police officer Tim Jamieson has come looking to start a new life, but the peace and quiet won't last, as his story and Luke's are destined to collide.