40 Minutes
Season 4
Episodes
1. Gigolo
Gigolos and the different types.
2. The Happy Medium
About the medium Doris Stokes.
3. The Grendon Experiment
Grendon prison in Buckinghamshire, Britain's only voluntary psychiatric prison.
4. Love in Exile
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in self-imposed exile.
5. On the Throne
The history of lavatories.
6. Rent Boys
Young male prostitutes in Manchester and Birmingham.
7. Asylum
The mental asylum in Choroszcz in Poland where patients work in the community.
8. The Loved Ones
The Animal Medical Centre in New York.
9. The Promised Land
Britain forty years ago, contrasted with present day Britain.
10. Talking Proper
Accents and dialects provoke strong prejudices and reactions. In a 40 Minutes film that examines why this should be, broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, Radio 4 announcer Susan Rae and actor Peter Bowles are among those who have suffered because of the way they speak. Meet the Queen's English Society, which keeps a candle burning for the purity of the spoken word, and the Devon Dialect Society, which has very different ideas about how vowels should sound. Eavesdrop on an elocution class, hear from Scottish schoolchildren whose accents might affect their job prospects, and go behind the scenes at the BBC Pronunciation Unit and the northern auditions for the Speaking Clock. See how fashions have changed over the years, and how trends are likely to develop in the future as we enter a world of talking robots and computers.
11. Sweet F.A.
The group 'Fascinating Aida' and the making of their first pop record.
12. The End of the Pier Show
The problems of putting on a show in the old style of pier entertainments at Cromer, Norfolk.
13. The Outcasts
A group of 'Hell's Angels' in East Anglia.
14. Love Story
A film for St Valentine's Day.
15. Free!
Old Victorian mental hospitals are being closed down and the former patients face problems.
16. Whose House Is It Anyway?
A local Council has a compulsory purchase order on the home of two elderly men.
17. The Eternal Triangle: The Mistress
The first film in a trilogy which examines the Eternal Triangle.
18. The Eternal Triangle: The Wife
The second film in a trilogy which examines the Eternal Triangle.
19. The Eternal Triangle: The Husband
The third film in a trilogy which examines the Eternal Triangle.
20. Union Street
Plymouth, the area near the docks.
21. Whatever Happened to Baby Paul?
The story of a woman who took her baby to hospital where he was found to have several fractures. She denied having caused the injuries but he was taken from her care.
22. Matters of Life and Death
The effects of government cuts leading to the closure of a ward in Guy's Children's Hospital.
23. Star Paws
Animals used in advertising.
24. Laughter in Gabrovo
The biennial festival of humour in Bulgaria. Can humour cross national boundaries?
25. Dear Mr President
The story of a family whose daughter is handicapped because of a drug taken by her mother during pregnancy. The American drug company claims the drug is safe.