Easter UK TV Schedule 2019

In years gone by I used to post the schedules of any films/productions/programmes that might be of interest to readers of this blog. I must admit I thought I'd done it far more recently than 2011, when the last of my holiday previews posts was. Certainly I've been checking more regularly than that, but admittedly there's not been a huge amount.

For whatever reason, this year I'm resurrecting the tradition. It turns out there are a few things of interest this year and I somehow found myself in a position both to check out what was coming up as well as having a moment to blog it all. So here goes

FILMS

The Robe - BBC2 - Good Friday - 2:35pm
The first film in the Cinemascope widescreen format in many ways typifies the Biblical epic. There's some magnificent scenes, some moments that are genuinely moving and some unbelievably hammy acting. Newman's score is terrific. Martin Scorsese fondly remembers the impact of the curtain pulling back and back and back. My review is here.

Androcles and the Lion - Talking Pictures TV - Easter Sunday - 10:30am
Talking Pictures TV is available on Freeview and deals with classic era films and TV. This is a little tangential for this blog, but we'll let it squeeze in, if only because prior to Life of Brian it was the leading satire of Biblical epics. Plus if you've not hand enough of Jean Simmons and Victor Mature after The Robe here's a chance for another helping.

Risen - C4 - Easter Sunday - 11pm
Released only three years ago, Risen will always have a special place in my heart as being the film that brought me to Rome for the first time. Like The Robe it has some good aspects, such as the tension in parts of the first half, but the interest fizzles out part-way through. Worth a watch if you've not yet seen it. My review is here and you can also read a piece I wrote for Peter Chattaway's blog on the filmmakers views of the film.

Jesus: His Life
Jesus: His Life is an eight part mix of drama and documentary that has just finished airing in the US (you can read Mark Goodacre's tweet stream here). The series begins here on Easter Sunday and I it seems that it will run an episode a week thereafter. Each chapter tells the story from the point of view of a different character, the docu-drama equivalent of Jesus Christ, Superstar, perhaps. Here's my review.


DOCUMENTARIES etc.

Britain's Easter Story - BBC1 - Good Friday 9am & Easter Sunday 9:10pm
I know very little about this so I'll just quote from the BBC press release. The programme will star "choir master Gareth Malone and gospel choir conductor Karen Gibson. They travel across the UK to explore the stories behind our Easter traditions, looking at how different celebrations have developed over the years, and how music remains a big part of those celebrations."

Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome - BBC2 - Good Friday - 9pm
(Final episode, repeats of parts 1 & 2 on BBC2 at Wed 17th at 12:15am and Wed 24th 2:05am on BBC2 respectively, or on iPlayer)
I really enjoyed last year's Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago so I was pleased to see them reworking the formula and going for the big one this year. I'm a little slow to the party so I've not yet had a chance to catch the first two episodes. Whether Les Dennis, Stephen K Amos and Katy Brand can provide the humour that Ed Byrne and Neil Morrissey did last year remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic will change without a TV vicar this year.

Jesus' Female Disciples - C4 - Easter Monday 2:45am
Last year's Channel 4 documentary, released to coincide with the UK release of Mary Magdalene, gets another outing here. It stars Prof. Joan Taylor (who advise on Magdalene) and Helen Bond (who literally wrote the book on Jesus TV documentaries. My review is here.

Easter UK TV Schedule 2011

It's that time of year when I like to do an overview of the Bible film related telly that's on over the Easter period. There's a few things on this year although more documentaries than dramatised films about the scriptures. That said, given the absence of a major new dramatised series, there's a fair bit on this year.

Palm Sunday - Sunday 17th April
Does Christianity Have a Future?, BBC1 22:25
Rowan Williams is all over the telly this Easter, although this is really about frumpy politician turned popular reality TV "dancer", Anne Widdecombe. Having reinvented herself, Widdecombe ponders the question of whether the church can reinvent itself to ensure its survival. There's a look at the Alpha Course, Catholic immigrants and the resurgent black pentecostal churches, as well as a look at the longer term future.

Good Friday - Friday 22nd April

What's the Point of Forgiveness, BBC1 09:00
Williams again, this time teaming up again with Bettany Hughes, who made the excellent The Day Jesus Died this time last year. The programme is looking at forgiveness in a variety of contexts from Jesus' words on the cross, to the widow of one of those killed on 9-11.

The Story of Jesus: Part 1, BBC1 10:00
This is the first of a two part documentary looking at the life of Jesus. Part 1 covers Jesus' birth, ministry and the miracles whereas the second episode, on Easter Day, will cover the passion and resurrection. As with The Miracles of Jesus the programme will be using time lapse photography. It's to be hoped that this is slightly more restrained here than in the original series. It's directed by Big Book Media's David Batty and given that Jesus is also played by the Jesus from that project, Selva Raslingam, it all sounds quite promising.

The Prince of Egypt, BBC1 13:30
Before Pixar raised the bar in animation, Dreamworks looked poised to become a major force in animation. The Prince of Egypt was a decent first outing. Whilst not ideal from a biblical point of view, it was generally well made and did well at the box office. The massive, and unforeseen, success of Shrek and the disappointment of Joseph, King of Dream moved Dreamworks in another direction, but 13 years on The Prince of Egypt still looks pretty fresh, and the hieroglyphic sequence remains arguably the most impressive moment from any of the filmed versions of Moses' life.

Barabbas, C5 14:20
Barabbas' eerie crucifixion scene, famously shot during an actual eclipse, is a great choice for Good Friday a film about the way the events that day change lives. It's a far more complex exploration than the other Jesus cameo films from the era and well worth a watch.

Easter Sunday - 24th April

The Story of Jesus: Part 2, BBC1 11:35
Part 2 of the series wheels out the bigger hitters, with Ben Witherington, Helen Bond and Tom Wright amongst the nine experts featured. Whilst this episode starts with more of Jesus' ministry, I suspect it will be Jesus' death and resurrection that are the major foci of this episode.

Flight of Faith: The Jesus Story ITV1, 23:15
Laurence Vulliamy steps out from behind the camera on Time Team to narrate this journey through the life of Christ. It's major boast seems to be its use of aerial photography, though I'm not quite sure how much can be done with that. Nevertheless, it's American release was well received by various Christian outlets. There's an interview with Vulliamy available on YouTube.

Lastly, Chariots of Fire will be showing on Film4 at 6:40pm on Easter Sunday as well.

Incidentally you can see other festive seasons' religious programming all together or individually - Easter '10, '09, '08 and '07; Christmas '10 '09 '08, '07 and '06).

Christmas UK TV Schedule 2010

Regular readers are probably sick of me saying this but, at Christmas and Easter I like to do a little preview of any Bible films or related programmes showing over the festive period. All times are GMT (24 hour clock) and anything starting after midnight is listed under the next day.

MON 20th DEC
The Nativity: Part 1 [2010] BBC1 19:00
Star attraction for this year is BBC1's four part mini-series The Nativity. My review of the film went up earlier, but I'd recommend that you watch it and judge for yourselves. Episode 1 intrioduces us to Mary, Joseph and Mary's parents Joachin and Anna. Parts 2-4 are showing from Tuesday 21st to Thursday 23rd also starting at 7:30pm.

TUE 21st DEC
The Nativity: Part 2. BBC1 19:00
Part 2 of the BBC1 drama that started on the 21st. Mary takes a trip to see her cousin Elizabeth and gain her advice. Part 3 is broadcast on Wednesday the 22nd December.

WED 22nd DEC
The Nativity: Part 3. BBC1 19:00
The penultimate episode finds Mary's father begging Joseph to take her with him on his census trip to Bethlehem.

THUR 23rd DEC
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe [2005] BBC1 15:50
With the latest instalment of The Chronicles of Narnia franchise Voyage of the Dawn Treader currently doing the rounds in cinemas, the Beeb is showing the two previous films in the series, starting with Lewis's Jesus parable The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Prince Caspian airs on Christmas Eve.

The Nativity: Part 4. BBC1 19:00
Final episode of the mini-series, and the strongest bringing together all the strands from the previous three episode with a fitting climax.

Jesus Christ, Superstar [1973] ITV1 23:50
It's a passion play set to music so it's hardly Christmassy, but it's still probably the Jesus film that has the widest following (excluding Life of Brian) and so it's good to see it getting a run out in the lead in to Christmas. Fans of Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd-Webber's musicals based on the Bible should also tune in on Boxing Day for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

FRI 24th DEC
Prince Caspian [2008] BBC1 17:15
Part 2 of the Narnia franchise is the worst of the three in my opinion, not least for the terrible span-eesh accents that were mercifully dropped for part 3. If they ever get Ben Barnes to re-dub his role I'd be keen to see it, but otherwise for all it's profundity and impressive CGI, Caspian is still somewhat painful to watch.

SUN 26th DEC
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Channel 5 17:10
I'm never quite sure whether Technicolour should have a "u" in it or not. It's the kind of question that might keep one entertained during this terrible version of the Joseph story. This version starts off set in a school and is super, super camp. Bizarrely, the only other version of it I've seen was that performed by my own school over twenty years ago. I suspect that may have had the edge over this, although Donny Osmond fans will no doubt treasure it.

Aside from the above on the main terrestrial channels there are a few films on the satelite/cable channels that will be of interest to Bible film fans including a good number of Cecil B. DeMille films. Here are some highlights:

Fri 24th Dec - Indie: A Serious Man [2009] (20:00)

Sat 25th Dec - More4: The Robe [1953] (09:00); Sky Movies Classics: Cleopatra [1934] (06:40), Ben Hur [1959] (12:10 and 22:45) and The Bible, In the Beginning [1966] (18:05)

Sun 26th Dec - Sky Movies Classics: The Bible, In the Beginning [1966] (04:35), Samson and Delilah [1949] (09:20), The Crusades [1935] (11:30), Spartacus [1960] (13:45 and 22:40), Cleopatra [1934] (17:00)

Mon 27th Dec - Sky Movies Classics: Samson and Delilah [1949] (01:50), The Crusades [1935] (04:05)

Thu 30th Dec - Film 4: The Ten Commandments [1956] (11:00); Sky Movies Classics: Ben Hur [1959] (17:30); Indie: A Serious Man [2009] (11:35 and 18:30)

Easter UK TV Schedule 2010

As with other years I've had a quick look through the TV schedules for the holiday period and picked out the programmes that might be of interest to readers of this site. (incidentally you can see other festive seasons' religious programming all together or individually - Easter '09, '08 and '07; Christmas '09 '08, '07 and '06).

This years seems to be a particularly good year for biblical epics and people who respect Rowan Williams (pictured). The only downside is that there's not much rare or original programming, but given that both the BBC and Channel 4 have offered us major series on Christianity already this year, and that only last week the BBC screened a rare Bible film, this is perhaps fair enough.

The Day Jesus Died
BBC1, Good Friday, 9am
"What is the meaning of Good Friday? Why do Christians honour the death of Jesus as a victory, whereas Jews and Muslims regard Jesus' crucifixion as a defeat and a humiliation? Historian Bettany Hughes embarks on a journey to uncover the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross, and finds out just why it still has significance today."(BBC Website)

The Robe
Channel 4, Good Friday, 1pm
Interweaving the fictional story of Marcellus' spiritual death and resurrection with that of the physical death of Jesus, The Robe is arguably one of the more apt Jesus Cameo films to broadcast on Good Friday. Richard Burton and Victor Mature are both a little hammy in places, but the Good Friday scenes are moving and impressive, and it's another chance to celebrate the life of Jean Simmons who died earlier this year.

King of Kings
Channel 5, Easter Sunday, 2pm
I know there are plenty of holes to pick with this film, but somehow I still find that I love it and long to watch it again. King of Kings turns 50 next year and whilst parts of it show its age, other parts still hold up remarkably well. It's been a while since this was last shown on our TV screens so it's nice to see it make a comeback. Suffice to say if I was to get a chance to choose a Jesus film to watch on the big screen, this would be one of the two I'd go for.

Something About Mary Magdalene
ITV1, Easter Monday, 12:10am
"Mary Magdalene remains one of the most enigmatic women in history. For almost two thousand years she has been the subject of myths and legends and has inspired both popular literature and some compelling religious art. Christianity's most prominent sinner turned saint? A repentant prostitute who followed Jesus and was the key witness to his resurrection? Leading world experts paint a new, radical portrait of Mary that challenges the Church's traditional account." (ITV website)

Greatest Story Ever Told
Channel 4, Easter Monday, 11:45am
As with last Easter, so Channel 4 are showing The Greatest Story Ever Told although not in the the very fitting timeslot it had last year. Still, if you have a spare three hours, and you can get past the distracting cameos, and the odd ridiculous moment (that's you Heston) there's much to enjoy.

And on top of this you can also catch the entire series of Diarmaid MacCulloch's excellent A History of Christianity on BBC4, and Jesus Christ, Superstar on ITV3. Dr Williams has heartily endorsed MacCulloch's work; Goodacre Jewison's.

Christmas UK TV Schedule 2009

As longer term readers will know I like to give an overview of the festive season's religious programming (see Easter '09, '08 and '07 and Christmas '08, '07 and '06).

This year is a bit of an odd one. There are very few Bible/Christian related documentaries, perhaps because BBC4 has just finished it's fascinating 6-part look at The History of Christianity. But for Bible film fans such as ourselves there's plenty.

It's a case of get in early though, so I'm glad I checked my TV guide tonight and didn't leave it until tomorrow, with a DeMille documentary tomorrow and various films showing in the next few days. Anyway here's what I have gleaned:

Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic
Channel 4, Sunday 20th December, 12:35am
Almost as long as one of his films, this documentary about everyone's favourite Bible film diector, Cecil B.DeMille kicks off in the early hours of Monday morning (though in TV guides it qualifies as Sunday so I've followed suit), and runs for over two and a half hours. I believe that originally theis documentary came in two parts: both are showing here.

The Silver Chalice
TCM, Various times as follows:
Sunday 20th December, 5:05pm
Monday 21st December, 8.55am
Wednesday 30th December, 6:20pm
Thursday 31st December, 10:20am

Samson and Delilah
Sky Classics, Various times as follows:
Sunday 20th December, 10:35am
Friday 25th December, 4:00pm
Sunday 27th December, 6:00am
Sunday 27th December, 2:10pm

The Ten Commandments (1956)
Channel 4, Monday 21st December 12:05pm
The film that needs no introduction, with DeMille and Heston both at the top of their games.

Christmas Tales
ITV1, Wednesday 23rd December 11:35pm
Last of a four party series looking at different parts of Christmas
No idea what this is, but the other three looked at more secular ideas anout Christmas.

The Nativity Story
Channel 4, Thursday 24th December 11:45am
The film's premiere on terrestrial television in the UK. Hardwicke's direction looks great but sounds poor in places, in oart due to an underworked script by Mike Rich. Gives a great contextto the nativity, but rarely feels convincing. But that's all forgivieable when everyone is feeling Christmassy.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
BBC1, Monday 24th December 2:15pm
Christianity's best known allegory. The Jesus allegory is weakened, but certainly very much present, and this is generally fairly well made, if not, sadly, a masterpiece, it is at least better than the BBC1.

Dark City
TCM, Monday 24th December 11:50pm
Another Christ-figure film. Alex Proyas' dark futuristic thriller.

Ben-Hur (1959)
Sky Classics, Various times as follows:
Thursday 24th December, 11:30am
Thursday 24th December, 9:00pm
Thursday 31st December, 10:15am
Thursday 31st December, 8pm

The Robe
Sky Classics, Various times as follows:
Monday 28th December, 2:35pm

Easter UK TV Schedule 2009

Here's a quick rundown of the Bible Films related programmes on TV over the Easter period. It's a fairly poor comparison with previous religious holidays (see Easter '08 and '07 and Christmas '08, '07 and '06): the only channel showing anything is Channel 4. Anyway here's a brief rundown:

Friday 10 April, Channel 4
11:45am The Greatest Story Ever Told
It's nice to see a Jesus film on terrestrial television on Good Friday, and I appreciate it even more because it's on for the three hours after midday, which have traditionally been a time for Christians to meditate on Jesus's death. Greatest Story is a good choice too. Not only does it last for (and well beyond) the three hour period in question, it's also one of the slower more meditative films which makes it kind of appropriate for that time slot.

Monday 13 April, Channel 4
1:10am Last Days
Last Days is an obvious retelling of the demise of Kurt Cobain, but several commentators have seen deeper echoes of the passion of Jesus. In particular, Mike Leary's has two interesting articles exploring this angle of the film which are well worth a read.

Monday 13 April, Channel 4
3:00am The Real Jesus Christ
The Real Jesus Christ constructs the lost biography of Jesus and offers an alternative version of his message as it would have been told by those who knew him better than anyone.

Tuesday 14 April, Channel 4
4:00am The Tomb of Christ
Two respected archaeologists have within their grasp the proof as to whether Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre houses the place where Jesus Christ was both crucified and buried.

Christmas UK TV Preview 2008

It's become almost a tradition here at the Bible Films Blog that I post a guide to the festive period's UK TV Bible film offerings (see Christmas '07 and '06, and Easter '08 and '07. Sadly, I'm a little later in posting this than I'd originally hoped. My Christmas holiday has started in fine form with three days spent sorting out my blocked drains (£1000+ in the end!) and then a day and a half in bed ill. Sadly two of the things I would have blogged have already been and gone (Monday's Who Really Killed Jesus? and Tuesday's Mary Magdalene Saint or Sinner?). Nevertheless there is some, including one film that I'm genuinely excited about seeing for the first time. As ever, I'm only covering the UK's five main channels, with perhaps the odd foray into some of the documentaries available on cable.Star of Bethlehem - 24th Dec. 17:30, BBC2
Having temporarily ousted Channel 4 from the best religious TV programming slot this Easter (with The Passion), the BBC takes the battle onto 4's home turf - the demythologising Bible documentary. Offering "new evidence challenging the biblical story" this documentary will look at the astrological phenomena that may have lay behind the star of Bethlehem. Occasionally, the Beeb's website is frustratingly unjoined up about these things. The programme's blurb is totally unconnected to the front page linked detailed BBC magazine article and then there's precious little available on the BBC religion site. The Nativity Decoded - 25th Dec. 19:30, Channel 4
Also known as Decoding the Nativity. No doubt some of the "new evidence" offered by the BBC documentary will also feature in this - a more extensive, two-hour look at the Nativity story. Given Rowan Williams's highly publicised comments last year on all this, it will be interesting to see what it actually has to say. Beckford is always interesting, and this is produced by Carbon who did a good enough job with Easter's Secrets of the 12 Disiciples. Channel 4 has also put together a decent microsite for this one, even if they don't appear to have decided what to call it yet.

Also of interest is The Bible Unearthed - 8am on the History Channel. Even if this isn't an edited version of last month's The Bible's Buried Secrets the content is highly likely to be similar.The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - 26th Dec. 17:50, BBC1
Anyone hoping for a Jesus film on anywhere over Christmas will have to make do with the story's best known allegory. I'm sure I don't really need to say too much more on this. Christian viewers at the time were either a - just glad to see it on the big screen, b - mortified by the alterations that were made, or c - unaware of said alterations and so enjoyed it along with everyone else. The Jesus allegory is weakened, but certainly very much present, but having seen it twice when it came out, and at least once more since, I can't imagine I'll be making this a priority. For an alternate Jesus allegory see Brandon Routh in Superman Returns - 29th December 20:30 BBC1.

Elsewhere TCM offers up Ben Hur (3pm) and the History Channel puts on what seems to be a thirteen hour documentary on Rome: the Rise and Fall of an Empire. Programme starts at 10am. Constantine's on at 7pm, but no mention of Jesus.Secrets of the Jesus Tomb - 27th Dec. 11:00am - Channel 5
Repeat of the Channel 5's above average documentary from their Secrets of the Cross series. I reviewed this and offered a few additional comments at the time. I believe the rest of the series aired earlier in the week.

TCM will also be wheeling out Ben Hur at 09:15.The True Story: Herod the Great - 28th Dec. 11:00am, Channel 5
Not much on Five's website other than a brief summary "...this film attempts to get to the bottom of the myth and separate fact from legend, combining expert analysis, computer graphics and dramatisations". I think this is the Atlantic productions film, But I've not seen it.

Also on: National Geographic (8:00pm)Trial of the Knights Templar, Discovery Channel (4pm) Biblical Mysteries Explained.Androcles & the Lion - 29th Dec. 13:05, Channel 5
Not only is there no direct Jesus film this Christmas, but he doesn't even get a cameo. Nevertheless I am greatly looking forward to seeing Androcles and the Lion. It's a film I've obviously heard of but never had the chance to see. Prior to Life of Brian, this was the leading satire of the sword and sandal epics movies, based on a George Bernard Shaw play and starring the King and Queen of Biblical epics Victor Mature and Jean Simmons. It was originally going to star Harpo Marx too, but sadly he dropped out. I'll probably post a few thoughts on this in the next month or so.

And that's about all. Surprisingly it's Channel Five that offers the greatest selection, in what is generally a good year - although more for the documentary films than the dramas. Note for next year - the Diocese of London runs a similar service which might save me waiting to buy a TV mag next year.

Easter 2008 TV Offerings

Usually, I like to highlight in advance some of the TV offerings that will be shown over Christmas (2006, 2007) and Easter (2007). Unfortunately this year I didn't quite have time, which is a shame as there was really quite a lot. Had I run a piece like this a few years ago I would have had almost nothing to report. This year, however, there was almost an unprecedented amount, including a number of Jesus films.

Obviously, top billing went to BBC1's The Passion, but there were at least 3 other major Jesus films shown over the Easter period. ITV got the ball rolling showing Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) on Good Friday, and Channels 4 and 5 followed suit with Easter Monday broadcasts of The Passion of the Christ and Ben Hur respectively (pictured). I also happened to noticed Huston's The Bible crop up on one of the cable channels as well.

But there was also more in the documentary department, with Robert Beckford back on Channel 4 with his look at the Secrets of the 12 Disciples and BBC2's festive offering re-examined the Shroud of Turin. Both programmes are currently available to view online, and I should be writing some thoughts on Secrets of the 12 Disciples in the next few days. Incidentally the shroud has it's own blog. Who knew?

Christmas UK TV Preview 2007

It's time for my usual Christmas/Easter round up of TV programmes / films over the holiday season that might be of interest (see 2006's). As ever, I'm only covering the 5 main UK channels, so apologies to any readers from the rest of the world. That said, I believe the History Channel, is showing The Passion – Religion and the Movies).Liverpool Nativity - 23rd Dec. 10:45pm - BBC1
Following on from Last Year's Manchester Passion, the Liverpool Nativity relocates the story of Mary and Joseph to modern day Liverpool and accompanies it with various songs written by the city's famous pop acts. I've already made several posts on this, and will post a review shortly.Dr. Who - 25th Dec. 6:50pm - BBC1.
As I mentioned back in July, Dr. Who has taken a rather Christological turn in recent outings and this Christmas special episode looks like it is going to go one step further. As you can see from the above photo the Doctor, will not only be joined by Kylie Minogue, but also two angelic looking robots. There was a story on this in yesterday's The Times which described the scene as the Doctor "ascending through the ship’s decks, carried by a pair of robotic angels". Sadly, it was also quite depressing to see "Christian Voice" yet again used as a spokesgroup for Christians.

Hidden Story of Jesus - 25th Dec. 8:30pm – Ch. 4
Documentary with Robert Beckford which attempts to unravel the mystery of why there are so many versions of the Christ story across the world and asks which is the real one, and where this leaves the Christian story and his own belief in Jesus. Channel 4 has a microsite for this one, which is made particularly relevant now that films such as The Aquarian Gospel are currently in production.The Secret Life of Brian - 31st Dec 8:00 pm - Channel 4
Channel 4 are repeating the evening they devoted to Life of Brian last year, which is great news for those of us who, somewhat inexplicably, missed it last year. The evening kicks off with this documentary looking at the controversy surrounding the film. I hope they show the complete footage of the TV debate between two of the Python's and a bishop and another religious representative. I don't think it will, but hopefully there will be some interesting footage that I've not seen before.

Monty Python's Life of Brian - 31st Dec. 9:00 pm - Channel 4
(All posts on this film)
A film that needs no introduction, but it is part of an evening on the Pythons. The evening continues after this film with the documentary What the Pythons Did Next.

What the Pythons Did Next - 31st Dec. 10:45 pm - Channel 4
Documentary, looking at what the Pythons did after Life of Brian. I seem to recall that this was considered to be the lesser of the two documentaries as, of course, everyone knows what the Pythons did next, but I imagine it will still be worth it to see some good clips.

Samson and Delilah - 1st Jan. 12:45pm - Channel 5
A tradition seems to be starting of showing an Old Testament Epic film at some point over Christmas. Last year it was Solomon and Sheba, this year it's the turn of DeMile's Samson and DelilahBruce Almighty - 2nd Jan. 8:30pm - BBC1
A surprisingly deep film considering it stars Jim Carrey, managing to look at a host of issues from unanswered prayer to theodicy. Morgan Freeman's performance as God steals the show and there is at least one brief audio-visual reference to DeMille's The Ten Commandments.

Summary
Whilst there are a few good programmes to watch out for, it's a bit of a shame that quite a bit of this post was just a cut and paste job from last year! In other words there are various programmes (both that I've mentioned and that I haven't that were re-hashes of things from last year). That said there is a good deal of Bible related content again this year, with much of if (Liverpool Nativity, Hidden Story of Jesus, Dr. Who) fresh and creative, as well as a couple of classic Bible Films thrown in for good measure.

Easter TV in the UK

Unfortunately I've not got time to do a full overview of all the religious TV this Easter, but here are a few of the highlights

Good Friday
TCM - 17:10
Ben-Hur
The spectacular chariot race is just one of the highlights of this magnificent epic, graced by vast sets, Charlton Heston, and a compelling story. D: William Wyler (1959) - Preceded by short documentary.

BBC1 - 17:35
Prince of Egypt
Animted film of the Moses story.

Holy Saturday
TCM - 02:55
The Prodigal
Lana Turner plays the sultry temptress who lures a wealthy man into wicked ways in this sumptuous re-telling of the biblical story of The Prodigal Son. D: Richard Thorpe (1955)

Easter Sunday
Channel 4 - 21:00
Secrets of the Dead: Shroud of Christ
Could the Shroud of Turin really be 2,000 years old? And, if so, does it contain the image of Christ?

Channel 4 - 22:00
The Passion of The Christ
(2004) Mel Gibson's Oscar-nominated film is a dramatic, haunting and visceral telling of Christ's final hours and crucifixion, with James Caviezel as Jesus.

Christmas Bible Related Films and Programmes on UK TV

One thing I like to do at Christmas and Easter is have a look through the TV listings and see what programmes/films of interest will be showing over the festive period. I thought, then, that I'd post some of the highlights on terrestrial TV over here. Apologies to readers outside the UK, but I can't really work my way through the listings for every country. (I did note, however, that in the US Jesus of Nazareth is showing on the History Channel, as well as The Passion – Religion and the Movies).

Bruce Almighty - 21st Dec. 8pm - BBC1
A surprisingly deep film considering it stars Jim Carrey, managing to look at a host of issues from unanswered prayer to theodicy. Morgan Freeman's performance as God steals the show and there is at least one brief audio-visual reference to DeMille's The Ten Commandments.

God Gave Rock and Roll to You - 23rd Dec. 6:30pm – Ch4
Documentary with Robert Beckford looking at the relationship between music and religion. I guess this is the music equivalent of The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury. Interestingly, that programme was originally scheduled for Christmas last year, but got moved to Easter as because that was a more religious time, which suggests something has changed at Channel 4.

The Lost Gospel of Judas – 23rd Dec. 8:30pm – Ch4
Documentary looking at the lost gospel of Judas, and trying to determine whether it is real or fake.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - 24th Dec. 11:25 am
The animated version of the film which I was obsessed by as a kid (having discovered it on holiday). It's not as flashy as the recent feature film, nor as faithful as the BBC TV version from the late 80s, but it still holds up quite well, although the US accents are a bit strange for a story set in 40s Britain.

CS Lewis: Beyond Narnia - 24th Dec. 11:50am
Documentary-drama looking at the life of the great writer. It's written by Norman Stone who wrote and directed the 1985 version of Shadowlands

Solomon and Sheba - 24th Dec. 12:45pm
Yul Brynner stars as King Solomon, a role he took on after the untimely death of original star Tyronne Power who can still be seen in some of the distant shots. The story is based, of course, on 1 Kings 10:1-13, and so director King Vidor and his writer add plenty of padding to make those thirteen verses stretch for the 135 minutes run time. Solomon and Sheba was one of the first films to use Super Technirama 70. There's an interesting article at the Widescreen Museum discussing this and Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat - 24th Dec. 3:15pm
Donny Osmond takes the title role in this fairly terrible rendition of Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice's musical. It's as tacky as you like even starring Joan Collins and Christopher Biggins to turn up the camp factor.

The Secret Family of Jesus - 25th Dec. 8:00pm
Another documentary featuring Robert Beckford about the most talked about religious issue this year – that raised by the Da Vinci Code. It's somewhat sensationally advertised, but surely with a 2 hours runtime it will bring more balance than the book and the film, and hopefully it will reflect the scholarly consensus.

The Magic of Jesus - 26th Dec. 12:40am
Dirty Tricks magicans Barry and Stuart reproduce some of Jesus's miracles. Hardly new territory (magicians have claimed to be able to do various miracles for years), but if they manage to get killed and rise from the dead I'll be seriously impressed.

The Secret Life of Brian - 1st Jan 8:00 pm
Channel 4 are devoting an entire evening to the Pythons. The evening kicks off with this documentary looking at the controversy surrounding the film. I hope they show the complete footage of the TV debate between two of the Python's and a bishop and another religious representative. I don't think it will, but hopefully there will be some interesting footage that I've not seen before.

Monty Python's Life of Brian - 1st Jan 9:00 pm
A film that needs no introduction, but it is part of an evening on the Pythons. The evening continues after this film with the documentary "What the Pythons Did Next".

Honourable Mentions
There's so much religious-related TV this year that I can't discuss everything, so here are a few more programmes of lesser relevance.

23rd, 9:25 am ITV1 - The Way we Worshipped Christmas Special
23rd, 11:40 pm Ch4 - Nuns on the Run (Film)
24th, 3:15 pm BBC2 – A Nuns Story (Film)
24th, 7:35 pm Ch4 – AFI 100 Years, 100 Cheers
25th/1st Jan 9:30 pm BBC1 – Vicar of Dibley
28th, 10:50pm BBC1 – Film 2006: Films of the Year

I'm fairly impressed with this list of programmes / films. Last year there was next to nothing. This time there are a number of interesting documentaries, a couple of Christian related films, and one proper golden-era biblical epic, albeit based on a story that would be unknown to many outside of the church and biblical studies departments. (It almost makes me wonder if it was a coincidence!). It's interesting to see Channel 4 leading the way as well. 10 years ago the majority of religious programming would have been on the BBC, but now their offerings are unimaginative low budget affairs whilst Channel 4 is producing new, engaging documentaries that should attract a far wider audience. It will be interesting to see how they do in terms of quality and ratings.