Arena - Season 34 / Year 2008
Season 34 / Year 2008
Episodes
The Strange Luck of V.S. Naipaul
Profile of the Nobel Prize-winning Trinidadian-born British writer, VS Naipaul. Filmed in India, Trinidad and his Wiltshire home, Naipaul remains as incisive, forthright and controversial as ever at the age of 75.
Cab Driver
Documentary which gets to the heart of that much-maligned and stereotyped character, the London cabbie, using archive footage, music and film, as well as the drivers themselves.
The Hunt for Moby Dick
Writer Philip Hoare confronts our fascination with the ocean's mystery animal, the whale. He visits the whaling ports of New England and draws a parallel with the war on terror.
The Whale in the Museum
Documentary telling the story of the construction of the much-loved blue whale at the Natural History Museum. As the world marched towards war in 1938, a determined group of men at the museum undertook the unprecedented task of building a life-sized model of the largest creature that has ever lived.
The Agony and Ecstasy of Phil Spector
In a rare interview, legendary music producer Phil Spector dissects his songs. His trial for murder in 2007 ended in a hung jury, and court footage provides a vivid counterpoint.
Paul Scofield
A host of leading theatrical greats, including Peter Brook, Vanessa Redgrave and John Hurt, pay tribute to the outstanding British actor Paul Scofield.
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Bering Sea Gold
In the frontier town of Nome, Alaska, there's a gold rush on. But you've never seen gold mining like this before -- here, the precious metal isn't found in the ground. It's sitting in the most unlikely of places: the bottom of the frigid, unpredictable Bering Sea. And there are a handful of people willing to risk it all to bring it to the surface in Bering Sea Gold.
Murder in a Small Town
Karl Alberg moves to a quiet coastal town to soothe a psyche that has been battered by big-city police work. But this gentle paradise has more than its share of secrets, and Karl will need to call upon all the skills that made him a world-class detective in solving the murders that, even in this seemingly idyllic setting, continue to wash up on his shore.
Bookish
London, 1946 is the dynamic, dangerous and chaotic setting for this stylish new detective drama, with the eccentric Gabriel Book at the very heart of the story: a self-appointed consultant detective to the local police. The thousands of books that line the shelves of his shop provide him with all the knowledge he needs.
Book has gathered around him a host of lovable, damaged misfits whom he informally protects, cajoles, and mentors. His wife Trottie runs the wallpaper shop next door. She's a charismatic adventuress whom Book loves deeply but not physically, for they are in a 'lavender' marriage to help conceal Book's sexual orientation in a time when it was illegal to be gay.
Bookish marries post-war nostalgia with the reckless and life-affirming atmosphere of the times, creating a fast-paced and stylish detective drama.