Civilisation (TV programme)
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Civilisation (full title, Civilisation: A Personal View) was a popular TV series outlining the history of Western society produced by the BBC and aired in 1969 on BBC Two. Kenneth Clark wrote and presented the series and also wrote the book Civilisation: A Personal View published in 1970.
This was one of the first UK documentary series in colour, and one of BBC2's first major productions, at the time of David Attenborough's controllership. One of Attenborough's aims of the series was that it should showcase colour television. For technical reasons colour television was to come to BBC2 before BBC1 and so, as a channel aimed at minority audiences, it was possible to commission a major series about the Arts.[1]
The series' groundbreaking format, in which Clark travelled around the world to illustrate his thesis, became a template for such later programmes as The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski, Life on Earth and sequels by David Attenborough, Alistair Cooke's America, and Cosmos by Carl Sagan. The director and co-producer of the series was Michael Gill. The other co-producer was Peter Montagnon.
At first Clark's patrician attitudes annoyed Gill and the project was almost abandoned. However eventually Gill formed a great respect for Clark's aesthetic judgment. During the filming on location, they formed a close and enduring friendship.[2]
Clark attended a public screening of one of the programmes and was received with huge applause and cheers. He was so overwhelmed by this recognition that he hid himself away in the lavatory and wept for fifteen minutes; he had long been respected in academic circles but was utterly taken aback by the response of the public at large.[1]
The series had difficulty at first in finding a home on American television, but success was assured after the National Gallery of Art in Washington put it on at lunchtime in the gallery theatre. This seated 300 people, but on the first day 24,000 turned up.[2]
Further proof of the programme's popularity was given in anecdotal evidence of Civilisation parties. Since ownership of a colour television set was rare on the series' first broadcast, those that did own one found themselves popular hosts.[1] Clark earned a peerage on the strength of the series.[2]
The series was replayed on BBC Four and released on DVD in 2005.
[edit] Series Outline
NOTE: The links in this section will lead the reader to the articles which contain information related to the episode.
- The Skin of our Teeth
- The Great Thaw
- Romance and Reality
- Man - the Measure of all Things
- The Hero as Artist
- Protest and Communication
- Grandeur and Obedience
- The Light of Experience
- The Pursuit of Happiness
- The Smile of Reason
- The Worship of Nature
- The Fallacies of Hope
- Heroic Materialism
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Civilisation: A Personal View — DVD set, disc 4 (Extra features — David Attenborough talks about the programme's development).
- ^ a b c Obituary of Michael Gill in Daily Telegraph 26 Oct 2005
