This weeks highlight is a colourful exploration of State executionary methods.
Other highlights in a strong week for political programming are the social history of wrecking, an exploration of the internal culture of San Quentin prison, and an interview with a high-profile recently-released celebrity paedophile.
Saturday 12 January - 8.10 - 9pm - BBC2 - Timewatch: The Wreckers
The social history of wrecking is explored in this documentary, which took as its inspiration the running aground of the Napoli in January 2007, which spilt its cargo on a Devon beach. The plundering which ensued provoked much discussion both within the general media and within libcom.
Saturday 12 January - 10pm - 12.10am - BBC4 - Fateless
This beautifully photographed story tells the tale of the coming-of-age of a Hungarian teenager amidst the horror of the death camps; colour is drained from the action as hope fades and reality dawns. However, his survival and subsequent ability to bear witness is proof of the indomitability of the human spirit against even insuperable odds. In Hungarian and German with English subtitles.
Saturday 12 January - 2.40 - 4.40am - BBC2 - Aimee and Jaguar
This film is based on the true story of a wartime relationship between a model mother and a Jewish lesbian and contrasts the loyalty of the lovers with the insidiousness of Nazism. It is the astonishing tale of how the editor of a Nazi newspaper in Berlin manages to keep secret the fact that she is a Jew, a lesbian and a member of the Resistance. In German with English subtitles.
Sunday 13 January - 9 - 10pm - BBC2 - Louis Theroux: Behind Bars
Here Louis attempts to delve beneath the notorious reputation of America's San Quentin prison and seeks to find the humanity within this toughest of environments; for example, a budding relationship between an ex-Nazi gang member and a gay Jew is portrayed.
Pick of the Week :rb:
Tuesday 15 January - 9 - 9.50pm - BBC2 - Horizon - How To Kill a Human Being
The American Supreme Court is currently debating whether death by lethal injection is an execution method which is causing the condemned unnecessary physical pain. This somewhat bizarre edition of the scientific series is helmed by Michael Portillo who attempts to evaluate various execution methods and subjects himself to some of the effects of some of the methods before the consequences become lethal - for example, he exposes himself to CS gas, becomes euphoric and nearly dies from hypoxia in a Dutch laboratory.
Tuesday 15 January - 10 - 11.05pm - More4 - Shrink Rap - Chris Langham
Speaking just a few days after being released from prison following on from serving six months of his sentence for downloading child pornography, here Chris Langham speaks to Pamela Stephenson, who he worked with on the first series of "Not the Nine 0'Clock News." Langham's decision to attempt to court publicity and justify his actions have been roundly condemned by the mainstream media.
Tuesday 15 January - 11.05pm - 12.20am - More4 - The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt
This documentary, shown as part of the ever-reliable True Stories strand, chronicles the events leading up to the abduction of the Colombian senator who was a popular campaigner against political corruption.
Thursday 17 January - 1.30 - 3.40pm - Channel 5 - Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples
This drama, based on a true story, is one of a series of films about the rescue of Jews from the Holocaust by courageous Gentiles. These stories exemplify solidarity at the highest possible level.
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