johns-list's - Rented

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Professor Jonah Mulray's life is turned upside down when his wife, Megan (Dervla Kirwan), is killed in a car crash in Hong Kong. Although she lived and worked there half the year, Jonah's never been. He lives a small, sheltered life, and his fear of flying has kept him in London.

But now he has no choice but to cross the ocean to identify the body of the woman he loved. Not long after arriving in Hong Kong, Jonah (John Simm) makes a shocking discovery about his wife. Over the course of eight thrilling hours, Jonah is drawn deeper and deeper into a web of conspiracy as he comes to terms with this utterly alien and unfamiliar environment, battling to uncover the truth about his wife's death

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Michael Portillo journeys through the stunning wilderness of the 49th US state on its most extreme railroads, before crossing the border into Canada, the world's second largest country, to explore its lakes and mountains, visit its cities and ride its most scenic and spectacular railroads.

Michael heads first for the Last Frontier of the United States armed with his 1899 Appleton's Guidebook to Alaska. He boards the Alaska Railroad to travel past lakes and glaciers and through mountain tunnels, admiring the magnificent landscape and glimpsing the wildlife of the region, while learning what it took to build this epic 470-mile line. Along the way, Michael joins the US Arctic Warriors for parachute training, gets a taste of the pioneering spirit and explores the art of the First Nations - helping to carve a totem pole before shaking his tail feathers in a "grouse dance". Switching to his 1899 edition of Appleton's Canadian Guidebook, Michael crosses the border into Canada and rides the spectacular transcontinental railway, explores Canada's Atlantic maritime provinces and makes a 1,000-mile journey across the vast Canadian Prairie. During his travels he meets modern day Canadians descended from immigrants and fur traders, indigenous groups and people of the Métis nation. He encounters beaver and bear, rides with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, joins the lumberjacks of British Columbia to corral logs downriver and attempts to play Canada's national sport, ice hockey. Tomato wine, Saskatoon Berry Pie, Acadian oysters and Nova Scotia lobster are among the delicacies that sustain him on his journey.

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Based on Peter Barnes' hit play, this caustic, hilarious and irreverent black comedy has rightly become a cult classic. The House of Gurney has a family problem - namely the 14th Earl of Gurney (Peter O'Toole) who thinks he is Jesus Christ and when restored to 'normalcy', turns into Jack the Ripper.

Unfortunately, the young earl is also the sole heir to the family fortune, so his relatives go to great lengths to trick him into siring a new heir. Then they can institutionalize him and gain access to the money through the child. But the 14th Earl of Gurney has a few tricks up his sleeves...
This controversial tragicomedy managed to condemn just about every section of British society - from the public school system to the Houses of Parliament, and from the Church to homosexuality.

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They are trapped in a spaceship with no power. Outside there is no air and no heat. Earth spins 200 miles below. Three astronauts face a desperate situation in this spell-binding science fiction cliffhanger.

After completing a daring mission in space, the three-man spaceship Ironman One orbits Earth preparing for re-entry. But a retro-rocket misfires, and the crew commander Jim Pruett, scientist-astronaut Clayton Stone and pilot Buzz Lloyd are marooned in space. Back on Earth, Charles Keith, chief of the manned space program, and senior astronaut Ted Dougherty plan an incredible rescue - while the whole world waits anxiously.

A notorious bandit confesses to rape and murder, and justice is sure to be swift. But wait. Witnesses to the outrage come forward, each offering different versions of events. Does truth lie in the eyes of the beholder?

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Armed with an early 20th century edition of Bradshaw's Railway Handbook, Michael Portillo takes to the tracks to navigate a vibrant and optimistic Britain at the height of its power and influence in the world - but a nation wrestling with political, social and industrial unrest at home.

Michael Portillo continues to chart the great British romance with the railways in this phenomenally successful series. Steered by George Bradshaw's famous railway handbook, he retraces three journeys inspired by his guide, witnessing what's changed and celebrating our love of the railways. Michael stops at some of Britain's most beautiful cities and secluded villages, meeting extraordinary people and hearing how their lives have been shaped by the railways. This complete tenth series sees Michael rambling in the beautiful Peak District, trying his hand at clay spinning, helping to restore carriages for a heritage light railway, messing about in boats on Thames, finding comedy at the home of British cinema, investigating the high-octane sport of whippet racing and endeavouring to understand the appeal of a dark Edwardian spread which is loved - and hated - all over Britain! This set features 15 episodes covering 3 different journeys:
- Warrington to the Potteries
- Goes to Ireland: Newry to Connell Ferry
- Warwick to Rye

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Resuming his railway odyssey, Michael Portillo picks up his 1913 copy of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide once more, this time exploring the countries of the former Russian Empire - a borderland where Asia meets Europe.

Travelling 2,000 miles from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea through the peaks of the Caucasus Mountains and the grasslands of the Great Steppe, from sub-tropical shore to a volcanic land of fire, Michael explores Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan - countries which in 1913 were ruled by a Tsar, but were soon to fall to a revolutionary new empire. On his journey - through the history and culture of these enchanting lands, he will try to understand the tensions and conflicts of the present day.

1. Kiev to Odessa
Michael ventures east to the Ukraine, his journey taking him from the grasslands of the Steppe to the shores of the Black Sea. In this borderland where Europe meets Asia he crosses swords with Cossacks, he learns the secrets of Ukrainian cuisine and gets down and dirty in a mud spa.
2. Batumi to Baku
Michael travels one of the most stunning rail routes of the world: through the former Russian empire from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, taking in present-day Georgia and Azerbaijan.

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This is your home, as you've never seen it before. Epic migration. Shifting seasons. The turning tide. Cameras in space capture natural spectacles on an epic scale and are now so advanced that they can track down individual animals.

Cutting-edge technology tells the story of life on Earth from a brand new perspective. Marvel at the dancing neon Northern Lights and the swirling blues of blooming plankton. Zoom in on herds of elephants searching for water, and discover previously unknown colonies of penguins. Satellites also capture disappearing forests and show cities sprawling over decades. With the Earth's surface changing faster than ever before, can the view from space inspire us to look after our unique and fragile home?

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Set in a futuristic Japan after the end of a brutal world war, science has advanced by leaps and bounds giving humanity the choice to prolong life and reduce suffering with the use of sophisticated cybernetics.

With all of humanity linked into one system of minds and personalities known as Ghosts, the biggest threat to civilization is the cyber terrorists capable of hijacking people's bodies and memories. When a Ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source. As they delve deeper and deeper into their investigation, they uncover traces of government corruption and a shadowy broker that bears an all-too-familiar face. When your target can be anywhere and look like anyone, the only choice you have is to trust your Ghost and hope you aren't infected, too.

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The fortunes of the Harpers are certainly up and down in this series. Susan and Janey go head-to-head for an exciting job in TV; Susan ends up being a Facecrook; Michael's & Janey's anniversary gift backfires...

Plus Kenzo outsmarts Ben,and Janey, much to Michael's annoyance, becomes friendly with his new boyfriend, Matt. Meanwhile at work, Susan learns how to deal with a young lecher, and then decides it's time to'Cavitox'! When Susan's father turns up out of the blue offering £2 million to buy her out of her marriage to Ben, is divorce on the cards? And will Roger's Jollies manage to win the darts final?

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After moving to a new school, Shoko is taunted because of her hearing impairment, principally by Shoya, who leads the class in teasing her. When Shoko is eventually forced to transfer to another school, Shoya's classmates in turn ostracise him for his cruel behaviour.

Years later, as a young adult, Shoya is riddled with guilt over his humiliation of Shoko. Living an aimless life with no friends, he determines to find her and try to atone. But is it too late, and what might her reaction be?

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The Harpers are back with several surprising family announcements! The local council wrongly believe Ben is disabled. Michael's social news comes as a bit of a shock. Whilst Susan has an attentive admirer, it is a young Australian backpacker who catches Janey's eye.

Ben is out of his depth when he goes clubbing with Michael and a robbery with a case of mistaken identity causes havoc. When Janey leaves an elderly care client with Ben for the evening, what could go wrong? Ben and Susan go their separate ways and Kenzo's father makes a return, but is he welcome?

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At mid-day on October 21st 1805, 27 Royal Navy battleships under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson clashed with 33 battleships of the combined Franco-Spanish Fleet off Cape Trafalgar. At stake was nothing less than Britain herself.

The enemy fleet had been formed to support Napoleon's invasion ships, now waiting in the Channel Ports. Over the next five hours, the mightiest battleships of their day traded broadsides at almost point blank range while manoeuvring at just two miles an hour. The carnage was indescribable. The day would end with a nation saved, but her greatest hero dead in his finest hour...
Michael Portillo presents the story of the Battle of Trafalgar, and the man whom the battle immortalised. Horatio Nelson rose from the son of a humble country parson to become 'Britannia's living God of War'. His men worshipped him. His captains - his 'Band of Brothers' - were inspired by the tactical freedom he gave them. He brought a new aggression and fearlessness to naval warfare that no enemy could withstand and achieved his greatest ambition - to be a hero.
Especially commissioned by the BBC to mark the 200th Anniversary of the epic battle, 'Nelson's Trafalgarcombines spectacular dramatic reconstructions with tactical battle graphics and Nelson's own journals and letters to follow his incredible career. Leading authorities, including Nick Slope of the Nelson Society, Dr. Colin White of the National Maritime Museum and Dr. Kate Williams of Oxford University, provide a fascinating insight to both the man - and Britain's greatest ever naval victory.

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Cat Hogan (Carolina Main) is an isolated woman on the run from her past, a past she is forced to confront when the sudden death of her mother, Mary (Ingrid Craigie), draws her back to the family she has spent the last ten years trying to avoid.

Cat has always been the black sheep of the family and now this uncomfortable reunion awakens sinister demons and shines a suspicious light on her mother's death. Her suspicions start to mount against her father, Jim (Adrian Dunbar) when she begins to notice discrepancies in his story. Is Cat paranoid or has she discovered a terrible truth about her father? Nothing and no one can be taken at face value; the truth depends on who you ask. 'Blood' is an intimate drama and psychological thriller about family, memory, and the impact the past can have on the present.

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Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Dekalog" is one of the greatest achievements of the late twentieth century - as much an intricate work of moral philosophy as it is a collection of psychologically riveting narratives.

Each standalone stop/ revolves around the consequences arising from a breach of one of the Ten Commandments, but this is no finger-wagging religious tract: Kieslowski was one of film history's keenest observers of human nature, and his troubled, vainglorious, self-deceiving, deeply flawed characters (many played by some of Poland's finest character actors) are all too universally recognisable. "Dekalog" is merely the highlight of a box set that compiles virtually all of Kieslowski's television work, starting with his first professional short fiction film and continuing with four feature-length pieces that are in every way as probing and incisive as his better-known cinema films.