Whimsy: January 2015 Archives
The BBC has digitized and posted online 86 years of radio and TV listings from the Radio Times as a starting point for a comprehensive, searchable database of its prodigious output. The public is invited to edit for scanning errors and schedule changes. Searches turn up some interesting stuff: In August 1941, C. S. Lewis began a series of five weekly talks on "Right and Wrong." Winston Churchill's first appearance is on 27 June 1924, on "Children's Corner" discussing Alexander the Great and Darius, King of Persia. Comedian Tony Hancock debuted on the TV variety show New to You on November 1, 1948. Better known these days for his political writing and filling in for Rush Limbaugh, Mark Steyn showed up frequently in the schedule from 1985 to 1995 presenting programs about Broadway musicals and the Great American Songbook, hosting "Kaleidoscope," a chat show called "Postcard from Gotham," a series on musicals called "The Land Where the Good Songs Go," and a musicals-themed panel game called "Let's Do the Show Right Here."
