All Seasons

Season 1

  • S01E01 Breaking Stories

    • March 28, 2012
    • BBC Two

    Greg Hemphill celebrates sixty years of television in Scotland with a look at some great moments of TV journalism. Including Fyfe Robertson's stylish reports on horseback for Tonight and Duncan Campbell's Secret Society episode which landed the BBC in trouble with the government in 1985. Plus Kirsty Wark's Thatcher interview, the coverage of a trio of tragedies that struck Scotland - Lockerbie, Piper Alpha and Dunblane - to the more recent Panorama investigation of Britain's homecare scandal.

  • S01E02 Having A Laugh

    • April 4, 2012
    • BBC Two

    This episode traces the evolution of comedy from the 1950s and features the best of Scottish humour on the box. Scottish comedy expresses and mocks national identity, giving us the chance to laugh at ourselves and our foibles, sometimes in a very bleak way. It also makes full use of the Scots language, from Chick Murray through Rab C Nesbitt to Burnistoun.

  • S01E03 Mean Streets

    • April 11, 2012
    • BBC Two

    Celebrating 60 years of television in Scotland, a look at how Scotland's cities have featured heavily in Scottish television drama. Writer Peter McDougall's groundbreaking plays represented, for the first time on television, working class Scotland: its poverty, sectarianism, drink and drug problems and its hard men. Shoot for the Sun got under the skin of eighties Edinburgh, Jute City featured Thatcherite criminals in Dundee and The Steamie presented a nostalgic look back to a vanished Glasgow. With contributions from Brian Cox, David Hayman and Eileen McCallum.

  • S01E04 Characters

    • April 18, 2012
    • BBC Two

    Greg Hemphill celebrates sixty years of television in Scotland, with a look at the memorable characters that have lit up the small screen. From Danny McGlone in Tutti Frutti, through to Chris Guthrie in Sunset Song and Dr Finlay and Hamish Macbeth, Greg explores how Scottish drama established unforgettable cult characters. With contributions from Robbie Coltrane, Vivien Heilbron and Katie Murphy.

  • S01E05 Other Lives

    • April 25, 2012
    • BBC Two

    Celebrating 60 years of television in Scotland this episode shows the power of documentary to give people a voice who would normally not be heard. Television programmes such as Lilybank and The Scheme presented those living on the breadline. A riveting documentary about Barlinnie's ground breaking Special Unit gives a voice to some of Scotland's most notorious prisoners. The Bowler and the Bunnet directed by Sean Connery - and The Fight for Clydeside show the slow decline of Scotland's most prominent industry, Shipbuilding and those fighting to save it. Films such as Culloden and The Cheviot the Stag and the Black, Black Oil, presented history from the point of view of the underdog. And the iconic documentary, The Boy David.

  • S01E06 Sporting Life

    • May 2, 2012
    • BBC Two

    Celebrating 60 years of television in Scotland, this episode tells the story of sports broadcasting in Scotland from the earliest days of Sportscene and Scotsport to the era of Setanta and Sky. Arthur Montford, Archie Macpherson, Sally McNair, Chick Young and Dougie Donnelly talk about the changes in the way sport is portrayed on television, looking at some of Scotland's most memorable sporting moments, and how sporting events serve as celebrations of Scottish national identity, making their mark on the Scottish psyche.

  • S01E07 Hearts in the Heartland

    • May 9, 2012
    • BBC Two

    Celebrating 60 years of television in Scotland, this episode explores Scottish television's fascination with our glorious landscape. From Weir's Way to The Munro Show, there's a never-ending desire to climb mountains so the audience doesn't have to. There are also the Scots who emigrated and either long to come home, or do their best to preserve their own notion of Scottishness in the new country. Including the iconic Miss Scotland 1979.

Season 2

  • S02E01 Swashbuckled

    • December 23, 2012
    • BBC Two

    This episode revisits the heyday of the Scottish historical drama including Rob Roy and Kidnapped.

  • S02E02 Baubles and Bells

    • December 30, 2012
    • BBC Two

    Celebrating 60 years of television in Scotland with a look at Christmas and Hogmanay programmes. From the BBC's White Heather Club with Andy Stewart to the disco dancing specials of STV, the broadcasters engaged in 'the battle of the bells'. Hogmanay shows have, for better or worse, defined our culture at this very Scottish time of year. Duncan Macrae's Wee Cock Sparra set the comic tone before Scotch and Wry, and Jimmy Shand kept the ceilidh reeling long before Phil Cunningham. And as the world celebrated the millennium, strange forces terrorised the locals of High Road.

  • S02E03 Vital Sparks

    • January 7, 2013
    • BBC Two

    This episode focuses on Scottish culture with a look at groundbreaking programmes capturing artists at work.

  • S02E04 Burns Night

    • January 25, 2013
    • BBC Two

    Celebrating 60 years of television in Scotland, this programme looks at the weird and wonderful ways television has celebrated the life and works of our most cherished national poet, Robert Burns. From the kitsch to the clever, the far-out to the fabled, Burns has been a staple of Scottish television since production began. Featuring interviews with the legendary John Cairney and writers, Andrew O'Hagan and William McIlvanney.