| The South Bank Show | |
|---|---|
| Format | Arts |
| Presented by | Melvyn Bragg |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | LWT |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Original run | 14 January 1978 – Present |
The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show, made by London Weekend Television, presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA. Its stated aim is to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.
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It first aired on 14 January 1978, with a show about Germaine Greer, Gerald Scarfe and Paul McCartney. It is now the longest continuously running arts programme on UK television, and the third longest-running series of any kind on ITV (after Coronation Street and Emmerdale).
From the beginning the series intention was to mix so-called high art with popular culture. This has remained, and the programme has always focused predominantly on art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
It has been awarded more than 110 awards (including 12 BAFTAs, 6 Emmys, 5 Prix Italia and 4 RTS Awards). Even Pat Gavin's animated title sequences have won 2 BAFTAs.
There have been many subjects of the show, including:
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Sir David Lean once said, "The best directors in Britain are working on The South Bank Show." Directors who have made editions of the programme include:
The famous theme music is taken from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Variations composed in 1977 for his brother, the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. This is based on the theme from Paganini's "24th Caprice". The brand image of the programme is an animated version of a detail from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling painting, specifically the image of the Hand of God giving life to Adam. It shows the two hands meeting, generating a lightning bolt.
The comedy series Dead Ringers often parodies The South Bank Show. It does this in a series of sketches called South Bank, a cross between The South Bank Show and the American cartoon South Park, set in the South Bank of London. In these sketches, Melvyn Bragg is Stan Marsh, Alan Yentob is Kyle Broflovski, Mark Lawson is Eric Cartman and Kenneth Branagh is Kenny McCormick.
Harry Enfield's TV film Norbert Smith - a Life is a parody edition of the South Bank Show.
From 18 September 2006, ITV have begun releasing a podcast of the interviews from the show, including extra material that isn't broadcast. There are plans to release past interviews as part of the podcast as well.[1]
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