Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

Front Row

Magazines & Reviews

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music

BBC Radio 4 LW

Front Row: David Lodge and TV drama The Kennedys

David Lodge and TV drama The Kennedys

04/04/2011

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, David Lodge and TV drama The Kennedys

David Lodge discusses his new novel about HG Wells; a review of TV drama The Kennedys.

David Lodge discusses his new novel about the life of HG Wells; a review of big-budget TV drama The Kennedys; and a review of new films Mars Needs Moms and The Roommate.

With Mark Lawson.

A big-budget new TV drama series The Kennedys begins this week, starring Greg Kinnear as John F Kennedy and Katie Holmes as his wife Jackie. The mini-series has already caused controversy and has a chequered history. The Washington-based journalist Rupert Cornwell reviews. 

The writer David Lodge discusses his new novel A Man of Parts, about the life of H G Wells. 

Two new films out this week cover some familiar ground. Mars Needs Moms is an animated film in which Martians visit Earth and kidnap a human for their own ends. And in The Roommate a college student soon discovers that the woman sharing her flat has a rather unhealthy and violent obsession with her. Critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh wonders whether either brings anything new to some well-worn storylines.

And as the row over the unveiling of a large statue of Michael Jackson outside the Fulham football ground by the club's owner Mohamed Al Fayed develops, Stephen Bayley considers whether it's possible to create new public statues of people which win both public and critical approval. 

Producer Nicki Paxman.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Front Row

David Lodge and TV drama The Kennedys

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4