Arena is a British television documentary series, which has run in occasional seasons on BBC Two, and latterly BBC Four, since 1975, debuting on Wednesday October 1 that year. It was conceived by the producer Alan Yentob, who also did on-camera presenting and interviewing work for the programme. It covers all manner of subjects, from profiles of notable people such as Dennis Potter to the Ford Cortina car. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Alan Yentob (born March 11, 1947) is a British television executive. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... BBC Four Ident BBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television (Freeview, satellite and cable) viewers in the UK. The successor to an earlier digital channel called BBC Knowledge, BBC Four began on March 2, 2002 – its first evenings programmes being simulcast on BBC Two. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A television documentary is a documentary or a series of documentaries that are meant to be broadcasted on television. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... BBC Four Ident BBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television (Freeview, satellite and cable) viewers in the UK. The successor to an earlier digital channel called BBC Knowledge, BBC Four began on March 2, 2002 – its first evenings programmes being simulcast on BBC Two. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Alan Yentob (born March 11, 1947) is a British television executive. ... Liber Amoris Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935—7 June 1994) was a controversial British dramatist who is best known for several widely acclaimed television dramas which mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. ... The Ford Cortina was a medium sized family car sold by Ford of Britain in various guises from 1962 to 1982. ...

On occasion, Arena has presented theme nights examining a single subject from in various ways, including an "Animals Night" (16 December 1989), "Food Night" (15 December 1990) and the ambitious "Radio Night", simulcast on BBC2 and BBC Radio 4 on 18 December 1993 and linked by Peter Cook and Josie Lawrence as the voices of television and radio respectively. Simulcast is a contraction of simultaneous broadcast, and refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium at the same time. ... BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of chiefly spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English satirist, writer and comedian. ... Josie Lawrence (born Wendy Lawrence, 6 June 1959) is an English comedian and actress. ...

In 1988, Arena itself was the subject of an edition titled "Ten Green Bottles" (a reference to its iconic title sequence, which depicts a floating green bottle with a neon sign inside).

In a 2000 poll of industry professionals conducted by the British Film Institute to find the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, Arena was placed 95th. The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and... 100 Greatest British Television Programmes was a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI) chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened. ...

In 2005, Martin Scorsese's film documentary on Bob Dylan, No Direction Home, was co-produced by Arena and shown as a part of that series in the UK, airing in two parts on September 26 and 27. Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (born November 17, 1942) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Directors Guild of America award winning American film director, writer and producer and founder World Cinema Foundation. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for four decades. ... DVD cover No Direction Home is a documentary by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and how he managed to make such a big impact in the 20th century. ...

The programme's evocative theme music is "Another Green World" by Brian Eno. Another Green World is an album by experimental musician Brian Eno, released in November 1975 (see 1975 in music). ... Brian Eno (pronounced ) (born Brian Peter George St. ...

The most recent episode was on BBC Four, on January 1, 2007, about the radio soap opera The Archers. BBC Four Ident BBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television (Freeview, satellite and cable) viewers in the UK. The successor to an earlier digital channel called BBC Knowledge, BBC Four began on March 2, 2002 – its first evenings programmes being simulcast on BBC Two. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... For Philippine soap opera, see Teleserye. ... This entry is about the radio series; for other meanings, see The Archers (disambiguation). ...

References

• Vahimagi, Tise. British Television: An Illustrated Guide. Oxford. Oxford University Press / British Film Institute. 1994. ISBN 0-19-818336-4.

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ... The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...

External links

• Arena at 30 site at bbc.co.uk.