Welcome back to On the Box, the programme that looks at the very best of this week's TV. Before the break we showed you some stunning photos of 17-year-old British dancer Ashley Green. And this evening we're going to be discussing Nine Months in Havana. a documentary about Ashley's experiences with the famous Cuban National Ballet in the country's capital. Julie, why don't you start us off? What did you think of the programme?
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Well, I found it fascinating from start to finish. I think we learned a lot about Havana and about the Cuban National Ballet and, of course, about Ashley himself.
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What did you think of him, Julie?
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I thought he was absolutely charming and also very brave to leave his family in England. to travel to Havana all alone, without speaking a word of Spanish, and to survive nine months training with the Cuban National Ballet. Not easy, not easy at all.
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Do you agree, Peter? Was he brave?
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Well, no, I'm afraid I disagree with Julie. I didn't think he was brave at all. I found him rather annoying, to tell the truth. He seemed to spend all his time complaining. He had no friends, he missed his family, the training was very hard, the weather was too hot. Just one thing after another.
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Well, I agree with you up to a point, but he felt so alone. He couldn't communicate with the other dancers.
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Well, why didn't he learn Spanish before he left England? If he'd done that, he would have been able to make friends. We were told that he speaks four other languages, so he clearly has a talent for it.
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I thought the family he was staying with were lovely. They did everything they could to make him feel at home
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I couldn't agree more. And isn't it fascinating to get a glimpse inside a real Cuban home?
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Absolutely. What interested me as well was to look behind the scenes at the Cuban National Ballet. How hard those dancers have to train. It's incredible! How many days a week did Ashley train? Five? Six? And how many hours a day? Extraordinary!
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Well, if you missed nine months in Havana, which was shown last night, it will be repeated next month. And now we move on to a programme which has caused great controversy in recent weeks, and which I know Julie now flatly refuses to watch.
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Listen 5 times
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Lesson 3: Conversation
Hey Kurt, that was a big audience this evening.
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Yes, it was great. We nearly ran out of chairs.
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I was surprised, weren't you?
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Not really. West Side Story is a well-known film with great music and fantastic performances.
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And what amazing dancers. How do they move so fast?
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Practice, Liam. Practice. Dancing is really hard work. Did you see the documentary on TV last night about students at the Cuban National Ballet? Their rehearsals looked really exhausting. Everything has to be perfect
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No, I didn't watch that. I prefer documentaries about events that are happening now.
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You mean current affairs?
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Yes. I think it's important for people to know what's going on in the world.
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Yes, I agree. It's good to be well informed. But some TV programs only tell you one side of things, you know?
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Yes, you're right. I watched a program about exploring for oil. Really, it was so one-sided.
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Oh, was it? Why?
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It gave the impression there was no risk at all in drilling into any part of the earth to find oil, and that pollution is only a small problem. That's just not true.
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Yes, I can see that environmentalists might have a different view.
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Absolutely. And there are some great documentary films about climate change and its effect on the environment.
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Yes, and some fantastic nature documentaries. You can watch animals that you'll never really see yourself, unless you become an explorer.
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That's true. What about showing one for a film club?
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Maybe. Or we could suggest one for the arts festival. Tasha has asked us for ideas, remember?
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Oh, yes.
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Gustav wants us to show a biographical documentary of Mozart because there's a whole concert of his music.
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That's a great idea.
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Perhaps we could show a series of different documentary films as well as some feature films. What do you think
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Sounds great to me. Let's get back to Tasha and see what she thinks.
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Listen 5 times
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Lesson Heading
He is review of documentary about using animals in science
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Preview
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Sharing the Planet: Animals in Science
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Science Channel, 9.30pm
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Sharing the Planet is a five-part documentary showing how humans relate to the rest of the animal kingdom on planet Earth.
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The series as a whole looks at the exploitation of animals, and also the great lengths people go to to protect endangered species.
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The programmes are presented by Professor Stan Collins, who is a lesding expert in the field of zoology.
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He has travelled the globe investigating the different attitudes people have towards animals from ivory hunters in Africa, to projects which have been set up in the outback of Australia for the protection of kangaroos and wallabies.
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In this first episode, Animals in Science, he concentrates on the use of animals in scientific experiments.
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He interviews the scientists who are convinced that these experiments are necessary and of huge value to the well-being of humans.
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He also talks to those who are opposed to using animals in this way and will go to great lengths - even breaking the law - to prevent it.
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This programme, which is a serious investigation into the issur, contains some disturbing images and is not for the faint-hearted.
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Last Night's TV
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Sharing the Planet: Animals in Science
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Science Channel 9.30pm
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Animals in Science was the first of a five-part documentary looking at the relationship between humans and animals.
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This first programme was presented by the eminent zoologist, Professor Stan Collins, who looked at the way animals are used in scientifics experiments.
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The documentary sets out to give viewers information about how and why animals are used in this way by talking to the scientists involved, and also examining the views of individulas and organisations opposed to the experiments.
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Professor Collins was a skilled interviewer.
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When he spoke to people, he didn't bully them or try to put words in their mouth.
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I got the impression, however, that he was on the side of the scientists if their work was medical reseatch but he had little time for those using animals to find a longer-lasting lipstick or a super-stay-on mascara.
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If the programme had spent more time investigating the use of animals in non-medical experiments, it would have been more balanced in my opinion.
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I have always been aware that using animals in scientific experiments went on though I didn't really know anything about it.
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The programme was very informative, explaining what actually happens and how it is regulated by law.
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I was interested to find out that scientists involved in this area follow the 'three Rs code'.
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This approach centres on: Replacement - replacing animal procedures with non-animal procedures wherever possible; Reduction - minimizing the unmber of animals uesd; and Refinement - improving the experiments so animals suffer as little as possible.
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The programme did include some distubing scenes of animals in high-tech labs and I, for one, felt very uncomfortable even though the scientists explanined the crucial nature of the research for cancer and heart patients.
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Apparently, there are some experiments that cannot be done without animals.
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Despite it being obvious that the programme makers wanted viewers to understand the need for animal testing, those opposed to it were given a voice.
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The main arguments were that animal testing can be misleading as an animal's response to a drug can be different to a human's; the stress that animals endure in labs can affect experiments, making the results meaningless; and that animals have as much right to life as human beings.
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They also said that the argument that animal testing relieves human suffering does not hold water when animals are still being used to test items like cleaning products.
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Unfortunately, Professor Collins did not ask the scientists to comment on that one!
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The programme ended whith Proffessor Collins speaking straight to camera.
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He posed the question: "If you ou your loved ones could be saved from a life-threatening comdititon, would you refuse treatment if you knew that the drug or procedure was the result of animal experiments?"
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That's a tricky one for most of us but for those in the programme who saw an animal's right to life as equal to a human's, I think I know what the answer would be.
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The programme was very interesting.
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It was based on thorough research and up-to-the-minute information and left viewers a lot to think about.
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As a non'scientist, I didn't feel that it went over my head, and I will certainly be watching the rest of the series.
