STORM TROUPERS: THE FIGHT TO FORECAST THE WEATHER, BBC4, 9pm
IMAGINE how exciting the weather forecast would be if you lived in Kansas or California? In our drizzly country every forecast is the same, but other places might be scorched by heatwave, swept by tornado, or bruised by hysterical rain.
But our weather forecasters experience no such meteorological thrills; they’ll just plod on through the damp and “changeable” seasons, but this new three-part series shows how the history of weather forecasting has been full of risk and wacky pioneers. It tells the story of forecasting from its early days of leeches, balloons and “tempest prognosticators” to its modern days of complex computer modelling. But as anyone who’s ever planned a picnic or a trip to Blackpool will know, there’s simply no foolproof way of predicting tomorrow’s weather – but that hasn’t stopped centuries of invention.
ARTISTS IN LOVE, SKY ARTS, 8pm
A FEMINIST might wonder why the featured couples in this series, looking at creativity in famous relationships, always has the male as the prominent partner. So far we’ve had Picasso and Dora Maar; Salvador Dali and Gala, and Richard Wagner’s marriage to Cosima Liszt.
The woman plays the role of muse, supporter and sexual partner, but is never the artist in her own right, enjoying the limelight alone. Perhaps this is because, for women, being an “artist in love” usually means pregnancy and child-rearing. Can there be energy for greatness if you’re laden with bottles and baby wipes? There are famous creative marriages where children didn’t feature, such as Leigh and Olivier, or Monroe and Miller, and in these cases the women match their husbands for brilliance. Or what of the infamous Hughes and Plath marriage where Sylvia managed both brilliance and babies?
Presented by Samantha Morton, tonight’s episode looks at the marriage of Johnny Cash and his supportive wife, June. They were married for more than 30 years during which June kept the volatile Johnny stable and musically productive.
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