''Screen Two'' is a

British television Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transm ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

drama series, produced by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and transmitted on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

from 1985 to 1998 (not to be confused with a run of films shown on BBC2 under the billing ''Screen 2'' between April 1977 and March 1978).

Format

Following the demise of the BBC's ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'', which ran from 1970 to 1984, producer Kenith Trodd was asked to formulate a new series of one-off television dramas. However, while ''Play for Today''s style had been a largely studio-based form of theatre on television, the new series was shot entirely on film. This was an attempt by the BBC to repeat the success of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's television films, many of which had been released in cinemas. From 1989 to 1998, a companion series, ''

Screen One ''Screen One'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide, that was transmitted on BBC One from 1989 to 1998. A total of six series were broadcast, incorporating sixty individual films, s ...

'', was broadcast on the more mainstream BBC1. After appearing more sporadically in the mid-1990s, ''Screen Two'' ended with Series 15 as the BBC moved away from single dramas and concentrated production on

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

and serials instead. The last programme shown under the ''Screen Two'' name was

Stephen Poliakoff Stephen Poliakoff (born 1 December 1952) is a British playwright, Film director, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of ''The Independent'' described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" and that he had "inherited Dennis Po ...

's '' The Tribe'' in June 1998.

Plays

References

External links

*
''Screen Two''
on

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

1985 British television series debuts 1998 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series 1990s British drama television series 1980s British anthology television series 1990s British anthology television series British drama television series BBC television dramas BBC anthology television shows British English-language television shows