''Omnibus'' is a British

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

series broadcast mainly on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. The programme was the successor to the arts-based series ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

''. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12

British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

(BAFTA) awards.

History

For one season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by

Barry Norman Barry Leslie Norman (21 August 1933 – 30 June 2017) was a British film critic, television presenter and journalist. He presented the BBC's cinema review programme, '' Film...'', from 1972 to 1998. Early life Born at St Thomas' Hospital, Lo ...

. In 2001, the BBC announced that the programme was being switched to

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, 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 matte ...

, prompting accusations that the corporation was further marginalising its arts programming."BBC arts chief defends Omnibus switch"
by Jason Deans, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 6 February 2001 BBC controller of arts commissioning

Roly Keating Sir Roland Francis Kester Keating (born 5 August 1961) is a British executive who was chief executive of the British Library from September 2012 to December 2024. Early life and education Keating was born on 5 August 1961 to Donald Norman Keati ...

defended the move, saying "the documentary strand will be able to tackle a wider range of subjects." Regarded as its "flagship arts programme", ''Omnibus'' was one of only two regular arts programmes broadcast by the BBC. In late 2002, the BBC announced that ''Omnibus'' would be cancelled the following year, to be replaced by the arts series ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'', hosted by

Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (11 March 1947 – 24 May 2025) was an English television executive and presenter. He held senior roles at the BBC, including head of music and arts, controller of BBC1 and BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadca ...

Selected list of programmes

Among the series' best remembered documentaries are: * ''

Song of Summer ''Song of Summer'' is a 1968 black-and-white television episode co-written, produced, and directed by Ken Russell for the BBC's '' Omnibus'' series which was first broadcast on 15 September 1968. It portrays the final six years of Frederick De ...

'' (1968) biographical film by

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of ...

about

Frederick Delius file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (born Fritz Theodor Albert Delius; ; 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prospero ...

and

Eric Fenby Eric William Fenby OBE (22 April 190618 February 1997) was an English composer, conductor, pianist, organist and teacher who is best known for being Frederick Delius's amanuensis from 1928 to 1934. He helped Delius realise a number of works t ...

* ''

Cracked Actor ''Cracked Actor'' (also known as ''Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie'' and ''Cracked Actor: David Bowie'') is a 1975 television documentary film about the musician David Bowie, made by Alan Yentob for the BBC's '' Omnibus'' strand. It wa ...

'' (1975), a profile of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

during the peak of his cocaine addiction * ''

Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood ''Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood'', also known as ''Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision'', is a documentary film produced by BBC '' Omnibus'' in 1978 on the subject of Hunter S. Thompson, directed by Nigel Finch. The film pairs Thomp ...

'' (1978), follows American Gonzo Journalist

Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author, regarded as a pioneer of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. He rose to prom ...

and British artist

Ralph Steadman Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator and collaborator with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman draws satirical political cartoons, social caricatures, and picture books. Early life Steadman was born in ...

on a trip to Hollywood during the development of a film based on Thompson's life and work. * ''Rene Magritte'' (1979), a graduate film by David Wheatley. * '' Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story'' (1984), a documentary about a studio recording of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

conducting his own music from ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

''. Bernstein had not previously conducted the 1957 musical. The episode won the Robert Flaherty Award for the best television documentary in 1986. * Anna Benson-Gyles ''Madonna: Behind the American dream'' (1990), a film produced by Nadia Hagger. 7.7 million people watched this episode, which was slightly higher that the average audience of 3.1 million. * ''Van Gogh'' (1991) * Profile of British film director

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

(1992) * A two-hour career overview of director

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

(1995) * A documentary about

The K Foundation The K Foundation was an art foundation set up by Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, formerly of The KLF, in 1993, following their 'retirement' from the music industry. The Foundation served as an artistic outlet for the duo's post-retirement KLF inc ...

's various art projects (1995).

References

External links

*
''Omnibus''
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

1967 British television series debuts 2003 British television series endings 1960s British documentary television series 1970s British documentary television series 1980s British documentary television series 1990s British documentary television series 2000s British documentary television series BBC television documentaries British English-language television shows {{UK-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub

History

Selected list of programmes

See also

References

External links