The Mark Steel Lectures. Mark Steel
The Mark Steel Lectures

The Mark Steel Lectures

  • TV factual / stand-up
  • BBC Four
  • 2002 - 2006
  • 18 episodes (3 series)

Series telling the story of some of the world's greatest names, from Byron to Pankhurst, in an accessible, comic manner. Features Mark Steel and Martin Hyder.

Episode menu

Series 1, Episode 4 - Aristotle

With his philosophical subjects ranging from ballooning to Sue Barker , Aristotle is the fourth of Steel's subjects in an irreverent look at people who changed the way we think.

Further details

Mark Steel traces the history of Greek Philosophy from Pythagoras ("never ate beans"), to Plato ("old and bald"), to Aristotle ("made lists of Olympic champions for fun, and possibly a bugger for the bottle, or possibly not").

The lecture takes in all the important areas of classical philosophy, including ethics, Sue Barker, whether the Four Tops are really the Four Tops at all, incontinence and Jim Davidson, ballooning, and why Aristotle would have disapproved of Orange marches.

Filmed at the Parthenon and across Athens, Mark Steel brings you the Aristotle that history has forgotten; the one that liked a pretty girl, a shop full of beds and a KFC, and just maybe a drink as well.

Broadcast details

Date
Tuesday 28th October 2003
Time
10pm
Channel
BBC Four
Length
30 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast
Mark Steel Host / Presenter
Martin Hyder Ensemble Actor
Guest cast
Beth Chalmers Ensemble Actor
Writing team
Mark Steel Writer
Pete Sinclair Writer (Additional Material)
James Serafinowicz (as James Sezchuan) Writer (Additional Material)
Phil Clarke Script Editor
Production team
Michael Cumming Director
Jon Rolph Producer
Graham Smith Executive Producer
Jon Blow Editor
Claire Buckett (as Clare Buckett) Make-up Designer

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