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The Best Episodes of Arena

Every episode of Arena ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Arena!

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Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. Voted by leading TV executives in Broadcast as one of the top 50 most influential programmes of all time, it has run

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BBC FourBBC Two
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Seasons5

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Arena Season 1 Episode 576 - Bob Dylan: No Direction Home: Part 1
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - Bob Dylan: No Direction Home: Part 1

    S1:E576

    Director Martin Scorsese enlists the help of Dylan himself, Joan Baez , film-maker DA Pennebaker , Greenwich Village folk icon Dave Von Ronk , and beat poet Allen Ginsberg , for an emotional, musical and intellectual journey through the singer/songwriter's early career, up to the controversial 1966 tour of the British Isles. From being a rock 'n' roll loving kid in the Midwest. Dylan tells how he became smitten with folk music and what influenced him. As his fame and notoriety grew, his skill as a performer matured rapidly and the songs began to flow: Blowin' in the Wind; Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall; Masters of War; Don't Think Twice, It's All Right.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Arena Season 1 Episode 577 - Bob Dylan: No Direction Home: Part 2
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - Bob Dylan: No Direction Home: Part 2

    S1:E577

    Martin Scorsese delicately balances Dylan's internal world with signpost images from the external as he follows the newsworthy phenomenon of a 23-year-old star laden with expectations - from the old left to become a political activist, and from the media to articulate the concerns of America's youth. But Dylan was already on the move, finding a new musical vocabulary with which to capture the complexity of a seismic cultural shift, injecting a heightened sense of poetry into his writing and committing the crime of adding electricity to his music. By 1966 Dylan's personal world had become a never-ending journey of touring and press conferences - with no direction home.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Arena Season 49 Episode 5 - Coco Chanel: Unbuttoned
    7.6/10(84 votes)

    #3 - Coco Chanel: Unbuttoned

    S49:E5

    The story of original influencer Coco Chanel, whose designs still represent the zenith of female sexuality, style and power.

    Director:Hannah Berryman
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Arena Season 1 Episode 1 - Theatre
    7.0/10(7 votes)

    #4 - Theatre

    S1:E1

    Premiere. Ronald Eyre reviews what's going on in the theatre, Kenneth Tynan talks to Laurence Olivier about Lilian Baylis and The Old Vic, and a film about David Hockney's sets for The Rake's Progress.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Arena Season 1 Episode 117 - My Way
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - My Way

    S1:E117

    Q. What do the following have in common? Frank Sinatra, Sid Vicious, Dorothy Squires, Barry John, Paul Anka, Lord George-Brown, Elvis Presley, Prof Wilfrid Mellers, Shirley Bassey, The Disapointer Sisters, The St Paul's School Choir, David Bowie, Claude Francois A. They are all doing it their way in tonight's Arena. "My Way" has become an anthem. It's been recorded over 140 times and for every artist who has put it on wax, countless others sing it in pubs, clubs and private homes. Arena investigates the appeal and staying power of a phenomenally popular song. "It was three o'clock in the morning in New York. It was pouring with rain, and it came to me: 'And now the end is near and so I face the final curtain ...'. And I said wow that's it, that's for Sinatra ... and then I cried." (Paul Anka)

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Arena Season 1 Episode 2 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Art and Design

    S1:E2

    George Melly looks at how they sold the 70's and a report on the opening of the Space Studios.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Arena

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  7. Arena Season 1 Episode 3 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Theatre

    S1:E3

    An interview with Howard Barker, author of 'Stripwell', and an extract from same; commentary by Kenneth Tynan; and an investigation of 'Birds of Paradise'.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Arena Season 1 Episode 4 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Art and Design

    S1:E4

    Cartoonist Mel Caiman on the New Yorker magazine and its artists, Richard Hamilton at the Serpentine Gallery, and a new documentary exhibition from Jarrow.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Arena Season 1 Episode 5 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Theatre

    S1:E5

    Peter Hall talks about the history and new South Band location of the National Theater, where he is artistic director.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Arena Season 1 Episode 6 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Art and Design

    S1:E6

    Features Observer critic William Feaver on Painting the End of the World, Bill Brandt's selection of landscape photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the best of science fiction illustration.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Arena Season 1 Episode 7 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Theatre

    S1:E7

    Extract from a contemporary play and Kenneth Tynan opines.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Arena Season 1 Episode 8 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Art and Design

    S1:E8

    Shirley Conran is the guest columnist; fashion photographer Barry Lategan is filmed working; and Victorian painter Edward Burne-Jones' London exhibition.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Arena Season 1 Episode 9 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Theatre

    S1:E9

    Deborah Norton reviews British stage events, a play extract, and Kenneth Tynan opines about the theatre.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Arena Season 1 Episode 10 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Art and Design

    S1:E10

    Guest columnist Terry Measham; a look into the work of painter and poet Charles Tomlinson.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Arena Season 1 Episode 11 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Theatre

    S1:E11

    Mikhail Baryshnikov and Natalia Makarova rehearse for a BBC New Year Gala Performance; Kenneth Tynan draws a portrait of Albert Finney.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Arena Season 1 Episode 12 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Art and Design

    S1:E12

    Filmmaker Roger Graef and journalist Simon Jenkins discuss the destruction of historical buildings, in light of a recent SAVE campaign report and the conclusion of the European Architectural Heritage Year.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Arena Season 1 Episode 13 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Theatre

    S1:E13

    Deborah Norton returns with reports, interviews and extracts from what is liveliest and best in the British theatrical scene.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Arena Season 1 Episode 14 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Art and Design

    S1:E14

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Arena Season 1 Episode 15 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Theatre

    S1:E15

    Jonathan Miller introduces this week's look at what is most stimulating and enjoyable on the theatrical scene.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Arena Season 1 Episode 16 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Art and Design

    S1:E16

    A look at American photographer Paul Strand and recent trends in British photography.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Arena Season 1 Episode 17 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Theatre

    S1:E17

    Arena goes to Scarborough for the British premiere of a new Alan Ayckbourn play "Just Between Ourselves".

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Arena Season 1 Episode 18 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Art and Design

    S1:E18

    Arena looks at aspects of community art and the work of painter Keith Grant, artist-in-residence at the New Charing Cross Hospital.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Arena Season 1 Episode 19 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Theatre

    S1:E19

    Claire Bloom and Kenneth Tynan discuss extracts from Samuel Beckett's 'Happy Days', George Bernard Shaw's 'Too True to be Good', and Tennessee Williams' 'Sweet Bird of Youth'.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Arena Season 1 Episode 20 - Art and Design
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Art and Design

    S1:E20

    Arena talks with Robert Janz and Dante Leonelli about incorporating time into sculpture.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Arena Season 1 Episode 21 - Theatre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Theatre

    S1:E21

    Arena brings extracts from Paris' contemporary theatre season, including Frank Wedekind's 'Lulu' and Marguerite Duras' 'Days in the Tree', and an interview with Delphine Seyrig.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Bob Dylan: No Direction Home: Part 1" is the best rated episode of "Arena". It scored 8/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 9/26/2005. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Bob Dylan: No Direction Home: Part 2".