There is a tendency these days for many documentaries to be fronted by an academic, or a specialist in certain topics, who obtrude themselves in front of the camera and guide the listeners' perceptions. Sometimes this works successfully - as in the case of Andrew Graham-Dixon - on others it can prove exceptionally wearing, especially if the presenter lacks what might be described as televisuality.
GREAT WELSH WRITERS bucks that trend by presenting a series of 30- minute profiles combining spare narration, interviews (if the writer is still alive), testimonies by friends and acquaintances, and a great deal of archive footage in the form of film, photographs and other ephemera. The emphasis is on telling the main details of the writer's life, while trying to suggest why they are still significant. For the nonspecialist viewer wanting to find out more about the authors, the programs prove an ideal introduction to them.
