Hitler: The Rise Of Evil (C4): Eroica (BBC2): "HE'S so sensitive, I don't know how he will survive without me," said the dying mother.

She needn't have worried as her son went on to make a name for himself and win a place in the history books.

This was Adolf Hitler's mum speaking at the start of the two-part Hitler: The Rise Of Evil - or Hitler: The Early Years as it might just as well be called.

Despite being played by a considerable actress (Stockard Channing, better known as the US President's wife in The West Wing), Adolf's mum didn't last five minutes as this TV mini-series raced through his young life.

The problem with biopics is that they're made with the benefit of hindsight. The temptation is to make dialogue and emotions fit what people know happened later in his life.

So you get comments like "He's an odd one, isn't he?" made about young Adolf. And "I think you will find him rather persuasive," was another.

But all this was intriguing, not least because it was dealing with a part of his life that's unfamiliar to many - from his time in the trenches of the First World War, his increasing hatred of Jews, early political activities and, of course, how he grew his trademark moustache.

Full Monty and Hamish Macbeth star Robert Carlyle, not perhaps the first person you'd think of to play Hitler, did a fine job without drifting into caricature as Hitler's fanaticism and fiery public speeches earned him a reputation. People's view of him wasn't always the one he wanted, such as one observer's comment that "he's insane, a complete psychotic".

We left Hitler facing a prison sentence after being found guilty of high treason in the 1920s, despite his protests that all he wanted to do was give the nation back to the people. More follows next Saturday.

In his own way, Ludwig von Beethoven was just as driven and obsessed - by music not power - as the odd little drama Eroica demonstrated.

This was written by Nick Dear, who also penned last weekend's Bryon epic. He contented himself with recounting just one incident from the composer's life, telling in real time of the first performance of his barrier-breaking Eroica Symphony.

Inevitably, this meant there were long periods as the orchestra played and the camera lingered on the expressions of listeners. In between, we were treated to snapshots of the agony and ecstasy of producing a new piece of music.

What Beethoven needed, of course, was a sponsor so that he could compose away to his heart's content without having to worry about where the next meal was coming from. Happily, Jack Davenport's Prince Loblowitz paid 2,000 florins for six months exclusive rights to the symphony.

His audience at the rehearsal included another composer, Haydn (Frank Finlay), who popped along for a listen. "Quite, quite new," was his verdict. Beethoven's main critic was Count Dietrichstein (Tim Pigott-Smith, in full sneering mode) who found the piece "needlessly violent". Beethoven was having none of this. "Difficult is good. Difficult is beautiful. Difficult is closer to the truth," he said.

The Count continued, talking of the "tasteless inter-marriage of the diatonic and chromatic". Yes, but did he like it.

Published: 06/10/2003