Documentaries I Saw In 2018
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- DirectorRobert TrachtenbergStarsMel BrooksRobert TrachtenbergJohnny CarsonIn 60-years in show business, he has earned more awards than any other living entertainer. A comedy giant of our time, Melvin Kaminsky developed his aggressively funny personality on the streets of Brooklyn, and the Catskill Mountains, before landing a writers job on the legendary "Your Show of Shows". The first "2000 Year Old Man" album, recorded with Carl Reiner in the early '60s, unleashed his wacky mind on the world. His brazen satirical film "The Producers" won the 1968 Oscar for best screenplay and such cult classics as "Blazing Saddles", "Young Frankenstein", and "High Anxiety" followed. Brooks has never participated in a biography before and requested that his friends not talk about him - until now - making this film a genuine first.
- 1985– TV-147.4 (76)TV EpisodeDirectorJoe LauroStarsDavid BartholomewFats DominoCosimo MatassaThe New Orleans rhythm and blues of Fats Domino helped aid integration in the South.
- DirectorJohn ScheinfeldStarsGracie AllenWoody AllenAnn-MargretA look at the life and career of Bob Hope.
- DirectorRobert TrachtenbergStarsLouis ArmstrongFred AstairePearl BaileyAmerican Masters looks at one of the most prolific entertainers in history; Bing Crosby. The special looks into his family life and into a career that spanned decades over film, music, and live entertainment.
- DirectorDoug HamiltonStarsRichard BransonSteven ChuAl Gore
- StarsCorey JohnsonRichard GreenwoodMark BosloughScientist relish the wealth of data available from the Chelyabinsk meteor impact to determine, for the first time, the physical details of a large meteor strike.
- DirectorRic BurnsStarsArtemus CraggCalypso CraggJulian ElferRecounts the founding (1620) and early years of the Plymouth Colony in the 17th century. Includes the real story of the "First Thanksgiving".
- DirectorJames BrundigeStarsMichael ChaseThomas ChobeMartin DavisFrom Yellowstone to the Yukon, to Southern Africa's elephant highways stretching across five nations, explore how newly established wildlife corridors may offer a glimmer of hope to some of our planet's most cherished-but endangered-species.
- DirectorOwen PalmquistKirk WolfingerStarsRobert BallardRobert ChurchGordon ClaudiusThe wreckage of WWII-era German submarine U-166, which sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 1942, is examined. The U-boat was part of Operation Drumbeat, a Nazi operation that targeted East Coast cities and merchant ships.
- 1985– 1h 53mNot Rated7.8 (111)TV EpisodeDirectorVikram JayantiStarsLoretta LynnBill AndersonMichael AptedSinger-songwriter Loretta Lynn balances family and a music career that has spanned 50 years.
- DirectorEric StangeStarsChris SarandonBen SchnetzerKathleen TurnerThe life of noted American author and poet Edgar Allan Poe is examined in this PBS documentary.
- The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is known and marketed as the world's most luxurious and romantic train. Comprised of 17 unique 1920's carriages, this train has carried the rich and famous across France, Italy, Switzerland, and Turkey for nearly a century. This program follows the stories of staff and passengers and reveals what it takes to provide calming luxury in a world of fast travel.
- DirectorJoshua ZemanStarsRachel MillsJoshua ZemanStephen WinickDelving into our collective nightmares, this horror-documentary investigates the origins of our most terrifying urban legends and the true stories that may have inspired them.
- DirectorTom CookIan DuncanStarsJ.W. BestJim CarterGrismond Davies-ScourfieldAero engineers and carpenters attempt to replicate an ingenious escape plan from Oflag IV-C, a POW camp at Colditz Castle in Germany that held Allied officers during World War II, to see if it would have succeeded.
- DirectorDuncan CoppStarsLance LewmanHolly GilbertBill MurtaghNova reviews what scientists have learned in recent years about the sun's behavior and how it works. Most significantly, astronomers are at last beginning to understand the the solar phenomenon that impact our civilization; solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
- DirectorLouise WardleStarsAlastair BruceDetailing the daily lives, responsibilities, and dress of the upper class, Alastair Bruce, historical Downton Abbey advisor, takes us on a journey through 1900s Britain.
- DirectorGisela KaufmannStarsGordon BurghardtEric PiankaChristian RutzThis program reviews the monitor lizard genus which, dispute the incredible diversity between species, share common traits such as the ability to count, that lead biologists to peg them as the most evolutionarily advanced of the lizards. Dr. Eric Pianka, who studied lizards for forty years in Australia, serves as guide. Program concludes with the customary, trite comment on human impact on climate change and the environment.
- DirectorTerri RandallStarsCraig SechlerRichard FrenchJonathan LunineFor over a decade, the Cassini space probe has been sending dazzling images of Saturn's breathtaking rings and mysterious moons. Join Nova on a suspenseful ride during Cassini's final hours as it dives into Saturn's atmosphere.
- DirectorAnn Johnson PrumStarsChris MorganBird nests come in all shapes and sizes, crafted from a diversity of materials, including fur, grasses, leaves, mosses, sticks and twigs, bones, wool, mud and spider silk. Quite a few contain man-made materials -- twine, bits of wire, even plastic bags. Each is a work of art, built with just a beak! All over the world, birds in the wild arrive at diverse nesting grounds to collect, compete for, reject, steal and begin to build with carefully selected materials, crafting homes for the task of protecting their eggs and raising their young.
- DirectorIan BremnerStarsAndrew BevanJohn ClementsXiuzhen LiNova's examination or how thousands to terra cotta soldiers in Qin dynasty's terra cotta army were created digresses into reviews of Qin history and technology.
- DirectorSarah HoltBen LawrieRoss YoungStarsCraig SechlerMark NorellStephen BrusatteInvestigate how an asteroid vanquished the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Join scientists as they drill into the impact crater and, for the first time, reconstruct the hell on earth that unfolded in the minutes, hours and months after the impact.
- DirectorRick SebakStarsRick SebakCelebrate pre-Disney parks and check out old wooden roller coasters and other classic rides across America's historic amusement parks today.
- DirectorTimothy Greenfield-SandersStarsErin Brockovich-EllisKim CattrallDeepak ChopraThe baby boomer generation (1946-1964) has significantly and uniquely changed our world. 2014 marks an important shift in American culture, as the last boomers turn 50.
- DirectorPeter FisonStarsEric MeyersDoug EmlenDoug AverillWhy some animals have extreme armaments, including claws, horns, fangs and stings.
- DirectorJohn CapenerStarsCraig SechlerAuguste von BayernJohn MarzluffJoin NOVA to witness the brainpower of birds. Long mocked as empty-headed, our feathered friends hide surprisingly acute intelligence. But how smart are they? Watch as scientists test avian aptitude and challenge our basic notions of intelligence.
- DirectorLucy SmithStarsPaul ChristieFor centuries, the mysterious nighttime lives and uncanny hunting skills of owls have made them fascinating hallmarks of children's stories and folk tales the world over. But what actually makes owls so special? Bird trainers Lloyd and Rose Buck and their very special family of owls, eagles, falcons, geese, pigeons, and two newly-hatched barn owls - Luna and Lily - provide a rare opportunity to learn more about these unique birds. Using the latest in camera technology, computer graphics, x-rays and super-sensitive microphones, we can take a brand new look at owls in more detail than ever before. The real stories behind how they hunt, how their vision and hearing works, and how they fly so silently are influencing 21st century technology and design.
- StarsJames ProsekFrom PBS - Though much of the natural world is discovered and understood, a few great mysteries remain. Consider the eel: snakelike, slimy, with a row of jagged teeth. Aside from these fearsome qualities, we know little about its life -- where it goes, what it does and how it dies. Hailed by poets as the "siren of the North Sea" and "love's arrow on earth," this shadowy creature has fascinated researchers for centuries. Now James Prosek, artist, writer and eminent naturalist, takes on the mystery of the eel, shedding light on the animal and the strange behavior it inspires in those who seek to know it.
- DirectorDavid AllenStarsJoe HuttoJeff PalmerNaturalist Jim Hutto's remarkable experience of being imprinted on by a group of wild turkey hatchlings, and raising them to adulthood and beyond, in the remote wilderness of northern Florida.
- DirectorRushmore DeNooyerStarsJanna LevinRainer WeissEilat GlikmanAstrophysicist Janna Levin explores black hole science.
- DirectorAnna Lee StrachanStarsJan MaxwellJoseph LeDouxDaniela SchillerAn examination of how memory works. Included: research being done by neuroscientists, who've studied everyone from an 11 year old with extraordinary recall to a woman who had false memories implanted in her mind.
- DirectorTerri RandallStarsRonald ArkinRodney BrooksArmando De La RosaMachines with human-like capabilities have long been the stuff of science fiction. Until now. Meet the world's most advanced humanoid robots as they leave the lab, battle real-world challenges, and endeavor to become part of our everyday lives.
- DirectorSarah HoltStarsSean BohanAlison GoateJohn HardyThe work of scientists to determine the cause of Alzheimer's disease is detailed. Included: major drug trials aimed at discovering therapies to slow and even prevent the disease.
- DirectorPhil BertelsenStarsAmir Abo-ShaeerRene AldereteRusslynn AliHow the science of learning may change education for all children.
- DirectorKate DartDoug HamiltonStarsDebbie BerebichezLung S. ChanLisa DongThis program explains the formation, chemistry, variations and allure of the most notable gemstones; diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, jade and opals.
- DirectorTerri RandallStarsAomawa BakerEdo BergerJeanette CainesHistory's most important metals and how they advanced civilization.
- DirectorKate DartDoug HamiltonStarsPaul EkinsZhiqiang FengJanice GillespieAn examination of fossil fuels. Included: modern-day oil prospecting in California; and a utility company that struggles to keep the lights on during hot summer days.
- 1985– TV-147.3 (29)TV EpisodeStarsBlythe DannerPeter FranzénSaarinen designed National Historic Landmarks such as St. Louis Gateway Arch and General Motors Technical Center and also modernist pedestal furniture. This influential American architect's life was cut short by his sudden death at age 51.
- StarsGeoffrey BaerTen city parks designed by visionaries to offer an oasis for city dwellers are discussed. An overview of the evolution of American city parks and their history, as well as development of landscape architecture.
- StarsGeoffrey Baer10 Buildings That Changed America tells the stories of ten influential works of architecture, the people who imagined them, and the way these landmarks ushered in innovative cultural shifts throughout our society.
- StarsGeoffrey BaerTen towns designed or re-designed by visionary architects, corporations and citizen are highlighted. All share the goal to transform the lives of their residents through architecture, design and urban planning.
- DirectorJohn Hayes FisherStarsSimon FosterNigel FroudeDon HallArchaeologists and divers recover remains of ships and planes that were lost in Dunkirk, France during World War II.
- DirectorTerri RandallStarsAlice BowmanMike BrownAndrew ChengNOVA captures New Horizons' historic flyby of Pluto, the culmination of the spacecraft's nine-year, three-billion-mile journey to reveal the first ever detailed images of this strange, icy world at the very edge of our solar system.
- StarsGeoffrey BaerTen American homes designed by visionary architects, their eclectic clients and current homeowners are highlighted. Each home combined form, function and art to challenge the nature of a home and evolving relationship with it.
- DirectorGraham TownsleyStarsJay O. SandersAlberto NavaAlex AlvarezThe remains of a 13,000-year-old skeleton of a prehistoric teenager are located in an underwater cave in Mexico.
- DirectorNoel DockstaderQuinn KanalyStarsLane WestBertrand PiccardNils RyserTwo pilots fly a solar-powered airplane around the world.
- DirectorVirginia QuinnStarsHenry Louis Gates Jr.George LampteyRichard LeakeyThe host Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores what is considered to be the cradle of civilization where first modern humans emerged some 200,000 years ago, and covers African history from Mitochondrial Eve to the ancient Kingdom of Kush.
- 201752mTV-PG7.2 (27)TV EpisodeDirectorVirginia QuinnStarsHenry Louis Gates Jr.Around the 12th century, the Horn of Africa was not just the center of East African trade but also a place heavily influenced by both Islam and Christianity.
- DirectorMark BatesStarsHenry Louis Gates Jr.Lamin TambaConflicts over trade routs through Sahara in the 11th century lead to the rise of new prosperous African empires - the Empire of Ghana, the Almoravid Empire, the Kingdom of Fez, the Empire of Mali and the Kingdom of Ife.
- DirectorMark BatesStarsKazeem Tosin AmoreHenry Louis Gates Jr.Malik KadduThe capitals of the precolonial kingdoms of Kilwa, Zimbabwe, Benin and Ethiopia prospered between the 14th and the 17th century thanks to gold and ivory trade, but Portuguese pirates, mercenaries and zealots brought an end to that.
- DirectorKaren McGannStarsFabio AbrahamHenry Louis Gates Jr.Diany Samba-BandzaThe centuries-long trans-Atlantic slave trade brought terror to many and profit to some. One of the key states of the era was the Kingdom of Kongo, located in present-day Northern Angola, which eventually fell under Portuguese control.
- 201752mTV-PG7.0 (25)TV EpisodeDirectorKaren McGannStarsHenry Louis Gates Jr.Malik KadduAs nations like Ethiopia, Ghana, Zanzibar and South Africa begin their economic rise thanks to their natural resources, the late 19th century Scramble for Africa violently splits the continent into European colonies.
- DirectorEleanor GrantStarsLance LewmanKirk JohnsonDaniel FisherIn a race against developers in the Rocky Mountains, archaeologists uncover a unique fossil site packed with astonishingly well-preserved bones of mammoths, mastodons, and other giant extinct beasts. The discovery opens a highly focused window on the vanished world of the Ice Age in North America.
- DirectorChris SchmidtStarsDavid PogueMike LassiterLawrence L. JonesWhere do nature's building blocks, called the elements, come from? They're the hidden ingredients of everything in our world, from the carbon in our bodies to the metals in our smartphones. Watch as David Pogue unlocks their secrets.
- DirectorRob RapleyStarsCampbell ScottMichael HiltzikRobert BuderiTells the story of the role played by American tycoon and physicist Alfred Lee Loomis and a team of British scientists at Loomis's home laboratory outside New York City in countervailing Nazi advances in nuclear fission during World War II.
- DirectorSarah ColtStarsOliver PlattDavid NasawNell Irvin PainterAs national wealth expands in the U.S. disparities among the nation's population spark debates that continue to rage in modern day America.
- DirectorNat SharmanStarsHannah FryTilly BlythDoron SwadeAda Lovelace was a most unlikely computer pioneer. In this film, Dr Hannah Fry tells the story of Ada's remarkable life. Born in the early 19th century Ada was a countess of the realm, a scandalous socialite and an 'enchantress of numbers'. The film is an enthralling tale of how a life infused with brilliance, but blighted by illness and gambling addiction, helped give rise to the modern era of computing.
- DirectorSuzanne PhillipsStarsSuzannah LipscombJudith FlandersKate WilliamsSuzannah Lipscomb takes a tour of the Victorian home and unveils the hidden dangers that posed a deadly threat to Victorian life.
- DirectorSuzanne PhillipsStarsSuzannah LipscombKate WilliamsAnnie GrayFrom the food they ate to the clothes they wore, the Victorians were surrounding themselves with killers. What made taking a bath and drinking milk potentially so dangerous? And how did the Victorian woman turn herself into a walking fire hazard?
- DirectorDavid AdamsGreg NelsonStarsDavid AdamsInspired by the legend of Jason and the Argonauts, ancient Greek seafarers long searched for a way to the East. Adams follows the routes of these past mariners and discovers a lost waterway that could have carried Alexander and his men from the Aegean to the Caspian Sea.
- DirectorDavid AdamsGreg NelsonStarsDavid AdamsBy the time Alexander's army arrived in the East, the fabled capital of Bactria was already a great city. Driving into the Afghan wilderness, Adams sets off to find the place the Greeks called the mother of all cities.
- DirectorDavid AdamsGreg NelsonStarsDavid AdamsAdams and his team cross the border into Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in search of another lost city: Alexandria on the Oxus. How could a man who spent so much time fighting have built so many cities, and how many existed before he got there?
- DirectorDavid AdamsGreg NelsonStarsDavid AdamsPart of the answer to the Alexander-as-builder riddle lies in a remote corner of Afghanistan, at the city of the Lady Moon. Here, thousands of miles from Athens, Greek plays were performed before crowds of up to 5,000 people.
- DirectorDavid AdamsGreg NelsonStarsDavid AdamsAlexander came not just for conquest but for riches, perhaps inspired by the epic quest of Jason and the Argonauts. Adams retraces the route of Alexander and the traders who sought the treasured resources of the East and carried them to every corner of the ancient world.
- DirectorDavid AdamsGreg NelsonStarsDavid AdamsNearing the end of his journey, Adams reaches the place British explorers called the roof of the world, a land of forgotten tribes and a people known as the children of Alexander. For this final leg, he makes a trek to the headwaters of the Oxus, in the process following pathways that lead back to our earliest beginnings.
- DirectorCatherine GaleStarsHannah FryWhat data is, how it is captured, stored, shared, and analyzed. Engineers of the data age create a technological and philosophical revolution. Modern society runs on data, making information the world's most valuable asset.
- DirectorDan HillmanStarsHans RoslingStephen EmmottSep KamvarProfessor Hans Rosling shares his excitement with statistics, and shows how researchers are handling the modern data deluge.
- DirectorCatherine GaleStarsDave CliffKieran EdwardsPeter HendersonComputer Scientist, Professor Cliff, thru philosophy, math, science and technology exhibits the quest for certainty/ fundamentals of sound reasoning.
- DirectorAlex FreemanStarsMichael MosleyDruin BurchAndrea SellaWhat exactly is physical discomfort, and how can we control it? Mosley explains the profound effect pain has on our bodies and the ways in which we have endeavored to lessen it. He shows how, since the discovery of morphine, chemistry has conquered pain and how pain prevention and drug addiction are inextricably linked.
- DirectorBen CrichtonStarsMichael MosleyThomas FriedenDruin BurchInfection can take over the entire human body, and up until the early 20th century the only medical defenses against it were more medieval than modern. Harnessing the power of microbes in the battle against infection led to what some consider humanity's greatest achievement the eradication of smallpox.
- 20131h8.3 (15)TV EpisodeDirectorGiles HarrisonStarsMichael MosleyJohn WhitakerJayne LawrenceWith proper medical research, deadly poisons and venoms can become revolutionary, lifesaving medicines. Mosley examines how scientists have gone from finding antidotes for these poisons to applying them as treatments, in the process turning killers into cures.
- DirectorDavid SingtonStarsDavid StarkeyHistorian Starkey assesses the position of Winston Churchill during his political wilderness days of the early 1930s,when he was writing a biography of his ancestor,John Churchill,the future Duke of Marlborough. John had been a trusted general at the court of James II,with whose daughter Anne,John's wife Sarah was a great friend but,fearing that the Catholic James would tyrannise the largely Protestant England had helped William of Orange,husband to Anne's sister Mary,to invade the country and depose the king. Just as Churchill was a lone British voice against the atrocities of Hitler in Europe Starkey sees John Churchill as being only too aware of the expansionist plans of the French monarch Louis XIV and draws a comparison between the two Churchills.
- DirectorDavid SingtonStarsDavid StarkeyIn 1932 Churchill visited Germany to research his ancestor's biography but missed meeting Hitler. Starkey argues that the so-called Wilderness Years of the 1930s were misnamed as the decade long account of the life of John Churchill enabled Winston to see a parallel between Hitler and Louis XIV,the seemingly unstoppable conqueror of the rest of Europe,whom John Churchill soundly defeated at the battle of Blenheim in 1704. As a consequence he received the dukedom of Marlborough and the residence of Blenheim Palace. In 1938,when the fourth and last volume of the biography was published,Neville Chamberlain made his futile trip to Munich,where he was betrayed by Hitler. Winston foresaw the German's treachery and,in two years' time,found his country anxious to return him as their leader.
- DirectorDavid SingtonStarsDavid StarkeyTwo years after Blenheim Marlborough once more crushed the French at the battle of Ramillies. However in 1940 it was Britain who was routed in Europe and,as the French had earlier lost morale,Churchill chose not to deploy air strikes on the continent,allowing for the decisive Battle of Britain. Like his ancestor Churchill saw the need for alliances,courting the support of President Roosevelt, to whom the first volume of biography was dedicated,even before America's official entry into the war. Now an accomplished strategist Churchill made the decision to engage on a Mediterranean war front,rather than back American plans for a premature invasion of northern France ,which turned the war in Allied favour. But,just as Europe endured an uneasy peace following Marlborough's last victory at Malplaquet, Churchill was aware that Russian domination of the East of the continent after the war threatened its liberty. Starkey concludes by endorsing Churchill's post-war policies and regretting the lack of a worthy successor to him.
- DirectorJohn HayRoger ParsonsStarsJeremy PaxmanSara AgassiSalam Al AtrashPaxman asks how a tiny island in the North Atlantic came to rule over a quarter of the world's population. He travels to India, where local soldiers and local maharajahs helped a handful of British traders to take over vast areas of land. Spectacular displays of imperial power dazzled the local peoples and developed a cult of Queen Victoria as Empress, mother and virtual God. In Egypt, Paxman explores Britain as a temporary peace-keeper whose visit turned into a seventy year occupation. He travels to the desert where Lawrence of Arabia is still remembered by elder tribesman that brought a touch of romance to the grim struggle of the First World War and the British triumph in Palestine that led Britain to believe it could solve the world's problems that haunts the Middle East to this day.
- DirectorRobin DashwoodJohn HayStarsJeremy PaxmanHeather ElsleyKaren GonsalvesPaxman continues his story of Britain's empire by looking at how traders, conquerors and settlers spread the British way of life around the world by creating a very British home. Beginning in India where early traders wore Indian costume and took Indian wives and their descendants still look fondly on their mixed heritage which in Victorian Britain was frowned upon as inter racial mixing became taboo. In Singapore he visits a club, now open to all, where British colonials used to gather together, in Canada he finds a town of Scottish ancestry whose inhabitants proud of the traditions, have shops selling imported Scottish goods, in Kenya he meets the descendants of the first white settlers who were bitterly resented as pressure for African independence grew and he traces the story of an Indian family in Leicester whose migrations have been determined by the changing fortunes of the British empire.
- DirectorRobin DashwoodDavid VincentStarsJeremy PaxmanSadiq Al-MahdiMaurice FosterPaxman traces the growth of a peculiarly British type of hero - adventurer, gentleman, amateur, sportsman and decent chap and the British obsession with sport. He travels to East Africa in the following Victorian explorers searching for the source of the Nile; to Khartoum in Sudan to tell the story of General Gordon, and to Hong Kong where the British indulged their passion for horse racing by building a spectacular race course and to Jamaica where the greatest imperial game of all cricket became a battleground for racial equality when the West Indies formerly always had a white captain replaced by a black man.
- DirectorRobin DashwoodJohn HayStarsJeremy PaxmanRuth BoardmanAmit DharPaxman looks at how the empire began as a pirates' treasure hunt robbing Spanish ships and ports using privateers such as Henry Morgan and grew into an informal empire based on trade and developed into a global financial network. He travels to Jamaica where sugar made plantation owners rich on the mistreatment of African slaves, then to Calcutta where British traders became the new princes of India. Unfair trading helped start the independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi who's visit to Britain and the mill town of Darwen in 1931 is remembered by two women, who were children at the time, from Lancashire. The First Opium War when British trade in opium with the Chinese in defiance of Chinese law led to war and Britain's subsequent take over of the island of Hong Kong.
- DirectorJulian BirkettStarsJeremy PaxmanTed AlleyneMacford ChipulikoPaxman tells the story of how a desire for conquest became a mission to improve the rest of mankind, especially in Africa, and in Central Africa he travels in the footsteps of David Livingstone who though a failure as a missionary became a legend. A flood of Christian missionaries followed and founded schools one of which today has 8000 pupils. In South Africa, Paxman tells the story of Cecil Rhodes, a maverick with a different sort of mission, who believed in the white man's right to rule the world and took vast swathes of land for Britain, laying down the foundations for apartheid, run by small numbers of colonial officials, The District Officer. In Kenya, where conflict in the form of the Mau Mau uprising between white settlers and the African population brought bloodshed, torture and eventual independence for Kenya and the break up of the empire.
- DirectorDavid WilsonStarsDavid StarkeyMonarchy discusses the early history of England and the birth of the Monarchy. It looks migration of the Anglo-Saxons into Britain and discusses some early rulers including. It looks at the roles of Aethelbert and his Frankish wife Bertha in the Christianization of Britain. It examines the dominant reign of King Offa of Mercia. Finally, it looks at Alfred the Great and how he united England against Viking invasion.
- DirectorDavid WilsonStarsDavid StarkeyMonarchy examines the history of kingship in England from the rise of the Anglo-Saxons to the Battle of Hastings. Edgar the Peaceful is crowned in bath, but dies shortly after. The crown passes to his son Edward the Martyr who is killed at a young age. Aethelred the Unready is crowned, but his rule is mired with a conflict with the Danes. The Danes seize the thrown and Cnut secures control of England by marrying Aethelred's wife Emma. After Cnut's Death, Edward the Confessor restores the House of Wessex to the throne. He fathers no heirs and his conflict with Godwin the Earl of Wessex almost results in a civil war. After Edward's death, Godwin's son takes the crown. Harold defeats his rival brother Tostig and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Shortly after, Harold fights the Normans at Hastings and is defeated by William the Conquerer in a day long battle.
- DirectorDavid HuttStarsDavid StarkeyMonarchy examines the history of kingship in England from William to Conqueror on through the House of Norman. William seizes the throne after the battle of Hastings and is crowned in Westminster Abbey in London. He suppresses the Anglo-Saxons and consolidates his holdings by building fortifications throughout England. William Rufus the second son of William the Conqueror becomes king after his father's death. Disliked by the Church for his irreligious ways, he is killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest. After his death, his brother Henry crowns himself king. He consolidates his power by reviving the popular traditions of the Anglo-Saxon kings. After the death of his son, Henry appoints his daughter Matilda as his successor but after his death his nephew Stephen seizes the throne. Eventually this sparks a civil war which ends when Stephen agrees to appoint her son Henry as the heir to the throne.
- DirectorMary CranitchStarsDavid StarkeyMonarchy examines the reign of Henry II and his efforts to create a dynasty. Henry appoints Thomas Becket as the archbishop of Canterbury in an effort to control the Church. The two of them eventual clash, however, over the independence of the church. Ultimately, Henry has Becket assassinated. Henry later dies and his kingdom passes to his son Richard the Lionheart who rules England from afar. Richard appoints his brother John as his successor. King John loses most of the family lands in France and gets into a conflict with Pope Innocent III who puts England under an interdict. John seizes the lands of the Church in response. When the Pope aligns with the King of France, John acknowledges the supremacy of the Pope. John is later forced to sign the Magna Carta after his efforts to retake land in France fails. When John has the document annulled, the Baron's revolt against John. After John dies, his young son is crowned King Henry III. Henry reasserts royal power throughout England. The Lords revolt under Simon de Montfort in an effort to enforce the Magna Carta. They establish the Provisions of Oxford and force the King to abide by them. Simon creates the forerunner of Parliament, but is eventually killed in battle with Prince Edward.
- DirectorLucy SwinglerStarsDavid StarkeySean Francis GeorgeMonarchy looks at the reigns of Edward I through Edward III. Edward I (also known as Edward Longshanks) conquers Wales and provokes Scotland into rebellion. He forces John Balliol to abdicate, but the Scots continue to resist under William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. After Edward's death, his son becomes King Edward II. Edward II is an unpopular king due to his extravagant favoritism in the Court. He leads his armies to defeat against Scotland in the Battle of Bannockburn and is later deposed by his wife Isabella. Edward III is crowned is popular with the people and the nobles. Using the longbow, he has military success against the Scots and begins the 100 Years War against France.
- DirectorLucy SwinglerStarsDavid StarkeyMonarchy looks at the reigns made famous by Shakespeare: Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI. Richard becomes king at only ten after the deaths of King Edward III and Richard's father Edward the Black Prince. Richard rules over a lavish court and later comes into conflict with the nobles of England. Exiled by the King, Henry Bolingbroke returns to England after Richard seizes his family's estates. Bolingbroke deposes Richard, has him killed by starvation, and becomes King Henry IV by usurpation. Henry IV deals with multiple rebellions against his rule. Eventually he grows ill and the throne passes to his son Henry V. Henry V focuses on war with France. He is victorious at the Battle of Agincourt and even becomes heir to the French throne before dying of dysentery. The English crown passes to the infant son Henry VI. Henry VI marries a french princess Margaret of Anjou and pursues a policy of peace with France which gains him the displeasure of the English nobles. The House of York rebels against the king triggering the War of the Roses. Edward IV of House York becomes king but internal squabbles and problems with House Lancaster plague his reign.
- DirectorSteven ClarkeStarsDavid StarkeyMark GregoryHywel GeorgeAlthough Edward IV's coronation seems to end the War of the Roses, sibling ambitions within the House of York eventually throw the monarchy into turmoil. Henry Tudor forces a dynastic showdown at Bosworth Field and ushers in a new kind of monarchy.
- 2004–200749mTV-148.2 (31)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid HuttStarsDavid StarkeyDavid AlderAnna BurnsIn his unquenchable thirst for celebrity and tortuous quest for a male heir, Henry VIII takes the English monarchy to new heights, asserting power over the souls of his subjects as well as their bodies.
- DirectorDavid HuttStarsDavid StarkeyTony CottrellGail FeltonAfter six marriages ending in two divorces, two executions, and one bereavement, Henry leaves three children with a clear succession plan for the throne. But Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth soon face their father's real legacy: a volatile fusion of politics and religion.
- 2004–200749mTV-148.2 (32)TV EpisodeDirectorJames RuncieStarsDavid StarkeyJames I takes the throne as the first "king of Great Britain," ruling not only England, but also Scotland and Ireland. But the Stuart reign soon turns from heady triumph to failure and civil war.
- 2004–200749mTV-148.0 (29)TV EpisodeDirectorJames RuncieStarsDavid StarkeyUnder the charismatic Oliver Cromwell, Parliament commits a previously unthinkable act: it executes a reigning king. Eventually, the fledgling republic discovers that it needs a monarch after all.
- DirectorDavid BarrieStarsDavid StarkeyThe remarkable story of King Charles II, who secured the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660.
- 2004–200751mTV-147.9 (24)TV EpisodeDirectorJames BurgeStarsDavid StarkeyOutraged by James II's ham-handed attempts to promote tolerance for his fellow Catholics, Parliament invites his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange, to invade England and take the throne-ushering in the Glorious Revolution
- DirectorRachel BellStarsDavid StarkeyUnder William and Mary and their successor, Anne, the nation transforms itself into Europe's greatest power and enjoys unprecedented financial prosperity.
- DirectorSimon EversonStarsDavid StarkeyGeorge I and his two namesakes forge new relationships with Parliamentary leaders, creating a dynamic that survives in British governance today.
- StarsDavid StarkeyWeathering the antiroyalist storm breaking on the Continent, Great Britain stands strong against the military might of Napoleon. By the mid-19th century, Queen Victoria accedes to the throne, reinventing the British monarchy as a stable yet progressive institution
- DirectorJames BurgeStarsDavid StarkeyKing Charles IIIDuchess of WindsorThe British monarchy following the death of Queen Victoria, and its entry into the modern world of the twentieth century, with all of the difficulties of war, abdication and modernity to contend with, and leading to the question of "what does the future hold for an aristocratic institution in a world supposedly driven by meritocracy?"
- DirectorDavid BriggsStarsMarcus du SautoyBjörn BringertPatrick ProsserProfessor Marcus du Sautoy demystifies the hidden world of algorithms and reveals where these 2,000-year-old problem solvers came from, how they work, and what they have achieved.
- DirectorKaren McGannStarsMarcus du SautoyChristopher AnagnostakisJohn BrittonThis program traces the development of mathematics in the Medeteranean region beginning with the Egyptians through the formalized geometry of the Greeks. Along the way a few remarkable methods emerged that predated formal mathematical methods by a thousand years.
- DirectorRobin DashwoodStarsMarcus du SautoyIn India Marcus du Sautoy discovers how the symbol for the number zero was invented and in the Middle East he looks at the invention of the new language of algebra and the spread of Eastern knowledge to the West.
- DirectorDavid BerryStarsMarcus du SautoyDaniel BernoulliHenk BosBy the 17th century, Europe had taken over from the Middle East as the world's powerhouse of mathematical ideas. Great strides had been made in understanding the geometry of objects fixed in time and space. The race was now on to discover the mathematics to describe objects in motion. Marcus explores the work of Rene Descartes and Pierre Fermat, whose famous Last Theorem would puzzle mathematicians for more than 350 years. He also examines Isaac Newton's development of the calculus, and goes in search of Leonard Euler, the father of topology or 'bendy geometry', and Carl Friedrich Gauss who, at the age of 24, was responsible for inventing a new way of handling equations - modular arithmetic.
- DirectorDavid BerryStarsMarcus du SautoyJune Barrow-GreenJoe DaubenAfter showing how fundamental mathematics is to our lives, Marcus du Sautoy explores the mathematics of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece. In Egypt, he uncovers use of a decimal system based on ten fingers of the hand, while in former Mesopotamia he discovers that the way we tell the time today is based on the Babylonian Base 60 number system. In Greece, he looks at the contributions of some of the giants of mathematics including Plato, Euclid, Archimedes and Pythagoras, who is credited with beginning the transformation of mathematics from a tool for counting into the analytical subject we know today.