The period of over 125 years from the beginning of the 19th century saw the creation of some of the world's most remarkable feats of engineering. These are now celebrated as great wonders of the world - revealing as much about human creativity and the determination of the human spirit as they do of technological endeavour.
The Industrial Revolution changed the world in countless ways - and produced many technical wonders in the process. Seven of the most notable are described here, each one proving that human creativity is as much alive in the modern world as it was in ancient times.
The Great Ship
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's colossal ship, the Great Eastern, is the only wonder described here that has not survived to the 21st century. In the early 1850s, Brunel hoped the ship would be his masterpiece, and that it would provide an enduring link to even the most farflung parts of the empire.
'... his concept became the blue print for ship design for years to come.'At a time when most ships moored in the Thames were built to traditional designs in wood, and powered by sail, Brunel's 'Great Ship' was almost 700 feet long, a floating island made of iron. His vision was that it should carry 4,000 passengers, in magnificent style, as far as the Antipodes - without needing to refuel.
The Brooklyn Bridge
That same year, a brilliant engineer, John Roebling from Germany, won the contract to build the largest bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It was to stretch 1,600 feet, in one giant leap, across the wide and turbulent East River that separates New York from Brooklyn.
'At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous ...'The foundations were to sink 70 feet below the river. The two mighty towers would dwarf much of New York. At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous, and all to be built out of a new material - steel.
The Bell Rock
Robert Stevenson's Bell Rock Lighthouse was created off the east coast of Scotland between 1807 and 1811, when the world was very different from how it is today. Stevenson, the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, had dreamed for years of making his mark on the world, by bringing light to the treacherous Scottish coast. He aimed to take on the most dangerous place of all, the Bell Rock, a large reef 11 miles out to sea, dangerously positioned in the approach to the Firth of Forth.
'... the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.'In 1799, over 70 ships went down in a violent storm that raged along the coast, yet still the authorities opposed his plan. How could anyone build a lighthouse 11 miles out to sea, on a rock that was submerged by up to 16 feet of water for most of the day? Battling against the odds, Stevenson did eventually build his lighthouse, and to this day it shines out across the North Sea, the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.
The Sewer King
In the summer of 1858, while the Great Eastern was being fitted out for her maiden voyage, London was in the grip of a crisis known as the 'Great Stink'. The population had grown rapidly during the first half of the 19th century, yet there had been no provision for sanitation.
'... sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway ...'Three epidemics of cholera had swept through the city, leaving over 30,000 people dead. And sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway, in the cellars of houses in poor districts - and even seeping through cracks in floorboards.
The Panama Canal
With the growth in travel and trade, by the late 19th century shipping had become big business. Having completed the building of the Suez Canal in 1869, a Frenchman, Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps, dreamed of an even bolder scheme: the Panama Canal.
'The extravagant dream eventually stole over 25,000 lives ...'Lesseps decided he would cut a path across the isthmus of Panama,and thus unite the great oceans of the Atlantic and Pacific. He knew that the long journey around South America's Cape Horn would then become unnecessary for ships carrying cargo across the world, and the world itself would seem a smaller place. Once out in the tropical heat of Panama, however, the French found themselves facing impenetrable jungle, dangerous mudslides and deathly tropical diseases, as the project proved to be an undertaking of nightmare proportions.
The extravagant dream eventually came true, but in the process it stole over 25,000 lives, and 25 years had to elapse before the oceans were finally united.
The Line
By the middle of the 19th century, the benefits brought by the host of advances of the industrial age were gradually beginning to reach America, which soon developed a spectacular achievement of its own - the Transcontinental Railway, reaching right across the continent.
'... they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.'With two teams, one building from the east and the other from California in the west, they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.
Yet in 1869, the two teams' tracks were joined, shrinking the whole American continent, as the journey from New York to San Francisco was reduced from months to days.
The Hoover Dam
As pioneers explored and found their way across the vast continent of America, they were frequently stopped by poor or hostile environments such as the desert regions of Arizona and Nevada.
'Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza ...'In the early 1900s, however, engineers began to realise that even here it would be possible to make the desert bloom, by building a dam across the Colorado River. Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Hoover Dam was soon to break all records.
At the height of the depression of the 1930s, poverty-stricken workers on the dam, earning just a few dollars a day, died from horrific explosions, carbon monoxide poisoning and heat exhaustion as it slowly came to fruition. The chief engineer, Frank Crowe, did nevertheless get it built ahead of schedule and under budget - notching up one more extraordinary piece of evidence for the ingenuity and tenacity of man.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
* The Machine that Made Us (2008)
In this revealing documentary, Stephen Fry investigates the story of one of the most important machines ever invented - the Gutenberg Press.
The printing press was the world's first mass-production machine. Its invention in the 1450s changed the world as dramatically as splitting the atom or sending men into space, sparking a cultural revolution that shaped the modern age. It is the machine that made us who we are today.
Stephen's investigation combines historical detective work and a hands-on challenge. He travels to France and Germany on the trail of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press and early media entrepreneur. Along the way he discovers the lengths Gutenberg went to keep his project secret, explores the role of avaricious investors and unscrupulous competitors, and discovers why printing mattered so much in medieval Europe.
But to really understand the man and his machine, Stephen gets his hands dirty - assembling a team of craftsmen and helping them build a working replica of Gutenberg's original press. He learns how to make paper the 15th-century way and works as an apprentice in a metal foundry in preparation for the experiment to put the replica press through its paces. Can Stephen's modern-day team match the achievement of Gutenberg's medieval craftsmen?
The printing press was the world's first mass-production machine. Its invention in the 1450s changed the world as dramatically as splitting the atom or sending men into space, sparking a cultural revolution that shaped the modern age. It is the machine that made us who we are today.
Stephen's investigation combines historical detective work and a hands-on challenge. He travels to France and Germany on the trail of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press and early media entrepreneur. Along the way he discovers the lengths Gutenberg went to keep his project secret, explores the role of avaricious investors and unscrupulous competitors, and discovers why printing mattered so much in medieval Europe.
But to really understand the man and his machine, Stephen gets his hands dirty - assembling a team of craftsmen and helping them build a working replica of Gutenberg's original press. He learns how to make paper the 15th-century way and works as an apprentice in a metal foundry in preparation for the experiment to put the replica press through its paces. Can Stephen's modern-day team match the achievement of Gutenberg's medieval craftsmen?
* Lonesome George & the Battle for Galapagos (2007)
Documentary about Lonesome George, officially the loneliest animal on the planet until his death in June 2012. He was the last remaining Pinta Island giant tortoise in existence and now his race is extinct. He was an icon of his native Galapagos Islands and symbol of the battle to preserve their unique wildlife. The islands are at a critical point in their history - threatened by illegal fishing, the demands of a booming population and an ever-expanding tourism industry - yet the will within the islanders to protect Galapagos is strong. This is both the personal story of Lonesome George and of the local characters intent on turning around the fortunes of their unique tropical paradise.
* Seven Wonders of the Industrial World (2003)
The period of over 125 years from the beginning of the 19th century saw the creation of some of the world's most remarkable feats of engineering. These are now celebrated as great wonders of the world - revealing as much about human creativity and the determination of the human spirit as they do of technological endeavour.
The Industrial Revolution changed the world in countless ways - and produced many technical wonders in the process. Seven of the most notable are described here, each one proving that human creativity is as much alive in the modern world as it was in ancient times.
The Great Ship
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's colossal ship, the Great Eastern, is the only wonder described here that has not survived to the 21st century. In the early 1850s, Brunel hoped the ship would be his masterpiece, and that it would provide an enduring link to even the most farflung parts of the empire.
'... his concept became the blue print for ship design for years to come.'At a time when most ships moored in the Thames were built to traditional designs in wood, and powered by sail, Brunel's 'Great Ship' was almost 700 feet long, a floating island made of iron. His vision was that it should carry 4,000 passengers, in magnificent style, as far as the Antipodes - without needing to refuel.
The Brooklyn Bridge
That same year, a brilliant engineer, John Roebling from Germany, won the contract to build the largest bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It was to stretch 1,600 feet, in one giant leap, across the wide and turbulent East River that separates New York from Brooklyn.
'At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous ...'The foundations were to sink 70 feet below the river. The two mighty towers would dwarf much of New York. At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous, and all to be built out of a new material - steel.
The Bell Rock
Robert Stevenson's Bell Rock Lighthouse was created off the east coast of Scotland between 1807 and 1811, when the world was very different from how it is today. Stevenson, the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, had dreamed for years of making his mark on the world, by bringing light to the treacherous Scottish coast. He aimed to take on the most dangerous place of all, the Bell Rock, a large reef 11 miles out to sea, dangerously positioned in the approach to the Firth of Forth.
'... the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.'In 1799, over 70 ships went down in a violent storm that raged along the coast, yet still the authorities opposed his plan. How could anyone build a lighthouse 11 miles out to sea, on a rock that was submerged by up to 16 feet of water for most of the day? Battling against the odds, Stevenson did eventually build his lighthouse, and to this day it shines out across the North Sea, the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.
The Sewer King
In the summer of 1858, while the Great Eastern was being fitted out for her maiden voyage, London was in the grip of a crisis known as the 'Great Stink'. The population had grown rapidly during the first half of the 19th century, yet there had been no provision for sanitation.
'... sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway ...'Three epidemics of cholera had swept through the city, leaving over 30,000 people dead. And sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway, in the cellars of houses in poor districts - and even seeping through cracks in floorboards.
The Panama Canal
With the growth in travel and trade, by the late 19th century shipping had become big business. Having completed the building of the Suez Canal in 1869, a Frenchman, Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps, dreamed of an even bolder scheme: the Panama Canal.
'The extravagant dream eventually stole over 25,000 lives ...'Lesseps decided he would cut a path across the isthmus of Panama,and thus unite the great oceans of the Atlantic and Pacific. He knew that the long journey around South America's Cape Horn would then become unnecessary for ships carrying cargo across the world, and the world itself would seem a smaller place. Once out in the tropical heat of Panama, however, the French found themselves facing impenetrable jungle, dangerous mudslides and deathly tropical diseases, as the project proved to be an undertaking of nightmare proportions.
The extravagant dream eventually came true, but in the process it stole over 25,000 lives, and 25 years had to elapse before the oceans were finally united.
The Line
By the middle of the 19th century, the benefits brought by the host of advances of the industrial age were gradually beginning to reach America, which soon developed a spectacular achievement of its own - the Transcontinental Railway, reaching right across the continent.
'... they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.'With two teams, one building from the east and the other from California in the west, they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.
Yet in 1869, the two teams' tracks were joined, shrinking the whole American continent, as the journey from New York to San Francisco was reduced from months to days.
The Hoover Dam
As pioneers explored and found their way across the vast continent of America, they were frequently stopped by poor or hostile environments such as the desert regions of Arizona and Nevada.
'Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza ...'In the early 1900s, however, engineers began to realise that even here it would be possible to make the desert bloom, by building a dam across the Colorado River. Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Hoover Dam was soon to break all records.
At the height of the depression of the 1930s, poverty-stricken workers on the dam, earning just a few dollars a day, died from horrific explosions, carbon monoxide poisoning and heat exhaustion as it slowly came to fruition. The chief engineer, Frank Crowe, did nevertheless get it built ahead of schedule and under budget - notching up one more extraordinary piece of evidence for the ingenuity and tenacity of man.
The Industrial Revolution changed the world in countless ways - and produced many technical wonders in the process. Seven of the most notable are described here, each one proving that human creativity is as much alive in the modern world as it was in ancient times.
The Great Ship
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's colossal ship, the Great Eastern, is the only wonder described here that has not survived to the 21st century. In the early 1850s, Brunel hoped the ship would be his masterpiece, and that it would provide an enduring link to even the most farflung parts of the empire.
'... his concept became the blue print for ship design for years to come.'At a time when most ships moored in the Thames were built to traditional designs in wood, and powered by sail, Brunel's 'Great Ship' was almost 700 feet long, a floating island made of iron. His vision was that it should carry 4,000 passengers, in magnificent style, as far as the Antipodes - without needing to refuel.
The Brooklyn Bridge
That same year, a brilliant engineer, John Roebling from Germany, won the contract to build the largest bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It was to stretch 1,600 feet, in one giant leap, across the wide and turbulent East River that separates New York from Brooklyn.
'At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous ...'The foundations were to sink 70 feet below the river. The two mighty towers would dwarf much of New York. At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous, and all to be built out of a new material - steel.
The Bell Rock
Robert Stevenson's Bell Rock Lighthouse was created off the east coast of Scotland between 1807 and 1811, when the world was very different from how it is today. Stevenson, the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, had dreamed for years of making his mark on the world, by bringing light to the treacherous Scottish coast. He aimed to take on the most dangerous place of all, the Bell Rock, a large reef 11 miles out to sea, dangerously positioned in the approach to the Firth of Forth.
'... the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.'In 1799, over 70 ships went down in a violent storm that raged along the coast, yet still the authorities opposed his plan. How could anyone build a lighthouse 11 miles out to sea, on a rock that was submerged by up to 16 feet of water for most of the day? Battling against the odds, Stevenson did eventually build his lighthouse, and to this day it shines out across the North Sea, the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.
The Sewer King
In the summer of 1858, while the Great Eastern was being fitted out for her maiden voyage, London was in the grip of a crisis known as the 'Great Stink'. The population had grown rapidly during the first half of the 19th century, yet there had been no provision for sanitation.
'... sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway ...'Three epidemics of cholera had swept through the city, leaving over 30,000 people dead. And sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway, in the cellars of houses in poor districts - and even seeping through cracks in floorboards.
The Panama Canal
With the growth in travel and trade, by the late 19th century shipping had become big business. Having completed the building of the Suez Canal in 1869, a Frenchman, Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps, dreamed of an even bolder scheme: the Panama Canal.
'The extravagant dream eventually stole over 25,000 lives ...'Lesseps decided he would cut a path across the isthmus of Panama,and thus unite the great oceans of the Atlantic and Pacific. He knew that the long journey around South America's Cape Horn would then become unnecessary for ships carrying cargo across the world, and the world itself would seem a smaller place. Once out in the tropical heat of Panama, however, the French found themselves facing impenetrable jungle, dangerous mudslides and deathly tropical diseases, as the project proved to be an undertaking of nightmare proportions.
The extravagant dream eventually came true, but in the process it stole over 25,000 lives, and 25 years had to elapse before the oceans were finally united.
The Line
By the middle of the 19th century, the benefits brought by the host of advances of the industrial age were gradually beginning to reach America, which soon developed a spectacular achievement of its own - the Transcontinental Railway, reaching right across the continent.
'... they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.'With two teams, one building from the east and the other from California in the west, they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.
Yet in 1869, the two teams' tracks were joined, shrinking the whole American continent, as the journey from New York to San Francisco was reduced from months to days.
The Hoover Dam
As pioneers explored and found their way across the vast continent of America, they were frequently stopped by poor or hostile environments such as the desert regions of Arizona and Nevada.
'Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza ...'In the early 1900s, however, engineers began to realise that even here it would be possible to make the desert bloom, by building a dam across the Colorado River. Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Hoover Dam was soon to break all records.
At the height of the depression of the 1930s, poverty-stricken workers on the dam, earning just a few dollars a day, died from horrific explosions, carbon monoxide poisoning and heat exhaustion as it slowly came to fruition. The chief engineer, Frank Crowe, did nevertheless get it built ahead of schedule and under budget - notching up one more extraordinary piece of evidence for the ingenuity and tenacity of man.
* We Were Here: The AIDS Years in San Francisco (2011)
Filmmakers David Weissman and Bill Weber co-directed the 2001 documentary, The Cockettes, chronicling San Francisco's legendary theater troupe of hippies and drag queens, 1969 -1972. We Were Here revisits San Francisco a decade later, as its flourishing gay community is hit with an unimaginable disaster. We Were Here is the first documentary to take a deep and reflective look back at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco. It explores how the City's inhabitants were affected by, and how they responded to, that calamitous epidemic. Though a San Francisco-based story, We Were Here extends beyond San Francisco and beyond AIDS itself. It speaks to our capacity as individuals to rise to the occasion, and to the incredible power of a community coming together with love, compassion, and determination.
* Freddie Mercury Saved My Life (2014)
Singer Alfie Boe explores the extraordinary life and work of Freddie Mercury. He discusses Freddie's legacy as a performer and a musician with those who knew him best, including Queen guitarist Brian May, opera diva Montserrat Caballe, designer Zandra Rhodes, Sir Bob Geldof and other close friends and family. Freddie is one of Alfie's heroes and is a constant inspiration. He sets out to find out more about the man behind the music, explore the formative experiences which made him unique, and discover how he became one of the most recognisable front men ever. Alfie admits that his own journey from opera to exploring new musical forms has mirrored that of Freddie, who went from rock to opera as he used his genius to propel Queen from conventional rockers into one of the greatest bands in the world.
* Billy Connolly's Big Send Off (2014)
Billy Connolly sets out to gain an insight into the rich variety of attitudes, belief systems, rituals and customs relating to death that are woven into different cultures and communities. Billy’s quest takes him inside locations and into the company of people across religious, cultural and social boundaries, to discover, with his trademark charisma and curiosity, what death means to different communities and the diverse ways it is marked. Along the way, Billy also looks into the business of death and candidly shares his thoughts on his own death, how he would like to go, and how he would like to be remembered.
*The Oap Killer - First Kill Last Kill
Professor David Wilson reveals how Kenneth Erskine's carelessness led to his arrest and subsequent conviction.In the summer of 1986, the elderly population of south London were terrified by reports that a killer was targeting them in their homes. In just 17 weeks, Kenneth Erskine, the Stockwell Strangler, embarked on a spree of sexual assault and murder that shocked Britain. In this film, eminent criminologist Professor David Wilson explores the difference between Erskine's first and last kills in an effort to understand what triggered these crimes and how he was caught.
Catching the Stockwell Strangler
Professor Wilson, a former prison governor and expert on serial killers, begins by examining Erskine's childhood. At school, he was known for violent and irrational acts, including stabbing a teacher in the hand, pushing another pupil under a bus and killing the school guinea pig.
He left school in 1979 and, when he started using drugs, his mother ejected him from the family home. He lived in squats and on the streets around the Stockwell and Brixton areas of south London, beginning a career in petty crime to fund his drug habit. That year, he was arrested five times for burglary, finally ending up in Feltham Young offenders Institution.
James Doel, his cellmate at Feltham, speaks for the first time of the disturbing images of death and mutilation of the elderly that Erskine painted while he was inside.
Catching the Stockwell Strangler
Professor Wilson, a former prison governor and expert on serial killers, begins by examining Erskine's childhood. At school, he was known for violent and irrational acts, including stabbing a teacher in the hand, pushing another pupil under a bus and killing the school guinea pig.
He left school in 1979 and, when he started using drugs, his mother ejected him from the family home. He lived in squats and on the streets around the Stockwell and Brixton areas of south London, beginning a career in petty crime to fund his drug habit. That year, he was arrested five times for burglary, finally ending up in Feltham Young offenders Institution.
James Doel, his cellmate at Feltham, speaks for the first time of the disturbing images of death and mutilation of the elderly that Erskine painted while he was inside.
* Thalidomide - The 50 Year Fight (2014)
Documentary telling the little known story of a father's battle for justice against one of the UK's largest corporations. In the 1960s, the Thalidomide scandal shocked the world and devastated families. Some victims were left to die, while others were shut away from the world. The fight for compensation saw the government and drug-company silence the press, forcing campaigners to use covert and sometimes illegal ways of keeping their battle in the public eye. Fifty years on from the tragedy, victims, their families and those intimately involved in the campaign, talk about their ten year battle through the courts and how society has treated them through the years.
* The Joy of Easy Listening (2011)
An investigation into the story of a popular music that is often said to be made to be heard, but not listened to. The film looks at easy listening's architects and practitioners, its dangers and delights, and the mark it has left on modern life. From its emergence in the 50s to its heyday in the 60s, through its survival in the 70s and 80s and its revival in the 90s and beyond, the film traces the hidden history of a music that has reflected society every bit as much as pop and rock - just in a more relaxed way. Invented at the dawn of rock 'n' roll, easy listening has shadowed pop music and the emerging teenage market since the mid-50s. It is a genre that equally soundtracks our modern age, but perhaps for a rather more 'mature' generation and therefore with its own distinct purpose and aesthetic. Contributors include Richard Carpenter, Herb Alpert, Richard Clayderman, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jimmy Webb, Mike Flowers, James Last and others.
* Barbara Walters: Her Story (2014)
Television legend Barbara Walters is honored in a two hour primetime special celebrating her life and legacy.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
* Duck Quacks Don't Echo (Series)
Duck Quacks Don’t Echo is a one-hour program where our three hosts - Tom Papa, Michael Ian Black and Seth Herzog - present weird, unusual and incredible facts – and then get to test the validity of their ‘facts’ though in-studio or pre-produced experiments. Simply put, Duck Quacks Don’t Echo presents over-the-top hypothesis and then goes about proving them. It is all presented in a funny, breezy way. Like three good friends meeting up once a week to test each other’s knowledge of obscure and wonderful data, Duck Quacks Don’t Echo is a celebration of science.
* Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
"Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin" attempts to present the man's warts and errors, as well as the film and comic genius, in 131 minutes. Although one suspects it would be impossible to do this completely in anything less than six hours, "Charlie" does an excellent and absorbing job.
The film doubles back to some pertinent details from childhood and tacks on clips from home movies shot in Switzerland and on vacation in Africa by a daughter in the 1960s and '70s (charming but of negligible interest and value). It also notes the honors bestowed at Cannes and the Academy Awards late in his life. But its primary arc goes from 1914, when Chaplin began acting in Mack Sennett comedies as a contract player two years after arriving in the U.S. on the vaudeville circuit, to 1952 with the release of "Limelight" and the family's permanent exile to Europe.
The central conceit of Schickel's take is Chaplin's love-hate (though mostly love) relationship with the public. Hunger for the crowd, and fear of the crowd, drove his life, according to friend and "Limelight" costar Norman Lloyd. Chaplin grew rich playing the poorest of men, and spoke with embarrassing fervency on behalf of the common man in the final speech of "The Great Dictator," yet also talked of the headless unpredictability of the mob in "Limelight." Apart from the intermittent messes of his personal life, Chaplin did a creditable job of fighting to keep his artistic integrity and humanity in the face of superstardom and mass adulation, his son Michael argues.
"Charlie" spends time analyzing the quasi-tramp figure's first appearance in the entirely improvised and nearly plotless "Kid Auto Races at Venice" (1914); offers examples of innovative camerawork, plotting, and gag design in his Essenay and Mutual shorts; and notes the subject's startling ability to transform one object into something totally different (for example, a plant leaf into a toothbrush, or a fire engine into a cappuccino machine).
As "Charlie" is not shy to indicate, Chaplin had difficulties (serious ones) with women, government agencies, and eventually his public. It mentions the child brides, the ghastly Lita Grey divorce that halted shooting on "The Circus" for 9 months and created an underground bestseller of the lurid 42-page complaint detailing Chaplin's infidelities and irregular sex practices. Joan Barry's armed break-in and subsequent paternity suit (which a blood test, legally inadmissible at that time, showed was groundless, but Chaplin lost in court anyway and dutifully paid child support for a kid that evidently wasn't his) also gets a mention.
One of this documentary's greatest strengths is the extra attention it gives to the lesser known and more prickly works of Chaplin's oeuvre: "A Woman of Paris" and "Monsieur Verdoux," both of which it spends more time on than "The Gold Rush" or "City Lights." Scorsese is especially generous and useful here. He praises the decadence and eroticism of "Woman," and says "There's a calmness about it that's terrifying. . . . You know it's all gonna go bad." He describes a favorite shot or two of "Verdoux," praises its depiction of "eloquent and elegant and absolutely horrendous behavior," and almost cackles as he tries to imagine how its initial viewers reacted to it. "No one liked it! It's a beautiful, but it's also a very ugly film." According to Scorsese, its implicit challenge seems to be: "how far can I push you and you'll still love me?"
"Charlie" includes some vaunted unseen and/or unreleased material rehearsals and outtakes for famous scenes, an Oona O'Neill Chaplin screen test, color footage of the giant World War I cannon and closing rally sequences from "The Great Dictator" shot by a family member, newsreel clips of Chaplin on vacation in Hawaii and Asia with Paulette Goddard, the aforementioned home videos from his golden years, and a party video of Chaplin in a toga, juggling a globe in an anticipation of the "Dictator" globe dance, but none of them is particularly vital or memorable. The film's true strengths are its writing and analysis, its cast of guest commentators, and the classic clips that inevitably inspire awe.
The film doubles back to some pertinent details from childhood and tacks on clips from home movies shot in Switzerland and on vacation in Africa by a daughter in the 1960s and '70s (charming but of negligible interest and value). It also notes the honors bestowed at Cannes and the Academy Awards late in his life. But its primary arc goes from 1914, when Chaplin began acting in Mack Sennett comedies as a contract player two years after arriving in the U.S. on the vaudeville circuit, to 1952 with the release of "Limelight" and the family's permanent exile to Europe.
The central conceit of Schickel's take is Chaplin's love-hate (though mostly love) relationship with the public. Hunger for the crowd, and fear of the crowd, drove his life, according to friend and "Limelight" costar Norman Lloyd. Chaplin grew rich playing the poorest of men, and spoke with embarrassing fervency on behalf of the common man in the final speech of "The Great Dictator," yet also talked of the headless unpredictability of the mob in "Limelight." Apart from the intermittent messes of his personal life, Chaplin did a creditable job of fighting to keep his artistic integrity and humanity in the face of superstardom and mass adulation, his son Michael argues.
"Charlie" spends time analyzing the quasi-tramp figure's first appearance in the entirely improvised and nearly plotless "Kid Auto Races at Venice" (1914); offers examples of innovative camerawork, plotting, and gag design in his Essenay and Mutual shorts; and notes the subject's startling ability to transform one object into something totally different (for example, a plant leaf into a toothbrush, or a fire engine into a cappuccino machine).
As "Charlie" is not shy to indicate, Chaplin had difficulties (serious ones) with women, government agencies, and eventually his public. It mentions the child brides, the ghastly Lita Grey divorce that halted shooting on "The Circus" for 9 months and created an underground bestseller of the lurid 42-page complaint detailing Chaplin's infidelities and irregular sex practices. Joan Barry's armed break-in and subsequent paternity suit (which a blood test, legally inadmissible at that time, showed was groundless, but Chaplin lost in court anyway and dutifully paid child support for a kid that evidently wasn't his) also gets a mention.
One of this documentary's greatest strengths is the extra attention it gives to the lesser known and more prickly works of Chaplin's oeuvre: "A Woman of Paris" and "Monsieur Verdoux," both of which it spends more time on than "The Gold Rush" or "City Lights." Scorsese is especially generous and useful here. He praises the decadence and eroticism of "Woman," and says "There's a calmness about it that's terrifying. . . . You know it's all gonna go bad." He describes a favorite shot or two of "Verdoux," praises its depiction of "eloquent and elegant and absolutely horrendous behavior," and almost cackles as he tries to imagine how its initial viewers reacted to it. "No one liked it! It's a beautiful, but it's also a very ugly film." According to Scorsese, its implicit challenge seems to be: "how far can I push you and you'll still love me?"
"Charlie" includes some vaunted unseen and/or unreleased material rehearsals and outtakes for famous scenes, an Oona O'Neill Chaplin screen test, color footage of the giant World War I cannon and closing rally sequences from "The Great Dictator" shot by a family member, newsreel clips of Chaplin on vacation in Hawaii and Asia with Paulette Goddard, the aforementioned home videos from his golden years, and a party video of Chaplin in a toga, juggling a globe in an anticipation of the "Dictator" globe dance, but none of them is particularly vital or memorable. The film's true strengths are its writing and analysis, its cast of guest commentators, and the classic clips that inevitably inspire awe.
* Big Cats of the Savannah (2014)
The grasslands of Africa are a banquet for feline predators. The unique grasses attract herbivores by the millions including herds of wildebeests and zebras who come to graze in spite of the danger of being eaten themselves. Take a closer look at the African savannah as we explore the hunting and nurturing habits of lions, leopards and cheetahs inside one of the most unique ecosystems on Earth.
* The Israeli Dervish (2013)
We follow one man as he becomes the only Israeli granted access to the inner sanctum of the whirling Dervish order. Miki Cohen is a 58-year-old college teacher who has 'discovered' the works of Jalal ad-Din Rumi, a 13th-century Muslim poet and Sufi mystic. Attracted by Rumi's writings and philosophy, Miki translates his works into Hebrew and practices whirling in worship. What makes Cohen's story so remarkable is that he is an Israeli. The son of holocaust survivors and a veteran of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, Cohen found himself searching for answers to his spiritual identity.
* Pencils and Bullets (2013)
Having the chance to attend school, two Turkmen girls in Afghanistan reveal their hopes and fears for the future. Considerably improved access to education, especially for girls, is perhaps one of the most dramatic social changes in Afghanistan in the last 12 years. Since 2001, when the Taliban were toppled from power by US-backed Afghan forces, three million girls have returned to school. Women were previously banned from work and education under Taliban rule. But periodic attacks against female students, their teachers and their school buildings, continue. Produced by Al Jazeera.
* A Brief History Of Time (1992)
Documentarian Errol Morris has a knack for finding the fascinating quirks of his subjects, and this brings Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time to sparkling life. Through interviews with family and colleagues of the brilliant theoretical physicist, as well as Hawking's own synthesized readings and reminiscences, we learn of his early life, his struggle with the degenerative disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and his wide-ranging contributions to our knowledge of time, black holes, and the origin of the universe. The science is never downplayed; between Hawking's prose and Morris's visual wizardry, important concepts such as entropy and singularities jump from the screen in memorable vignettes. (Hawking believes a truly universal theory of physics will be understood by "scientists, philosophers, and just ordinary people.") Philip Glass's music, subdued and minimal, balances the alternately somber and hilarious moods of the film.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
* The French Revolution: Tearing Up History (2014)
A journey through the dramatic and destructive years of the French Revolution, telling its history in a way not seen before - through the extraordinary story of its art. Our guide through this turbulent decade is the constantly surprising Dr Richard Clay, an art historian who has spent his life decoding the symbols of power and authority.
* When Albums Ruled the World (2013)
Between the mid 1960s and the late 1970s, the long-playing record and the albums that graced its grooves changed popular music for ever. For the first time, musicians could escape the confines of the three-minute pop single and express themselves as never before across the expanded artistic canvas of the album. The LP allowed popular music become an art form - from the
* Lonesome George and the Battle for Galapagos (2007)
Documentary about Lonesome George, officially the loneliest animal on the planet until his death in June 2012. He was the last remaining Pinta Island giant tortoise in existence and now his race is extinct. He was an icon of his native Galapagos Islands and symbol of the battle to preserve their unique wildlife. The islands are at a critical point in their history - threatened by illegal fishing, the demands of a booming population and an ever-expanding tourism industry - yet the will within the islanders to protect Galapagos is strong. This is both the personal story of Lonesome George and of the local characters intent on turning around the fortunes of their unique tropical paradise.
* Gandhi (2009)
The first definitive series on the life of the great Mahatma Gandhi. This 3 part series charts Gandhi's Establishment beginnings, his move into politics and his campaign to bring independence to India. While he remains, unquestionably, India's revered 'Father of a Nation', there is another and less well known side to Ghandi and this series examines his relationship with his wife, his controversial views on race and his role on the path to Indian independence.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
* Amish: A Secret Life (2012)
Miriam and Dave Lapp are a charming young couple with a brood of adorable children. Dave works in and part owns a construction company. They are also members of the 'Old Order' Amish community in Pennsylvania,whose church forbids all technology - though Dave gets lifts to work in a car and the couple, by allowing themselves to be filmed, risk the wrath of church elders. Having outlined their traditional life-style to camera Miriam persuades several friends to be happily filmed and it becomes clear that the Lapps and other, younger Amish, believe that, having been rebaptized to allow a more open evangelical approach - risking excommunication thereby - they feel the need for a change in the community. The film ends as the family consolidates its dream to own their own farm.
* Fame High (2012)
Everyone dreams of fame. From the nail-biting freshman auditions to the spectacular year-end performances, Fame High captures the in-class and at-home drama, competition, heartbreak, and triumph during one school year at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA), also known as Fame High. Talented teenagers reach for their dreams of becoming actors, singers, dancers, and musicians. LACHSA is one of the most respected and competitive public arts high schools in the country. The arts teachers are working professionals, and some of the famous alumni include singing phenomenon Josh Groban, as well as actors Corbin Bleu, Jenna Elfman, and Anthony Anderson, and principal dancer of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Matt Rushing.
* Copacabana Palace (2014)
It will cost you around £500 to spend a night at the Copacabana Palace hotel in Rio de Janeiro, but thanks to this one-off documentary, you can have a look around for nothing. Famous guests have included Orson Welles, Charles and Diana, Robert De Niro and Madonna. The fortunes of the Copacabana have changed since the 1960s-80s, when Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship. Now the country's economy is booming and the rich flock to the hotel, where they rub shoulders with celebrities, while many employees live in the poorest parts of the city and take home less than £300 per month.
* Dolphins: Spy in the Pod (2014)
The award-winning team behind Penguins - Spy in the Huddle use hidden cameras to go into the heart of the dolphins' world, offering the chance to encounter dolphins up-close.
Episode 1:
The award-winning team behind Penguins - Spy in the Huddle use hidden cameras to go into the heart of the dolphins' world, offering the chance to encounter dolphins up-close. The camera eyes of 13 different 'Spy Creatures', including Spy Dolphin, Spy Nautilus and Spy Turtle, allow behaviour to be captured that has never been filmed before, including a vast superpod of spinner dolphins hunting huge shoals of lanternfish while dodging the gaping mouths of giant rays. In Mozambique, a newborn bottlenose dolphin learns from his mother as they follow a mysterious gathering of stingrays and then hunt huge kingfish. He practices his sonar, plays with bubbles and also discovers ways to dislodge pesky suckerfish. Nearby, the males live a playboy lifestyle as they play chicken with supertankers, visit a coral health spa and surf the waves. When they try to woo the females their direct approach threatens the baby, but eventually bouquets of seaweed have the desired effect. Other astonishing sights include dolphins using rings of mud to catch fish and the spectacular high-speed leaps and corkscrews of spinner dolphins. There is humour too, when Spy Turtle encounters real amorous turtles and Spy Squid has a near miss with a hungry potato bass.
Episode 2:
Remote-controlled spy creatures reveal dolphins as never before. Meet the orca, king of the dolphins, and discover the intimacy of its remarkable family life. Find dolphins that wear sponges on their noses, and race with the fastest dolphin in the world - the dall's porpoise. Discover a real dolphin secret agent that carries a camera into the pod to uncover their mysteries of communication and interactions. Elsewhere, a young bottlenose begins a life on his own joined by Spy Puffer and Spy Baby - a cute camera dolphin that has bubble conversations with real dolphins! The youngster makes friends with a rare humpback dolphin, joins a gang and takes part in a bizarre initiation ceremony. He also becomes intoxicated on the secretions of strange fish and finally woos a female with gifts and charm. Most of the behaviour is filmed for the first time. Other spectacles include superpods of common dolphins feeding among sharks; and orcas using their cleverness to catch dolphins and seals. Spy Dolphin joins a pod as it strands itself to catch fish and it's curtains for one Spy Creature as he himself becomes a meal. Never before has the extraordinary intelligence of dolphins been so intimately revealed.
Episode 1:
The award-winning team behind Penguins - Spy in the Huddle use hidden cameras to go into the heart of the dolphins' world, offering the chance to encounter dolphins up-close. The camera eyes of 13 different 'Spy Creatures', including Spy Dolphin, Spy Nautilus and Spy Turtle, allow behaviour to be captured that has never been filmed before, including a vast superpod of spinner dolphins hunting huge shoals of lanternfish while dodging the gaping mouths of giant rays. In Mozambique, a newborn bottlenose dolphin learns from his mother as they follow a mysterious gathering of stingrays and then hunt huge kingfish. He practices his sonar, plays with bubbles and also discovers ways to dislodge pesky suckerfish. Nearby, the males live a playboy lifestyle as they play chicken with supertankers, visit a coral health spa and surf the waves. When they try to woo the females their direct approach threatens the baby, but eventually bouquets of seaweed have the desired effect. Other astonishing sights include dolphins using rings of mud to catch fish and the spectacular high-speed leaps and corkscrews of spinner dolphins. There is humour too, when Spy Turtle encounters real amorous turtles and Spy Squid has a near miss with a hungry potato bass.
Episode 2:
Remote-controlled spy creatures reveal dolphins as never before. Meet the orca, king of the dolphins, and discover the intimacy of its remarkable family life. Find dolphins that wear sponges on their noses, and race with the fastest dolphin in the world - the dall's porpoise. Discover a real dolphin secret agent that carries a camera into the pod to uncover their mysteries of communication and interactions. Elsewhere, a young bottlenose begins a life on his own joined by Spy Puffer and Spy Baby - a cute camera dolphin that has bubble conversations with real dolphins! The youngster makes friends with a rare humpback dolphin, joins a gang and takes part in a bizarre initiation ceremony. He also becomes intoxicated on the secretions of strange fish and finally woos a female with gifts and charm. Most of the behaviour is filmed for the first time. Other spectacles include superpods of common dolphins feeding among sharks; and orcas using their cleverness to catch dolphins and seals. Spy Dolphin joins a pod as it strands itself to catch fish and it's curtains for one Spy Creature as he himself becomes a meal. Never before has the extraordinary intelligence of dolphins been so intimately revealed.
* The Rise and Fall of Five Iron Frenzy (2010)
Hailing from Denver Colorado, this group of underdogs ascended to become both adored and despised for their nine albums and almost 1000 live performances. Riding the fence between a Christian fad and a secular phenomenon, Five Iron Frenzy never quite belonged in either world. This is the story of how nine people rose to have one of the greatest cult followings of any band in recent history, and of their subsequent demise. More fun than a pi𠳡 full of pork and beans - the rise and fall of Five Iron Frenzy.
* Diaoyu Islands: The Truth (2014)
The current geo-political issues surrounding the historically Chinese Diaoyu Islands are a relic of Japanese Imperialism and post-WWII politics of the United States. This film take a deeper look at this subject to provide clarity that is currently escaping the majority of news agencies and Western understanding.
* The Path To Darkness (2011)
Billions have been invested by Saudi Arabia in U.S. universities in the last years. At the same time, our western values have been eroded by moral relativism. This leads an entire generation to believe in new mythologies such as: a genocide is perpetrated against Palestinians; Suicide Killers are kamikazes, or freedom fighters,;Cho, Eric and Dylan, the murderers of Virginia Tech and Columbine are a typical product of our repressive society; the U.S. army is an occupation force in Iraq, and many other relativist revisions of history, leading to the path to darkness.
Pierre Rehov’s latest film “The Path To Darkness” has led him to investigate those mythologies, and takes us to Japan, to meet with WW2 former kamikazes, to Iraq, where he was embedded in the U.S. Army’s 4th Cavalry, into Gaza and the West Bank. And for the first time, he documents the step by step religious brainwashing of a candidate to suicide-terrorism, including the rituals preceding his criminal act and much more. Rehov also has close encounters with families of suicide killers, and local Imams. Following the acclaimed “Suicide Killers”, “The Path to Darkness” will take you on a journey deeper into the mind of terrorists, while debunking the dangerous mythologies propagated among our new generations.
Pierre Rehov’s latest film “The Path To Darkness” has led him to investigate those mythologies, and takes us to Japan, to meet with WW2 former kamikazes, to Iraq, where he was embedded in the U.S. Army’s 4th Cavalry, into Gaza and the West Bank. And for the first time, he documents the step by step religious brainwashing of a candidate to suicide-terrorism, including the rituals preceding his criminal act and much more. Rehov also has close encounters with families of suicide killers, and local Imams. Following the acclaimed “Suicide Killers”, “The Path to Darkness” will take you on a journey deeper into the mind of terrorists, while debunking the dangerous mythologies propagated among our new generations.
* The (Dead Mothers) Club (2014)
The Club tells the story of three women - a southern artist reinventing herself after her mother's sudden death; a young mother living in a new country, discovering her genetic fate and a high-school senior seeking independence - all of whom lost their mothers during adolescence. Their journeys reveal how coming of age without their mothers has and continues to play a role in their lives. Structured around a series of 'dialogues' that focus on various themes threading their stories together, these ruminations allow for heart-breaking and at times humorous insight into how ultimately one's past can dictate their future. From intricate relationships with adopted mother figures, the cyclical nature of grief to their own mortality, the women of The Club provoke thoughts surrounding the innate and complicated nature of the mother/daughter relationship, even in its absence.
* Filthy Riches (2014)
National Geographic Channel tromps into the wild with blue-collar pioneers who shirked conventional 9-to-5 careers to make their living in the deep rivers, soggy mudflats and wild backwoods of America. Filthy Riches, a new series premiering Sunday, April 20, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, travels the country with industrious Americans who prove they’re not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty in order to make a living.
Episode 1 – Harvest Moon
For Ray Turner, living off the land means constantly rebuilding his eel weir in preparation for the annual eel migration. For Billy Taylor and his sons, it means hunting in the dense Appalachian Mountains for the prized root ginseng. Bloodworm hunters Andy and Jim are racing against the incoming tide of the Maine mudflats. One wrong step and they could be stuck, waist-deep, in quicksand-like mud pits. Burl hunter Greg is searching for Box Elder burls, but only has one day to do it.
Episode 2 – Hungry for Money
On the Delaware River, eel fisherman Ray faces a huge lightning storm as he paddles to his weir. In Oregon, Greg and Albert struggle to remove a 1,500-pound burl from the side of a steep, craggy hill. Across the country in Maine, bloodworm diggers Jim and Andy get into a heated battle with two other diggers who are trying to invade their turf. And in the woods of Michigan, Chris and Levena are trying to find mushrooms that have not been damaged by recent heavy rains.
Episode 3 – High Stakes High Reward
Jim and Andy offer some wisdom to a couple of newcomers whilst Billy gambles on a large ginseng order
Episode 4 – Go Big or Go Home
In Michigan forests, Chris and Levena are racing against the clock to fill an order of prized wild mushrooms. In Maine, Jim and Andy battle clam diggers over digging territory. Meanwhile, in Chico, Calif., Greg and Al take a huge risk and purchase an old tree with a large burl that may be infested with fungus, but may also bring them a big paycheck. Finally, on the Delaware River, Ray is not catching as many eels as he should and suspects someone ? or something ? is stealing his eel catch.
Episode 1 – Harvest Moon
For Ray Turner, living off the land means constantly rebuilding his eel weir in preparation for the annual eel migration. For Billy Taylor and his sons, it means hunting in the dense Appalachian Mountains for the prized root ginseng. Bloodworm hunters Andy and Jim are racing against the incoming tide of the Maine mudflats. One wrong step and they could be stuck, waist-deep, in quicksand-like mud pits. Burl hunter Greg is searching for Box Elder burls, but only has one day to do it.
Episode 2 – Hungry for Money
On the Delaware River, eel fisherman Ray faces a huge lightning storm as he paddles to his weir. In Oregon, Greg and Albert struggle to remove a 1,500-pound burl from the side of a steep, craggy hill. Across the country in Maine, bloodworm diggers Jim and Andy get into a heated battle with two other diggers who are trying to invade their turf. And in the woods of Michigan, Chris and Levena are trying to find mushrooms that have not been damaged by recent heavy rains.
Episode 3 – High Stakes High Reward
Jim and Andy offer some wisdom to a couple of newcomers whilst Billy gambles on a large ginseng order
Episode 4 – Go Big or Go Home
In Michigan forests, Chris and Levena are racing against the clock to fill an order of prized wild mushrooms. In Maine, Jim and Andy battle clam diggers over digging territory. Meanwhile, in Chico, Calif., Greg and Al take a huge risk and purchase an old tree with a large burl that may be infested with fungus, but may also bring them a big paycheck. Finally, on the Delaware River, Ray is not catching as many eels as he should and suspects someone ? or something ? is stealing his eel catch.
* From Jail To Jihad (2014)
The current affairs programme investigates the radicalisation of some Muslims within the prison system, as Raphael Rowe interviews extremists about their experiences inside.
* Creating Freedom: The Lottery of Birth (2013)
A three-part documentary series entitled 'Creating Freedom' exploring the relationship between freedom, power and control in Western democracies. The series draws together interviews with some of the world's leading intellectuals, journalists and activists to offer an alternative perspective on today's society and the future we're creating. We do not choose to exist, or the environment we grow up in. Our starting point in life is one of passive reliance on forces over which we have no control. This suggest that from birth onwards our minds are a battleground of competing forces: familial, educational, cultural, and professional. The outcome of this battle not only determines who we become, but the society that we create.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
* Bible Secrets Revealed (2013)
It's the world's all-time best-selling book and has been read and studied by billions over the past 2,000 years. Yet, after all this time, there are still so many mysteries and unanswered questions about the Bible: Who wrote it? How old is it? And is it accurate? From the moral codes of the Old Testament to the apocalyptic predictions of the Book of Revelation, HISTORY's new series, "Bible Secrets Revealed" , seeks to answer those very questions. Over the course of six episodes, scholars, archaeologists and religious leaders will treat viewers to stunning, on-location photography and compelling reenactments while revealing hidden facts and shocking information about this ancient text.
Episode 1 - "Lost in Translation"
Examining contradictions and questions from a variety of historical and theological perspectives that have been debated for centuries.
Episode 2 - "The Promised Land"
It is considered the most sacred place on Earth. But it has also been carved up, sub-divided and fought over for thousands of years. Was the area known as "The Promised Land" really given by God to a "chosen people?
Episode 3 - "The Forbidden Scriptures"
A theory that chapters were censored from the Bible is explored.
Episode 4 - "The Real Jesus"
Jesuss’ portrayal in the Bible is examined.
Episode 5 - "Mysterious Prophecies"
What the Biblical prophecies really foretell.
Episode 1 - "Lost in Translation"
Examining contradictions and questions from a variety of historical and theological perspectives that have been debated for centuries.
Episode 2 - "The Promised Land"
It is considered the most sacred place on Earth. But it has also been carved up, sub-divided and fought over for thousands of years. Was the area known as "The Promised Land" really given by God to a "chosen people?
Episode 3 - "The Forbidden Scriptures"
A theory that chapters were censored from the Bible is explored.
Episode 4 - "The Real Jesus"
Jesuss’ portrayal in the Bible is examined.
Episode 5 - "Mysterious Prophecies"
What the Biblical prophecies really foretell.
* Apocalypse: The Second World War (2009)
This series tells the epic story of World War II, providing an insight into the experiences of the millions of soldiers who fought across countries and continents, and the moving stories of the millions of civilians who saw their homes destroyed and lives disrupted by the cataclysm of war.
To tell this story, the best footage of World War II has been painstakingly transformed into colour, using digital techniques. Along with original colour home movies, it gives a new perspective on one of the great events of the last century.
Episode 1: Hitler's Rise to Power (1933-1939)
This first episode covers Hitler's invasion of Poland, when the world stood on the brink of war, and features stunning colourised footage of the catastrophe faced by the Polish army as it was crushed by the Nazi war machine.
Episode 2: Collapse of France (1939-1940)
The story of Hitler's lightning invasion of France and its rapid collapse, of the evacuation from Dunkirk, and of the summer of 1940 when Britain fought on alone. In new digital colour, this episode shows the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.
Episode 3: Origins of the Holocaust (1940-1941)
The story of Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union, of Rommel's war against the British in North Africa and of the horrors of the murder of Russian Jews - sometimes known as the Holocaust by Bullets.
Episode 4: American Allies (1941-1942)
The story of the sudden Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the early days of the war in the Pacific. Back in Europe, this episode looks at the bombing offensive against Germany and at the appalling crime of the Holocaust.
To tell this story, the best footage of World War II has been painstakingly transformed into colour, using digital techniques. Along with original colour home movies, it gives a new perspective on one of the great events of the last century.
Episode 1: Hitler's Rise to Power (1933-1939)
This first episode covers Hitler's invasion of Poland, when the world stood on the brink of war, and features stunning colourised footage of the catastrophe faced by the Polish army as it was crushed by the Nazi war machine.
Episode 2: Collapse of France (1939-1940)
The story of Hitler's lightning invasion of France and its rapid collapse, of the evacuation from Dunkirk, and of the summer of 1940 when Britain fought on alone. In new digital colour, this episode shows the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.
Episode 3: Origins of the Holocaust (1940-1941)
The story of Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union, of Rommel's war against the British in North Africa and of the horrors of the murder of Russian Jews - sometimes known as the Holocaust by Bullets.
Episode 4: American Allies (1941-1942)
The story of the sudden Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the early days of the war in the Pacific. Back in Europe, this episode looks at the bombing offensive against Germany and at the appalling crime of the Holocaust.
Episode 5: Allies Strike Back (1942-1943)
This episode looks at the turning of the war against Germany, with Allied victory at El Alamein and Russian triumph at Stalingrad. Inside Hitler's Germany the SS gain more power, and in southern Europe the Allies fight their way though Italy.
Episode 6: Retreat and Surrender (944-1945)
The dramatic story of the D-Day landings and of the liberation of Paris. In the east the Soviets liberate Auschwitz and fight their way to the heart of Berlin. Germany finally surrenders, but Japan fights on until the atom bombs are dropped.
This episode looks at the turning of the war against Germany, with Allied victory at El Alamein and Russian triumph at Stalingrad. Inside Hitler's Germany the SS gain more power, and in southern Europe the Allies fight their way though Italy.
Episode 6: Retreat and Surrender (944-1945)
The dramatic story of the D-Day landings and of the liberation of Paris. In the east the Soviets liberate Auschwitz and fight their way to the heart of Berlin. Germany finally surrenders, but Japan fights on until the atom bombs are dropped.
* This was produced by a French company.
* Waterfront Cities of the World (Series)
As seen through the eyes of world-famous photographer Heidi Hollinger, we set off to discover vibrant port cities and capture their true essence and soul. Settled centuries ago when boat travel was the only means of communication, these ports have developed into commercial and cultural metropolises, rich in their unique history.
* Water Life (2010) *** Who made this? Check video to see?
Water Life Through spectacular photography and featuring an award winning soundtrack, Water Life captures extraordinary locations and intimate animal behaviour never before seen on film. Two years in the making, this groundbreaking series takes viewers on an unprecedented visual journey to aquatic ecosystems on five continents to reveal how water shapes and sculpts the landscape and provides food and refuge for an astonishing array of species. From the biggest whales to the most insignificant mosquitoes, every living being depends on the water and is linked to this liquid in a special way for their survival. But, water is not just there for animal species, it also makes possible vast landscapes such as caverns, sea beds, glaciers and valleys. Each chapter of Water life explores a different ecosystem as we discover the characteristics of water that make life possible on the planet, and the different ways that the animals and plants have adapted to this environment. Follow the water in all of its manifestations, discovering the things that make it so fundamental to life, and uncover a fascinating and gripping world. From the fountains near our houses to the vast sea depths or the fast flowing rivers, it is close to the water that we find the most wild and diverse nature. Thanks to this incredible documentary series, we will learn some of the secrets that make water the real pool of life. If you enjoyed the BBC's "The Blue Planet", than I would strongly recommend you investigate Water Life which is equally as good. From exceptional narration to some wonderful photography that truly enhances the entire experience. This is a professional and well made documentary from start to finish and rarely skips a heart bit as we see all the amazing links to water and the life it has spawned.
26 Episodes
* Untold History of the United States (2012)
There is a classified America we were never meant to see. From Academy Award-winning writer/director Oliver Stone, this ten-part documentary series looks back at human events that at the time went under reported, but that crucially shaped America's unique and complex history over the 20th Century. From the atomic bombing of Japan to the Cold War and the fall of Communism, this in-depth, surprising, and totally riveting series demands to be watched again and again.
The first three episodes of the series premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 6, 2012, The series premiered on Showtime in November 2012.
Episode 1: World War Two
The first chapter explores the birth of the American Empire by focusing on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Through examination of key decisions during World War Two, discover unsung heroes such as American Henry Wallace and explore the demonization of the Soviets.
Episode 2: Roosevelt, Truman and Wallace
Highlights from the historical upset of Harry Truman replacing Henry Wallace as Roosevelt's Vice President during his fourth term; this dramatic shift in leadership propelled the U.S. towards empire building. Exploration of the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and the beginnings of the Cold War. The relationships between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill are an integral part of post-war Europe's division at the Yalta conference.
Episode 3: The Bomb
The strategies behind the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan are explored as well as the new mythology that emerged from the war. The bombing haunted the Soviets and mistrust towards the Allies grew quickly. The consequences of beginning a process that could end life on the planet are examined.
Episode 4: The Cold War - 1945-1950
The equation changes: specific month-by-month causes of the Cold War emerge and it is not entirely clear who started it. Highlights include Churchill's Iron Curtain speech, the civil war in Greece and the Red Scare that prompts the rise of Joseph McCarthy, the House Un-American Activities Committee and the FBI.
Episode 5: The 50s - Eisenhower, the Bomb and the Third World
Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles replace Truman. Stalin dies but relations with the Soviet Union turn colder. The H-bomb and the doctrine of nuclear annihilation are explored, as are the Korean War and U.S. rearmament. McCarthyism grows and so does the ruthlessness of U.S. policy towards the Third World. Eisenhower emerges as a game changer.
Episode 6: JFK - To The Brink
John F. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, on the brink of total war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the early Vietnam War. Kennedy's attempts at peace with Khrushchev. Examining Kennedy's assassination.
Episode 7: Johnson, Nixon and Vietnam: Reversal of Fortune
Cataclysm in Vietnam as the war reaches a turning point—there's no going back. The betrayal by Richard Nixon. Nixon's involvement in Watergate comes to light.
Episode 8: Reagan, Gorbachev & Third World - Revival of Fortune
Carter's dreams of change give way to Ronald Reagan. Gorbachev redeems Reagan and fresh opportunities for peace arise. The debate over Reagan's legacy.
Episode 9: Bush & Clinton - Squandered Peace - New World Order
George W. Bush's doctrine of endless war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the continued cannibalization of the U.S. economy. Squandered chances given by the end of the Cold War. A new USA, the National Security Fortress.
Episode 10: Bush & Obama: Age of Terror
The meaning of events up to today. Obama and the destiny of the American Empire.
The first three episodes of the series premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 6, 2012, The series premiered on Showtime in November 2012.
Episode 1: World War Two
The first chapter explores the birth of the American Empire by focusing on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Through examination of key decisions during World War Two, discover unsung heroes such as American Henry Wallace and explore the demonization of the Soviets.
Episode 2: Roosevelt, Truman and Wallace
Highlights from the historical upset of Harry Truman replacing Henry Wallace as Roosevelt's Vice President during his fourth term; this dramatic shift in leadership propelled the U.S. towards empire building. Exploration of the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and the beginnings of the Cold War. The relationships between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill are an integral part of post-war Europe's division at the Yalta conference.
Episode 3: The Bomb
The strategies behind the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan are explored as well as the new mythology that emerged from the war. The bombing haunted the Soviets and mistrust towards the Allies grew quickly. The consequences of beginning a process that could end life on the planet are examined.
Episode 4: The Cold War - 1945-1950
The equation changes: specific month-by-month causes of the Cold War emerge and it is not entirely clear who started it. Highlights include Churchill's Iron Curtain speech, the civil war in Greece and the Red Scare that prompts the rise of Joseph McCarthy, the House Un-American Activities Committee and the FBI.
Episode 5: The 50s - Eisenhower, the Bomb and the Third World
Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles replace Truman. Stalin dies but relations with the Soviet Union turn colder. The H-bomb and the doctrine of nuclear annihilation are explored, as are the Korean War and U.S. rearmament. McCarthyism grows and so does the ruthlessness of U.S. policy towards the Third World. Eisenhower emerges as a game changer.
Episode 6: JFK - To The Brink
John F. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, on the brink of total war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the early Vietnam War. Kennedy's attempts at peace with Khrushchev. Examining Kennedy's assassination.
Episode 7: Johnson, Nixon and Vietnam: Reversal of Fortune
Cataclysm in Vietnam as the war reaches a turning point—there's no going back. The betrayal by Richard Nixon. Nixon's involvement in Watergate comes to light.
Episode 8: Reagan, Gorbachev & Third World - Revival of Fortune
Carter's dreams of change give way to Ronald Reagan. Gorbachev redeems Reagan and fresh opportunities for peace arise. The debate over Reagan's legacy.
Episode 9: Bush & Clinton - Squandered Peace - New World Order
George W. Bush's doctrine of endless war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the continued cannibalization of the U.S. economy. Squandered chances given by the end of the Cold War. A new USA, the National Security Fortress.
Episode 10: Bush & Obama: Age of Terror
The meaning of events up to today. Obama and the destiny of the American Empire.
* The Silk Road: China to Turkey (2011)
The Silk Road influenced the great civilizations of China, India, Ancient Egypt, Persia, Arabia, and Ancient Rome. The Silk Road was filmed by award-winning filmmaker Marlin Darrah, and crew. Filmed in high definition. In 1271 Marco Polo left Venice, Italy on a journey of 4,000 miles to China. His book, "The Travels of Marco Polo," opened the trade route to greater traffic as cultures, ideas, and goods from the West and East were exchanged and great fortunes were made on the Silk Road. China traded silk, teas, and porcelain. India traded spices, ivory, textiles, precious stones, and pepper. The Roman Empire exported gold, silver, fine glassware, wine, carpets, and jewels. This program travels through five countries and thirty cities bridging the Far East with Europe. Visit these exotic lands and learn about their cultures, modern traditions, and histories.
* Scam City (2012)
Ever had your pocket picked? Been ripped off by a taxi driver? Well, every year, hundreds of millions of tourists have their holidays ruined by conmen and scammers and often in the most glamorous cities on earth. Now Conor Woodman enters the underworld of petty crime and gets scammed…so you don't have to.
Episode 1: Buenos Aires
Common scams in Buenos Aires involve pick pocketing, clip joints, vice girls and taxi scams. Perhaps most prevalent though, and running out of control, is the city's problem with counterfeit money.
Episode 2 Prague
Disguised as beautiful girls, harmless hawkers and friendly taxi drivers, Prague's scammers emerge after dark to prey on the scores of unwitting tourists enjoying the nightlife.
Episode 3 Rio De Janeiro
When millions of tourists descend on Rio for one of the biggest parties on the planet at Carnival time, it's time for Rio's scammers to party hard too.
Episode 4 Barcelona
Barcelona has so much to give but the city's creative thieves are also ready to take what they can from unsuspecting tourists. Travel expert Conor Woodman wants to see exactly who these people are.
Episode 5 Rome
Travel expert Conor Woodman is in Rome, on a mission to uncover the gritty underworld that feeds off the Eternal City's thriving tourist scene.
Episode 6 Delhi
Delhi is a vibrant melting pot, offering deliciously different experiences that attract backpackers from all over the world. Conor Woodman reveals how innocent tourists are taken in.
Episode 7 Istanbul
The exotic blend of Istanbul can be both fascinating and disorienting and, as travel expert Conor Woodman finds, a perfect environment for scammers to target vulnerable tourists.
Episode 8 Bangkok
Travel expert Conor Woodman returns to Bangkok to see if the gem scam he first encountered there is still being run and to discover even more elaborate ones.
Episode 9 Las Vegas
Travel expert Conor Woodman goes on a journey from the swankiest casinos and nightclubs to beneath the Strip itself, where tunnel dwellers live in the storm drains.
Episode 10 Marrakech
Travel expert Conor Woodman is in the labyrinthine city of Marrakech. It's a maze-like world where you're lost without a guide… but there's no way to be sure whose side the guide is on.
Episode 1: Buenos Aires
Common scams in Buenos Aires involve pick pocketing, clip joints, vice girls and taxi scams. Perhaps most prevalent though, and running out of control, is the city's problem with counterfeit money.
Episode 2 Prague
Disguised as beautiful girls, harmless hawkers and friendly taxi drivers, Prague's scammers emerge after dark to prey on the scores of unwitting tourists enjoying the nightlife.
Episode 3 Rio De Janeiro
When millions of tourists descend on Rio for one of the biggest parties on the planet at Carnival time, it's time for Rio's scammers to party hard too.
Episode 4 Barcelona
Barcelona has so much to give but the city's creative thieves are also ready to take what they can from unsuspecting tourists. Travel expert Conor Woodman wants to see exactly who these people are.
Episode 5 Rome
Travel expert Conor Woodman is in Rome, on a mission to uncover the gritty underworld that feeds off the Eternal City's thriving tourist scene.
Episode 6 Delhi
Delhi is a vibrant melting pot, offering deliciously different experiences that attract backpackers from all over the world. Conor Woodman reveals how innocent tourists are taken in.
Episode 7 Istanbul
The exotic blend of Istanbul can be both fascinating and disorienting and, as travel expert Conor Woodman finds, a perfect environment for scammers to target vulnerable tourists.
Episode 8 Bangkok
Travel expert Conor Woodman returns to Bangkok to see if the gem scam he first encountered there is still being run and to discover even more elaborate ones.
Episode 9 Las Vegas
Travel expert Conor Woodman goes on a journey from the swankiest casinos and nightclubs to beneath the Strip itself, where tunnel dwellers live in the storm drains.
Episode 10 Marrakech
Travel expert Conor Woodman is in the labyrinthine city of Marrakech. It's a maze-like world where you're lost without a guide… but there's no way to be sure whose side the guide is on.
* Planet Earth (2006)
As of its release in early 2007, Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced. Following the similarly monumental achievement of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, this astonishing 11-part BBC series is brilliantly narrated by Sir David Attenborough and sensibly organized so that each 50-minute episode covers a specific geographical region and/or wildlife habitat (mountains, caves, deserts, shallow seas, seasonal forests, etc.) until the entire planet has been magnificently represented by the most astonishing sights and sounds you'll ever experience from the comforts of home. The premiere episode, "From Pole to Pole," serves as a primer for things to come, placing the entire series in proper context and giving a general overview of what to expect from each individual episode. Without being overtly political, the series maintains a consistent and subtle emphasis on the urgent need for ongoing conservation, best illustrated by the plight of polar bears whose very behavior is changing (to accommodate life-threatening changes in their fast-melting habitat) in the wake of global warming--a phenomenon that this series appropriately presents as scientific fact. With this harsh reality as subtext, the series proceeds to accentuate the positive, delivering a seemingly endless variety of natural wonders, from the spectacular mating displays of New Guinea's various birds of paradise to a rare encounter with Siberia's nearly-extinct Amur Leopards, of which only 30 remain in the wild.
That's just a hint of the marvels on display. Accompanied by majestic orchestral scores by George Fenton, every episode is packed with images so beautiful or so forcefully impressive (and so perfectly photographed by the BBC's tenacious high-definition camera crews) that you'll be rendered speechless by the splendor of it all. You'll see a seal struggling to out-maneuver a Great White Shark; swimming macaques in the Ganges delta; massive flocks of snow geese numbering in the hundreds of thousands; an awesome night-vision sequence of lions attacking an elephant; the Colugo (or "flying lemur"--not really a lemur!) of the Philippines; a hunting alliance of fish and snakes on Indonesia's magnificent coral reef; the bioluminescent "vampire squid" of the deep oceans... these are just a few of countless highlights, masterfully filmed from every conceivable angle, with frequent use of super-slow-motion and amazing motion-controlled time-lapse cinematography, and narrated by Sir Attenborough with his trademark combination of observational wit and informative authority. The result is a hugely entertaining series that doesn't flinch from the predatory realities of nature (death is a constant presence, without being off-putting).
At a time when the multiple threats of global warming should be obvious to all, let's give Sir David the last word, from the closing of Planet Earth's final episode: "We can now destroy or we can cherish--the choice is ours." -- Jeff Shannon
Episode 1: From Pole To Pole
The lives of animals and plants are dominated by the sun and fresh water which trigger seasonal journeys. The latest technology and aerial photography enable the Planet Earth team to track some of the greatest mass migrations.In the Arctic spring, a mother polar bear and cubs emerge from their winter den. They have just two weeks to cross the frozen sea before it melts and they become stranded. Share the most intimate and complete picture of polar bear life ever filmed. Further south, time-lapse cameras capture the annual transformation created by the Okavango floods.
Episode 2: Mountains
Tour the mightiest mountain ranges, starting with the birth of a mountain at one of the lowest places on Earth and ending at the summit of Everest.One of Earth's rarest phenomena is a lava lake that has been erupting for over 100 years.The same forces built the Simian Mountains where troops of gelada baboons live, nearly a thousand strong. In the Rockies, grizzlies build winter dens inside avalanche-prone slopes. The programme also brings us astounding images of a snow leopard hunting on the Pakistan peaks, a world first.
Episode 3: Freshwater
Fresh water defines the distribution of life on land. Follow the descent of rivers from their mountain sources to the sea. Watch spectacular waterfalls, fly inside the Grand Canyon and explore the wildlife in the world's deepest lake.Planet Earth captures unique and dramatic moments of animal behaviour: a showdown between smooth-coated otters and mugger crocodiles; deep-diving long tailed macaques; massive flocks of snow geese on the wing and a piranha frenzy in the perilous waters of the world's largest wetland.
Episode 4: Caves
The Cave of Swallows in Mexico is a 400m vertical shaft, deep enough to engulf the Empire State Building. The Lechuguilla cave system in the USA is 193km long with astonishing crystal formations.Caves are remarkable habitats with equally bizarre wildlife. Cave angel fish cling to the walls behind waterfalls with microscopic hooks on their fins. Cave swiftlets navigate by echo-location and build nests out of saliva. The Texas cave salamander has neither eyes nor pigment. Planet Earth gets unique access to a hidden world of stalactites, stalagmites, snotites and troglodytes.
Episode 5: Deserts
Around 30% of the land's surface is desert, the most varied of our ecosystems despite the lack of rain. Saharan sandstorms reach nearly a mile high and desert rivers run for a single day.In the Gobi Desert, rare Bactrian camels get moisture from the snow. In the Atacama, guanacos survive by licking dew off cactus spines. The brief blooming of Death Valley triggers a plague of locusts 65km wide and 160km long. A unique aerial voyage over the Namibian desert reveals elephants on a long trek for food and desert lions searching for wandering oryx.
Episode 6: Ice Worlds
The Arctic and Antarctic experience the most extreme seasons on Earth. Time-lapse cameras watch a colony of emperor penguins, transforming them into a single organism. The film reveals new science about the dynamics of emperor penguin behaviour.In the north, unique aerial images show a polar bear swimming more than 100km. Diving for up to two minutes at a time. The exhausted polar bear later attacks a herd of walrus in a true clash of the Titans.
Episode 7: Great Plains
After filming for three years, Planet Earth finally captures the shy Mongolian gazelle. Only a handful of people have witnessed its annual migration. Don't miss the bizarre-looking Tibetan fox, captured on film for the first time.Over six weeks the team follow a pride of 30 lions as they attempt to hunt elephants. Using the latest night vision equipment, the crew film the chaotic battles that ensue at close quarters.
Episode 8: Jungles
Jungles cover roughly three per cent of our planet yet contain 50 per cent of the world's species. High-definition cameras enable unprecedented views of animals living on the dark jungle floor.In the Ngogo forest the largest chimpanzee group in the world defends its territory from neighbouring groups. Other jungle specialists include parasitic fungi which infiltrate an insect host, feed on it, and then burst out of its body.
Episode 9: Shallow Seas
A humpback whale mother and calf embark on an epic journey from tropical coral paradises to storm ravaged polar seas.Newly discovered coral reefs in Indonesia reveal head-butting pygmy seahorses, flashing 'electric' clams and bands of sea kraits, 30-strong, which hunt in packs. Elsewhere plagues of sea urchins fell forests of giant kelp. Huge bull fur seals attack king penguins, who despite their weight disadvantage, put up a spirited defence.
Episode 10: Seasonal Forests
The Taiga forest, on the edge of the Arctic, is a silent world of stunted conifers. The trees may be small but filming from the air reveals its true scale. A third of all trees on Earth grow here and during the short summer they produce enough oxygen to change the atmosphere.In California General Sherman, a giant sequoia, is the largest living thing on the planet, ten times the size of a blue whale. The oldest organisms alive are bristlecone pines. At more than 4,000 years old they pre-date the pyramids. But the baobab forests of Madagascar are perhaps the strangest of all.
Episode 11: Ocean Deep
The final instalment concentrates on the most unexplored area of the planet: the deep ocean. It begins with a whale shark used as a shield by a shoal of bait fish to protect themselves from yellowfin tuna. Also shown is an oceanic whitetip shark trailing rainbow runners. Meanwhile, a 500-strong school of dolphins head for the Azores, where they work together to feast on scad mackerel along with a shearwater flock. Down in the ocean's furthest reaches, some creatures defy classification. On the sea floor, scavengers such as the spider crab bide their time, awaiting carrion from above. The volcanic mountain chain at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean also sustains life through the bacteria that surround its sulphide vents. There are thought to be around 30,000 undersea volcanoes, some of them taller than Mount Everest. Their sheer cliffs provide anchorage for several corals and sponges. Nearer the surface, the currents that surround these seamounts force nutrients up from below and thus marine life around them is abundant. Ascension Island is a nesting ground for frigatebirds and green turtles. Off the Mexican coast, a large group of sailfish feed on another shoal of bait fish, changing colour to signal their intentions to each other, allowing them to coordinate their attack. The last sequence depicts the largest animal on Earth: the blue whale, of which 300,000 once roamed the world's oceans. Now fewer than 3% remain. Planet Earth Diaries shows the search in the Bahamas for oceanic whitetip sharks.
That's just a hint of the marvels on display. Accompanied by majestic orchestral scores by George Fenton, every episode is packed with images so beautiful or so forcefully impressive (and so perfectly photographed by the BBC's tenacious high-definition camera crews) that you'll be rendered speechless by the splendor of it all. You'll see a seal struggling to out-maneuver a Great White Shark; swimming macaques in the Ganges delta; massive flocks of snow geese numbering in the hundreds of thousands; an awesome night-vision sequence of lions attacking an elephant; the Colugo (or "flying lemur"--not really a lemur!) of the Philippines; a hunting alliance of fish and snakes on Indonesia's magnificent coral reef; the bioluminescent "vampire squid" of the deep oceans... these are just a few of countless highlights, masterfully filmed from every conceivable angle, with frequent use of super-slow-motion and amazing motion-controlled time-lapse cinematography, and narrated by Sir Attenborough with his trademark combination of observational wit and informative authority. The result is a hugely entertaining series that doesn't flinch from the predatory realities of nature (death is a constant presence, without being off-putting).
At a time when the multiple threats of global warming should be obvious to all, let's give Sir David the last word, from the closing of Planet Earth's final episode: "We can now destroy or we can cherish--the choice is ours." -- Jeff Shannon
Episode 1: From Pole To Pole
The lives of animals and plants are dominated by the sun and fresh water which trigger seasonal journeys. The latest technology and aerial photography enable the Planet Earth team to track some of the greatest mass migrations.In the Arctic spring, a mother polar bear and cubs emerge from their winter den. They have just two weeks to cross the frozen sea before it melts and they become stranded. Share the most intimate and complete picture of polar bear life ever filmed. Further south, time-lapse cameras capture the annual transformation created by the Okavango floods.
Episode 2: Mountains
Tour the mightiest mountain ranges, starting with the birth of a mountain at one of the lowest places on Earth and ending at the summit of Everest.One of Earth's rarest phenomena is a lava lake that has been erupting for over 100 years.The same forces built the Simian Mountains where troops of gelada baboons live, nearly a thousand strong. In the Rockies, grizzlies build winter dens inside avalanche-prone slopes. The programme also brings us astounding images of a snow leopard hunting on the Pakistan peaks, a world first.
Episode 3: Freshwater
Fresh water defines the distribution of life on land. Follow the descent of rivers from their mountain sources to the sea. Watch spectacular waterfalls, fly inside the Grand Canyon and explore the wildlife in the world's deepest lake.Planet Earth captures unique and dramatic moments of animal behaviour: a showdown between smooth-coated otters and mugger crocodiles; deep-diving long tailed macaques; massive flocks of snow geese on the wing and a piranha frenzy in the perilous waters of the world's largest wetland.
Episode 4: Caves
The Cave of Swallows in Mexico is a 400m vertical shaft, deep enough to engulf the Empire State Building. The Lechuguilla cave system in the USA is 193km long with astonishing crystal formations.Caves are remarkable habitats with equally bizarre wildlife. Cave angel fish cling to the walls behind waterfalls with microscopic hooks on their fins. Cave swiftlets navigate by echo-location and build nests out of saliva. The Texas cave salamander has neither eyes nor pigment. Planet Earth gets unique access to a hidden world of stalactites, stalagmites, snotites and troglodytes.
Episode 5: Deserts
Around 30% of the land's surface is desert, the most varied of our ecosystems despite the lack of rain. Saharan sandstorms reach nearly a mile high and desert rivers run for a single day.In the Gobi Desert, rare Bactrian camels get moisture from the snow. In the Atacama, guanacos survive by licking dew off cactus spines. The brief blooming of Death Valley triggers a plague of locusts 65km wide and 160km long. A unique aerial voyage over the Namibian desert reveals elephants on a long trek for food and desert lions searching for wandering oryx.
Episode 6: Ice Worlds
The Arctic and Antarctic experience the most extreme seasons on Earth. Time-lapse cameras watch a colony of emperor penguins, transforming them into a single organism. The film reveals new science about the dynamics of emperor penguin behaviour.In the north, unique aerial images show a polar bear swimming more than 100km. Diving for up to two minutes at a time. The exhausted polar bear later attacks a herd of walrus in a true clash of the Titans.
Episode 7: Great Plains
After filming for three years, Planet Earth finally captures the shy Mongolian gazelle. Only a handful of people have witnessed its annual migration. Don't miss the bizarre-looking Tibetan fox, captured on film for the first time.Over six weeks the team follow a pride of 30 lions as they attempt to hunt elephants. Using the latest night vision equipment, the crew film the chaotic battles that ensue at close quarters.
Episode 8: Jungles
Jungles cover roughly three per cent of our planet yet contain 50 per cent of the world's species. High-definition cameras enable unprecedented views of animals living on the dark jungle floor.In the Ngogo forest the largest chimpanzee group in the world defends its territory from neighbouring groups. Other jungle specialists include parasitic fungi which infiltrate an insect host, feed on it, and then burst out of its body.
Episode 9: Shallow Seas
A humpback whale mother and calf embark on an epic journey from tropical coral paradises to storm ravaged polar seas.Newly discovered coral reefs in Indonesia reveal head-butting pygmy seahorses, flashing 'electric' clams and bands of sea kraits, 30-strong, which hunt in packs. Elsewhere plagues of sea urchins fell forests of giant kelp. Huge bull fur seals attack king penguins, who despite their weight disadvantage, put up a spirited defence.
Episode 10: Seasonal Forests
The Taiga forest, on the edge of the Arctic, is a silent world of stunted conifers. The trees may be small but filming from the air reveals its true scale. A third of all trees on Earth grow here and during the short summer they produce enough oxygen to change the atmosphere.In California General Sherman, a giant sequoia, is the largest living thing on the planet, ten times the size of a blue whale. The oldest organisms alive are bristlecone pines. At more than 4,000 years old they pre-date the pyramids. But the baobab forests of Madagascar are perhaps the strangest of all.
Episode 11: Ocean Deep
The final instalment concentrates on the most unexplored area of the planet: the deep ocean. It begins with a whale shark used as a shield by a shoal of bait fish to protect themselves from yellowfin tuna. Also shown is an oceanic whitetip shark trailing rainbow runners. Meanwhile, a 500-strong school of dolphins head for the Azores, where they work together to feast on scad mackerel along with a shearwater flock. Down in the ocean's furthest reaches, some creatures defy classification. On the sea floor, scavengers such as the spider crab bide their time, awaiting carrion from above. The volcanic mountain chain at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean also sustains life through the bacteria that surround its sulphide vents. There are thought to be around 30,000 undersea volcanoes, some of them taller than Mount Everest. Their sheer cliffs provide anchorage for several corals and sponges. Nearer the surface, the currents that surround these seamounts force nutrients up from below and thus marine life around them is abundant. Ascension Island is a nesting ground for frigatebirds and green turtles. Off the Mexican coast, a large group of sailfish feed on another shoal of bait fish, changing colour to signal their intentions to each other, allowing them to coordinate their attack. The last sequence depicts the largest animal on Earth: the blue whale, of which 300,000 once roamed the world's oceans. Now fewer than 3% remain. Planet Earth Diaries shows the search in the Bahamas for oceanic whitetip sharks.
* The Muscle Car (2011)
The muscle car is the most coveted collector car today. These were the dream cars of America's baby boomer generation who came of age during the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s. American Icon chronicles the allure and evolution of the production cars sold to anyone who craved dominating performance. Each episode tells the story of a period during the muscle car era, beginning with the origins of the fire-breathing cars and ending with their demise due to government regulation, insurance costs and the gas crisis.
Episode 1: Origins
Detroit's post war performance cars prior to 1964.
Episode 2 The HEMI and the GTO
A chronicle of the Pontiac Temptest with the GTO package and the powerful 426 cubic inch race Hemi engine.
Episode 3: GMs a Bodies Roll
A-body cars from all four GM divisions.
Episode 4 The Pony Cars
The classic muscle car formula and street supremacy is challenged by Ford and GM pony cars.
Episode 5 NASCAR Style
Aero developments from NASCAR begin to appear on the street.
Episode 6 Chrysler and AMC Pony Cars
MOPAR vies for pony car supremacy in the mid-sixties.
Episode 7 The Street HEMI and the a Body
Chrysler's HEMI race engines are made available to the public in the mid 1960's
Episode 8 The Chrysler B Body
Late 60's street beasts from Dodge and Plymouth.
Episode 9 Muscle in Every Size and Shape
Muscle begins to creep into unlikely cars.
Episode 10: GM Goes Big
GM models offer flashy colors and various levels of oomph under the hood.
Episode 11 Wild Mopars of 1971
American Motors enters the muscle-car arena; Chrysler E-body.
Episode 12 Specials
Special-order, high-performance cars and other factory-authorized vehicles.
Episode 13 End of an Era
Detroit continues to produce powerful vehicles until the 1970s gas crisis and government regulations bring an end to the muscle-car era.
Episode 1: Origins
Detroit's post war performance cars prior to 1964.
Episode 2 The HEMI and the GTO
A chronicle of the Pontiac Temptest with the GTO package and the powerful 426 cubic inch race Hemi engine.
Episode 3: GMs a Bodies Roll
A-body cars from all four GM divisions.
Episode 4 The Pony Cars
The classic muscle car formula and street supremacy is challenged by Ford and GM pony cars.
Episode 5 NASCAR Style
Aero developments from NASCAR begin to appear on the street.
Episode 6 Chrysler and AMC Pony Cars
MOPAR vies for pony car supremacy in the mid-sixties.
Episode 7 The Street HEMI and the a Body
Chrysler's HEMI race engines are made available to the public in the mid 1960's
Episode 8 The Chrysler B Body
Late 60's street beasts from Dodge and Plymouth.
Episode 9 Muscle in Every Size and Shape
Muscle begins to creep into unlikely cars.
Episode 10: GM Goes Big
GM models offer flashy colors and various levels of oomph under the hood.
Episode 11 Wild Mopars of 1971
American Motors enters the muscle-car arena; Chrysler E-body.
Episode 12 Specials
Special-order, high-performance cars and other factory-authorized vehicles.
Episode 13 End of an Era
Detroit continues to produce powerful vehicles until the 1970s gas crisis and government regulations bring an end to the muscle-car era.
* Mark Steel Lectures (2003 - 2006)
Irreverent yet accurate, Mark Steele takes people who have made a mark in history (or at least are mentioned often enough that their names are familiar) and gives you the highlights of their lives in a way that makes you remember the important bits. If you are looking for fun and history at the same time, these lectures are worth your time and investment--still worth the investment if you are just looking for great laughs!
Part 1: Lord Byron
Mark Steel follows the glorious life of Lord Byron from his birth just off Oxford Street in London to his death in Greece thirty-six years later. We see Byron on the beach, Byron and his pet bear and Byron on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, as Mark traces an extraordinary, unpredictable and rude life in Nottinghamshire, London and Athens, from Byron's bedroom to his deathbed.
Part 2: Isaac Newton
He was a scientist who thought he could turn lead into gold. He was an obsessive with a secret Swiss boyfriend. And, in the world of The Mark Steel Lectures, he likes Alphabetti Spaghetti and the Communards. Mark Steel explores the world and the discoveries of Isaac Newton – surely one of Britain's finest scientific alchemical gay fraud-busting genius MPs.
Part 3: Sigmund Freud
With a life measured out in cigar-cutters and cocaine wraps, Sigmund Freud was clearly a genius. Here was a man who looked around the world at the start of the 20th century, saw brutal empires, millions being sucked into soulless factories, impending world war, and said: “I know what causes the problems - we want to have sex with our mothers.” Mark Steel reveals the absurdity and complexity of that genius as he travels from Vienna to London in Freud's wake. Our Sigmund, played by Martin Hyder, steps out of the darkness like Harry Lime, snorts cocaine like Al Pacino in Scarface, and treats his friends like Richard Ashcroft in the video for Bittersweet Symphony.
Part 4: Aristotle
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.
Part 5: Charles Darwin
Delving further, and more imaginatively, into the evolution of Charles Darwin than ever before, the Mark Steel Lecture takes this modern hero off the ten pound note and into the present day. We follow him onto the Beagle and into the bedroom, and worry for his sanity as he fashions a turtle out of mashed potato. A tortured figure whose distress eventually forced him to take to his bed and watch Animal Hospital and Countdown all day (probably), this is the show that tells you things about Darwin you never knew - including his opinion on the taste of Galapagos tortoise urine.
Part 6: Karl Marx
As he moved from Paris to London, Marx managed to leave a trail of uncleaned rooms and even more untidy relationships in his wake. Mark picks his way through the discarded Pot Noodle cartons and unexpected children to reveal the real Marx. You'll discover why the state of Marx's flat caused consternation amongst those sent to spy on him, and get to watch him doing his grocery shopping. Mark also explains what made Marx's theories so revolutionary and why Marx wasn't a Marxist. And did we mention the affairs?
Part 7: Ludwig van Beethoven
Mark Steel turns up the volume on Beethoven with his tribute to a man who was the nearest eighteenth-century Vienna got to not only Jimi Hendrix, but also Captain Sensible. Unflinchingly exposing Ludwig's anger management issues and his dependence on Ceefax's 888 subtitle service, Mark Steel sets Beethoven in his revolutionary context and reveals the quirks of his character the history books gloss over. Taking in the revolutionary nature of the Freemasons, Haydn's contractual similarity to Prince, Beethoven's unusual fondness for semi-hemidemisemiquavers and his love-hate relationship with Napoleon, The Mark Steel Lectures once again combines unique reconstructions with inventive graphics to bring Beethoven right up to the minute. This episode is filmed on location in Vienna.
Part 8: Leonardo da Vinci
Creator of some of the greatest works of art in human history, but at the same time barely able to finish them, Leonardo is possibly the most easily distracted genius who ever lived. Mark Steel gets close to some of Leonardo's greatest works, and finds out what The Last Supper has in common with EastEnders. Packing in not just a life of Leonardo but also a brief canter through the political geography and the latest technological advances of the world he was born into, Mark begins by exploring the standards of great art and great beauty as they were before Leonardo truly made his mark. Then it's a whistlestop tour round Italy as Leonardo builds a reputation both for genius and not doing what he's paid for. For this episode, Mark travelled for filming on location in Milan, Florence, and Paris.
Part 9: Mary Shelley
Like Dr Frankenstein himself, Mark Steel has taken the cold-cuts of the traditional TV lecture and brought it back to life with passion and electricity. Taking as its subjects both the book for which Mary Shelley is famous and the tragedy-filled life of the woman herself, the programme moves from England to Geneva and back in search of the spark that created the monster. Almost as if genetically programmed by the pioneering mother she never knew, and on whose grave she consummated her love for the poet Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley created an indestructible legend more relevant today than ever – as Mark Steel discovers with his customary wit and passion. Kenneth Branagh does not feature in this programme. Filmed on location in Britain and Switzerland.
Part 10: Thomas Paine
Surely Britain's greatest unknown international revolutionary, best-selling author and hobbyist bridge builder, Norfolk born corset-maker's son Thomas Paine wrote the Rights of Man and helped inspire the American War of Independence. Thereafter he became the Secretary for Foreign Affairs in a government that hated his country of birth. He then went to France and escaped the guillotine by accident, after having failed to sell a bridge he built over a field in London. One of Mark Steel's great unsung radical heroes, this comedy lecture series shines a light on a little known (in Britain) hero on two continents.
Part 11: Sylvia Pankhurst
Tracing her life from schooldays in radical Manchester to retirement in rural Essex, when Haile Selassie occasionally came to call, Sylvia Pankhurst the revolutionary and Rastafarian sympathiser is brought to life as only Mark Steel can. From a bed-in with Keir Hardie to Kill Bill style ju-jitsu, here's everything you didn't know about this pioneer of democracy. Recalling a time when Manchester was the most radical city in Britain, this latest instalment in Mark Steel's comedy lecture series resonates with today's human rights campaigners and anti-war radicals, as well as containing a short section revealing the best type of stone to smash windows with.
Part 12: Albert Einstein
A great physicist but a lousy father, Einstein played with the nature of space and time as easily as he did his beloved violin. Mark Steel grapples with the fundamental nature of the Universe and Einstein's dislike of socks to provide a comic guide to the essence of the most famous scientist in history. Surely the only television programme in history to explain special relativity with reference to both minicabs and Blake's 7, this is Einstein in a nutshell, at nearly the speed of light.
Part 13: Oliver Cromwell
Mark Steel turns his spotlight to the life and work of the man who would eventually turn down the offer from Parliament to become the King of England. Traditionally, Oliver Cromwell has been viewed as a misery, a killjoy whose Puritan beliefs led him to despise drinking, dancing, music and fun but Mark argues in this programme that far from being these things, Cromwell was in fact a bit of a laugh and never lost his childish sense of humour. We discover that whilst signing the King's death warrant he and his co-regicides involved themselves in a huge ink fight and that whilst a student at Cambridge he was barred from local pubs for his rowdy behaviour and that he would often accost women in the street to ‘perforce ravish a kiss or some lewder satisfaction upon them'. Nowadays he'd get an ASBO or a reality tv show for that sort of thing. Join Mark Steel as he charts Cromwell's course through British history; his election and resignation from parliament, the formation of his New Model Army, the overthrow and subsequent execution of the King, Charles I, the monumental shift of power from monarchy to parliament, the abolition of the House of Lords right through to the massacre at Drogheda. Oh, and the introduction of the first ever pineapple to Britain.
Part 14: Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin was born in 1889, his father, an alcoholic singer, left when Charlie was very young; leaving his mother to bring him and his brother up in tiny rented rooms. Soon she fell ill and the family were forced into the Lambeth Workhouse – an experience which left an indelible impression on the young boy. Music Hall was his saviour; its rise in popularity was accelerated when the working week in factories was reduced to 60 hours and a teenage Charlie discovered his abilities as a natural clown. Whilst touring America in 1912 with Fred Karno's Music Hall Company, Chaplin was spotted by Mack Sennet, creator of the Keystone Kops and was offered a job. Join Mark as he charts Chaplin's course through 20th century history, how through the initial success of the Little Tramp character he managed to negotiate the right to direct his own films and how this character came to be seen as a symbol of resistance to the regimented rules of modern society. He transformed the way comedy films were made, taking control of every aspect of the production process; he taught himself to read music so he could write his own film scores; He even insisted on having a pool of 21 trained studio dogs, all of whom were well versed in the art of comic timing….
Part 15: Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes was the man responsible for the catchphrase ‘I think therefore I am' - Not quite as good as ‘Am I bovvered' or ‘I'm a Laydeeee' perhaps, but infinitely better than ‘Shut that Door.' In many respects, Descartes was a bit of an oddity. Born into the lower ranks of the French nobility in 1596, he made it his business never to get up before noon, he smoked tobacco that was cut with dope and when he'd done that, he laid down the blueprint for all modern day thinking on any given subject for the next 400 years. Whilst sitting in an oven. Yes, an oven. To appreciate the sheer genius of Descartes work, we need to look at it in context: He was establishing his pioneering ideas at a time when philosophical thinking wasn't really encouraged by the church, to such an extent that one philosopher, Vanini had his tongue cut out, was strangled and then burnt at the stake for daring to try and explain how miracles work. charts Descartes course through scientific history; his stint as a card shark in the dutch army, his invention of the little 2, the symbol used to signify a squared number, his invention of the x and y used in algebra. Not to mention his numerous biological experiments that gave us first clear idea that the senses were linked to the central nervous system and his seminal work, ‘The Meditations' in which he constructed a theory of the universe which instead of beginning with blind faith, insisted on the prominence of doubt as a starting point.
Part 16: Geoffrey Chaucer
If you ask most people what they know about Geoffrey Chaucer, they'll probably reply that he was the bloke who wrote bawdy poems about people sticking their bums out of windows and breaking wind. Which, strictly speaking, is true? However, through his writing Chaucer not only managed to become considered as the father of English poetry, he also attained the lofty position of being this country's first ever social commentator. The son of a winekeeper, Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1342 in London at a time of enormous social change. When he was a young boy, the Black Death swept into England and whilst this was certainly bad news for most, Chaucer ended up becoming a notable beneficiary of its devastating effects. Up until this point, social mobility between the classes hadn't really existed – essentially you stayed in the class that you were born into; which was either the nobility where you owned the land or the peasantry where you worked the land. One consequence of the Black Death was that it created a labour shortage and as a result, the middle ranks of the Royal Court had to be replaced with un noble blood. Which is precisely where a young Chaucer fitted in. Now, for the first time it was actually possible to move from one social class to another and Chaucer took full advantage of this; his subsequent experiences went on to form a sturdy foundation for his later writings…
Part 17: Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman, described widely as the Moses of her people' was instrumental in the efforts to abolish slavery in mid 19th century America. Born into a life of bondage, she was forced into work at five years of age and at 12 was horrifically injured by the plantation overseer when he threw a lead weight at her head. At 27 and buoyed by stories of slave rebellions emerging across the country, she escaped her Maryland plantation and headed Northwards where she knew there were strong groups of Quakers and anti slavery campaigners who were collectively known as the ‘Underground Railroad' Despite having a twelve hundred dollar bounty on her head, Harriet would insist on planning and executing a series of audacious raids back in Maryland, returning to free dozens of people from her old plantation. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President and the South was horrified at the prospect of being governed by a President opposed to slavery; they decided to break away from the rest of America calling themselves the Confederates and soon after the Civil War began. Join the award winning comedian Mark Steel as he charts Harriet Tubman's course through American history; her daring armed raids to rescue fellow slaves, her inclusion into the Underground Railroad network, and her work with fellow abolitionist John Brown and her special meetings with Abraham Lincoln's wife.
Part 18: Ernesto Che Guevara
Walk down any high street in this country and chances are at some point you'll see somebody wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt. Most of whom have absolutely no idea who he was and what he stood for. Still, it's a nice image, and he was handsome. Che Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928; initially he trained to be a doctor but became politically conscious and abandoned his vocation in order to travel across South America on the back of a motorbike. It was in Mexico in 1955 that Che met a young Fidel Castro who with his brother Raul had been exiled from his Cuban homeland and was preparing for an uprising there by training a crack squad of rebels in the Mexican countryside. This was Che's calling. It's what he'd been waiting his whole life for. It was his destiny. In this latest edition of his BAFTA nominated series of lectures, writer and broadcaster Mark Steel travels to South America and turns his attentions to the life and revolutionary times of Ernesto Che' Guevara, a man who started out on a motorcycle holiday, only to end up being made Foreign Minister of Cuba. Which of course is nice work if you can get it.
Part 1: Lord Byron
Mark Steel follows the glorious life of Lord Byron from his birth just off Oxford Street in London to his death in Greece thirty-six years later. We see Byron on the beach, Byron and his pet bear and Byron on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, as Mark traces an extraordinary, unpredictable and rude life in Nottinghamshire, London and Athens, from Byron's bedroom to his deathbed.
Part 2: Isaac Newton
He was a scientist who thought he could turn lead into gold. He was an obsessive with a secret Swiss boyfriend. And, in the world of The Mark Steel Lectures, he likes Alphabetti Spaghetti and the Communards. Mark Steel explores the world and the discoveries of Isaac Newton – surely one of Britain's finest scientific alchemical gay fraud-busting genius MPs.
Part 3: Sigmund Freud
With a life measured out in cigar-cutters and cocaine wraps, Sigmund Freud was clearly a genius. Here was a man who looked around the world at the start of the 20th century, saw brutal empires, millions being sucked into soulless factories, impending world war, and said: “I know what causes the problems - we want to have sex with our mothers.” Mark Steel reveals the absurdity and complexity of that genius as he travels from Vienna to London in Freud's wake. Our Sigmund, played by Martin Hyder, steps out of the darkness like Harry Lime, snorts cocaine like Al Pacino in Scarface, and treats his friends like Richard Ashcroft in the video for Bittersweet Symphony.
Part 4: Aristotle
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.
Part 5: Charles Darwin
Delving further, and more imaginatively, into the evolution of Charles Darwin than ever before, the Mark Steel Lecture takes this modern hero off the ten pound note and into the present day. We follow him onto the Beagle and into the bedroom, and worry for his sanity as he fashions a turtle out of mashed potato. A tortured figure whose distress eventually forced him to take to his bed and watch Animal Hospital and Countdown all day (probably), this is the show that tells you things about Darwin you never knew - including his opinion on the taste of Galapagos tortoise urine.
Part 6: Karl Marx
As he moved from Paris to London, Marx managed to leave a trail of uncleaned rooms and even more untidy relationships in his wake. Mark picks his way through the discarded Pot Noodle cartons and unexpected children to reveal the real Marx. You'll discover why the state of Marx's flat caused consternation amongst those sent to spy on him, and get to watch him doing his grocery shopping. Mark also explains what made Marx's theories so revolutionary and why Marx wasn't a Marxist. And did we mention the affairs?
Part 7: Ludwig van Beethoven
Mark Steel turns up the volume on Beethoven with his tribute to a man who was the nearest eighteenth-century Vienna got to not only Jimi Hendrix, but also Captain Sensible. Unflinchingly exposing Ludwig's anger management issues and his dependence on Ceefax's 888 subtitle service, Mark Steel sets Beethoven in his revolutionary context and reveals the quirks of his character the history books gloss over. Taking in the revolutionary nature of the Freemasons, Haydn's contractual similarity to Prince, Beethoven's unusual fondness for semi-hemidemisemiquavers and his love-hate relationship with Napoleon, The Mark Steel Lectures once again combines unique reconstructions with inventive graphics to bring Beethoven right up to the minute. This episode is filmed on location in Vienna.
Part 8: Leonardo da Vinci
Creator of some of the greatest works of art in human history, but at the same time barely able to finish them, Leonardo is possibly the most easily distracted genius who ever lived. Mark Steel gets close to some of Leonardo's greatest works, and finds out what The Last Supper has in common with EastEnders. Packing in not just a life of Leonardo but also a brief canter through the political geography and the latest technological advances of the world he was born into, Mark begins by exploring the standards of great art and great beauty as they were before Leonardo truly made his mark. Then it's a whistlestop tour round Italy as Leonardo builds a reputation both for genius and not doing what he's paid for. For this episode, Mark travelled for filming on location in Milan, Florence, and Paris.
Part 9: Mary Shelley
Like Dr Frankenstein himself, Mark Steel has taken the cold-cuts of the traditional TV lecture and brought it back to life with passion and electricity. Taking as its subjects both the book for which Mary Shelley is famous and the tragedy-filled life of the woman herself, the programme moves from England to Geneva and back in search of the spark that created the monster. Almost as if genetically programmed by the pioneering mother she never knew, and on whose grave she consummated her love for the poet Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley created an indestructible legend more relevant today than ever – as Mark Steel discovers with his customary wit and passion. Kenneth Branagh does not feature in this programme. Filmed on location in Britain and Switzerland.
Part 10: Thomas Paine
Surely Britain's greatest unknown international revolutionary, best-selling author and hobbyist bridge builder, Norfolk born corset-maker's son Thomas Paine wrote the Rights of Man and helped inspire the American War of Independence. Thereafter he became the Secretary for Foreign Affairs in a government that hated his country of birth. He then went to France and escaped the guillotine by accident, after having failed to sell a bridge he built over a field in London. One of Mark Steel's great unsung radical heroes, this comedy lecture series shines a light on a little known (in Britain) hero on two continents.
Part 11: Sylvia Pankhurst
Tracing her life from schooldays in radical Manchester to retirement in rural Essex, when Haile Selassie occasionally came to call, Sylvia Pankhurst the revolutionary and Rastafarian sympathiser is brought to life as only Mark Steel can. From a bed-in with Keir Hardie to Kill Bill style ju-jitsu, here's everything you didn't know about this pioneer of democracy. Recalling a time when Manchester was the most radical city in Britain, this latest instalment in Mark Steel's comedy lecture series resonates with today's human rights campaigners and anti-war radicals, as well as containing a short section revealing the best type of stone to smash windows with.
Part 12: Albert Einstein
A great physicist but a lousy father, Einstein played with the nature of space and time as easily as he did his beloved violin. Mark Steel grapples with the fundamental nature of the Universe and Einstein's dislike of socks to provide a comic guide to the essence of the most famous scientist in history. Surely the only television programme in history to explain special relativity with reference to both minicabs and Blake's 7, this is Einstein in a nutshell, at nearly the speed of light.
Part 13: Oliver Cromwell
Mark Steel turns his spotlight to the life and work of the man who would eventually turn down the offer from Parliament to become the King of England. Traditionally, Oliver Cromwell has been viewed as a misery, a killjoy whose Puritan beliefs led him to despise drinking, dancing, music and fun but Mark argues in this programme that far from being these things, Cromwell was in fact a bit of a laugh and never lost his childish sense of humour. We discover that whilst signing the King's death warrant he and his co-regicides involved themselves in a huge ink fight and that whilst a student at Cambridge he was barred from local pubs for his rowdy behaviour and that he would often accost women in the street to ‘perforce ravish a kiss or some lewder satisfaction upon them'. Nowadays he'd get an ASBO or a reality tv show for that sort of thing. Join Mark Steel as he charts Cromwell's course through British history; his election and resignation from parliament, the formation of his New Model Army, the overthrow and subsequent execution of the King, Charles I, the monumental shift of power from monarchy to parliament, the abolition of the House of Lords right through to the massacre at Drogheda. Oh, and the introduction of the first ever pineapple to Britain.
Part 14: Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin was born in 1889, his father, an alcoholic singer, left when Charlie was very young; leaving his mother to bring him and his brother up in tiny rented rooms. Soon she fell ill and the family were forced into the Lambeth Workhouse – an experience which left an indelible impression on the young boy. Music Hall was his saviour; its rise in popularity was accelerated when the working week in factories was reduced to 60 hours and a teenage Charlie discovered his abilities as a natural clown. Whilst touring America in 1912 with Fred Karno's Music Hall Company, Chaplin was spotted by Mack Sennet, creator of the Keystone Kops and was offered a job. Join Mark as he charts Chaplin's course through 20th century history, how through the initial success of the Little Tramp character he managed to negotiate the right to direct his own films and how this character came to be seen as a symbol of resistance to the regimented rules of modern society. He transformed the way comedy films were made, taking control of every aspect of the production process; he taught himself to read music so he could write his own film scores; He even insisted on having a pool of 21 trained studio dogs, all of whom were well versed in the art of comic timing….
Part 15: Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes was the man responsible for the catchphrase ‘I think therefore I am' - Not quite as good as ‘Am I bovvered' or ‘I'm a Laydeeee' perhaps, but infinitely better than ‘Shut that Door.' In many respects, Descartes was a bit of an oddity. Born into the lower ranks of the French nobility in 1596, he made it his business never to get up before noon, he smoked tobacco that was cut with dope and when he'd done that, he laid down the blueprint for all modern day thinking on any given subject for the next 400 years. Whilst sitting in an oven. Yes, an oven. To appreciate the sheer genius of Descartes work, we need to look at it in context: He was establishing his pioneering ideas at a time when philosophical thinking wasn't really encouraged by the church, to such an extent that one philosopher, Vanini had his tongue cut out, was strangled and then burnt at the stake for daring to try and explain how miracles work. charts Descartes course through scientific history; his stint as a card shark in the dutch army, his invention of the little 2, the symbol used to signify a squared number, his invention of the x and y used in algebra. Not to mention his numerous biological experiments that gave us first clear idea that the senses were linked to the central nervous system and his seminal work, ‘The Meditations' in which he constructed a theory of the universe which instead of beginning with blind faith, insisted on the prominence of doubt as a starting point.
Part 16: Geoffrey Chaucer
If you ask most people what they know about Geoffrey Chaucer, they'll probably reply that he was the bloke who wrote bawdy poems about people sticking their bums out of windows and breaking wind. Which, strictly speaking, is true? However, through his writing Chaucer not only managed to become considered as the father of English poetry, he also attained the lofty position of being this country's first ever social commentator. The son of a winekeeper, Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1342 in London at a time of enormous social change. When he was a young boy, the Black Death swept into England and whilst this was certainly bad news for most, Chaucer ended up becoming a notable beneficiary of its devastating effects. Up until this point, social mobility between the classes hadn't really existed – essentially you stayed in the class that you were born into; which was either the nobility where you owned the land or the peasantry where you worked the land. One consequence of the Black Death was that it created a labour shortage and as a result, the middle ranks of the Royal Court had to be replaced with un noble blood. Which is precisely where a young Chaucer fitted in. Now, for the first time it was actually possible to move from one social class to another and Chaucer took full advantage of this; his subsequent experiences went on to form a sturdy foundation for his later writings…
Part 17: Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman, described widely as the Moses of her people' was instrumental in the efforts to abolish slavery in mid 19th century America. Born into a life of bondage, she was forced into work at five years of age and at 12 was horrifically injured by the plantation overseer when he threw a lead weight at her head. At 27 and buoyed by stories of slave rebellions emerging across the country, she escaped her Maryland plantation and headed Northwards where she knew there were strong groups of Quakers and anti slavery campaigners who were collectively known as the ‘Underground Railroad' Despite having a twelve hundred dollar bounty on her head, Harriet would insist on planning and executing a series of audacious raids back in Maryland, returning to free dozens of people from her old plantation. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President and the South was horrified at the prospect of being governed by a President opposed to slavery; they decided to break away from the rest of America calling themselves the Confederates and soon after the Civil War began. Join the award winning comedian Mark Steel as he charts Harriet Tubman's course through American history; her daring armed raids to rescue fellow slaves, her inclusion into the Underground Railroad network, and her work with fellow abolitionist John Brown and her special meetings with Abraham Lincoln's wife.
Part 18: Ernesto Che Guevara
Walk down any high street in this country and chances are at some point you'll see somebody wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt. Most of whom have absolutely no idea who he was and what he stood for. Still, it's a nice image, and he was handsome. Che Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928; initially he trained to be a doctor but became politically conscious and abandoned his vocation in order to travel across South America on the back of a motorbike. It was in Mexico in 1955 that Che met a young Fidel Castro who with his brother Raul had been exiled from his Cuban homeland and was preparing for an uprising there by training a crack squad of rebels in the Mexican countryside. This was Che's calling. It's what he'd been waiting his whole life for. It was his destiny. In this latest edition of his BAFTA nominated series of lectures, writer and broadcaster Mark Steel travels to South America and turns his attentions to the life and revolutionary times of Ernesto Che' Guevara, a man who started out on a motorcycle holiday, only to end up being made Foreign Minister of Cuba. Which of course is nice work if you can get it.
* Lost Civilizations (2002
Never before could you get this close to 7000 years of history. Dazzling spectacles re-create rituals and events – from the bloodletting of Maya kings and a pharaoh’s last journey to the secret pleasures of a Roman empress. Original location cinematography in 25 countries takes you from Cusco in Peru to Petra in Jordan. Computer graphics restore Egypt’s pyramids and the Great Wall of China with breathtaking accuracy.
Episode 1: Mesopotamia Return to Eden
Explore the land of the Bible and see evidence of the world’s oldest civilizations. Go back to the dawn of civilizations, following clues that lead to the Garden of Eden.
Episode 2: Egypt Quest for Immortality
Discover the enduring legacy of the pharaohs in the magnificent riches of their tombs and among the fragile relics of their mummies. Explore the ancient Egyptians’ fascination with death and their quest for immortality.
Episode 3: Aegean Legacy of Atlantis
Follow the trail of clues that lead from the ancient myths of the Aegean world to their real- life counterparts. Experience the lives of the legendary heroes as they are rediscovered in the ruins of this ancient Mediterranean world.
Episode 4: Greece a moment of Exelence
Enter the extraordinary lives of the Classical Greeks at the height of their civilization. Examine the conflicting forces of passion and reason that shaped the art and ideas of the western world
Episode 5: China Dynasties of Power
Witness the glory of ancient China’s greatest rulers and the secrets of their giant tombs. Learn the ruthless military tactics and weapons technology of these all- powered rulers and discover how the building of the Great Wall would unify that nation.
Episode 6: Rome the Ultimate Empire
Enter the Colosseum alongside the gladiators and their foes as they prepare for battle. This episode re- creates the glory of Rome at the zenith of its power and explains how the Romans conquered the western world. Learn the mistakes that led to the Empire’s chaotic collapse.
Episode 6: Maya the Blood of Kings
Witness the dark rituals of human mutilation as the Maya rulers draw their own blood to offer to the gods. This Episode reveals Maya culture at its peak – while its cities marched the sophistication and power of those in Europe. In AD 800, this civilization this civilization declined suddenly a century later- leaving behind questions and enigmas.
Episode 8: Inca Secrets of the Anchestors
Witness the conquest of an Inca ruler at the pinnacle of the power. Follow Inca roads into the past and explore the secrets of their ancestors- the Mache, the Nazca and the Paracas- whose legacies inspired the greatest South American empire ever.
Episode 9: Africa a history Denied
Uncover the hidden history of Africa’s great coastal kingdoms and its mysterious counterparts in the heartland of Zimbabwe and southern Africa. For years, this legacy has been denied- only now can the true story be revealed.
Episode 10: Tibet the End of Time
Follow the tale of glory and tragedy as a young boy- the reincarnation of the Tibetan God- King- witness the collapse of timeless culture. This episode explores a genuine Shangri- la and its struggle to survive in a hostile contemporary world.
Episode 1: Mesopotamia Return to Eden
Explore the land of the Bible and see evidence of the world’s oldest civilizations. Go back to the dawn of civilizations, following clues that lead to the Garden of Eden.
Episode 2: Egypt Quest for Immortality
Discover the enduring legacy of the pharaohs in the magnificent riches of their tombs and among the fragile relics of their mummies. Explore the ancient Egyptians’ fascination with death and their quest for immortality.
Episode 3: Aegean Legacy of Atlantis
Follow the trail of clues that lead from the ancient myths of the Aegean world to their real- life counterparts. Experience the lives of the legendary heroes as they are rediscovered in the ruins of this ancient Mediterranean world.
Episode 4: Greece a moment of Exelence
Enter the extraordinary lives of the Classical Greeks at the height of their civilization. Examine the conflicting forces of passion and reason that shaped the art and ideas of the western world
Episode 5: China Dynasties of Power
Witness the glory of ancient China’s greatest rulers and the secrets of their giant tombs. Learn the ruthless military tactics and weapons technology of these all- powered rulers and discover how the building of the Great Wall would unify that nation.
Episode 6: Rome the Ultimate Empire
Enter the Colosseum alongside the gladiators and their foes as they prepare for battle. This episode re- creates the glory of Rome at the zenith of its power and explains how the Romans conquered the western world. Learn the mistakes that led to the Empire’s chaotic collapse.
Episode 6: Maya the Blood of Kings
Witness the dark rituals of human mutilation as the Maya rulers draw their own blood to offer to the gods. This Episode reveals Maya culture at its peak – while its cities marched the sophistication and power of those in Europe. In AD 800, this civilization this civilization declined suddenly a century later- leaving behind questions and enigmas.
Episode 8: Inca Secrets of the Anchestors
Witness the conquest of an Inca ruler at the pinnacle of the power. Follow Inca roads into the past and explore the secrets of their ancestors- the Mache, the Nazca and the Paracas- whose legacies inspired the greatest South American empire ever.
Episode 9: Africa a history Denied
Uncover the hidden history of Africa’s great coastal kingdoms and its mysterious counterparts in the heartland of Zimbabwe and southern Africa. For years, this legacy has been denied- only now can the true story be revealed.
Episode 10: Tibet the End of Time
Follow the tale of glory and tragedy as a young boy- the reincarnation of the Tibetan God- King- witness the collapse of timeless culture. This episode explores a genuine Shangri- la and its struggle to survive in a hostile contemporary world.
* Life (2009)
Life is a nature documentary series made by BBC television. The series takes a global view of the specialised strategies and extreme behaviour that living things have developed in order to survive; what Charles Darwin termed "the struggle for existence".
Episode 1. Challenges of Life
"Challenges of Life" documents the capture of a young chinstrap penguin by a leopard seal (pictured).
The opening episode introduces the series by showing examples of extraordinary feeding, hunting, courting and parenting behaviour from across the animal kingdom and around the globe. In Florida Bay, bottlenose dolphins catch leaping fish as they attempt to escape a corral of encircling mud, whipped up with the lead dolphin's tail. Other unusual collaborative hunting techniques include three cheetahs combining to bring down an ostrich and Antarctic killer whales attacking a crabeater seal. In Brazil, tufted capuchins have learned to crack open palm nuts by smashing them with rocks. High speed cameras reveal flying fish taking an aerial route to avoid predatory sailfish, Venus flytraps ensnaring their unwitting victims and two male hippos clashing over the territorial rights to a stretch of river. In some species, parents go to great lengths to protect their young. A mother strawberry poison-dart frog carries each of her six tadpoles high into the rainforest canopy to the safety of a bromeliad pool, then provides them with nutritious unfertilised eggs. A female Giant Pacific Octopus makes the ultimate sacrifice, starving to death as she guards her eggs. On Deception Island, young chinstrap penguins are trapped on a beach by ice-strewn seas. Abandoned by their parents, they must reach open water to feed. A lone chick fights its way through the ice, only to be ambushed by a leopard seal. Life on Location shows how the filmmakers collaborated with a French yachtsman and the Royal Navy to film Antarctica's top predators.
Episode 2. Reptiles and Amphibians
"Reptiles and Amphibians" documents how a group of komodo dragons (pictured) kill and eventually eat a water buffalo using venom.
In the opening sequence, an aerial camera zooms in on a solitary Komodo dragon from afar. This, states Attenborough, is the last place on Earth still ruled by reptiles. Though they may seem primitive, reptiles and amphibians still thrive thanks to diverse survival strategies. In Venezuela, a pebble toad evades a tarantula by free-falling down a steep rock face. The basilisk, nicknamed the Jesus Christ lizard, can literally run on water and the Brazilian pygmy gecko is so light it does not break the surface. Reptiles are cold-blooded, and some have developed unusual strategies to absorb heat. Namaqua chameleons darken the skin of the side of their body facing the sun. A male red-sided garter snake masquerades as a female using fake pheromones, attracting rival males which help raise its body temperature and thus its chance of breeding. Malagasy collared lizards conceal their eggs by burying them, but egg-eating hognose snakes stake out their favourite laying sites. Niue Island sea kraits lay theirs in a chamber only accessible via an underwater tunnel. Other reptiles guard their eggs. Horned lizards drive off predators, but larger adversaries such as coachwhip snakes prompt a different reaction – the lizard plays dead. Komodo dragons prey on water buffalo in the dry season. They stalk a buffalo for three weeks as it slowly succumbs to a toxic bite, then strip the carcass in four hours. In Life on Location, the Komodo film crew tell of the harrowing experience of filming the dragon hunt.
Episode 3. Mammals
A breaching humpback whale, a species featured in "Mammals".
Intelligence, warm blood and strong family bonds have made mammals the most successful group of animals on the planet: they can even survive the Antarctic winter. Here, a Weddell seal leads her pup on its first swim beneath the ice. In East Africa, a rufous sengi uses a mental map of the pathways it has cleared to outwit a chasing lizard. A young aye-aye takes four years to learn how to find and extract beetle grubs, food no other mammal can reach. Reindeer move through the Arctic tundra, making the longest overland migration of any animal. Other mammals have evolved different ways of travelling long distances: ten million fruit bats congregate at Zambia's Kasanka swamps to gorge on fruiting trees. Mammals employ different strategies to find food. At night on the African savannah, hyenas force lions off a kill through sheer weight of numbers, whilst in the Arctic, dozens of polar bears take advantage of a bowhead whale carcass. Raising young is another important factor in mammals' success. Coatis and meerkats form social groups to share the burden of childcare. A first-time African elephant mother needs the experience of the herd's matriarch to get her young calf out of trouble. The largest animals in the ocean are also mammals. The seas around Tonga are both a nursery and mating ground for humpback whales. A female leads her potential suitors on a chase, the males battling for dominance behind her. Life on Location follows the never-before filmed humpback heat run.
Episode 4. Fish
"Fish" documents the breeding cycle of a clownfish, pictured hiding amongst the tentacles of an anemone.
Fish, the most diverse group of vertebrate animals, thrive in the world's rivers, lakes and oceans. Slow-motion footage reveals the behaviour of some of the fastest fish in the sea, sailfish and flying fish. The latter gather in large numbers to lay their eggs on a floating palm frond, which sinks under the weight. The eggs of weedy sea dragons, found in the shallow waters off southern Australia, are carried by the male. In the fertile seas of the western Pacific, competition is fierce. A sarcastic fringehead defends its home, an old shell, from a passing octopus and a rival. In Japan, mudskippers have carved a niche on the rich mudflats. Freshwater fish are also featured. Tiny gobies are filmed climbing Hawaiian waterfalls to colonise the placid pools upstream, while in East Africa, barbels pick clean the skin of the resident hippos and feed on their rich dung in return. Wrasses perform the cleaning duties on coral reefs, but jacksambiguation needed] also remove parasites by scratching against the rough skin of silvertip sharks. Clownfish, whose life cycle is filmed in intimate detail using macro cameras, are protected by the fronds of an anemone, but other species seek safety in numbers. A shoal of ever-moving anchovies proves too difficult a target for sea lions. Sometimes, predators have the edge: ragged tooth sharks are shown attacking sardines trapped in shallow waters off South Africa. Life on Location looks at the efforts of underwater cameramen to capture the sailfish and flying fish sequences.
Episode 5. Birds
"Birds" shows how lammergeiers in the Simien Mountains collect bones from animal carcasses and smash them by dropping them on to rock slabs.
Birds, whose feathers have made them extremely adaptable and enabled them to fly, are the subject of programme five. The courtship flight of the marvellous spatuletail hummingbird is shot at high speed to slow down its rapid wing beats. The male must rest every few seconds due to the energy needed to display his elongated tail feathers. Lammergeiers, by contrast, soar on mountain thermals with a minimum of effort. A red-billed tropicbird bringing a meal back to its chick uses aerial agility to evade the marauding magnificent frigatebirds. Some birds nest in extreme locations to avoid threats from predators. Kenya's caustic soda lakes are a perilous environment for a lesser flamingo chick, while chinstrap penguins breed on a volcanic island off the Antarctic Peninsula. In South Africa, declining fish stocks force Cape gannets to abandon their chicks to search for food, presenting great white pelicans with the chance to snatch an easy meal. Feathers can also be used for display. Male sage grouse square up to one another at their leks, courting Clark's and Western Grebes perform an elaborate ritual to reaffirm their bond and thousands of lesser flamingos move in a synchronised display. Male Birds of paradise show offtheir brilliant plumes in wild courtship displays (some of this footage is from Planet Earth). In West Papua, the small, drab Vogelkop bowerbird uses a different strategy. The male decorates his bower with colourful jewels from the forest, and uses vocal mimicry to attract the attention of a female. Mating is filmed for the first time, the end result of a long and difficult quest featured in Life on Location.
Episode 6. Insects
Two billion monarch butterflies hibernate in a small area of high altitude forest in Mexico.
The sixth episode enters the world of insects. By assuming a variety of body shapes and incorporating armour and wings, they have evolved diverse survival strategies and become the most abundant creatures on Earth. In Chilean Patagonia, male Darwin's beetles lock horns and hurl their rivals from the treetops in search of a mate. A damselfly's chance to mate and lay eggs can be cut abruptly short by a leaping frog. Monarch butterflies use their wings to power them on an epic migration to their hibernating grounds in the forests of Mexico's Sierra Madre. Many insects carry chemical weapons as a form of defence. High-speed cameras show oogpister beetles squirting formic acid into the face of an inquisitive mongoose and bombardier beetles firing boiling caustic liquid from their abdomens. Some insects gain an advantage through co-operation. When an American black bear destroys a bee's nest, the colony survives by carrying their honey to a new site. Japanese red bug nymphs will move to a different nest if their mother fails to provide sufficient food. In the Australian outback, male Dawson's bees fight to the death over females emerging from their nest burrows. As a result, all will die, but the strongest mate most often. Argentina's grasscutter ants form huge colonies five million strong. They feed on a fungus which they cultivate underground, in nest structures which have natural ventilation. Life on Location documents the Mexico crew's attempts to rig up aerial camera shots of the awakening monarch butterflies.
Episode 7. Hunters and Hunted
A killer whale's unique hunting strategy is revealed in "Hunters and Hunted".
Mammals have adopted diverse strategies to hunt their prey and evade predators. As well as revisiting the cheetah and dolphin hunts first shown in episode one, the programme shows how a sure-footed ibex kid escapes a hunting fox by bounding across a precipitous mountainside above the Dead Sea. Slow motion footage reveals the fishing behaviour of greater bulldog bats in Belize and brown bears at an Alaskan river mouth, the latter awaiting the return of spawning salmon. The play-fighting of juvenile stoats helps train them to run down prey such as rabbits, which are many times their own size. The alpha female of an Ethiopian wolf pack stays at the den to wean her cubs while other adults hunt rats on the highland plateau. The extraordinary nasal appendage of a star-nosed mole enables it to hunt successfully underground and, by using bubbles to detect its prey, underwater. A tiger's stealthy approach to a group of feeding chital deer is thwarted when a langur, watching from above, raises the alarm. The final sequence shows a female killer whale taking elephant seal pups from their nursery pool in the Falkland Islands. This is a risky strategy as she could easily become beached in the shallow water. She is the only killer whale known to hunt this way, but her calf shadows her moves, ensuring her knowledge will be passed on. Also close by were the film crew, who reveal how the sequence was shot for Life on Location.
Episode 8. Creatures of the Deep
The Australian giant cuttlefish is one of the marine invertebrates featured in "Creatures of the Deep".
Marine invertebrates, the descendants of one billion years of evolutionary history, are the most abundant creatures in the ocean. In the Sea of Cortez, packs of Humboldt squid make night-time raids from the deep to co-operatively hunt sardines. Beneath the permanent Antarctic sea ice of McMurdo Sound, sea urchins, red sea stars and nemertean worms are filmed scavenging on a seal carcass. A fried egg jellyfish hunts amongst a swarm of Aurelia in the open ocean, spearing its prey with harpoon-like tentacles. In the shallows off South Australia, hundreds of thousands of spider crabs gather annually to moult. Many invertebrates have simple nervous systems, but giant cuttlefish have large brains and complex mating habits. Large males use flashing stroboscopic colours and strength to win a mate, whereas smaller rivals rely on deceit: both tactics are successful. A Giant Pacific Octopus sacrifices her life to tend her single clutch of eggs for six months. As a Pycnopodia starfish feeds on her remains, it comes under attack from a king crab. Coral reefs, which rival rainforests in their diversity, are the largest living structures on Earth and are created by coral polyps. Porcelain crabs, boxer crabs and orangutan crabs are shown to illustrate the many specialised ways of catching food on a reef. Marine invertebrates have a lasting legacy on land too – their shells formed the chalk and limestone deposits of Eurasia and the Americas. Life on Location documents the recording of Antarctic sea life and the birth of a reef.
Episode 9. Plants
The dragon's blood tree survives in semi-desert conditions by collecting moisture from mist and fog.
Plants endure a daily struggle for water, nutrients and light. On the forest floor where light is scarce, time-lapse shots show ivies and creepers climbing into the canopy using sticky pads, hooks or coiled tendrils. Epiphytes grow directly on the topmost branches of trees. Their bare roots absorb water and trap falling leaves, which provide nutrients as they decompose. Animals can also be a source of food: the sundew traps mosquitoes with sticky fluid, and venus flytraps close their clamshell leaves on unwitting insects. Sandhill milkweed defends itself against feeding monarch caterpillars by secreting sticky latex from its leaves. The milkweed endures the onslaught because, like most plants, it produces flowers, and the newly-hatched butterflies pollinate them. After flowering, brunsvigia plants in South Africa are snapped off by strong winds, sending their seed heads cartwheeling across the ground. Saguaro cacti produce succulent fruit to attract desert animals which ingest and disperse their seeds. Some plants have adapted to survive environmental extremes. Dragon's blood trees and desert roses thrive on arid Socotra, and coastal mangrove trees survive by filtering salt from seawater. Bristlecone pines live above 3,000m in North America's mountains. They have a six-week growing season and can live for 5,000 years, making them the oldest living things on Earth. Grasses are the most successful of all plants. Of their 10,000 varieties, two cover more land than any other plant: rice and wheat. Life on Location goes behind the scenes of a time-lapse sequence in an English woodland. Because actually growing plants outdoors would prove a challenge to film (with constantly changing conditions) this scene used plants grown in a studio on a bluescreen duplicating a real outdoor backdrop. The entire process took two years to make.
Episode 10. Primates
Japanese macaques are the most northerly primates, enduring winter temperatures of -20°C (-4°F) in the Japanese Alps.
Intelligence, curiosity and complex societies have enabled primates to exploit many different habitats. In Ethiopia, male Hamadryas baboons restore discipline after a skirmish with a rival troop. In Japanese macaque society, only those members from the correct bloodlines are permitted to use thermal springs in winter; others are left out in the cold. Examples of primate communication include a silverback gorilla advertising his territory though vocalisations and chest-beating, and the piercing calls of spectral tarsiers which help keep their group together. In Thailand's rainforests, lar gibbons use song to reinforce sexual and family bonds. By contrast, ring-tailed lemurs in Madagascar broadcast sexual signals using scent glands. A young orangutan's upbringing equips it with all the skills it needs to survive in the forest, including finding food, moving through the canopy and building a shelter. On South Africa's Cape Peninsula, chacma baboons forage kelp beds exposed by the lowest tides for nutritious shark eggs and mussels. White-faced capuchins collect clams in Costa Rica's coastal mangroves, but lack the powerful jaws to pierce the shells. Their solution is to beat the shellfish against trees or rocks, which eventually exhausts the muscle that holds the shell closed. Life on Location follows camerawoman Justine Evans to Guinea to film tool use in chimpanzees. Dextrous hand movements enable them to dip for ants and termites using plant stems. They have also learned to crack nuts using precise and efficient blows with a stone. One male chimp is filmed sharing his stone with a female.
Episode 1. Challenges of Life
"Challenges of Life" documents the capture of a young chinstrap penguin by a leopard seal (pictured).
The opening episode introduces the series by showing examples of extraordinary feeding, hunting, courting and parenting behaviour from across the animal kingdom and around the globe. In Florida Bay, bottlenose dolphins catch leaping fish as they attempt to escape a corral of encircling mud, whipped up with the lead dolphin's tail. Other unusual collaborative hunting techniques include three cheetahs combining to bring down an ostrich and Antarctic killer whales attacking a crabeater seal. In Brazil, tufted capuchins have learned to crack open palm nuts by smashing them with rocks. High speed cameras reveal flying fish taking an aerial route to avoid predatory sailfish, Venus flytraps ensnaring their unwitting victims and two male hippos clashing over the territorial rights to a stretch of river. In some species, parents go to great lengths to protect their young. A mother strawberry poison-dart frog carries each of her six tadpoles high into the rainforest canopy to the safety of a bromeliad pool, then provides them with nutritious unfertilised eggs. A female Giant Pacific Octopus makes the ultimate sacrifice, starving to death as she guards her eggs. On Deception Island, young chinstrap penguins are trapped on a beach by ice-strewn seas. Abandoned by their parents, they must reach open water to feed. A lone chick fights its way through the ice, only to be ambushed by a leopard seal. Life on Location shows how the filmmakers collaborated with a French yachtsman and the Royal Navy to film Antarctica's top predators.
Episode 2. Reptiles and Amphibians
"Reptiles and Amphibians" documents how a group of komodo dragons (pictured) kill and eventually eat a water buffalo using venom.
In the opening sequence, an aerial camera zooms in on a solitary Komodo dragon from afar. This, states Attenborough, is the last place on Earth still ruled by reptiles. Though they may seem primitive, reptiles and amphibians still thrive thanks to diverse survival strategies. In Venezuela, a pebble toad evades a tarantula by free-falling down a steep rock face. The basilisk, nicknamed the Jesus Christ lizard, can literally run on water and the Brazilian pygmy gecko is so light it does not break the surface. Reptiles are cold-blooded, and some have developed unusual strategies to absorb heat. Namaqua chameleons darken the skin of the side of their body facing the sun. A male red-sided garter snake masquerades as a female using fake pheromones, attracting rival males which help raise its body temperature and thus its chance of breeding. Malagasy collared lizards conceal their eggs by burying them, but egg-eating hognose snakes stake out their favourite laying sites. Niue Island sea kraits lay theirs in a chamber only accessible via an underwater tunnel. Other reptiles guard their eggs. Horned lizards drive off predators, but larger adversaries such as coachwhip snakes prompt a different reaction – the lizard plays dead. Komodo dragons prey on water buffalo in the dry season. They stalk a buffalo for three weeks as it slowly succumbs to a toxic bite, then strip the carcass in four hours. In Life on Location, the Komodo film crew tell of the harrowing experience of filming the dragon hunt.
Episode 3. Mammals
A breaching humpback whale, a species featured in "Mammals".
Intelligence, warm blood and strong family bonds have made mammals the most successful group of animals on the planet: they can even survive the Antarctic winter. Here, a Weddell seal leads her pup on its first swim beneath the ice. In East Africa, a rufous sengi uses a mental map of the pathways it has cleared to outwit a chasing lizard. A young aye-aye takes four years to learn how to find and extract beetle grubs, food no other mammal can reach. Reindeer move through the Arctic tundra, making the longest overland migration of any animal. Other mammals have evolved different ways of travelling long distances: ten million fruit bats congregate at Zambia's Kasanka swamps to gorge on fruiting trees. Mammals employ different strategies to find food. At night on the African savannah, hyenas force lions off a kill through sheer weight of numbers, whilst in the Arctic, dozens of polar bears take advantage of a bowhead whale carcass. Raising young is another important factor in mammals' success. Coatis and meerkats form social groups to share the burden of childcare. A first-time African elephant mother needs the experience of the herd's matriarch to get her young calf out of trouble. The largest animals in the ocean are also mammals. The seas around Tonga are both a nursery and mating ground for humpback whales. A female leads her potential suitors on a chase, the males battling for dominance behind her. Life on Location follows the never-before filmed humpback heat run.
Episode 4. Fish
"Fish" documents the breeding cycle of a clownfish, pictured hiding amongst the tentacles of an anemone.
Fish, the most diverse group of vertebrate animals, thrive in the world's rivers, lakes and oceans. Slow-motion footage reveals the behaviour of some of the fastest fish in the sea, sailfish and flying fish. The latter gather in large numbers to lay their eggs on a floating palm frond, which sinks under the weight. The eggs of weedy sea dragons, found in the shallow waters off southern Australia, are carried by the male. In the fertile seas of the western Pacific, competition is fierce. A sarcastic fringehead defends its home, an old shell, from a passing octopus and a rival. In Japan, mudskippers have carved a niche on the rich mudflats. Freshwater fish are also featured. Tiny gobies are filmed climbing Hawaiian waterfalls to colonise the placid pools upstream, while in East Africa, barbels pick clean the skin of the resident hippos and feed on their rich dung in return. Wrasses perform the cleaning duties on coral reefs, but jacksambiguation needed] also remove parasites by scratching against the rough skin of silvertip sharks. Clownfish, whose life cycle is filmed in intimate detail using macro cameras, are protected by the fronds of an anemone, but other species seek safety in numbers. A shoal of ever-moving anchovies proves too difficult a target for sea lions. Sometimes, predators have the edge: ragged tooth sharks are shown attacking sardines trapped in shallow waters off South Africa. Life on Location looks at the efforts of underwater cameramen to capture the sailfish and flying fish sequences.
Episode 5. Birds
"Birds" shows how lammergeiers in the Simien Mountains collect bones from animal carcasses and smash them by dropping them on to rock slabs.
Birds, whose feathers have made them extremely adaptable and enabled them to fly, are the subject of programme five. The courtship flight of the marvellous spatuletail hummingbird is shot at high speed to slow down its rapid wing beats. The male must rest every few seconds due to the energy needed to display his elongated tail feathers. Lammergeiers, by contrast, soar on mountain thermals with a minimum of effort. A red-billed tropicbird bringing a meal back to its chick uses aerial agility to evade the marauding magnificent frigatebirds. Some birds nest in extreme locations to avoid threats from predators. Kenya's caustic soda lakes are a perilous environment for a lesser flamingo chick, while chinstrap penguins breed on a volcanic island off the Antarctic Peninsula. In South Africa, declining fish stocks force Cape gannets to abandon their chicks to search for food, presenting great white pelicans with the chance to snatch an easy meal. Feathers can also be used for display. Male sage grouse square up to one another at their leks, courting Clark's and Western Grebes perform an elaborate ritual to reaffirm their bond and thousands of lesser flamingos move in a synchronised display. Male Birds of paradise show offtheir brilliant plumes in wild courtship displays (some of this footage is from Planet Earth). In West Papua, the small, drab Vogelkop bowerbird uses a different strategy. The male decorates his bower with colourful jewels from the forest, and uses vocal mimicry to attract the attention of a female. Mating is filmed for the first time, the end result of a long and difficult quest featured in Life on Location.
Episode 6. Insects
Two billion monarch butterflies hibernate in a small area of high altitude forest in Mexico.
The sixth episode enters the world of insects. By assuming a variety of body shapes and incorporating armour and wings, they have evolved diverse survival strategies and become the most abundant creatures on Earth. In Chilean Patagonia, male Darwin's beetles lock horns and hurl their rivals from the treetops in search of a mate. A damselfly's chance to mate and lay eggs can be cut abruptly short by a leaping frog. Monarch butterflies use their wings to power them on an epic migration to their hibernating grounds in the forests of Mexico's Sierra Madre. Many insects carry chemical weapons as a form of defence. High-speed cameras show oogpister beetles squirting formic acid into the face of an inquisitive mongoose and bombardier beetles firing boiling caustic liquid from their abdomens. Some insects gain an advantage through co-operation. When an American black bear destroys a bee's nest, the colony survives by carrying their honey to a new site. Japanese red bug nymphs will move to a different nest if their mother fails to provide sufficient food. In the Australian outback, male Dawson's bees fight to the death over females emerging from their nest burrows. As a result, all will die, but the strongest mate most often. Argentina's grasscutter ants form huge colonies five million strong. They feed on a fungus which they cultivate underground, in nest structures which have natural ventilation. Life on Location documents the Mexico crew's attempts to rig up aerial camera shots of the awakening monarch butterflies.
Episode 7. Hunters and Hunted
A killer whale's unique hunting strategy is revealed in "Hunters and Hunted".
Mammals have adopted diverse strategies to hunt their prey and evade predators. As well as revisiting the cheetah and dolphin hunts first shown in episode one, the programme shows how a sure-footed ibex kid escapes a hunting fox by bounding across a precipitous mountainside above the Dead Sea. Slow motion footage reveals the fishing behaviour of greater bulldog bats in Belize and brown bears at an Alaskan river mouth, the latter awaiting the return of spawning salmon. The play-fighting of juvenile stoats helps train them to run down prey such as rabbits, which are many times their own size. The alpha female of an Ethiopian wolf pack stays at the den to wean her cubs while other adults hunt rats on the highland plateau. The extraordinary nasal appendage of a star-nosed mole enables it to hunt successfully underground and, by using bubbles to detect its prey, underwater. A tiger's stealthy approach to a group of feeding chital deer is thwarted when a langur, watching from above, raises the alarm. The final sequence shows a female killer whale taking elephant seal pups from their nursery pool in the Falkland Islands. This is a risky strategy as she could easily become beached in the shallow water. She is the only killer whale known to hunt this way, but her calf shadows her moves, ensuring her knowledge will be passed on. Also close by were the film crew, who reveal how the sequence was shot for Life on Location.
Episode 8. Creatures of the Deep
The Australian giant cuttlefish is one of the marine invertebrates featured in "Creatures of the Deep".
Marine invertebrates, the descendants of one billion years of evolutionary history, are the most abundant creatures in the ocean. In the Sea of Cortez, packs of Humboldt squid make night-time raids from the deep to co-operatively hunt sardines. Beneath the permanent Antarctic sea ice of McMurdo Sound, sea urchins, red sea stars and nemertean worms are filmed scavenging on a seal carcass. A fried egg jellyfish hunts amongst a swarm of Aurelia in the open ocean, spearing its prey with harpoon-like tentacles. In the shallows off South Australia, hundreds of thousands of spider crabs gather annually to moult. Many invertebrates have simple nervous systems, but giant cuttlefish have large brains and complex mating habits. Large males use flashing stroboscopic colours and strength to win a mate, whereas smaller rivals rely on deceit: both tactics are successful. A Giant Pacific Octopus sacrifices her life to tend her single clutch of eggs for six months. As a Pycnopodia starfish feeds on her remains, it comes under attack from a king crab. Coral reefs, which rival rainforests in their diversity, are the largest living structures on Earth and are created by coral polyps. Porcelain crabs, boxer crabs and orangutan crabs are shown to illustrate the many specialised ways of catching food on a reef. Marine invertebrates have a lasting legacy on land too – their shells formed the chalk and limestone deposits of Eurasia and the Americas. Life on Location documents the recording of Antarctic sea life and the birth of a reef.
Episode 9. Plants
The dragon's blood tree survives in semi-desert conditions by collecting moisture from mist and fog.
Plants endure a daily struggle for water, nutrients and light. On the forest floor where light is scarce, time-lapse shots show ivies and creepers climbing into the canopy using sticky pads, hooks or coiled tendrils. Epiphytes grow directly on the topmost branches of trees. Their bare roots absorb water and trap falling leaves, which provide nutrients as they decompose. Animals can also be a source of food: the sundew traps mosquitoes with sticky fluid, and venus flytraps close their clamshell leaves on unwitting insects. Sandhill milkweed defends itself against feeding monarch caterpillars by secreting sticky latex from its leaves. The milkweed endures the onslaught because, like most plants, it produces flowers, and the newly-hatched butterflies pollinate them. After flowering, brunsvigia plants in South Africa are snapped off by strong winds, sending their seed heads cartwheeling across the ground. Saguaro cacti produce succulent fruit to attract desert animals which ingest and disperse their seeds. Some plants have adapted to survive environmental extremes. Dragon's blood trees and desert roses thrive on arid Socotra, and coastal mangrove trees survive by filtering salt from seawater. Bristlecone pines live above 3,000m in North America's mountains. They have a six-week growing season and can live for 5,000 years, making them the oldest living things on Earth. Grasses are the most successful of all plants. Of their 10,000 varieties, two cover more land than any other plant: rice and wheat. Life on Location goes behind the scenes of a time-lapse sequence in an English woodland. Because actually growing plants outdoors would prove a challenge to film (with constantly changing conditions) this scene used plants grown in a studio on a bluescreen duplicating a real outdoor backdrop. The entire process took two years to make.
Episode 10. Primates
Japanese macaques are the most northerly primates, enduring winter temperatures of -20°C (-4°F) in the Japanese Alps.
Intelligence, curiosity and complex societies have enabled primates to exploit many different habitats. In Ethiopia, male Hamadryas baboons restore discipline after a skirmish with a rival troop. In Japanese macaque society, only those members from the correct bloodlines are permitted to use thermal springs in winter; others are left out in the cold. Examples of primate communication include a silverback gorilla advertising his territory though vocalisations and chest-beating, and the piercing calls of spectral tarsiers which help keep their group together. In Thailand's rainforests, lar gibbons use song to reinforce sexual and family bonds. By contrast, ring-tailed lemurs in Madagascar broadcast sexual signals using scent glands. A young orangutan's upbringing equips it with all the skills it needs to survive in the forest, including finding food, moving through the canopy and building a shelter. On South Africa's Cape Peninsula, chacma baboons forage kelp beds exposed by the lowest tides for nutritious shark eggs and mussels. White-faced capuchins collect clams in Costa Rica's coastal mangroves, but lack the powerful jaws to pierce the shells. Their solution is to beat the shellfish against trees or rocks, which eventually exhausts the muscle that holds the shell closed. Life on Location follows camerawoman Justine Evans to Guinea to film tool use in chimpanzees. Dextrous hand movements enable them to dip for ants and termites using plant stems. They have also learned to crack nuts using precise and efficient blows with a stone. One male chimp is filmed sharing his stone with a female.
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