Documentary series revealing the inner workings of Britain's railways, introducing the track-workers, train guards, drivers, police officers and management teams determined to keep the country moving.
Social & External
The people behind it
Kevin Whately
Narrator
The story of the permanently changing landscape and its wildlife of the British isles since the last ice age. In 10 episodes.
Acclaimed historian Dan Jones tells the story of the dynasty who ruled England and much of France during the Middle Ages. More shocking, brutal and exhilarating than Game of Thrones, these events actually happened.
Dominic Sandbrook takes a fresh look at a dynamic decade. 1980s Britain changed in everything from politics and sport to fashion and popular culture.
A politically charged mini-series researched and written by Duncan Campbell which saw dramatic Special Branch raids on BBC Scotland. An entire production office was loaded into transit vans and confiscated by the police. + One: 'The Secret Constitution' about secret Cabinet committees that amount to a secret decision making system at the highest levels of power in the United Kingdom. + Two: 'In Time of Crisis' about secret preparations for war that began in 1982 within every NATO country. This programme revealed what Britain would do. + Three: 'A Gap In Our Defences' about bungling defence manufacturers and incompetent military planners who have botched every new radar system that Britain has installed since World War II. + Four: 'We're All Data Now' about the Data Protection Act. + Five: 'Association of Chief Police Officers' and how Government policy and actions are determined in the fields of law and order. + Six: 'Communications' with particular reference to Zircon spy satellites ...
Following an elite crew of workers-- brakemen, engineers, construction crews, mechanics and train drivers – Railroad Alaska illustrates the battle against ferocious weather and treacherous terrain to keep the State of Alaska’s critical 500-mile long railroad rolling to deliver life sustaining supplies. From controlled avalanches to prevent catastrophe, to fascinating characters, like Jim James, the one-handed handy man, learn what it takes to keep this train on track.
Climb up on the footplate and join historian and host Dan Cruickshank for a railway adventure like no other as he investigates how trains helped shape modern Britain. This three-part series resurrects an exhilarating age and kicks off by focusing on the railways' role in defeating Hitler, before unearthing the incredible engineering achievements of Isambard Brunel and embarking on a trip on the earliest steam engines.
This series looks at the iconic trains that have done the most to change history. Each train is an engineering marvel, each one a leap forward in the history of trains and railways. But more than this, these are the trains that made the modern world. These are the trains that unify nations and open up continents, that miraculously shrink distance and create a global economy, changing how we trade, what we buy and make and sell. They change how we live and even how we think, speeding up our lives and expanding our horizons. These are the machines that made us modern. Each episode features one iconic train and describes its impact on railway history and on history in general, combining archive and expert testimony with actuality and hands-on engineering demonstrations.
The invention of trains transformed everything about how humans lived. From the movement of goods and population, the design of cities, to conquest and warfare, there are few aspects of civilization that were left untouched by these machines.
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
The most dangerous railway lines in the world are breathtakingly beautiful, fascinating and lead through extreme landscapes. They touch the sky and for some they go straight to hell afterwards, leading over extreme heights, across oceans or savannahs and braving hurricanes.
Britain’s rich horticultural history is being lost. More and more front and back gardens are paved over - for development, for parking spaces, or because families don’t have the time or inclination to manage these spaces. The trend for easy-to-maintain lawns, patios and paving has also led to a decline in traditional gardens full of flowers, plants and trees to the extent that some of our most iconic flora and fauna have all but disappeared. Step forward the BBC’s most-loved gardening experts, who are determined to turn us back into a green-fingered nation once again.
Using witness testimony, archive and archaeological evidence, this three-part series reveals the untold story of the preparations to defend World War Two Britain by the Home Guard.
The three-part series tells the story of British architects Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Nicholas Grimshaw, Michael Hopkins and Terry Farrell.
From picturesque scenery and rich history to sumptuous spa rooms and culinary artistry, Alan Cumming revels in the Royal Scotsman's splendour on an opulent odyssey through the heart of Scotland.
Series telling the story of the architects, engineers and spin doctors who entered a frantic two year race to make the Royal Opening of St Pancras on time.
Scotland's rail network crosses a landscape voted the best in the world. This series follows the staff and enthusiasts safeguarding these iconic routes.
Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe, as he retraces the journeys featured in George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.
Jonathan Meades gives a personal perspective of British history.
Chris Barrie's Massive Speed follows on from the series Massive Engines and Massive Machines , both of which were also presented by petrolhead Chris (of Red Dwarf fame). In Massive Speed Chris turns his attention to the evolution of machines designed purely to achieve maximum speed. He travels the world searching for the most thrilling, speed-packed machines he can find and introduces audiences to huge engined bikes, planes, trucks and boats that battle it out in power races. Whether it's crossing an otherwise impenetrable snow drift, desert or swamp at the speed of an Olympic sprinter or cutting through the atmosphere at six times the speed of sound, Chris tells the stories of the greatest achievements of speed design and engineering. In each episode Chris follows the evolution of a specific genre of machine by testing them and reveals both the classsic stories and secret histories that surround each of them.
Motoring programme featuring reviews of and reports about cars of all types.
Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The running time of the first two series was 30 minutes, being extended to 45 minutes in the third. BBC Three also broadcast a cut-down edition of the programme, lasting 15 minutes, shown after the repeats on Sundays and Fridays and after the weekday evening repeats of earlier seasons.
Explore the past, present and future of Walt Disney Imagineering with noted filmmaker Leslie Iwerks. Ms. Iwerks comes from a family with deep Disney history — her grandfather was an early Disney animator and her father is a former Imagineer — and her previous work includes profiles of Pixar Animation Studios and visual effects house Industrial Light & Magic.
An insider's look at the engineering and scientific miracles behind the things that form the modern world.
A look at the life and work of legendary comedian George Carlin.
Experience the wonders of our world like never before in this epic series from Jon Favreau and the producers of Planet Earth. Travel back 66 million years to when majestic dinosaurs and extraordinary creatures roamed the lands, seas, and skies.
Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.
This docuseries captures the remarkable rise and unprecedented success of one of the most dominant and iconic franchises in professional sports. Featuring exclusive access to the Buss Family and probing, revealing interviews with players, coaches, and front office execs, this series chronicles this extraordinary story from the inside – told only by the people who lived it.
Seconds from Disaster is a US/UK-produced documentary television programme that investigates historically relevant man-made and natural disasters of the 20th century. Each episode aims to explain a single incidental by analyzing the causes and circumstances that ultimately effected the disaster. The program uses re-enactments, interviews, testimonies, and CGI to analyze the sequence of events second-by-second for the audience. Narrators for the show are Ashton Smith, Richard Vaughan and Peter Guinness.
Over two extraordinary years, National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory discovered never-before-filmed secret traditions, surprising intelligence and close-knit societies of penguins. This astonishing series reveals they are more like us than we ever dreamed, from their powerful friendships to the courageous risk-takers using ingenuity and innovation in some of the world's most extreme places.
Explores WWII from Germany's invasion of Poland through the atomic age, examining pivotal battles, wartime leaders like Churchill and Roosevelt, and the human cost of total war.
Don Wildman unearths relics from the world's greatest institutions to reveal secrets from the past. He examines each artifact to illuminate history's most incredible triumphs, sensational crimes and bizarre encounters.
What happened to Mica Miller? This documentary series retraces her promising life, toxic marriage and the mysterious circumstances of her death.
30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN
Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
Come one, come all to The Circus. This real-time documentary series pulls back the curtain on the current political stories, revealing the intense, inspiring and infuriating stories behind the headlines. Key characters and events are presented in real time, as they are happening.
Award-winning actor and nervous explorer Eugene Levy steps out of his comfort zone for a whirlwind tour of the world's most beautiful and intriguing destinations.
This compelling series investigates the motives and m.o. of female murderers. While males are often driven by anger, impulse and destruction, women usually have more complex, long-term reasons to kill.
Filmed across six continents, this docuseries uses cutting-edge camera technology to capture animals' nocturnal lives, revealing new behaviours filmed in full color like never before.
This trophy-packed, insider-fuelled documentary charts José Mourinho's iconic rise as one of the world's top footballing managers of the most elite clubs.