Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

The Queen of Sheba - an exotic and mysterious woman of power - is immortalised in the world's great religious works, among them the Hebrew Bible and the Muslim Koran. She also appears in Turkish and Persian painting, in Kabbalistic treatises, and in medieval Christian mystical works, where she is viewed as the embodiment of Divine Wisdom and a foreteller of the cult of the Holy Cross. In Africa and Arabia her tale is still told to this day and, indeed, her tale has been told and retold in many lands for nearly 3,000 years.

The Greek tale of Jason and the Golden Fleece has been told for 3,000 years. It's a classic hero's quest tale - a sort of ancient Greek mission impossible - in which the hero embarks on a sea voyage into an unknown land, with a great task to achieve. He is in search of a magical ram's fleece, which he has to find in order to reclaim his father's kingdom of Iolkos from the usurper King Pelias. Michael Wood discovers a story of heroism, treachery, love and tragedy that would make Hollywood proud.

The fantastical tale of King Arthur, the hero warrior, is one of the great themes of British literature. But was it just invented to restore British pride after the Norman invasion? Michael Wood puts the king in the spotlight.

From the makers of Walking With Dinosaurs comes an epic and entertaining new exploration of early life on Earth, revealing that before the age dinosaurs, a succession of fantastical animals and plants ruled the planet. A time when a two-ton predatory fish came on land to hunt, when four-metre sea scorpions sliced sushi in the shallows and when just one species of lumbering reptile represented 80 per cent of all life. For the first time, this special two-hour presentation uncovers and recreates these creatures and the bizarre world they inhabited.

A look at the unique habitat which is formed every year when the Amazon floods an area of forest the size of England. It creates a world that is home to turtles, caiman and giant otters, and where fish fly through the air and dolphins hunt amongst the tree tops.

This edition explores the vast grasslands of the continent, hauntingly beautiful regions inhabited by strange creatures - giant anteaters, armadillos, maned wolves, capybara and jaguars.