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Earth: One Amazing Day

   2017    Nature
An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands, from exotic jungles to urban jungles. Breakthroughs in filmmaking technology bring you up close with a cast of unforgettable characters: a baby zebra desperate to cross a swollen river, a penguin who heroically undertakes a death-defying daily commute to feed his family, a family of sperm whales who like to snooze vertically, and a sloth on the hunt for love.
Told with humour, intimacy and a jaw-dropping sense of cinematic splendour, Earth: One Amazing Day highlights how every day is filled with more wonders than you can possibly imagine- until now.

The Story of China Ancestors

   2016    History
Michael Wood embarks on a great historical adventure, exploring the stories, people and landscapes that have helped create China's distinctive character and genius over four thousand years. Is the history of the world's newest superpower, from its ancient past to the present day.
Starting in Wuxi, Michael joins the Qin family reunion, when 300 relatives gather to worship their ancestors on Tomb Sweeping Day. 'Like the nation, the family has been through so much,' one says. 'Now everyone wants to know - what are our roots?'
Looking for the origins of the Chinese state, he visits the excavations at Erlitou and sees an exquisite turquoise dragon sceptre from 2000 BC. China's first writing is found on 'oracle bones' dug up from the Shang royal tombs at Anyang in the 1920s. At the Beijing Planetarium, Michael travels back in time as astronomers plot the planetary conjunction that the ancients believed foretold the overthrow of the Shang Dynasty. Next, the Age of Philosophers and Confucius, whose book Analects has had greater influence worldwide than even the Bible, according to some. In Xi'an, we hear how the First Emperor united China and created the authoritarian Qin state that gave us the word China. Finally, Michael returns to the temple fair in Henan for a dramatic night ceremony to give thanks to the ancestors. China, Michael concludes, is rising again, not just because of its economic strength, but because of the incredible solidarity of the Han Chinese view of their own civilisation, their sense of family and, of course, the presence of the ancestors.
Series: The Story of China

The Golden Age

   2016    History
This episode tells the tale of what's broadly considered China's most creative dynasty - the Song (960-1279). Michael Wood heads to the city of Kaifeng, the greatest city in the world before the 19th century. Here in Twin Dragon Alley, locals tell him the legend of the baby boys who became emperors.
He explores the ideas and inventions that made the Song one of greatest eras in world culture, helped by China's most famous work of art, the Kaifeng scroll, which shows the life of the city in around 1120. A chef makes Michael a recipe from a Song cookbook, while a guide to 'how to live happy, healthy lives for old people', published in 1085 and still in print, is discussed with local women doing their morning exercises. The Song was also a great era for scientific advance in China. Michael steers a huge working replica of an astronomical clock, made by China's Leonardo da Vinci.
Then at a crunch Chinese Premier League match, Michael tells us the Chinese invented football! The golden age of the northern Song ended in 1127, when invaders sacked Kaifeng, but they survived in the south. At their new capital, Hangzhou, Wood joins locals dancing by the West Lake, while in the countryside he meets Mr Xie with his records of 40 generations of ancestors. The final defeat of the Song took place in a naval battle in the estuary of the Pearl River in 1279. When all was lost, rather than surrender to the Mongols, a loyal minister jumped into the sea with the young boy emperor in his arms. 'So ended the glory of the Song', Wood concludes, 'but a new age would arise... as in China, it always has!'.
Series: The Story of China

2015 Year In Sci-Tech

   2015    Technology
Explore the latest science behind the headlines and the coolest scientific developments that impact our lives. Technology catapults to new heights in 2015, going faster and further than ever before. We have canvassed the world in search of the best and most fascinating science and tech stories of the year for 2015 YEAR IN SCI-TECH". This action-packed hour of fun and intrigue revisits the world’s first glimpse of Pluto and images of water on Mars while exploring what this all could mean for intelligent life in the universe – all while earthling’s inch closer to becoming actual space tourists. Throughout the hour, we revisit the year’s most amazing techological feats and scientific discoveries, including new and elusive animal species discovered deep under the ocean, as well as the hottest tech trends – from hover boards to driverless cars and trucks, and the newest advances in mind-blowing virtual reality.

Meru

   2015    Culture
In the high-stakes game of big-wall climbing, the Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru may be the ultimate prize. Sitting at the headwaters of the sacred Ganges River in Northern India, the Shark’s Fin has seen more failed attempts by elite climbing teams over the past 30 years than any other ascent in the Himalayas. To undertake Meru, says Jon Krakauer, the bestselling author of Into Thin Air, "You can’t just be a good ice climber. You can’t just be good at altitude. You can’t just be a good rock climber. It’s defeated so many good climbers and maybe will defeat everybody for all time. Meru isn’t Everest. On Everest you can hire Sherpas to take most of the risks. This is a whole different kind of climbing."

Yellowstone: America first National Park

   2015    Nature
On a vast plateau cradled in the heart of the rocky mountain range lies two million acres of unspoiled wilderness, never farmed and never fenced. Canyons, lakes, rivers and mountains, a refuge for magnificent animals and a spiritual sanctuary for generations of Americans, all resting on the largest super volcano in North America. This is Yellowstone, America's first national park, a raw and powerful beauty that truly comes to life through immersive 3D.
The Making of the Mob

The Making of the Mob

2016  History
The Jinx

The Jinx

  History
Meet the Romans

Meet the Romans

2012  History
The Germanic Tribes

The Germanic Tribes

2007  History
Dynasties

Dynasties

2018  Nature
Apocalypse: World War 1

Apocalypse: World War 1

2014  History
Chemistry

Chemistry

2010  Science
The Cell

The Cell

  Science