January 1943: Admiral Karl Dönitz, head of the Nazis’ U-boat fleet, has brought Britain to the brink of starvation by ruthlessly destroying close to a thousand of their merchant ships. If the transatlantic shipping route is cut off, the Allies will lose their last foothold in Western Europe. The Royal Navy turns to retired war gamer Gilbert Roberts. Roberts is to use war gaming to try to decipher and combat Dönitz’s tactics. To do this, he needs a team, but the Navy can’t spare any men. Instead, he risks the ridicule of high command by turning to the Women’s Royal Navy Service (WRNS) to war game the U-boats’ tactics. In partnership with Jean Laidlaw, one of Britain’s first female chartered accountants, and a small team of resourceful female mathematicians, Roberts acts out naval battles and games the U-boats’ moves on a linoleum floor, using chalk and wooden model ships.
There are seven billion humans on Earth, spread across the whole planet. Scientific evidence suggests that most of us can trace our origins to one tiny group of people who left Africa around 70,000 years ago. In this five-part series, Dr Alice Roberts follows the archaeological and genetic footprints of our ancient ancestors to find out how their journeys transformed our species into the humans we are today, and how Homo Sapiens came to dominate the planet.
As part of a season of programming marking Sir David Attenborough's 90th birthday, four of his favourite films are brought together as the renowned naturalist looks back on his personal highlights.
US Youtube sensation Beau Ouimette, a river detectorist with over 30 years’ experience, and presenter and keen swimmer Rick Edwards search the UK’s waterways for archaeological finds. Using state-of-the-art technology, archive maps and contemporaneous accounts from the period, Beau and Rick perform the first underwater archaeological digs in some of the most exciting and iconic historical sites in Britain, often in dangerous and fast-flowing water.
A documentary on China, concentrating mainly on the faces of the people, filmed in the areas they were allowed to visit. The 220-minute version consists of three parts. The first part, taken around Beijing, includes a cotton factory, older sections of the city, and a clinic where a Caesarean operation is performed using acupuncture. The middle part visits the Red Flag canal and a collective farm in Henan, as well as the old city of Suzhou. The final part shows the port and industries of Shanghai and ends with a stage presentation by Chinese acrobats.
The idea for That the World May Know films began in 1992 when Michigan entrepreneur Ed Prince became exposed to Ray Vander Laan's unique method of Bible teaching. Ray, or RVL as he is affectionately known, has always believed that to more greatly understand and appreciate the Bible, one had to have a sense of the land and the culture from which it sprang. Biblical analogies and examples, while meaningful and helpful even to this day, were first meant to convey God's truth to particular people in a particular time and place. So the more fully we can appreciate those times and places, the more fully we can respond to the power of the Word.
The Family is a British fly-on-the-wall documentary series that began airing 17 September 2008 on Channel 4. Each season follows a chosen family, consisting of parents and their children. The project aim was to gain a picture of everyday family life in the United Kingdom, as film-maker and director Jonathan Smith attempted to "condense four months of ordinary family life into eight films". The series is a revival of the original series of the same name that first aired in 1974.
Pawa Meri (Powerful Women) is a six-part documentary series portraying the lives of six Papua New Guinean women who have each achieved extraordinary things in life. The women come from diverse backgrounds and represent a variety of themes relevant to development in PNG.
Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn turn back the clock to run Manor Farm in Hampshire exactly as it would have been during World War II.
Join the legendary ‘How It's Made' crew as they immerse themselves in automobile heaven, and discover how incredible machines are designed and created. From a Maserati to the Audi R8, from a Morgan Aero Coupe to a Porsche 911, the team travel around the world to visit the birthplaces of a host of dream cars. Each half hour episode will reveal the car's inner workings and gorgeous exteriors, which is enhanced with unprecedented access to the factories and test labs that are integral to their conception and creation.
British true crime documentary series about forensics teams, looking at some of the cutting edge techniques that have been used to solve infamous crimes.
It was the Olympic Games we will never forget; an extraordinary event in Britain’s history with intense drama, sporting brilliance and heart-wrenching emotion. Capturing the key moments of the Games, including a specially-edited version of the entire Opening Ceremony from Director Danny Boyle, over seven hours of sporting highlights and the full Closing Ceremony, these day-by-day highlights relive the triumphs, moving stories and memories that will live on forever.
Experience once again the magnificent performances from outstanding athletes such as Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and Jessica Ennis. Marvel at the many amazing achievements, including Mo Farah's double gold and Nicola Adams's gold in the boxing ring. Relive Team GB's 29 gold medal triumphs and recapture the moments which made these Olympic Games so special; from the electrifying atmosphere in the stadium on 'Super Saturday' to judo's Gemma Gibbons's tearful dedication and pure emotion of swimmer Chad le Clos's father.
A three-part British documentary film series about life in the Paleozoic, bringing to life extinct arthropods, fish, amphibians, synapsids, and reptiles. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh and using state-of-the-art visual effects, this prequel to Walking with Dinosaurs shows nearly 300 million years of Paleozoic history, from the Cambrian Period (530 million years ago) to the Early Triassic Period (248 million years ago).