Dunkirk: The Forgotten Heroes • 2018

25:15

The Story of Imperial Airways How the air routes were trailblazed to the east and the Pacific during the 1920s and 1930s. The fascinating story of how the East and Australia became just an air-journey from Europe. The air route to the east and the Pacific was a trailblazing effort for Imperial Airways during the 1920's and 1930's. Subsidised by the government its objective was to open air routes between Britain and her Empire. In January 1927 a service between Cairo and Basra was opened after a furrow several hundred miles long was dug in the sand to assist navigation across the desert. This programme depicts the fascinating story of how the East and Australia became just a plane journey from England.

11/20 • The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

143:32

Landmark documentary-maker Philomena Cunk traces the history of Britain and the world, from the Big Bang to Brexit. Chapter 1: In the Beginnings Philomena Cunk travels the world, heading down caves and up mountains in her search for mankind's first moments. With the help of a variety of experts, she explains how the earliest societies were formed: from the easier ones to spell, like Rome and Greece, to the ones that are harder to spell, like Egypt and Mesopotamia. Chapter 2: Faith/Off Philomena Cunk tells the story of the birth of two of the world's great religions and learns what came next: the fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages, the Crusades and Genghis Khan. So a bit of a rough patch for mankind, if we're honest. Along the way, Philomena asks experts hard-hitting questions about humanity's progress and stands on or near impressive old ruins and inside museums, before the shot cuts away to some archive footage of the bits that don't exist anymore or were too expensive to film at. Chapter 3: The Renaissance Will Not Be Televised Philomena Cunk visits the allegedly beautiful city of Florence to explore the Renaissance and interrogates experts and historians about the revolutions that went on to shape the modern world, including the American War of Independence and, to a lesser extent, the French Revolution. Chapter 4: Rise of the Machines Cunk continues her ambitious march across the face of mankind into an age of industry and science. With the help of historians, she explains the scientific breakthroughs of Marie Curie and Albert Einstein. She demonstrates the inventions that changed the world and covers how the American Civil War, World War I and World War II taught humanity how to use its new grasp of technology to shoot, blow up and irradiate itself in huge numbers. Chapter 5: War(s) of the World(s)? Philomena Cunk takes us from 1945 to the present day. She travels the world and meets top experts to examine the Cold War, the space race, globalisation and social media. The world's recent history is one of polarisation and division, as humanity divided itself down the middle – communism v capitalism, Apple v Microsoft, Beatles v Stones. Is humanity doomed to repeat the mistakes of history? Cunk does her best to find out.

2022 • History

26:00

Timing is everything, just look at what happened in 1848. How did the finding of gold in Sutter's Mill make an impact on the development of California and the history of the United States?

S2E4 • Butterfly Effect • 2017 • History

50:00

Episode Two follows the course of the invasion, as Strongbow wins victory after victory. In 1171 Henry II himself arrives to takes control of Ireland, and he grants land there to settlers from Britain. Now archaeology and cutting-edge science reveal their fascinating lives. The episode also shows how the conquest of Ireland enabled centuries of war between England and France.

S1E2 • Invasion: The Normans • 2023 • History

50:35

For the people of the ancient world, the Huns were "the most feared of all warriors". Never before had people experienced such brutal fighting. The power of the mounted nomads became a threat to Rome, but other tribes were also on the move and headed to the center of a weakened empire.

S1E1 • Odyssey • 2021 • History

135:09

Sian Phillips narrates the history of the Roman Empire through the eyes of Livia Drusilla, examining the reigns of the empress's husband Augustus, as well as Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. Chapter 1: The story begins with the assassination of the Roman republic's most powerful general Julius Caesar, with the chaos and bloody power grabs that follow even taking down Egypt's legendary queen Cleopatra. Augustus and Livia seize their moment and through a ruthless combination of gladiatorial violence, sexual alliances and cold-blooded murder, they hoodwink the world's most powerful democracy into nominating Augustus as a single autocratic leader - the first emperor of Rome. Chapter 2: Tiberius and his notorious successor Caligula dragged the Roman empire into an age of tyranny, incest, and shocking depravity. Tiberius became Rome's second emperor with understandable paranoia and trashed what was left of democracy by making it punishable by death to speak out against him. With no son to name as heir, Tiberius invited his teenage nephew Caligula to join his court, but when the emperor fell ill, Caligula seized his chance to gain power and had him smothered on his sickbed. Chapter 3: Examines the reigns of Claudius and Nero. Claudius surprised everyone by taking Rome to its greatest heights yet, only to be brought down by his third wife Messalina and the seemingly unkillable Agrippina the Younger, the mother of his successor, the psychopathic Nero.

2024 • History