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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

The Great Burden

   2015    History
In the eighth episode, after two long days of closing arguments, the jury deliberates. Steven's fate hinges on whether the jury believes police misconduct may have occurred.
Series: Making a Murderer

The Great Invisible

   2014    Technology
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. It killed 11 workers and caused the worst oil spill in American history. The explosion still haunts the lives of those most intimately affected, though the story has long ago faded from the front page.
At once a fascinating corporate thriller, a heartbreaking human drama and a peek inside the walls of the secretive oil industry, 'The Great Invisible' is the first documentary feature to go beyond the media coverage to examine the crisis in depth through the eyes of oil executives, survivors and Gulf Coast residents who experienced it first-hand and then were left to pick up the pieces while the world moved on.

The Greatest Night in Pop

   2024    Art
On January 25th, 1985, dozens of the era's most popular musicians gathered in Los Angeles to record a charity single for African famine relief. Setting egos aside, they collaborated on a song that would make history. The documentary transports viewers back to the recording of ‘We Are the World,’ capturing a seminal moment in music with gripping detail and emotion. Through an intimate lens, the film chronicles the night when some of the biggest names in the music industry united for a cause greater than themselves.
With exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, candid interviews with the artists involved, and insights from music historians, the documentary reveals the challenges, camaraderie, and sheer talent that converged to make the recording session an unparalleled event in pop culture, making it a poignant reminder of the power of art to effect change.

The History of the Red Army

   2022    History
The fascinating history of the military force of the Soviet Union. For 70 years, the Red Army was one of the foundations of the USSR, an instrument of fear as well as admiration, a symbol of liberation as well as coercion. While everyone knows that Trotsky's name is attached to its creation, most of its past is made up of military defeats and failures, contrary to the common idea. This documentary explores its history, combining epic narrative and deconstruction of the myth.

The House of Special Purpose

   2019    History
Nicholas II abdicates, and civil war erupts. In May 1918, a year after the revolution, the Bolsheviks sent Anastasia, Alexei, Tatiana and Olga to join the rest of the family in Ekaterinburg. They're put in the Ipatiev mansion and It's given the name 'The House of Special Purpose.' As pro-royalist forces close in on the house where the Romanovs are imprisoned, the family's fate is sealed.
Series: The Last Czars
Planet Earth

Planet Earth

2007  Nature
Rome

Rome

  History
Minimalism

Minimalism

2015  Culture
Black Hole Apocalypse

Black Hole Apocalypse

2018  Science
Chemistry

Chemistry

2010  Science
The Jinx

The Jinx

2015  History