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The Viking Sagas

2011 History

Hundreds of years ago in faraway Iceland the Vikings began to write down dozens of stories called sagas - sweeping narratives based on real people and real events. But as Oxford University's Janina Ramirez discovers, these sagas are not just great works of art, they are also priceless historical documents which bring to life the Viking world. ... Dr Ramirez travels across glaciers and through the lava fields of Iceland to the far north west of the country to find out about one of the most compelling of these stories - the Laxdaela Saga. Show More

What is Life

2013 Science

From the Philippines to the US, Madagascar and Mexico, Professor Brian Cox explores the globe to reveal how a few fundamental laws of science gave birth to the most complex and unique feature of the universe - life. In the first episode, Brian journeys to the volcanic landscapes of South-East Asia, seeking to understand how life first began a ...nd how that spark has endured to this day. Show More

Series: Wonders of Life

Walking with Cavemen: Savage Family

2003 History

One and a half million years ago, a new breed of ape-man walks the land. In southern Africa, Homo Ergaster has taken the next step to becoming human. They have long, modern looking noses, which cool air as they breathe. Their hairless bodies, with millions of tiny sweat glands, mean they don't pant anymore to control their temperature - they ...sweat. And, above all, they have big brains - nearly two-thirds the size of ours. Show More

Series: Walking with Cavemen

Under the Electric Sky

2014 Art

Beginning in 1997 with a few thousand revelers in Los Angeles, the Electric Daisy Carnival has become the largest dance music event in North America. Known for its over the top displays of pyrotechnics, world-class artists, costumed theatrical performers, interactive art installations, full scale carnival rides and state-of-the-art lighting a ...nd sound production, 2013's festival attracted 345,000 attendees from June 21-23". The film will follow festivalgoers as they prepare for their journey to EDC Las Vegas and chronicle their unique experience throughout the three-day festival. Behind the scenes footage and interviews with key Insomniac team members will give new audiences the chance to discover what has made the Electric Daisy Carnival a global phenomenon. Show More

What are We Really Made of

2011 Science

What is the universe made of? If you answered stars, planets, gas and dust, you'd be dead wrong. Thirty years ago, scientists first realized that some unknown dark substance was affecting the way galaxies moved. Today, they think there must be five times our understanding of the universe and the nature of reality itself has drastically change ...d over the last 100 years - and it's on the verge of another seismic shift. In a 17-mile-long tunnel buried 570 feet beneath the Franco-Swiss border, the world's largest and most powerful atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, is powering up. Its goal is nothing less than recreating the first instants of creation, when the universe was unimaginably hot and long-extinct forms of matter sizzled and cooled into stars, planets, and ultimately, us. These incredibly small and exotic particles hold the keys to the greatest mysteries of the universe. What we find could validate our long-held theories about how the world works and what we are made of -- or, all of our notions about the essence of what is real will fall apart. Show More

Series: Through the Wormhole

Comets: Frozen Wanderers

2012 Science

We think of comets as beautiful glowing balls of light streaking across our skies with their long sweeping tails, yet comets are so much more than just a cosmic firework display. Comets have a uniquely important place in modern science. As time machines from the early universe, they could hold the key to unlock the secrets of the cosmos. Come ...ts could even be the origin of life itself. We follow the incredible odyssey of a comet as it sails through the solar system, watching it's every move as it evolves from a dormant chunk of ice and rock into a tumbling, violently active nucleus engulfed in a gaseous haze. What we learn is a revelation; comets are even more mysterious and fascinating than we had ever imagined. Show More

Series: How the Universe Works

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