Professor Brian Cox continues his epic exploration of the cosmos by looking at the faint band of light that sweeps across the night sky - our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The Sun is just one of almost 400 billion stars that form this vast, majestic disk of light, our own home in the universe. Thanks to a cutting-edge space we’re finally able to reveal the Milky Way’s dramatic history and predict its cataclysmic future. Our galaxy started out a fraction of the size it is today, and Gaia telescope has revealed how it grew over the eons. Beautifully rendered VFX based on the very latest Gaia data has uncovered the remarkable story of our galaxy’s evolution. As our young galaxy encountered rival galaxies, it experienced a series of violent growth spurts and intense periods of cataclysmic change while battling to survive. Each time our galaxy feeds, a new era of star formation begins, fuelled by incoming torrents of fresh gas and energy. And there is another collision to come. Another, larger galaxy is coming our way. Andromeda is heading straight for us at a quarter of a million miles per hour. The Milky Way’s long-term fate is in the balance.
Richard Stanley had a dream of making a screen adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic The Island of Dr. Moreau. In the mid nineties, he finally managed to get the project up and running, but its shooting turned into a battle between art and industry interests that ended with the director being fired from the film. This documentary examines the story of a movie that could have been a masterpiece of fantasy that ended in an epic failure.
Described as one of the most influential female boxers of all time, helping legitimize women’s participation in the sport, Christy Martin shocked the world by becoming a superstar after winning a blood-soaked undercard match at the Mike Tyson/Frank Bruno fight in 1996. After her meteoric rise, the film breaks down Christy’s incredible fight for survival both in and out of the ring as she battled substance abuse, domestic violence and a harrowing brush with death. We also see Christy’s struggle with her sexual orientation and her journey of self-discovery. This is a story stranger than fiction, that must be seen to be believed.
Our universe is at war. The universe is a very violent and deadly place. Entire galaxies fight to the death. Only the strongest survive. If a galaxy wants to stay alive, it has to feed on other galaxies. Our own galaxy also fights for survival. These battles are how galaxies live, grow, and die. These collisions got us to where we are today, and they're going to determine the future of the universe.
Could the source of the world’s deadliest viruses hold the secret to a healthier and longer life? Bats have a sinister reputation as potential sources for some of the deadliest disease outbreaks: Ebola, MERS, SARS, and most recently, the virus behind the COVID-19 global pandemic. Yet scientists are discovering new evidence that bats are biological marvels and may hold a key to longevity. They’re resistant to the diseases they carry and have freakishly long lifespans for their tiny size. So, what’s their secret? And what else can we learn from their peculiar biology? From caves in Thailand and Texas to labs around the globe, the films meets the scientists who are decoding the superpowers of the bat.
Twenty years ago, at 9.03am on 11 September 2001, America was under attack. President George W Bush was sitting in front of seven-year-olds in a classroom in Florida. Members of the president’s security detail thought the next plane could be aimed at them. The film is a claustrophobic clock-ticking thriller and tells the story of the presidency on arguably the most consequential day in recent history. As the clock ticks, the administration makes the greatest decisions of their lives: should they order fighter jets to shoot on American civilians? Should the president declare war or calm a battered nation? How would the leadership of the most powerful nation on earth grapple with the national and international implications? This documentary tells the definitive story of the Bush administration through 12 hours of that momentous day, with first-hand testimony from President Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and other senior staff who had their hands on the levers of power. The events of that day led to two decades of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq. As America and its allies now withdraw from Afghanistan and the Taliban resume control, this is the story of how it all began.
Our galaxy started out a fraction of the size it is today, and Gaia telescope has revealed how it grew over the eons. Beautifully rendered VFX based on the very latest Gaia data has uncovered the remarkable story of our galaxy’s evolution. As our young galaxy encountered rival galaxies, it experienced a series of violent growth spurts and intense periods of cataclysmic change while battling to survive. Each time our galaxy feeds, a new era of star formation begins, fuelled by incoming torrents of fresh gas and energy. And there is another collision to come. Another, larger galaxy is coming our way. Andromeda is heading straight for us at a quarter of a million miles per hour. The Milky Way’s long-term fate is in the balance.