Nintendo was like an impossibly huge wall. But if Mario was the undisputed king, an underdog was about to declare war. For Japanese game maker Sega, mainly known for its arcade cabinets, the battle was about winning the home console market. Sega's Genesis console and its speedy character, Sonic, hit the market. In the early '80s, sports video games existed, but they didn't really look real. And one visionary entrepreneur had already started tackling the challenge of taking sports from the stadium onto the screen. Electronic Arts kicks off a partnership with football legend John Madden.
Trailblazing scientists are making ground-breaking discoveries in the rapidly evolving world of genetic engineering. Technologies like CRISPR are making it possible to quickly and cheaply change the DNA of all living things, including humans. Today, genes can be edited almost as easily as words on a computer screen. This new ability to alter our DNA holds the promise of curing disease , saving threatened species, solving the problem of world hunger and maybe even obtaining human perfection. But will the promise be fulfilled and at what cost? The ability to gain control of our DNA is ground-breaking and revolutionary but there are varying opinions among scientists as to how the technology should be used responsibly. This documentary follows the science as it progresses at a breakneck speed.
A Japanese playing card company called Nintendo enters gaming. To stay competitive in a modernizing Japan, their portfolio expanded to include toys and into the arcade. And the company hit it big with Donkey Kong and Super Mario, then later takes over home gaming with the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983, filmmaker Jonathan Demme joined creative forces with Jordan Cronenweth and Talking Heads... and miracles occurred. Following a staging concept by singer-guitarist David Byrne, this euphoric concert film transcends that all-too-limited genre to become the greatest film of its kind. A guaranteed cure for anyone's blues, it's a celebration of music that never grows old, fueled by the polyrhythmic pop-funk precision that was a Talking Heads trademark, and lit from within by the geeky supernova that is David Byrne. This circus of musical pleasure defies the futility of reductive description; it begs to be experienced, felt in the heart, head, and bones, and held there the way we hold on to cherished memories. On those three nights in December 1983, Talking Heads gave love, life, and joy in generous amounts that years cannot erode, and Demme captured this act of creative goodwill on film with minimalist artistic perfection. Stop Making Sense is an invitation to pleasure that will never wear out its welcome.
Nicholas felt enormous pressure to continue the dynasty and expand the empire. He saw his opportunity in the Far East. This brought him into conflict with a rising power, Japan. Russia's disastrous war against Japan prompts civil unrest. The birth of Prince Alexei is incredibly important. He's the long-awaited son that they had hoped so much for. But when Alexei is diagnosed with haemophilia, Siberian mystic Rasputin steps in. He's very good at realizing when something is open that will enable him to increase his power and wealth. The pressure of keeping the secret of Alexei's illness affects the political decisions that Nicky and Alix made for the rest of their reign.
The third assault on the tattered remains of Roman civilization came from even further North, where the melting glacial ice had created immense sheltered fjords, leaving its inhabitants little choice but the sea. These fearless navigators understood that dominion over the oceans was the key to their ambitions. Where the Romans expanded incrementally, the Vikings adopted a bolder, more aggressive approach. So was it the Dark Age which failed Europe, or the stifling uniformity of the great Roman experiment? Were the lost tribes more victim than failure? Richard Rudgley will hope to shed new light on the real secrets of the so-called Dark Age.
In the early '80s, sports video games existed, but they didn't really look real. And one visionary entrepreneur had already started tackling the challenge of taking sports from the stadium onto the screen. Electronic Arts kicks off a partnership with football legend John Madden.