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Conquistadors: All World is Human

   2002    History
Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked off the coast of Texas in 1528 and lived with Indians for eight years. Upon his return to Spain, he wrote a book based on his experiences. His tale is one of empathy and respect for the Indians. Follow along as Michael Wood traces his journey.
Series: Conquistadors

Blood Of The Vikings: Invasion

   2001    History
In AD 856, a massive fleet of Viking ships appeared off the coast of East Anglia, heralding a change in Viking tactics - from raiding to invasion. Richards charts the years of attempted conquest that followed.
Series: Blood of the Vikings

Michael Jordan to the Max

   2000    Culture
A tribute to the life and career of one of the best basketball players of all-time. The film chronicles Jordan's triumphs through interviews with former players, coaches and Jordan himself.
Follow Michael Jordan's last basketball season as he leads the Chicago Bulls to their sixth NBA championship. Michael Jordan to the Max provides a rare glimpse of Michael Jordan on and off the court. Featuring electrifying on court action and candid interviews with Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr, Doug Collins and Bob Costas. Get ready to experience some of the greatest moments in modern sports history from one of the most dominant sport legends of all time.

Flowering

   1995    Nature
The third episode is devoted to the ways in which plants reproduce. Pollen and a stigma are the two components needed for fertilisation. Most plants carry both these within their flowers and rely on animals to transport the pollen from one to the stigma of another. To do this, they attract their couriers with colour, scent and nectar. It isn't just birds that help pollination: some mammals and reptiles also do so. However, it is mostly insects that are recruited to carry out the task. To ensure that pollen is not wasted by being delivered to the wrong flower, some species of plant have developed exclusive relationships with their visitors, and the gentian and its attendant carpenter bees is one example. Since pollen can be expensive to produce in terms of calories, some plants, such as orchids, ration it by means of pollinia and a strategically placed landing platform. Other orchids offer no reward for pollination, but instead mislead their guests by mimicking their markings and aroma, thus enticing males to 'mate' with them (Pseudocopulation). The most extreme fertilisation method is one of imprisonment, and one plant that uses it is the dead horse arum. It is often found near gull colonies, and mimics the appearance and smell of rotting flesh. Blow-flies are attracted to it, and are forced to stay the night before being allowed to depart in the morning, laden with pollen. Finally, Attenborough introduces the world's largest inflorescence: that of the titan arum.
Series: The Private Life of Plants

The Private Life of Plants Living Together

   1995    Nature
The fifth programme explores the alliances formed between the animal and plant worlds. Attenborough dives into Australia's Great Barrier Reef and contrasts the nocturnal feeding of coral, on microscopic creatures, with its daytime diet of algae. Some acacias are protected by ants, which will defend their refuge from any predator. Besides accommodation, the guards are rewarded with nectar and, from certain species, protein for their larvae as well. Fungi feed on plants but can also provide essential nutriment to saplings (Mycorrhiza). The connection is never broken throughout a tree's life and a quarter of the sugars and starches produced in its leaves is channelled back to its fungal partners. Meanwhile, fungi that feed on dead wood leave a hollow trunk, which also benefits the tree. Orchids enjoy a similar affiliation. Lichens are the product of a relationship between fungi and a photosynthetic associate, usually algae. They are extremely slow-growing, and a graveyard is the perfect location to discover their exact longevity. Mistletoe is a hemiparasite that obtains its moisture from a host tree, while using own leaves to manufacture food. Its seeds are deposited on another by the mistletoe tyrannulet, following digestion of the fruit. The dodder (Cuscuta) is also parasitic, generally favouring nettles, and siphons its nourishment through periodic 'plugs' along its stem. The rafflesia has no stem or leaves and only emerges from its host in order to bloom — and it produces the largest single flower: one metre across.
Series: The Private Life of Plants

Cosmos Carl Sagan: The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean

   1980    Science
Carl Sagan opens the program with a description of the cosmos and the Spaceship of the Imagination. The ship journeys through the universe's hundred billion galaxies, the Local Group, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way, the Orion Nebula, our Solar System, and finally the planet Earth. Eratosthenes' successful calculation of the circumference of Earth leads to a description of the ancient Library of Alexandria. Finally, the Ages of Science are described, before pulling back to the full span of the Cosmic Calendar.
Series: Cosmos
Seven Ages of Rock

Seven Ages of Rock

2007  Art
Racism: A History

Racism: A History

2007  Culture
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

2006  History
The Making of the Mob

The Making of the Mob

2016  History
Clash of the Gods

Clash of the Gods

2009  History
Dirty Money

Dirty Money

2018  Culture
Generation Iron

Generation Iron

2018  History