For Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor, their journey in the smooth Ecuadorian roads would most definitely have come as a relief after some rough terrain riding. Next up, they stop by one of the factories that make the famed Panama hats. One of the local producers explains that making them by hand takes roughly up to a month. At the other end, the crew on the Rivians make a dash for Central America where they have to ferry their trucks across as the Darién Gap blocks their path. On their way, they make a quick pitstop at one of the cacao factories to know more about cocoa production, one of the economic drivers of the country.

The episode opens with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman riding through the sleek streets of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. To add to the excitement, the show also introduces us to Ewan's daughter, Jamyan, and the father-daughter duo are lovable to watch. The audience also gets a chance to see the Masaya volcano up close. The red lava is breathtaking and scary at the same time.

It is the greatest technological challenge ever undertaken by humankind. The quest to produce the ultimate energy solution, Fusion, a reliable source of clean power. What if we could create here on earth, our very own version of a star, a machine that makes power from nuclear fuel? But so immense are the challenges, the goal of a power-producing fusion reactor has so far remained elusive and out of reach... until now.

On the second part of his journey through the dark ages Richard Rudgley continues into the age of the wandering peoples, the Volkerwanderung. These Northern people enjoyed a golden age unaffected by Rome and just 30 years after the Romans relinquished Britain, the 'Anglo-Saxons' made their move. The bedraggled legions are in retreat. Walls are pulled down. Mosaics shattered. And yet there never was a people called Anglo-Saxon. We look at the lasting influence of Saxon leaders like Alfred the Great, and his blue print for social justice.

Jungles provide the richest habitats on the planet - mysterious worlds of high drama where extraordinary animals attempt to survive in the most competitive place on earth. Flooded forests are home to caiman-hunting jaguars and strange dolphins that swim amongst the tree tops, while in the dense underworld, ninja frogs fight off wasps and flying dragons soar between trees. Acrobatic indri leap through the forests of Madagascar, while the jungle night conceals strange fungi and glow-in-the-dark creatures never filmed before.

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.