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Reference source of past TV
programmes |
What the Industrial Revolution Did for Us
A six-part Series
Last part shown on BBC 2, Tuesday 11 November 2003 at 8.00pm
Repeat of Series February - April 2004
(see below for details)
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In this six-part Series Dan Cruickshank explores one of the most inventive
and surprising periods in history, searching for the origin of the Industrial Revolution. He looks at the inventive
people and extraordinary machines that gave us the working life we live today.
Material World (7.10.03): (10.02.04 at 10.00pm) In the first programme, he traces
the Industrial Revolution back to the unlikeliest of places: the tea tables of Georgian Britain, where an appetite
for the good life helped to create our modern, material world.
Working Wonders (14.10.03): (17.02.04 at 10.00pm) This programme looks at Frenchman
J M Jacquard's prototype for modern-day computer programmes, James Watt's lesser known invention, the world's
first photocopier, and Richard Arkwright's blueprint for thriving factories and factory towns.
On the Move (21.10.03): (24.02.04 at 10.00pm) This programme looks at how in just 100 years
from 1750 Britain became the hub of locomotion for the entire world, and sees who was responsible for such a huge
sea change in technology and transportation, including such luminaries as Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson.
Modern Medicine (28.10.03): (28.02.04 at 5.40pm) The story of the pioneers of
modern medicine, such as James Lind, who conducted the first clinical trial, proving that oranges and lemons could
save the lives of thousands by preventing scurvy. Edward Jenner, a doctor preoccupied with beautiful milkmaids, used
observation and lateral thinking to establish a vaccination against the killer disease, smallpox.
War Machine (4.11.03): (31.03.04 at 7.30pm) This programme examines the military
breakthroughs that occurred during the industrial revolution as the armed forces played a vital role in securing raw
materials and global markets for British products. Rockets, submarines, machine guns and even tinned food are among
the discoveries that emerged from the horrors of battle.
City Living (11.11.03): (8.04.04 at 7.30pm) Prior to the Industrial Revolution,
homes were largely rural and functional, and the idea of decorative and comfortable surroundings, along with home
entertainment, was the reserve of a handful of the privileged nobility. Dan Cruickshank looks at the inventive people
who gave us the life we live today. Innovations at the heart of the modern city lifestyle, including integrated
plumbing, street lighting, shop fronts, newspaper advertising and chemical dyes.
Visit BBC
History
and the
What the Industrial Revolution Did for Us
websites for more information |
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[TV] |
What the Romans Did for Us
A six-part Series
Series repeated in 2001 and 2003
together with short-programme repeats in 2004
Adam Hart-Davis rediscovers the innovations and
inventions that the Romans brought to Britain.
BBC 2, Monday 6 November, 2000 at 8.30pm
(15.04.03) (12.04.04)
Life of Luxury
:
He reveals how they imported stone walls, mosaic
floors and the concept of the bath house, as well
as vines, apples, carrots and other new foods,
and the idea of the three-course meal. Want to
learn more about Roman Life; see Food and baths.
BBC 2, Monday 13 November, 2000 at 8.30pm
(22.04.03)
Invasion:
He explores the range of military equipment used
by the Romans. How were cavalry and footsoldiers
trained for battle, and what part did elephants
play in invasion. Discover Roman
technology; see
Military might.
BBC 2, Monday 20 November, 2000 at 8.30pm
Town and Country:
He investigates the new farming methods, crops
and tools introduced by the Romans, including the
plough and the combine harvester. He also looks
at the Romans' skilful planning of towns using a
grid pattern, and their intricate plumbing
mechanisms - drains, bath houses and public
lavatories. Want to learn more about Roman
Life; see
Food and baths.
BBC 2, Monday 27 November, 2000 at 8.30pm
(18.08.03)
Arteries of the Empire:
He discovers how they constructed their famously
straight roads with such precision over long
distances. He also uncovers the mining techniques
which the Romans employed in their quest for
Welsh gold, testing out a giant water wheel
intended to prevent flooding in the mines. Discover Roman
technology; see
Roads and surveying and
The wonderful wheel.
BBC 2, Monday 4 December, 2000 at 8.30pm
(27.08.03)
Edge of Empire: He shows
how communications were key to the success of the
Roman military machine, and demonstrates the ways
in which soldiers used flags and beacons to send
complicated messages. Discover Roman technology; see
Codes and signals.
BBC 2, Monday 11 December, 2000 at 8.30pm
(2.09.03)
Ahead of their Time:
He examines the forms of entertainment laid on
during the 176 days per year that were public
holidays in Roman times. Featuring the hydraulis,
the first ever keyboard instrument. Plus a look
at how the Romans introduced concrete.
Visit
'What The Romans Did For Us' and the
locations featured in the series,
also the BBC
'History' and
'Romans' web sites for additional information
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[TV] |
What the Tudors and Stuarts Did for Us
An eight-part combined Series
First shown in 2002
 Shown on BBC 2
Adam Hart-Davis investigated and started with The Tudors on Monday 23 September 2002 at 8.30pm
and continued with the Stuarts beginning Monday 21 October 2002.
Series Repeated in 2003 -
last part shown on 3 July 2003. |
Seeying The Worlde:
(23.09.02) Adam Hart-Davis investigates inventions and innovations
from the Tudor era and uncovers controversial evidence that an
English Tudor scientist invented the first telescope.
The Thinkynge Revolution:
(30.09.02) Adam Hart-Davis reveals scientific thought which brought
the idea of sun-centred solar system, the printing press and the
first accurate human anatomy.
The Goode Lyfe:
(7.10.02) We take home comforts like carpets, upholstered furniture
and flushing lavatories for granted but, as Adam Hart Davis
discovers, we owe these and many others to the Tudors.
War Machyne:
(14.10.02) Adam Hart-Davis discovers why Henry VIII spent millions
of pounds ransacked from churches to develop new defences for
England, and looks at the beginning of the secret service.
Desygner Livinge:
(21.10.02) Adam Hart-Davis begins his journey through the Stuart
period with a look at the inventions and innovations that marked an
era of grand design.
The Applyance Of Science:
(28.10.02) Adam Hart-Davis outlines how Stuart scientists discovered
the laws that govern the motion of the planets and went on to invent
the first steam engine.
The Organysed Isle:
(4.11.02) Adam Hart-Davis finds out how, under the Stuarts, life
became much more organised. He investigates the first public
transport, street lighting and the first high street bank.
Newe Worldes:
(11.11.02) Adam Hart-Davis investigates the inventions and
innovations from the Stuart period that left a lasting impression on
British society, including the microscope and telescope.
Visit
What the Tudors and Stuarts Did for Us
for more information |
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[TV] |
What The Victorians Did For Us
An eight-part Series
Selected
Two-part repeats of Series in 2002
Repeat of Series Jan/Feb & Sept/Oct 2003
together with short-programme repeats in 2004
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Adam Hart-Davis was
back and this time he explained '
What the Victorians Did for Us
'.
Jump aboard the first instalment in which
Adam introduced a number of Victorian
'Speed Merchants', from Brunel and his
steam-powered ships to Muybridge's
experiments in motion photography. |
BBC 2, Monday 3 September 2001 at 8.30pm (13.09.03)
Speed Merchants: Adam Hart-Davis
explores the Victorian obsession with speed,
visits a steam powered mill and joins commuters
from London to Bristol, experiencing Brunel's
legacy.
BBC 2, Monday 10 September 2001 at 8.30pm (20.09.03)
Playing God: Adam Hart-Davis enters the
Victorian world of science and medicine, visiting
the home of an eccentric Victorian experimenter
who was reputed to have created life.
BBC 2, Monday 17 September 2001 at 8.30pm (27.09.03)
Rule Makers: Adam Hart-Davis
investigates more Victorian inventions, finding
out how the rules for sports evolved and he
discovers how Florence Nightingale's mastery of
statistics saved thousands of lives.
BBC 2, Monday 24 September 2001 at 8.30pm (4.10.03)
Crime And Punishment: Adam Hart-Davis
plunges into the world of Victorian crime and
retribution, experiences life on the beat as an
early policeman and life as a prisoner.
BBC 2, Monday 1 October 2001 at 8.30pm
(25.10.03)
Social Progress: An investigation on how
employment and education opportunities gave
middle classes toilets, frozen food and improved
health care, while the rich indulged in new
gadgets.
BBC 2, Monday 8 October 2001 at 8.30pm
Conquerors: Adam
Hart-Davis visits London's Hyde Park surveying
the site of the Crystal Palace, he also visits
Kew Gardens to explore the wonders of the plant
kingdom brought back by explorers.
Read the
live chat
transcript
BBC 2, Monday 15 October 2001 at 8.30pm
Making It Big, Risk Takers: Adam
Hart-Davis looks at pioneering entrepeneurs,
visiting William Armstrong's house in
Northumberland, the first house in the world to
be lit by hydro-electricity.
BBC 2, Monday 22 October 2001 at 8.30pm
Pleasure Seekers: The Victorians were
the first generation to be mass pleaure seekers.
Adam Hart-Davis discovers just how the Victorian
leisure industry catered for the upper and lower
classes.
Selected two-part
repeats in 2002
Shown BBC 2, Thursday 25 April 2002 at 8.00pm
Conquerors and Making It Big:
Victorians achieved incredible feats of
engineering and exploration. Adam Hart-Davis
examines some of the finest examples and tells
the stories of success and failure.
Shown BBC 2, Thursday 18 April 2002 at 8.00pm
Social Progress and Rule Makers:
Adam Hart-Davis looks at the innovative systems
of education, public health and consumerism that
improved the lot of many Victorians.
Shown BBC 2, Thursday 11 April 2002 at 8.00pm
Speed Merchants and Pleasure
Seekers: Adam Hart-Davis explored the
Victorian obsession with speed, the impact of
steam power on farming and how the Victorians
spent their leisure time.
Visit '
What the Victorians
did for us'
and the
locations featured
in the series,
also BBC
History for
additional information
Follow the Victorian Britain
History Trail
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[TV] |
When Money Went Mad
The Story Of The South Sea Bubble
Shown on Channel 4, Saturday 15 July, 2000 at 7.00pm
| In the Spring of 1720, Britain is in
confident mood. A new venture is launched on the
stock market and though the company hasn't yet
made a penny in profit, a buzz surrounds it and
the share prices are rising. The country is
seized by a frenzy of stock market speculation
and London is awash with paper millionaires. But
within six months the bubble had burst. |
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[TV] |
World's Worst Century (14th)
A three-part Series
Agincourt (3)
On Channel 4, Monday 4 October at 9.00pm
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A new series of films examining the turbulent events that faced Europe during
the 14th century.
Black Death (27.9.04 at 9.00pm):
The opening programme concentrates on the ravages of the
Black Death,
following its virulent path through the Europe of the Middle Ages.
Peasants' Revolt (30.9.04 at 9.00pm):
Tony Robinson continues the series on the grim struggles of life in the 14th century with the story of the
Peasants' Revolt. Labourers and artisans whose numbers had been drastically reduced by the Black Death began to
sense their worth and rose up in protest against punitive taxes. Wat Tyler and his
well-organised followers captured Canterbury in 1381 and headed for London and a
confrontation with King Richard II.
(Medieval
England ... a time traveller's guide)
Agincourt
(4.10.04 at 9.00pm):
is a classic symbol of national heroism for the English as an outnumbered but highly-motivated force defeated
the French knights with a ruthless approach to warfare. The programme is based on first-hand accounts of
those who were there at the time and reveals the dramatic demise of a chivalric code of honour.
(Agincourt).
Visit Channel 4 History and
the Worlds Worst Century website
for further information |
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[TV] |
Worst Job in History
A six-part Series
(presented by Tony Robinson)
Victorian Period (6)
Shown on Channel 4, Saturday 2 October at 8.10pm
 Tony Robinson presents this documentary series looking at some of the jobs
throughout history that no one wanted.
Read Tony's comments
Dark Ages
(Roman/Anglo-Saxon)
(28.08.04 at 8.00pm):
Tony revisits the first millennium, entering the strange working worlds of Bog
Iron Hunters, Charcoal Burners and Coin-Making Thralls. First he goes back 2,000 years and
experiences the discomfort of mining in Roman times, as well as Saxon ploughing and
using dung to construct a Saxon house. Further forward in time, he finds out why
the Vikings found it necessary to use rotting fish guts to get their longships across land.
The Middle Ages
(Medieval)
(4.09.04 at 8.00pm):
Tony discovers the role worms played in medieval medicine and wades
through marshes as a leech-gatherer. He also plunges himself into two-week-old
human urine to demonstrate the lengths workers went to to improve the texture of
wool. Who will ever want Smellovision? Tony wrinkling his nose speaks volumes!
Tudor Times
(Tudor)
(11.09.04 at 8.05pm):
Tony considers the lot of menial workers during the Tudor era with
lurid tales of executioners, spit boys and the Groom of the Stool whose task it
was to wipe Henry VIII's backside. He also goes behind the scenes of
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to reveal the less glamorous aspects of the acting profession.
Stuart Times
(Stuart)
(18.09.04 at 8.05pm):
Highlighting the jobs of the Stuart era, Tony investigates the explosive dangers
of being a Petardier's Assistant during the Civil War, and discovers exactly
what materials were used in making violin strings. He also considers other
distasteful roles that emerged during the years of the Great Plague such as Seeker of the Dead.
Georgian Age
(Georgian)
(25.09.04 at 8.10pm):
Tony reveals some of the least savoury jobs of the Georgian era when Riding
Officers, working alone, had to enforce customs laws in an age of highwaymen and
smugglers. He also recalls the seabound world of the Royal Navy's topmen,
loblolly boys and powder monkeys, all participants in Nelson's victory at
Trafalgar.
Victorian Period
(Victorian)
(2.10.04 at 8.10pm):
Although Dickens vividly describes the grim employment conditions of Victorian
Britain, Tony discovers that the reality was much worse. He chokes on ash while
experiencing the lot of a railway engine cleaner before finding out exactly why
nobody wanted to be an oakum-picker in the workhouses of the time.
Visit Channel 4 History and
the Worst Jobs in History website
for further information |
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[TV] |
Wreck Detectives
(Marine archaeology)
An eight-part Series
Shown on Channel 4, Thursday's at 8.00pm
New Series II
Completed on Channel 4, Sunday 19 September at 5.25pm
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 A Series in which a team of
experts investigate some of the historic shipwrecks that litter the British coastline, using marine archaeology,
oceanography, historical research and the latest technology.
Presented by
Jeremy Seal and
Miranda
Krestovnikoff
Over a quarter of a million wrecks lie lost and forgotten in the murky waters
off Britain's coast. In the second
series of Wreck Detectives, the team will be diving to discover the secrets hidden in eight more of these
wrecks, spanning the centuries of British maritime history. Using their combined skills, the teams will piece together
evidence of each ship's identity, how it sank and why it was there.
Check out the wrecks
from the first series
Series II
Resurgam (27.06.04):
Jeremy and Miranda work with ship architects BMT to discover more about the
Resurgam which lies
in the waters off North Wales. This Victorian submarine sank while being towed to Portsmouth by the Royal Navy to
evaluate its effectiveness, but there is some doubt over the cause of its demise.
Bronze Bell (4.07.04):
Jeremy and Miranda delve into the mystery of a wreck dubbed the
`Bronze Bell',
an 18th century trading vessel which sank in Barmouth Bay, Wales, around 300 years ago. The precious cargo includes
41 blocks of Tuscan marble which may have been destined for St Paul's Cathedral.
Sunderland (11.07.04):
Miranda hopes to examine the wreckage of a WWII
Sunderland
flying boat off the Pembrokeshire Coast, but the Bomb Disposal Unit must first verify that there is no unexploded
ordnance aboard. Meanwhile, Jeremy Seal researches the aircraft at the RAF Museum in Hendon to find out a little of
its history.
The Hope (18.07.04): Dorset's notorious Chesil Beach is the
scene of the latest exploration as a search is mounted for the remains of
The Hope, an 18th-century
Dutch merchant ship which sank while laden with gold and silver.
U-Boat (8.08.04): A German
U-boat
lying 60 metres down off the north coast of Cornwall is investigated in a bid to identify the vessel and the reason
for its demise.
Lelia (5.09.04):
In Liverpool Bay, Miranda dives the wreck of the
Lelia, a
19th-century paddle steamer that sank on its maiden voyage. She was alleged to
be carrying munitions to supply the Confederate army in the US Civil War and
historian Jeremy Seal searches the archives to discover if this can be proved.
Great Lewis (12.09.04 at 5.30pm):
In Waterford Harbour, archaeologists believe they may have found the wreck of the
Great Lewis,
a 17th century English warship sunk at a key moment in Irish history. Miranda dives the murky waters to investigate
while Jeremy Seal searches the archives for any clues.
Pylades (19.09.04):
In the last programme of the current series the team explores the wreck of HMS
Pylades, a minesweeper sunk off the Normandy coast in July 1944. The captain's
official report states that the ship hit a couple of mines but the tantalising
possibility exists that a new German weapon may have been responsible for the loss of the vessel.
Series I
HMS Pomone (13.03.03): In this programme, the wreck of a
19th century ship lying in the waters off the Isle of Wight that could be a
famous British frigate sunk during the Napoleonic Wars.
The team investigate the
Alum Bay wreck
Earl of Abergavenny (20.03.03): In 1805, the massive
Earl
of Abergavenny was caught in a storm and
sank a mile and a half from the safety of Weymouth Harbour with the
loss of over 250 lives. Did Captain John Wordsworth (brother of the
poet, William) put profit before the lives of the crew - or was there
a fatal flaw in the construction of the ship?
Mingary Castle (27.03.03):
An investigation to identify a mysterious wreck discovered in the Sound of Mull, on Scotland's west coast. The
Mingary Castle wreck.
HMS Lawford (3.04.03): During the invasion of France on
D-Day in 1944, the
HMS Lawford was hit by enemy fire and sank. Thirty-seven of her
crew died. The Navy's explanation that the ship was downed by a
torpedo had never been fully accepted.
Missed the
live chat after the programme?
Don't worry! Read the
transcript at your leisure.
Stirling Castle (10.04.03): A
look at why the
Stirling Castle ran aground on the Goodwin Sands in November 1703 and how some of its crew survived.
St Peter Port (17.04.03): The
team investigate five medieval wrecks lying in the mouth of Guernsey's
St Peter Port harbour, and unearth why and how these ships came to be
there. The
St Peter Port wrecks
The Swan (24.04.03): The Team go
to the Mull of Kintyre, where the wreck of a warship built by Charles I named the
Swan lies
in shallow water.
HMS Hazardous (1.05.03): This week,
exploring the mystery timber wreck found in the Solent - believed to be the remains of
HMS
Hazardous, an 18th-century French warship captured by the Royal Navy.
Visit the Channel 4
Science
&
Wreck Detectives websites for further information
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[TV] |
Wren: The Man Who Built Britain
Sir Christopher Wren
Shown on BBC 1, Sunday 25 April at 7.00pm
 Michael Buerk presents
a drama-documentary about Sir
Christopher Wren, the architect most noted for designing St Paul's Cathedral but also an artist, astronomer,
mathematician and even an anatomist. His radical vision for a new Britain created an age of nobility and beauty,
but he had to battle rival architects, conservative clerics and even King Charles II to realise his dream. |
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