Documentary

A young boy has the opportunity to go around a preserved steam railway, and learn how the signals work, how the locomotives are maintained, what it’s like to ride on the footplate, etc. A brilliantly informative “behind the scenes” glimpse into the fascinating world of steam

The first part of the series introduces the first tanks being deployed on the battlefields of northern France during the Great War, and describes the devastating effects on the troops confronted with them for the first time. It tracks the developments of the tank through to the beginning of the Second World War, and its use in the German offensives on Holland, Belgium and France in 1940.

This second episode begins on the morning of 22nd June 1941, when the Germans launched operation Barbarossa, the codename for the invasion of the Soviet Union. Three million Axis troops faced more than 4,5 million Red Army troops, and were outnumbered two to one in tanks, however superior strategies gave the Germans control. Significant tank confrontations such as those at Bialystok and Minsk are explored in detail.

In this episode, the scene is switched to North Africa, following the continuous battle between the British 8th Army, the Desert Rats, under General Montgomery, and the Deutsche Afrika Korps, led by the Desert Fox, General Erwin Rommel. Meanwhile, the Germans were launching a massive attack at Kursk, which was to become the biggest tank battle in history, involving over 6,000 tanks, 2 million troops and some 4,000 aircraft. The new anti-tank gun of the Soviets was a significant factor on the ultimate German defeat.

The fourth episode sees the Germans well and truly on the retreat on the Western Front. Though the Allies largely had the upper hand, the German panzer was still a formidable enemy, and they did manage to mount a significant counter-offensive, that took the Allies completely by surprise. However, this was to be the last major panzer-tank confrontation of the war, and Germany’s ultimate defeat was now inevitable.

As the US race riots raged in the 1960’s, and influential leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X rose in the civil rights and Black Power movements, Britain had its own, controversial, figure of Black rights. The figure of Michael X, dubbed so after his public meeting with Malcolm, has since those heady days slipped into obscurity. Opinion is divided about this man, who was born in Trinidad and joined many of the Caribbean ‘Windrush’ generation in migrating to England. Whilst some believed him to be an inspirational focal point for a Black movement, others saw him as an opportunistic lowlife pimp and hustler always eager to improve his station. The film follows his life and times, from the increasingly open and multicultural Notting Hill area of London, to his gruesome end in his home country.

The opening programme reveals how the house was built as part of a boom in speculative building in Bristol and who the early residents were. Covering the period from 1779 – 1845 the main characters are John Britton, a young gentleman who decorated the house in late Georgian simplicity and Mrs Hobbs, a widow who lived in the house for thirty years and followed the latest Regency interior trends.

Presented by Maxwell Hutchinson, this second programme looks at No 57 between 1849-1879 and shows how the rise of an eclectic style of interior design and developments in engineering, science and manufacturing influenced what people could have in their homes. It is the first time No 57 has running water - just one tap in the kitchen. The key families are the Tratmans who ran a ships' Chandlery in Bristol, and the Withers, a watchmaker with his wife and three children.

Presented by Maxwell Hutchinson, this third programme looks at No 57 between 1880-1905 and shows how Victorian Gothic and the influence of the aesthetic and arts and crafts movement affected the house. No 57 is by now not as fashionable as it once was and the whole area has come down in the world a little bit. The occupants are the Alders - who turn one room into a nursery for their children and Mrs Annie Edwards, a music teacher with grown up children is a lodger in the house.

Presented by Maxwell Hutchinson, this fourth programme looks at No 57 between 1902 and 1930. Design themes include the Edwardian style and Art Nouveau. The Nash family live in the house for the whole of this time, including a grown up daughter who is a seamstress and uses one of the rooms as her workspace.

Presented by Maxwell Hutchinson, this fifth programme looks at No 57 between 1930 and 1965 when the house is at its nadir. The whole area is run down and 'post war'. Interior design is not high on the agenda. But the world outside is changing with the influence of modernism, the space age and the Festival of Britain and tasters of this style creep into the house.

Presented by Maxwell Hutchinson, this last programme in the series looks at No 57 from 1969 to the present day. When John Macey bought the house in the late 1960s it was practically derelict and it was a two year labour of love to turn it back into a family home. Now the house is in one of the most desirable areas in Bristol and this programme examines what influences might affect the design choices of a contemporary family.

The President’s groundbreaking visit to China came at the start of his re-election year, and was almost a disaster for him. For the first time, the Chinese diplomat who interpreted for Nixon on the trip reveals how she and the Chinese premier intervened to save the political fortunes of a Republican president, who sold out his closest political allies to woo Chairman Mao. Nixon arrived home to cheering crowds and won an election landslide – but the Watergate scandal brought him down before he delivered his promises to China.

In 1989, 2000 demonstrators were massacred in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, provoking demands throughout the world for sanctions. However, US President George Bush was concerned about the effect on the already fragile relationship with China’s leaders. This programme for the first time provides detailed accounts of the secret meetings held between Bush’s advisors and the Chinese government to avert a potential disaster, and how the process was undermined by the “Tiananmen Hostage”, Fang Lizhi, an ardent campaigner for human rights, wanted for counter-revolutionary crimes, who was forced to seek asylum in the US embassy.

As the Israeli forces evacuated from Southern Lebanon in 2000, after 20 long years of occupation, the battles had left a greater legacy than the emotional impact of war. When the South Lebanon Army retreated hastily, the issue of mines, laid by both sides in the conflict, was largely forgotten. The documentary speaks candidly to victims of landmines, and examines some of the trauma they face as a result. It also traces the international effort to clear these mines, and on a broader note looks at the worldwide problem of mines, the ‘ever alert soldier’ which, once planted, is so difficult to remove. The film vividly brings alive the plight of Southern Lebanon and its attempt to recover from this largely forgotten problem, one that has already taken the lives or injured over 15,000.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel has stood proudly on the waterfront in the heart of Hong Kong for 40 years. It’s one of the best hotels in the world, but it’s more than just a hotel, it is Hong Kong, the vibrancy of the city is felt the moment you walk through the doors. Best selling author Simon Winchester looks at the part this legendary hotel has played in Hong Kong life, why so many people have an ongoing love affair with this very British Institution, tinged with the romance of China. The programme features those involved in the construction and management of the hotel, celebrities, regular guests and residents of Hong Kong, it’s a fascinating insight into a remarkable hotel.

At the end of the Second World War, ten thousand prisoners of war waited for liberation by the advancing Russian Red Army. The Nazis dashed these hopes and forced the prisoners to march out of Stalag Luft III in the dead of winter toward the centre of the collapsing Third Reich. This is an extraordinary story of endurance through the eyes of Robert Buckham of West Vancouver. Buckham was a bomber pilot and artist who produced countless sketches and watercolours of prison life, and chronicled the march itself.

From the perilous origins of Himalayan mountaineering, and the first expeditions to utilize the unique strengths of the Sherpa tribe, this fascinating film takes the viewer through the arduous training program of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and the extraordinary young women who strive to become a part of the backbone of modern-day high-altitude expeditions. Featuring Mount Everest legend Nawang Gombu, this revealing documentary examines the prestigious Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and its accomplished, although unknown, climbing instructors. The film features exclusive access to the Institute’s training grounds of the Rathong Valley in Sikkim, India.

“She was a femme fatale, she was the Mata Hari, the person we most loved to hate, or hated to love, or something like that... but in most peoples’ eyes she was a horrendous murderess.” So begins the story of Mrs Dick. Evelyn Dick was sentenced to hang for the murder of her streetcar driver husband, John Dick. She was acquitted on appeal that launched the career of Canada’s most famous criminal lawyer J. J. Robinette. Evelyn eventually served 11 years of a life sentence for the murder of her infant son whose body was found encased in cement during the investigation of her husband’s murder. Then with a new identity, she disappeared.

Dhuway is the story about the first land claim in the history of Queensland and it depicts a history of holocaust, diaspora, survival and, at last, a homecoming. Generations ago the Yiidhuwarra people were removed from their native lands. In 1993, the people presented their case to have their lands returned. The hearings were emotional and heartbreaking as three generations of loss, abuse and exploitation was recounted.