Social & External
Host
Scattered across the United States are abandoned structures, forgotten ruins of the past and monuments to a bygone era. Each one shines a light on the story of this land and its people, revealing the secrets of a hidden America.
First broadcast on October 2, 1989, these 18 original 30-minute episodes provide a panorama of 2000 years of architecture, painting and sculpture, and studies the art masterpieces as reflections of the Western culture that produced them.
Hindu or Buddhist temples, synagogues, churches or mosques: religions have inspired architectural marvels. Four episodes to discover jewels of Muslim sacred art, masterpieces of Christian architecture, captivating Hindu and Buddhist buildings or even the most beautiful synagogues, witnesses of the history of the Jewish people.
Jonathan Meades takes a quixotic tour of Scotland, a country which has intrigued him since he first encountered lists of towns only known from football coupons
Documentary series investigating why some of the world's most advanced architectural achievements were abandoned.
These are some of the most spectacular examples of abandoned engineering the world has ever known. The series explores how and why they were built, consider the financial and social costs of their failure and examine the environmental and ecological impacts. The series also explores how experts came up with plans to make something beautiful or useful from the ruins.
This four-part history series looks at how Australia has been shaped by its many definitions of home. Historic moments impacted homes, their designs, and the way we live as a society. From economic booms and busts to the fight for Land Rights and recognition, from various cultural migrations to the unrelenting force of nature, emerges a country building its way into the future.
Robert Hughes tackles the work and lives of three remarkable 20th-century architects: Albert Speer, Mies van der Rohe, and Antonio Gaudi - whose work did so much to shape the modern world. Hughes looks at how each one used space in different ways to express our response, respectively, to the power of religion (Gaudi), the power of the State (Speer), and the power of the corporation (Mies van der Rohe).
Across Quebec, André Robitaille meets with individuals, organizations, and businesses that have embarked on renovations or restorations of unique historic buildings. Whether by vocation, business, or because fate has thrown an ambitious project their way, the people who have taken charge of these unforgettable places share their stories with passion. Through their experience, the show offers an open door to a host of fascinating heritage sites, where we understand that built heritage is more alive than ever.
Comedy Connections was a BBC One documentary series produced by BBC Scotland that aired from 2003 to 2008. The show looked at the stories behind the production of some of Britain's comedy television programmes, showing how they tied in with the production of other comedy shows. The show featured interviews with some of the cast and crew of the subject programme, as well as footage from the series. Comedy Connections mostly documented BBC comedies and sitcoms, although two programmes have been from ITV and two from Channel 4. The first series consisted of six episodes, however the rest of the series consist of eight episodes each, the first two series were narrated by Julia Sawalha, however the rest of the series were narrated by Doon Mackichan.
Mystery Hunters is a Canadian Documentary television series aimed at a young audience. It aired on YTV in Canada and on Discovery Kids in the United States. It was also dubbed in Japanese and aired in Japan on NHK. Teenage hosts Araya and Christina investigate real-life reports of mysteries such as spirits, legendary creatures, monsters, dinosaurs and UFOs. They use scientific rigour to try to find plausible explanations for the sightings and eye-witness accounts that trigger their investigations. In another section of the show, Doubting Dave, a scientist played by David Acer, attempts to explain mysterious personal experiences that have been emailed in by viewers, in a feature called "V-Files", as well as a way to create your own versions of the mysteries in the show in his "Mystery Lab" segment. Produced by Apartment 11 Productions, four seasons and 78 episodes of the series have been made, and it has garnered awards and accolades from around the world, including eight Gemini Award nominations, a 2006 Parents' Choice Award, and a 2007 Japan Prize for the "Stonehenge" episode, awarded the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Prize in the Early Education category.
TransGeneration is an eight episode documentary series depicting the lives of four transgender college students during the 2004/2005 school year as they attempt to balance college, their social lives, and their struggle "to merge their internal and external selves" while gender transitioning.
Bad-boy chef and author Anthony Bourdain goes off the beaten track in search of foods that are rare, highly esteemed and sometimes downright dangerous. The show, which aired for two seasons on the Food Network, was an offshoot of a best-selling book Bourdain wrote in 2001.
Explore six of the last untouched locations on earth. The documentary series presents life as nature intended, following the unique way wildlife has adapted to these environments and continues to rise to new challenges over the course of a year.
Following his travelogues on the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Mississippi, Las Vegas and last year’s visit to South Africa, the former newsman embarks on yet another epic journey this week in ITV’s two-parter Trevor McDonald’s Indian Train Adventure.
