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In a densely covered spot hidden far from the nearest roadway lies a quiet little pond. Bob Ross invites viewers to take a peek.
Michael Douglas narrates this series following Veterinarian Dr Neil Burnie, who works with the world's most amazing marine species in the Bermuda seas. In this episode, follow Neil and his team into the danger zone as they get up close and personal with 50 tonne humpbacks, collecting biopsy samples using an adapted compound bow. Watch Neil and his team swim with these ocean giants in a mesmerising and magical sequence, as Neil comes face-to-face with one of the most intelligent mammals in the ocean.
For those who ventured there from somewhere else, the West had come to symbolise hope and new beginnings. But during the years 1856 to 1868, western pioneers brought with them the nation's oldest and most divisive issue - slavery - and the rough frontier supplied the sparks that ignited the Civil War. A brave Mexican-American rancher declared his own republic in southern Texas, and a young writer found adventure and a new identity as Mark Twain in Nevada's bustling silver camps. Part 4 of 9.
King Alfred the Great fights a desperate guerrilla war in the marshes of Somerset - burning the cakes on the way - before his decisive victory at Edington. Creating towns, trade and coinage, reviving learning and literacy, Alfred then laid the foundations of a single kingdom of 'all the English'. Filmed on location from Reading to Rome, using original texts read in Old English, and interviews with leading scholars, Michael Wood describes a man who was 'not just the greatest Briton, but one of the greatest rulers of any time or place'. Part 1 of 3.
Once powerful and populous centres of influence, these cities are now classed as ruins. All lost, one way or another, to the ravages of time. In their re-discovery, these great lost cities are providing clues to how our ancestors existed in the world. They remind us that ancient civilisations were not so far removed from our own. Machu Picchu, Petra, Bagan Tikal, Pompeii, Teotihuacan, Angkor Wat. Part 1 of 6.
They're special places where the past coexists with the present, creating cultures totally unique to their people and their part of the world. Adhering to ancient traditions and introducing modern innovations, these unique cities and towns have fostered cultures neither old nor new - they have forged something timeless. Kotor, Macau, Cappadocia, Hoi An, Granada, Regensburg, Luang Prabang, Český Krumlov. Part 2 of 6.
Michael Wood recovers the story of Alfred's daughter Aethelflaed, the ruler of Mercia, from a copy of a lost chronicle written in Mercia in her lifetime, which in the film we hear read in Old English. One of the great forgotten figures in British history, Aethelflaed led armies, built fortresses, campaigned against the Vikings and was a brilliant diplomat. Her fame spread across the British Isles: beloved by her warriors and her people, she was known simply as 'the Lady of the Mercians'. Without her, concludes Michael Wood, 'England might never have happened'. Part 2 of 3.
This episode documents the crucial years from 1868 to 1874. After the Civil War reunited the country North and South, Americans set out with renewed energy and optimism to finally unite the nation. To do this, they embarked on one of the greatest technological achievements of the age: building the first transcontinental railroad, a utility that transported landless Europeans and poor but determined American families west to start a new life on the Great Plains. Part 5 of 9.
Michael Douglas narrates this series following Veterinarian Dr Neil Burnie, who works with the world's most amazing marine species in the Bermuda seas. In this episode, Neil and the Ocean Vet team are faced with an intense day of veterinary work checking the health of endangered spotted eagle rays. Teaming up with international scientist Dr Matt Ajemian and eagle ray wrangler Chris Flook, the team face a tricky task to capture one of the most intelligent fish in the ocean in some of Bermuda's most beautiful surroundings.
