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Teleshopping Feature. Your one-stop-shop for all things cruise; the hottest destinations, groundbreaking ships and the latest deals to ensure your next cruise is your greatest one.
We meet one of the last surviving pilots of the Battle of Britain, and also hear from men who did some of the most dangerous war work of all - getting the convoys through. And we find out what kept people going when defeat was staring them in the face. This would be the defining moment of Britain's Greatest Generation - when an indomitable spirit helped turn our darkest hour into our finest hour. Part 2 of 4.
China's last empire, the Qing, lasted from 1644 to 1911. It began violently as the Manchus swept down from the north, but invaders became emperors and three generations of one family ruled for 133 years. Among them, Michael Wood argues, was China's greatest emperor - Kangxi. Under the Qing, China doubled in size to include Xinjiang in the far west, as well as Mongolia and Tibet, creating the essential shape of China today. Part 5 of 6.
With high speed camerawork and breakthrough new science, we enter the fast-paced world of hummingbirds as never before. Speed is their middle name. Their lives are moving faster than the eye can see. They possess natural born super powers that enable them to fly backwards, upside-down and float in mid-air. And for the first time, we see them mate, lay eggs, fight and raise families in intimate detail. They are great athletes, tender mothers, brave in combat and up for any challenge. They are Super Hummingbirds, the smallest, most brilliant birds on earth.
At the end of a bloody civil war, Francisco Franco seized power and ruled Spain with an iron hand for nearly four decades. Under his leadership the conservative, monarchist armed forces staged a coup against Spain’s democratically elected republican government. The insurrection was supported by Italy and Germany. Three years of bitter fighting followed and, by April 1939, Spain had become a different country. The hostilities and political purges cost half a million lives. Part 1 of 4.
"Revolution", Michael Wood observes, "has been a fact of life in Chinese history". Between 1850 and 1950, three cataclysmic revolutions shook China to the core, but out of them, today's China emerged. Michael Wood explores the effects of the Taiping Rebellion, the Boxer Rebellion and the two world wars, before ending the story with Mao’s death and the boom time of the last thirty years. Part 6 of 6.
Darth Vader is perhaps the best-known villain in film history. His figure, his breathing, his movements - everything about the iconic character is recognised worldwide. But what about the man behind the mask? David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader in the first Star Wars trilogy never revealed his face during the films. He could have in Return of the Jedi, but something happened. Another actor filmed that sequence, and that marked David's life forever. It’s time to find out the truth - and can the filmmakers convince the actor to play, one last time, what may be the most well-known villain of all time?
The Franco myth stands for a cruel regime; for the darkest chapter in Spanish history. Franco gave himself the title of Caudillo de España - Supreme Leader of Spain. He created his own rituals of power: the war hero, the family man and the mass murderer. Franco was a man of many faces. Franco and his family formally moved into the El Pardo Palace, the former summer residence of the king. Was that still the behaviour of a head of state? Or was it already megalomania? Part 2 of 4.
Some animals in the Serengeti seem to be forever at war. Species compete with each other over territories, ring fencing these areas with scent marking. Part 8 of 12.
