Smithsonian: Premiere – Wednesday, 25 May at 8pm

Welcome to the wild side of Miami, where peacocks strut in the streets, giant iguanas throng the canal banks and colourful parakeets wreak havoc in the power lines. The melting pot of Miami is home to myriad species hailing from distant shores, many of which aren’t welcome.

Here, invasive species—often released as unwanted pets or arriving as unwitting stowaways in international cargo — vie for space alongside the locals, all thriving in the tropical climate of Southern Florida.

Set in a neighbourhood park, Miami Wild follows a diverse cast of furry, feathered, finned and scaly characters struggling to carve out territory, find new mates and raise their families.

Voiced by Miami’s own Gloria Estefan, this tale of international immigrants plays out to an up-tempo score inspired by Miami’s rich musical heritage.

PBS: UK PREMIERE Thursday 19 May at 19:30

When the tomb of Tutankhamun was opened on 17 February 1923, the world was awed by the
thousands of items discovered in the young king’s burial chamber, such as his golden mask and solid
gold coffin.

Now, almost 100 years after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, documentary THE TRUE STORY OF
KING TUT’S TREASURE casts new light on the familiar story, using 2D and 3D imagery to reconstruct the tomb, the mummy, the funerary objects and the topography of the famous Valley of the Kings.

Additionally, it will also reveal what the artefacts tell us about Tutankhamun and his world, as well as exploring the circumstances in which they were
discovered and then taken from the pharaoh’s tomb.

AT 6.40PM FRIDAY 20TH MAY – SHOWN AS PART OF 90s WEEK ON GREAT! MOVIES

This endearing fantasy romance comes straight from the brilliant mind of director Tim Burton.

Edward Scissorhands tells the story of an unfinished man-made humanoid with scissors for hands, Edward (Johnny Depp), who after his elderly inventor’s untimely death has been left lonely in his gloomy mansion sitting on top of a hill overlooking a perfect pastel suburbia.

That is until Avon lady Peggy Boggs (Dianne Wiest) comes to call. Venturing up to the castle, Peggy invites lonely Edward down and dazzles her placid suburban neighbours with Edward’s extraordinary
ability for topiary design and flair for hair styling. Edward becomes a town celebrity and soon finds himself drawn to Peggy’s weary but sympathetic daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder), who happens to be dating Jim (Anthony Michael Hall), the neighbourhood bully who takes a strong dislike towards Edward.

After a robbery frames Edward as the culprit, things in his life begin to go downhill, with Edward’s new friends turning against him.

LIVING IN GERMANY AT WAR

PBS: UK PREMIERE Monday 9 May & Tuesday 10 May at 7.35pm

When the Second World War began in September 1939, the idea of war was deeply unpopular amongst the German population. Yet by April 1945, when the war was clearly lost, they were fighting to the bitter end for the Nazi regime.

Jerome Prieur’s award-winning documentary series attempts to understand the seismic shift in German public opinion, drawing exclusively on archive material to recount the daily lives of both civilians and soldiers during the six years of World War 2.

From soldiers writing to their fiancées to World War I veterans, members of Hitler Youth to persecuted Jews, letters, diaries and eyewitness accounts reveal what it was like for the men and women living in Germany at war.

Smithsonian: Premiere – Monday, 9 May at 8pm

A fresh slate of six Air Warrior aircraft roars into life as this successful series returns with a new look, new graphics, new tales of heroic pilots battling against the odds to survive in war zones around the globe, new new-human interest stories revealing the true dedication and the emotions of men and women pilots and aircrew, and, of course, an awesome new cast of machines. The series will fascinate and delight the current fanbase of this long running series and will recruit and serve new viewers: an audience attracted by the stories of these awesome flying weapons of war, and the bravery and skill of the men and women who fly them.

WOMEN IN LOVE (1969)

GREAT! MOVIES CLASSIC SATURDAY 7TH MAY AT 9PM

Ken Russell directs this classic adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s novel starring Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Jennie Linden and Glenda Jackson. ​​​

Set in the Midlands mining town of Beldoverin the 1920s, the film follows the relationships between sisters Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen (Linden and Jackson) and their husbands Gerald Crich (Reed) and Rupert Birkin (Bates).​​​

Following their courtship, the quartet spend time together discussing the meaning of life and love, but when they holiday together in the Alps the complex and fiery relationship between Gerald and Gudrun begins to boil over with devastating implications for all involved.

DIRECTOR:

Ken Russell

STARRING:

Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson, Jennie Linden

THE WAR
Easter Sunday from 13:30 and Easter Monday from 14:05

Produced and directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, this acclaimed award-winning multi-part documentary series chronicles the Second World War from an American viewpoint.

Spanning the European, African and Pacific theatres, it draws on personal accounts from the citizens of four US towns, with actors including Tom Hanks and Samuel L. Jackson giving voice to contemporary newspaper articles, telegrams and letters from the front to bring home the often harrowing human cost of warfare.

From the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor through to eventual victory over Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945, THE WAR examines the impact of the global conflagration at a grass-roots level upon individuals, families and communities.

THE REAL JESUS OF NAZARETH
Stack – Saturday, 16 April from 4pm and Sunday 17 April from 2pm

Celebrate Easter with actor Robert Powell, star of TV miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth,” who is on a journey across the Holy Land to discover the real story of the role he played decades ago. Guided by the Gospels and the latest archaeological and historical research, Powell will travel to Israel, new shedding light on a famous tale. With the help of scholars and theologians, he will examine Jesus’s lost adolescent years, the start and growth of his ministry, and his death and believed resurrection, which would spark the birth of one of the largest religions on the planet.

THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THEE COLD EASTER SUNDAY 17TH APRIL AT 9PM

Stay in and watch the channel premiere of the British cold war spy film, The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965), this Easter Sunday. Based on the novel of the same name by John le Carré, the film was released to critical acclaim, receiving several awards including four BAFTAs and an Academy Award nomination. The film follows British MI6 agent Alec Leamas (Richard Burton) on his mission to East Germany as a faux defector, given the task of sowing damaging disinformation about a powerful East German intelligence officer.

As part of a charade, Leamas is apparently dismissed from the British secret intelligence service, and soon finds himself approached by East German agents in Britain to sell his secrets for money. Things take a turn as Leamas becomes convinced that his own people see him as just a cog, and struggles with normality after years of dehumanisation in the service.

DIRECTOR:
Martin Ritt
STARRING:
Richard Burton, Oskar Werner, Claire Bloom

His song may have been cut from Hamilton, but one of American and European history’s most influential figures is put under the spotlight in this major two-part documentary from a renowned filmmaker, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: A FILM BY KEN BURNS, which airs at 7.45pm on Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th April. Franklin (1706-1790) lived through an era of unprecedented change. The 18th century saw dramatic advances and upheavals in science, technology, literature and politics, and this prolific and influential polymath would leave an indelible mark on each of these fields of human endeavour.

Franklin gained worldwide fame for his dazzling variety of achievements, yet his personal relationships would suffer. Although he spoke out against slavery, he had also been known to own slaves, and his attitude to colonialism was equally inconsistent. A complex man, full of startling contradictions, as this in-depth profile amply illustrates.

Brand new to National Geographic Wild comes the painful, yet peculiar, SOMETHING BIT ME. This four-part series launches in April and showcases true stories of bug bites, insect stings, and animal attacks that have sent people to the hospital through venom, disease, or the sheer brute force of their jaws.

As the medical mystery unfolds, we get up close and personal to the bewildering and deadly power that these creatures have. Find out what we can do to protect ourselves Monday 4th April at 8pm.

THE TANK: WEAPON OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Thursday 17 and Friday 18 March at 7.30PM

Developed in the hope of breaking the First World War’s trench-bound stalemate, and referred to as ’tanks’ to maintain secrecy and disguise their true purpose, armoured fighting vehicles would go on to play a decisive role on the battlefield.

Tanks would also become symbols of brutal repression, deployed to crush dissent and signify power and prestige, both military and political. Yet today, in the age of drone warfare, these crawling monsters are arguably the terrestrial equivalent of battleships, outdated relics whose time has passed.

Discover the tank’s diverse and fascinating story, one in which technology, psychology and culture would all interact, as historians and military experts explain. How much did the tank help shape the modern world? And does it have a future?

Stack – Saturday, 12 March from 4pm

Delve into the supernatural beliefs of ancient Britons with talk show host Clive Anderson and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota as they travel across the United Kingdom exploring sacred belief, strange rituals, and occult practices. They are joined by scientists, archaeologists and historians who look at the latest discoveries unearthing weird and wondrous truths about ancient sites, events, and cultures. Anderson and Ochota’s journeys include a visit to an ancient church, where the walls are scored with demonic symbols, Hadrian’s Wall, a massive structure believed to have magical powers, the site of the Rollright Stones, where it is said that fairies dance on summer evenings, and a pit full of human bones showing signs of mutilation in a Yorkshire village.

IT’S MICHAEL CAINE’S BIRTHDAY TOMORROW SUNDAY 13TH MARCH FROM 10.45PM

To celebrate silver screen legend Michael Caine turning 89 tomorrow, GREAT! movies classic airs a full day showcasing some of his memorable roles in a host of brilliant films.

Caine stars as British secret agent Harry Palmer in Midnight in St Petersburg. Former British secret agent Palmer runs a private investigation company in Russia. He gets a job to find and retrieve a consignment of stolen Plutonium, and with the help of colleague Nikolai Petrov, played by Jason Connery, he sets off to St. Petersburg but Along the way he must deal with the violent Russian Mafia.

Caine stars in classic comedy caper, Gambit. Harry Dean is a career burglar set on stealing a piece of priceless art from the world’s wealthiest man. With the help of showgirl Nicole Chang, played by Shirley MacLaine, he concocts the perfect robbery – or so he thinks!

Funeral In Berlin stars Caine return as British secret agent Harry Palmer. Set in a 60’s Berlin divided by cold war lines, Agent Palmer is sent to meet a prominent senior Soviet officer along the border of East Berlin and arrange his defection. Palmer soon discovers a network of complex betrayal, double crosses and buried secrets being played out around the Berlin Wall.

10.45pm Bullet To Beijing

12.50pm The Jigsaw Man

2.45pm Midnight in St. Petersburg

4.35pm Gambit

6.50pm Funeral In Berlin

9pm The Romantic Englishwoman

Rome’s Invisible City: Monday 7 March at 8.30PM on PBS America in the UK

It may boast one of the most breathtaking cityscapes in the world, but beneath Italy’s capital lies a far less familiar Rome, its incredible secrets know only to few.

Vast subterranean quarries, aqueducts and water cisterns, along with ornate temples and tombs, and the elaborate lifts, trap doors and clever mechanics beneath the Coliseum all number among the many wonders to found underground.

Aided by state-of-the-art visualisation techniques and a team of experts, Dr Michael Scott tells the extraordinary story of one of the ancient world’s most awe-inspiring creations, a testament to the ingenuity of the remarkable people who, long ago, built Rome’s invisible city and made it the home.

TUESDAY 1ST MARCH AT 9PM ON GREAT! MOVIES CLASSIC

The late Sidney Poitier excels in the classic 60’s drama To Sir, With Love which deals with social and racial issues in an inner-city school.

It’s an inspiring story of Mark, an out-of-work engineer, who takes up a teaching job at a high school in London’s East End.

Unaffected by the rowdy students, Mark implements his own brand of discipline in class.

Lulu makes her film debut and sings the title track for this 1967 film favourite.

Smithsonian – Stunt – Saturday, 19 February from 4pm

Venture on a globe-trotting mission to discover the ways in which the world works all around us, featuring episodes of:

HOW DID THEY BUILD THAT? – Across the globe, radical architects, ingenious engineers, and skilled builders are creating structures so outrageous, they defy logic and often even gravity. From a Manhattan skyscraper that looks like a Jenga tower to a Singapore glass dome big enough to house a mountain to a high rise in Italy with a built-in forest, we examine the world’s most extraordinary buildings, bridges, and lifts, reveal their design secrets, and discover the incredible stories of their construction.

IMPOSSIBLE REPAIRS – A high-risk/high-reward heli-logging job aboard a chopper that can haul 48,000 tons a mission. A refurbished military vessel that is the heart and soul of a massive open ocean fish farm operation. A freight run that pulls over 50 million tons of cargo a year through Europe. On land, sea, and air, mind-blowing machines are making do-or-die deliveries. Meet the engineers, technicians, and maintenance teams who prep these jobs, complete the repairs, and fix the problems to keep the monster vehicles running.

In early twentieth-century America, his surname became synonymous with the affordable automobile, and the efficient production methods he pioneered would transform the character of modern industry. Find out the story behind the name on Henry Ford (PBS Sunday 20 February at 7.25PM)

Henry Ford’s innovations would make a lasting impact on American society and the wider world beyond. Yet he was a man of stark, even disturbing contradictions. His ground-breaking ‘people’s car’, the Model T, may have liberated millions, but Ford’s assembly lines made the workplace resemble a prison, while his anti- Semitic bigotry saw him look favourably upon Hitler’s Germany – and vice versa.

Drawing upon extensive archival records and recent scholarship, this biographical study of Henry Ford’s life and legacy offers a revealing, warts-and-all portrait of a complex, pivotal and deeply flawed figure.

The Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning British black comedy, The Ladykillers stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner, and Katie Johnson. (GREAT! Movies Classic SUNDAY 20TH FEBRUARY AT 9PM)

Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on an isolated cul-de-sac from a doddering but strong-minded octogenarian widow, Mrs. Louisa Wilberforce, under the pretext that they are classical musicians.

Mrs. Wilberforce lives in an isolated house with her three pet parrots, and as her criminal-minded lodgers, the gang are betting on Mrs. Wilberforce being true to her ‘little old lady’ nature, which will allow them to use her as a dupe in their plan. But as certain aspects individually come to light of the crime, the criminals come to believe that Mrs. Wilberforce has figured out what’s going on. When the gang set out to kill Mrs. Wilberforce, they run into one problem after another.

PBS Monday 14 February at 9.50PM

Once, we were not alone in our humanity. Instead, we were one of at least four distinct species of human – and possibly more. So what happened to these ‘lost tribes’ of humanity? And where did they go?

Over the last few years a series of groundbreaking discoveries have transformed our understanding of the past. Now, documentary series THE LOST TRIBES OF HUMANITY meets the experts and examines the science that is reshaping our understanding of the world.

From Gorham’s Cave, Gibraltar – reputedly the last known place where Neanderthals lived – to the tiniest sample of archaic human DNA, discover the lost tribes that once walked the Earth, and learn the answers that strike at the heart of who we think we are.

Known the world over as the most daring swashbuckler ladies man, and all around coolest cat, Puss In Boots shares advice, stories and tasty tidbits with his fans.

Available to download now from Yaaas! Freeview channel 212.

GREAT! MOVIES:
SUNDAY 13TH FEBRUARY FROM 9AM

Stay in for GREAT! Sundays: Romance Special this Valentine’s Weekend from 9am.

In Autumn In The Vineyard, Frankie and Nate find out they both have a claim to ownership of Sorrento Farm, a vineyard in the heart of Californian wine country. The pair are from the best, and very competitive, grape producing families in the town. So, when the two are forced to divide the vineyard right down the middle and work the fields alongside each other, tensions rise. The two focus their efforts on the annual Best Wine competition and compete for the title. But their rivalry soon turns to romance.

Summer In The Vineyard is the second movie in this trilogy, and picks up with happy couple, Frankie and Nate, gearing up for Summer Fest, the town’s largest event. The couple has worked tirelessly to create a new wine and can’t wait to reveal it to the town, finally putting their vineyard on the map. But when issues with the wine arise both their relationship and partnership are tested.

The third terrific movie, Valentine In The Vineyard, sees Frankie and Nate celebrate their recent engagement and manage life on their growing vineyard. But after Nate’s brother Marco announces his engagement, Nate and Frankie
decide to keep their own recent engagement and wedding plans a secret so as not to interfere with the upcoming Valentine’s Day nuptials.

9am Love At First Dance
10.40am Destination Wedding
12.20am Autumn In The Vineyard
2pm Summer In The Vineyard
3.45pm Valentine In The Vineyard
5.30pm Valentine Ever After
7.15pm Anything For Love
9pm Sirens

From ancient remedies to today’s cuttingedge treatments, for centuries people have attempted to unravel what causes mental illness and how it can best be treated.

Documentary series MYSTERIES OF MENTAL ILLNESS (PBS 7-10 Feb at 7.35PM) explores all aspects of mental health, from ancient conceptions of mental illness and the establishment of psychiatry, to the rise of science as a tool for diagnosis rather than dogma. It steps inside Cook County prison, now unintentionally America’s largest mental health facility, and follows the challenges faced by the detainees, inside and out.

Finally, there are cutting-edge treatments such as deep brain stimulation surgery, infusions of ketamine and modern electro-convulsive therapy. These new frontiers point the way towards a greater understanding of the mind’s mysteries in the 21st century.

Saturday, 5 February from 4pm

Witness some of the most heart-racing military battles
throughout history on Smithsonian, including:

CUSTER’S LAST STAND: BATTLE OF LITTLE BIGHORN

The Battle of the Little Big Horn. Custer’s Last Stand. The Battle of the Greasy Grass. An infamous conflict known by
many names is one that has been edited, embellished, and sensationalised for over a century. On June 25, 1876, Hunkpapa Lakota Chief Sitting Bull and thousands of American Indians were attacked by General George
Custer’s 7th Cavalry as they camped on the banks of Montana’s Little Bighorn River. Vastly outnumbered, Custer’s entire regiment was wiped out. What was to follow was a nationwide media storm – but what led to this deadly encounter, and how did history books get it so wrong?

BATTLE OF MIDWAY: THE TRUE STORY

Revisit the pivotal
World War II naval engagement through the lens of the U.S. Navy’s three crucial aircraft at Midway: the Devastator, Avenger and Dauntless. Together, these three attack planes had to vanquish an ambush attack from the enemy and contend with the relentless Zero, a long-range fighter aircraft that already had wrought devastation at Pearl Harbor. The film incorporates archival footage, interviews with historians and demonstrations of the aircraft.

THE BLITZ: DAYS THAT CHANGED WWII

The Blitz, Germany’s incessant, aerial onslaught on London and surrounding cities, was designed to eliminate the English motherland. Instead, it served as a defining moment for Britain and a turning point for America’s attitude about the war. This is the definitive story of the Nazi’s unprecedented all-out assault on a nation’s cities and morale, composed almost entirely of rarely seen archival footage and told through discovered civilian diary entries, military leaders’ speeches, and war correspondents’ dramatic accounts.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino, the cult black comedy From Dusk Till Dawn (GREAT MOVIES 10 Feb at 9PM)is packed with action and horror.

Seth and Richie Gecko (George Clooney) and (Quentin Tarantino) a pair of bad-to-the-bone brothers kidnap an unsuspecting family and take refuge in a biker bar.

After a couple of drinks, the family and two outlaws realise that this is no ordinary bar, as the entire cliental morph into blood sucking vampires.

With the odds stacked against them, the pair of brothers and family team up
in the hopes of surviving.

Also starring Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek and Danny Trejo.

LOVE PARADE – THE TRIAL (Tuesday 25th, 7.20pm) is the story of a festival which began in Berlin in 1989 as a tiny street parade, as 150 people marched for peace and international understanding through love and music. Growing steadily year on year, millions enjoyed the spectacle.

In 2010 the decision was made to hold the festival in Druisberg, in Germany’s industrial heartland. It was a day that ended in disaster. Massive crowds combined with mismanagement on the part of the organisers and the authorities, led to a crowd crush that killed 21 and injured and traumatised another 652. Described as the ‘worst disaster in counter-culture history’, discover how corporate greed and public negligence destroyed the Love Parade dream, as young people from around the world gathered for a music festival.

The stunning film noir DOUBLE INDEMNITY airs at 6.45pm on Tuesday 25th. Directed by Billy Wilder, it was nominated for seven Oscars. ​Adapted from the James M Cain novel, Wilder teamed up with thriller writer Raymond Chandler to create the screenplay.​

Insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets roped into a murderous scheme when he falls for the sensual Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who is intent on killing her husband and living off the fraudulent accidental death claim.​ But the late Mr. Dietrichson’s daughter, Lola, urges insurance investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) to look into the case, and he gradually uncovers the sinister truth.

They’re one of the most famous and popular bands on the planet. Many consider them the best, and the music they created in the 60s is still loved by millions. But just how did the Beatles make it all the way from the backstreets of Liverpool to the top table at the Hall of Fame?

THE BEATLES: MADE ON MERSEYSIDE (PBS Friday 21 January 8.05PM) traces the incredible career of Liverpool’s most famous sons, following them from school bands to Hamburg andThe Cavern Club, as they took their roots in skiffle and rock’n’roll and went on to create a new sound that would shake the world.

Featuring newly filmed contributions from ‘fifthBeatle’ Pete Best, and those who were there, take a fresh look at one of the 20th century’s most amazing phenomena – The Beatles.

See history in an all-new way with recently colourised archival footage on SMITHSONIAN Saturday, 29 January from 4pm that brings the past to life as never before:

AMERICA IN COLOUR – This is the story of America, seen in colour, for the first time. Decade by decade, fromProhibition to the Moon Landing, and from the Jazz Age to rock‘n’roll, this series brings all of the most significant moments in America’s history back to life.

BRITAIN IN COLOUR – In the first half of the 20th century, the British Empire was the controlling power in over a quarter of the earth’s land. Revisit stories of the RoyalFamily as they faced modern times and socio-political progress, an enigmatic Prime Minister that rallied the country during its most desperate times of war, and the colonies that were won and lost. Film footage re-edited with modern technology delivers visual history in full colour.

Settle in for GREAT! Sundays and enjoy terrific movie entertainment from GREAT MOVIES 23 January 2022!

When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys soon begin to take their battle programming too seriously the sci-fi action film, Small Soldiers (2.45PM). Two factions of toys programmed with military microprocessors, put a sleepy Ohio suburb in danger when one faction turns violent in their effort to eliminate their enemy. The Commando Elite vow to wipe out the Gorgonites as they invade the neighbourhood and cause havoc. Directed by Joe Dante.

Every second of every day, from the moment he was born, Truman Burbank (JimCarrey) has been the unwitting star of The Truman Show (5PM). The picture-perfect town of Seahaven, which he calls home, is actually a gigantic soundstage.Truman’s friends, family and everyone he meets are actors. He lives every moment under the unblinking gaze of thousands of hidden TV cameras. But discovering the truth is only the beginning. He still must reckon with the god-likepowers behind the scenes of the longest-running documentary-soap opera.

Based on Shakespeare’s Taming Of The Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You (7.05PM) takes the story from the 16th century Padua kingdom to a 90s Seattle suburb teendom. The Stratford sisters live under strict rules from their father that popular and beautiful Bianca is forbidden from having a boyfriend until her cold sister Kat(Julia Stiles) has one of her own. But seeing as Kat has the innate ability to alienate any guy who might be interested in her, makes the possibility of Bianca being able to have a boyfriend of her own unlikely. Also starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Heath Ledger.

In a city which comprises an area of eleven thousand square kilometres, there are more than six thousand temples where more than five hundred gods of different religions are worshipped, co-existing with each other. For almost one thousand years, this was a city where various religious beliefs are strongly held in the same place. Meanwhile, more than ten thousand vessels are anchored at the port.

Merchants, missionaries and sailors from West Asia, Africa and Europe gather on the docks, trading the goods that they are proud of. Here is one of the biggest trading stations in the world in the Middle Ages, and the business model adopted here leads the world. This is Quanzhou, the city of light. Find out more in RETURN TO ZAI TUN (Friday 3rd, 7pm).

1945 saw nuclear energy deployed as a devastating weapon of war. In peacetime its use would be very different. But despite the benefits, the risky business of harnessing the power of the atom would court controversy. Focusing on events in the USA and Europe, and featuring input from those who experienced it first-hand, THE ATOM AND US (Monday 6th, 7.35pm) examines the social and political fallout from the civil development of this scientific miracle. Generating public prestige and private profit, it initially seemed ideal for an energy-hungry planet.

But as sobering news of accidents emerged, along with concerns about radioactive waste and other dangers, its necessity was called into question. Yet talk of a ‘nuclear renaissance’ suggests the story is far from over.

In the heart of Southern England lies a royal forest; a wild and magical place of ancient beauty that’s hardly changed since King William the Conqueror proclaimed it as his hunting grounds some 900 years ago. Stretching down from the famous Salisbury Plain to the rocky shores of the English Channel, the New Forest National Park is the largest and richest lowland wilderness in Britain, home to more ancient woods, mossy mires and rich heathlands than any other landscape in Europe.

In the one-hour film NEW FOREST: THE CROWN’S HUNTING GROUND (Wednesday 1st, 8pm), witness a remarkable year in the life of the forest, told through the eyes of its most iconic inhabitants; a newly born New Forest foal, a pair of goshawks nesting in the ancient woods and a red deer stag. From feast to famine, this is an extraordinary tale of how people and animals have shaped the destiny of a royal forest. And how its ancient laws, that have kept it safe for hundreds of years, are now coming under pressure.

GREAT! Movies Action has a brilliant line up of classic action-packed westerns this Sunday. Tune in from 6am’s I AM SANTANA, YOUR ANGEL OF DEATH. Adapted from a short story by Elmore Leonard, THE TALL T (1.40pm) is about a former ranch foreman who hitches a ride on a stagecoach and is then kidnapped along with an heiress and held for ransom by three ruthless outlaws. Starring Randolph Scott, Richard Boone and Maureen O’Sullivan, the film is directed by legendary western film maker, Budd Boetticher.

SANTA FE (7.10pm) centres on the exploits of four brothers who return from the Civil War. Three of the siblings decide to become outlaws while the fourth, a former Confederate soldier, heads West and begins working for the Santa Fe railroad. Though the three have become bandits, they refuse to rob Yankee businesses and instead get tangled up with a gambler and his gang who gradually convince the brothers to help him rob the train. Guns blaze, train whistles scream, and justice ensues. In A MAN CALLED HORSE (9pm), an English aristocrat called Lord John Morgan is captured by a group of Native American Sioux warriors in the American West during the early 1800s. Morgan at first wants to escape, but soon becomes enamoured with the Sioux’s way of life. Morgan must prove himself and earn the respect of the leaders of the Sioux village to become a warrior and find his place.

The young Queen Elizabeth’s rejection of Philip II, Emperor of Spain, in 1558 would have dramatic repercussions when, three decades later, her spurned suitor launched a vast invasion force aimed at bringing wayward England back into the Catholic fold. Boasting exclusive access to a cache of some 3000 historical documents, including examples written by Philip himself, absorbing three-part series ARMADA – THE UNTOLD STORY (Monday 22nd to Wednesday 24th, 7.30pm) examines the build-up to what became a momentous clash between monarchs, the course of events and their long-term consequences.

Authoritative documentary, world-class contributors and painstaking reconstructions, with visceral battle scenes enhanced by state-of-the-art CGI, all combine to offer fresh insights into a pivotal moment in the history of Europe, bringing the world of 1588 to vivid life.

Thanksgiving in America brings to mind many things: Pilgrims, turkeys, family, American football and more. It is perhaps the most beloved American holiday, but few people know the true story from which the myth of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting around a peaceful, communal table arose. Thanksgiving has been shaped into what it is today by America itself. By immigration, by war, by the rise of cities, the fall of slavery, the ‘winning’ of the West, by poverty and plenty, by teachers and pageants, by parades and presidents.

Through period-appropriate recreation filmed at Plimoth Plantation and aboard the recently restored Mayflower replica, BEHIND THE HOLIDAY: THANKSGIVING (Thursday 23rd, 8pm) explores the authentic origins of the holiday and re-discovers the people who were there 400 years ago – English settlers who never called themselves ‘Pilgrims’, and the Wampanoag people, whose land they occupied. Archive and original source materials will be used to explore the human need for ritual and community and trace how a tradition that connects all Americans has been buffeted and formed by the winds of time – and what it means today.

Dry Lightning, Thundersnow, Polar Vortexes, Firenadoes, Ice Waves and Atmospheric Rivers – these are not the titles of far-fetched science-fiction films, but names given to some of the fearsome meteorological phenomena unleashed by climate change in the real world. With the aid of spectacular video footage, first-hand testimony from witnesses, stunning graphics, expert scientific analysis and dramatic recreations, sobering series MUTANT WEATHER, which begins at 9.55pm on Thursday 11th, takes viewers to the front line for an in-depth look at the various alarming ways in which our weather is mutating, right across the planet.

Dangerous extremes of heat and cold, record rainfall patterns, savage storms, melting polar ice and increasingly polluted air are among the stark warning signs examined and explained in detail, episode by episode.

Written and directed by John Hughes, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (Sunday 7th, 3pm) stars Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller, a high-school student who skips school for a day in Chicago, with his best pal, played by Alan Ruck, and his girlfriend, played by Mia Sara. Ferris Bueller (Broderick) is great at cutting classes and getting away with it. Intending to have one last blast before graduation, Ferris calls in sick, ‘borrows’ a Ferrari, and embarks on a one-day adventure through the streets of Windy City Chicago. On Ferris’ trail is high school principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), determined to catch him in the act. Its a much-loved comedy which is fun from start to finish.

Based on Shakespeare’s Taming Of The Shrew, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (5pm) takes the story from 16thcentury Italy to 90s Seattle suburban teen-dom. The Stratford sisters live under strict rules from their divorce lawyer father – including that popular and beautiful Bianca is forbidden from having a boyfriend until her angsty and cold sister Kat (Julia Stiles) has one of her own. But seeing as Kat has the innate ability to alienate any guy who might be remotely interested in her, this makes Bianca being able to have a boyfriend of her own unlikely. So, when new student Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falls head over heels for Bianca, he attempts to get bad boy Patrick (Heath Ledger) to date Kat. But grungy rebel Patrick may be the angsty kindred spirit to win Kat’s heart. Finally – every second of every day, from the moment he was born, Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) has been the unwitting star of THE TRUMAN SHOW (6.55pm). The picture-perfect town of Seahaven, which he calls home, is actually a gigantic soundstage. Truman’s friends, family and everyone he meets are actors. He lives every moment under the unblinking gaze of thousands of hidden TV cameras. But discovering the truth is only the beginning. He still must reckon with the god-like powers behind the scenes of the most popular and longest-running documentary-soap opera in history.

A true pioneer woman from the rural Midwest, Laura Ingalls Wilder drew upon memories of her own frontier childhood when, in later life, she authored a succession of popular novels.

Little House on the Prairie (1935) and other books inspired by Wilder’s own early experiences would go on to become bestsellers. Decades later, they would be adapted as a long-running, much-loved TV series.From award-winning producer/director Mary McDonagh Murphy, this documentary tells the story of the woman whose writings helped shape American ideas of self-reliance. Examining Laura Ingalls Wilder’s legacy, the programme also investigates the part played by her daughter Rosein her transformation of lived experience into vivid fiction.

LAURA INGALLS WILDER: PRAIRIE TO PAGE
PBS UK PREMIERE
Friday 12 November at 20:00

Spend the evening witnessing the power of Mother Nature (Smithsonian Saturday 13 November from 4PM).
Programmes include:

YELLOWSTONE SUPERVOLCANO – Beneath the beauty of Yellowstone National Park lies a ticking time bomb: asupervolcano that’s overdue for its next eruption. When that day inevitably comes, it will trigger the end of civilisationas we know it. See how recent earthquake swarms and other signals of activity have put scientists on high alert andwitness the worldwide effects of cataclysmic eruption, which experts predict will produce energy equivalent to the detonation of 1,000 nuclear bombs.
EARTH UNDER WATER – Experience the story of extreme sea level rise – predicted to affect our world over the next few centuries due to rapidly increasing carbon dioxide levels and climbing global temperatures. The film examines the science that helps to predict future sea level rise. EARTH UNDER WATER takes viewers to Antarctica, which contains 90% of the world’s ice. If Antarctica and Greenland melted,the world’s oceans would rise by 230 feet. Using currentclimate models, scientists predict a maximum six-foot sealevel rise this century. If emissions continue increasing at the current rate, the rise in global temperature would be so great, that Antarctica goes into rapid meltdown, causing cities like London to flood by 2300. Although sea level rise is largely inevitable, the speed and extent of it is uncertainand depends on how much more CO2 is emitted…

The channel premiere of Ridley Scott’s brilliant historic fiction epic Kingdom Of Heaven (GREAT Movies! Friday 12 November at 9PM) stars Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson and Eva Green for Friday Night Film Club.

Living during the time of the Crusades of the 12th century, a French village blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom) is still grieving over the sudden death of his wife, so joins his long-estranged father, Baron Godfrey (Neeson), as a crusader and head to Jerusalem. The pair face a perilous journey to the holy city and Balian learns the skills of honour and valiancy, with Baron Godfrey soon naming him as a knight. Balian must use all he has learnt to defend a besieged Jerusalem against impossible odds and the powerful leader Sultan Saladin.

From 4pm on Hallowe’en, spend a spooky evening with Smithsonian Channel and a line-up of programmes including CRAZY MONSTER FROGS. Mutants armed with regenerative powers. Giants lurking in underground tombs. These are not horror movie monsters. They’re the world’s wildest frogs. Join us as we explore this family of freaks and their weird and wonderful abilities, from bone claws to glass skin to lethal poisons. See the invisible, hairy, and disfigured creatures of the amphibian world. Then meet the prehistoric devil frog, a
carnivorous, pit bull-sized beast that lunched on dinosaurs.

Then, THE CURIOUS LIFE AND DEATH OF… sees author and medical historian Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris will use science, tests, and demonstrations to shed new light on famous deaths, ranging from former Rolling Stone Brian Jones to magician Harry Houdini. Using her lab to perform virtual autopsies, experiment with blood samples, interview witnesses and conduct real-time demonstrations, Dr. Fitzharris will put these mysterious deaths to the test. Along the way, she’ll be joined by a revolving cast of experts, including Scotland Yard detectives, medical examiners, weapons gurus and more.

The advent of the automobile promised increased mobility and freedom for US citizens. Yet for African Americans, this new mastery of the open road would also bring new perils. Chronicling the history and personal experiences of African Americans behind the wheel, from the early days of the ‘horseless carriage’ through the seismic social changes of the 1960s and beyond, absorbing documentary DRIVING WHILE BLACK (Monday 25th, 6.45pm) examines the dynamics of race, space and mobility across the decades in a nation where car ownership is synonymous with personal liberty.

While in theory, this liberty extends to every driver, the reality would, for some, amount to just another new chapter in a very old story, which saw some citizens enjoy more freedom than others.

GREAT! Movies has a brilliant line up of classic films staring Hollywood legend Tom Hanks from 2.45pm on Sunday 24th. In the classic rom-com SPLASH, Allen Bauer is convinced that he was saved from drowning as a boy by a mermaid. As an adult he goes back to the same place, despite now having an intense fear of water. Allen again falls into the sea, and is rescued by the now adult mermaid. He can’t tell if he imagined his rescue, but when the mermaid shows up in New York City, with a brand-new pair of legs, in search of Allen, he can’t believe his eyes. Also starring Daryl Hannah.

Then, tired of being pushed around by the bigger kids and not being taken seriously by his crushes, twelve-year-old Josh asks the mysterious Zoltan fortune-teller machine to make him BIG. Zoltar grants his wish and the following day he wakes up as a thirty-year-old version of himself, played by Hanks. With the help of his best friend, Billy, Josh learns how to act like a grown-up, gets a job, starts an adult relationship and learns how to be part of the adult world, all whilst trying to keep his secret under wraps. But with the innocence of his youth fading as he settles into adult life, Josh must ask himself again if this is truly what he asked for? Finally, TURNER & HOOCH is a buddy cop comedy with a canine twist! Having not been able to work on a case higher than a misdemeanour charge, officer Scott Turner can’t wait to leave his local police department in a few days for the big city to pursue some ‘real’ cases. But after a high-profile murder takes place in the small-town, Turner takes on one more case. The only problem is that the closest thing to a witness of the murder Turner has is Hooch, the victim’s noisy and boisterous dog, of whom Turner must now take care.

The elements of fire, water, and air formed the Earth over billions of years, but in a short period of time, humans have severely transformed it all. Over the millennia, our impact has become so significant, it has
started to change the planet’s ecosystems. So, how do we move forward in this altered world we’ve created and what we can do to change both our behaviour and our environment?

Travel the globe with the full AGE OF HUMANS series from 8pm on Wednesday 20th, as we examine humankind’s influence on Earth, from the dawn of civilisation to today, and the steps we’re taking to create a positive future.

Three ancient American empires – those of the Aztecs, the Incas and the Maya – have long remained, to a large extent, shrouded in mystery. Their impressive rise and tragic fall is the stuff of legend. Tantalising traces of these once thriving societies can be found in the remains of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan in modern Mexico City, the temple buildings of the Maya and the Inca fortress Machu Picchu.

With the help of state-of-the-art technology, absorbing three-part series CHILDREN OF THE SUN (Tuesday 19th to Thursday 21st, 7.30pm) casts new light upon all three of these long-lost empires. The picture that emerges portrays a world of startling contrasts, in which grisly rites of human sacrifice coexisted alongside astonishingly advanced mathematics, astronomy and craftsmanship.

Downton Abbey and Legion star Dan Stevens shows a sinister side in sexy and stylish thriller THE GUEST at 9pm on Tuesday 19th.

A soldier (Stevens) introduces himself to the Peterson family, claiming to be a friend of their son who died in action. After the young man is welcomed into their home, a series of accidental deaths seem to be
connected to his presence. Maika Monroe also stars.

Situated on a plateau between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world, and the meeting point of three great faiths, each of whom consider it holy. Destroyed and rebuilt countless times, its enduring appeal remains a mystery. What made it so important to so many different cultures? How did it become the centre of the world for three major religions? And why does it still matter to us?

As archaeologist Dr Jodi Magness explores the ancient city, JERUSALEM (Thursday 14th, 7.30pm) attempts to answer these questions by following three young Jerusalemites – Jewish, Christian and Muslim – through the celebrations and events that mark a year in the life of the city.

It’s the plane – and the pilot – that changed the face of aviation. In 1947, American pilot Chuck Yeager climbed into a bizarre experimental aircraft in an attempt to do the impossible: fly faster than the speed of sound.

BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER (Tuesday 12th, 8pm) is the story of the creation of the X-1 aircraft – from its seemingly impossible goal to its extraordinary accomplishment that made history and launched new generations of X planes. It is also the tale of Yeager’s come-from-behind journey to break the sound barrier and lead a new generation of test
pilots.