Timewatch - Season 27 / Year 2008

Episodes

Year 2008Episode 160 min

Viking Voyage

In July 2007, 61 men and women set off on an extraordinary voyage to sail the world's largest reconstructed Viking ship from Denmark to Ireland. This film follows their seven-week journey and reveals the emotional and physical challenges the crew face as they cope with having less than a square metre each in which to work, live, eat, and sleep - with no shelter from the weather. In their efforts to sail like the Vikings of old, the crew are pushed to the limit when they encounter larger waves and stronger winds than they've ever faced before. NEW SEASON 1/6.

Jan 5, 2008

Year 2008Episode 260 min

Bloody Omaha

Researchers and historians are still arguing about why Omaha Beach was the hardest beach to capture in the D-day landings. Presenter Richard Hammond analyses the latest theories with Dr. Simon Trew of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

Jan 6, 2008

Year 2008Episode 360 min

Stonehenge: The Healing Stones

An investigation into a radical theory that Stonehenge, far from being a place of burial as is commonly assumed, was in fact a place of healing - a Bronze Age Lourdes. The investigation takes in forensictesting of bones excavated over the past decades and hard-won permission for the first dig in 50 years at the Henge, watched live online by millions of viewers around the world. Does the theory of the healing stones bear up to modern-day forensic science?

Sep 27, 2008

Year 2008Episode 860 min

Britain's Forgotten Floods

The Asian tsunami of 2004 was a devastating natural disaster of epic proportions. Many believe a huge wave on this scale couldn't hit Europe - are they wrong? In 1607, an enormous flood engulfed Somerset and Monmouthshire claiming a huge number of lives. Professors Simon Haslett and Ted Bryant believe it was a British tsunami. Their work is controversial, with a governmental report concluding that the risk of a tsunami in Britain is small. Historian, scientist, and radio presenter Vanessa Collingridge weighs up the evidence. 2/6.

Oct 4, 2008

Year 2008Episode 960 min

The Boxer Rebellion

Peking, June 1900: The "Society of Right and Harmonious Fists", known by Europeans as the Boxers, entrapped more than 3,000 foreigners and Chinese Christians in the diplomatic quarter, in a bid to free China from the influence of the "Western devils". Ended by a Western relief army after 55 days, the siege helped bring down the imperial monarchy and precipitated a century of destruction, revolution, and ultimate renewal. 3/6.

Oct 11, 2008

Year 2008Episode 1060 min

Young Victoria

Kate Williams tells the story of how an unassuming little girl rose to be the most powerful woman in the world. At her birth few believed Princess Victoria would ascend the throne, but a number of untimelydeaths and the failure of her uncles to father any children meant that Victoria became heiress to the British throne. The battle between her and her mother the Duchess of Kent, however, was to become a fierce maternal struggle, as the duchess schemed to share in the power and riches that would one day be Victoria's.

Oct 18, 2008

Year 2008Episode 1160 min

The Last Day of World War One

Michael Palin tells the story of how the First World War ended on 11th November 1918 and reveals the shocking truth that soldiers continued to be killed in battle for many hours after the armistice had beensigned. Recounting the events of the days and hours leading up to that last morning, Palin tells the personal stories of the last soldiers to die as the minutes and seconds ticked away to the 11 o'clock ceasefire.

Nov 1, 2008