This series chronicles the history of New York City from its beginnings in 1609 as a Dutch trading post, through the depression, onto the turbulent years of change in the following decades after WWII, to its present day status as one of the most important and influencial cities in the world.

Contemporary Americans and Britons spend five months on an isolated stretch of the Maine coast recreating the life of American colonists in the year 1628. The modern colonists struggle to create a functioning and profitable colony using only the tools and technology of that era. Extensive research went into recreating this 17th-century environment in which the colonists negotiate personal and communal challenges as they deal with the demoralizing...

From 1905 to 1930, Paris was the magnetic center for radical innovation and experiment, the Mecca for creative talents. On-camera, dramatic and historic moments are recalled by participants in these legendary events e.g. Marc Chagall, Igor Stravinsky, Jean Cocteau, Aaron Copland, and many more. Traces who came to Paris and why, whom they met, what they made there, and how being in Paris transformed them and their work.

"A fascinating look at the grand and grueling British class system of the early 1900s. Another adventure in placing contemporary people into the lifestyle of a previous historical era."

A look at the history and legends of ancient Ireland. Begins in 2000 B.C., when Stone Age farmers built some of the largest and most spectacular Neolithic monuments in Europe, and continues through 1167 A.D, when the Norman invasion placed Ireland under English control.

One modern family takes on the challenge of domestic life on Britain's home front in 1940s house, a re-creation of a World War II household. This time-travel experiment covers the period from the outbreak of war in 1939 to Victory Day in 1945, compressing the events of six wartime years into two months. Though the military threat is metaphorical, the privations are real and the pressures create tensions nonexistent in modern society.

Filmed on location at many places actually frequented by the real persons portrayed and featuring a script written from primary sources, this documentary tells the life story of American author Louisa May Alcott, chronicling her efforts to rescue her family from poverty and find wealth, fame, and happiness for herself. Includes animations and commentary from Alcott scholars, novelist Geraldine Brooks, and the "literary sleuths" who uncovered Alcott's...

Traces the evolution of cats from their beginnings on the Asian continent to their introduction into the Americas, taking an in-depth look at what makes the family of felines unique and the evolutionary tricks and adaptions that truly make a cat, a cat.

This production of Shakespeare's masterpiece from Britain's renowned Royal Shakespeare Company was filmed on location rather than in the theatre. No recent stage production in Britain has attracted the excitement and nearly unanimous critical praise as this Hamlet. Dynamic, exciting, and contemporary, it breathes new life into Shakespeare's greatest play.

The life and legacy of Julia Child is remembered and celebrated in this special program. The film tells two love stories: one between Julia and Paul Child, the other between Julia and French food. It includes photos never before seen.