Top Rated Documentary TV Shows - Page 498

Crusade in Europe

1949

Crusade in Europe

1949
8
The Arrow

1997

The Arrow

1997
10
The story of the people building the AVRO Arrow, an advanced jet fighter-interceptor designed to defend Canada's vast territory during the Cold War. Though the jet was an engineering marvel, cost over-runs, U.S. government pressure from the military industrial complex, and the election of the Progressive Conservative Diefenbaker government, stopped the jet just as it was getting off the ground.
People's Century

1995

People's Century

1995
8
People's Century is a television documentary series examining the 20th century. It was a joint production of the BBC in the United Kingdom and PBS member station WGBH Boston in the United States. First shown on BBC in 1995, the 26 parts of one hour deal with the socio-economic, political, and cultural movements that shaped the 20th century. The documentary won an International Emmy Award, among others. A departure from other documentaries that observe history as the actions of great men, People's Century considers the Century from the view of common people. Most persons interviewed were ordinary men and women who closely witnessed various events and they give personal accounts how developments in the Twentieth Century affected their lives. The opening credits depict various images from the century, accompanied with a theme music score by Zbigniew Preisner. A very short introduction of the episode would then follow, often illustrated by a dramatic event that illustrates the episode's particular theme coming to the
Truth or Scare

2001

Truth or Scare

2001
7
Truth or Scare is a television series on the Discovery Kids network. The show aired from October 25, 2001 to January 1, 2003. Each episode was 30 minutes long with commercials. It was hosted by Michelle Trachtenberg in a style similar to Maila Nurmi as horror host "Vampira" and Cassandra Peterson as horror host "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark."
VH1's Legends

1996

VH1's Legends

1996
8
Legends is a music biography television series on VH1. Originally sponsored by AT&T Corporation, this series documents those artists who have made a significant contribution to music history to be profiled on the show. The show goes in-depth into the entire career of the artist, with each episode containing rare concert and music video footage. The initial episodes were narrated by Kris Kristofferson, however other narrators have included Sheryl Crow, Steven Tyler, Ossie Davis, Levon Helm, Henry Rollins and James Justice. Recent episodes have been hosted by William Baldwin. Tina Turner, Elton John, Pink Floyd and John Lennon are the only artists so far to have been profiled on both Legends and Behind The Music.
Spotlight

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Spotlight

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1
Spotlight is the name given to a BBC Northern Ireland weekly current affairs programme. The programme is aired on BBC1 Northern Ireland at 10.35pm on Tuesday evenings, with a repeat on BBC2. It is available to UK viewers outside of Northern Ireland on BBC iPlayer for a week after the programme. The format usually consists of a half hour report presented on a rotating basis by a small number of reporter/presenters. At present these are Brian Hollywood, Stephen Walker, Darragh MacIntyre and Bobby Friedman. Occasionally the programme consists of a studio format with various reports and panel discussions. Spotlight is well known for its hard-hitting investigations and recently won an Royal Television Society award for Mandy McAuley's dog-fighting investigation. It has launched the careers of a number of high-profile broadcasters, including Jeremy Paxman and Gavin Esler.
Night Shift

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Night Shift

0000
6
Night Shift was a late-twentieth-century television series that portrayed people who work the night shift. Night Shift was made by a small independent production company called Addictive TV for the ITV network in the United Kingdom. Each episode of Night Shift lasted only five to ten minutes. The show's original run was from 1992 to 1994, while an additional series was produced in 1998. Several of Night Shift's episodes were filmed at the same location, most notably Gatwick Airport and Victoria Station. The original series featured a highly effective model shot, in which a camera moves across a Monopoly-style map of a city into the title, Night Shift, written as a street name. The shot was produced for a pilot in mid-1992, but utilized in the final shows too. The model was constructed by model-maker Peter Poole, and filmed by Dave Hicks. Despite the slick look, there was no professional film studio involved: just a Brighton garage. A mini-mist smoke machine was used to add depth to the backlit model, which was ab
A Picture of Britain

2005

A Picture of Britain

2005
6
Series in which David Dimbleby journeys around Britain and considers how the landscape has inspired artists through the centuries
Wild America

1982

Wild America

1982
5
Wild America is a documentary television series that focuses on the wild animals and wild lands of North America. By the mid-1970s, Marty Stouffer had put together several full length documentaries. At this time, he approached the programming managers at Public Broadcasting Service about a half-hour-long wildlife show, the first to focus exclusively upon the flora and fauna of North America. PBS signed for the rights to broadcast Marty Stouffer's show Wild America in 1982. The show went on to become one of the most popular aired by PBS, renowned for its unflinching portrayal of nature, as well as its extensive use of film techniques such as slow motion and close-ups. Stouffer earned $135,000 per show from PBS. The show's production ran from 1982 to 1994. The series is no longer on PBS; reruns still air in syndication on commercial television through much of the United States. In 1997, Warner Brothers released a full-length feature film entitled Wild America, which was based loosely on the biographical story of Mar
Survivor Serbia

2008

Survivor Serbia

2008
6
Survivor Srbija is a Serbian version of the Survivor, reality television game show. Its first broadcast was on October 27, 2008. The show is created by Vision Team production company and broadcast by Prva Srpska Televizija. In addition to Serbia, the show is broadcast in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia and Montenegro. So far four seasons have been filmed and broadcast. The show has a set number of contestants stranded on an isolated area for 53 days in the first two seasons and 32 and 37 days in the third and the fourth seasons. The winners received a prize of €100,000. In VIP season, the winner received a prize of €50,000. The show is hosted by Andrija Milošević.
Simply Ming

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Simply Ming

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10
Simply Ming is a television cooking show hosted by chef Ming Tsai, and is produced by WGBH Boston and Ming East-West LLC. The show is distributed by American Public Television.
Jetstream

2008

Jetstream

2008
9
Jetstream is a 2008 documentary television series produced by Paperny Films for the network Discovery Channel Canada. The series totals 8 episodes and premiered on January 8, 2008. The series was narrated by Canadian Actor Kavan Smith. Seven of the eight pilots are graduates of the Royal Military College of Canada: ⁕21810 Capt. Michael "Floater" M.R. Lewis ⁕21955 Capt. Riel "Guns" K. Erickson; ⁕22537 Capt. Yannick "Blow" Jobin; ⁕22542 Capt. Tristan "T-bag" Mckee; ⁕22715 Capt. Timothy "Nail'n" B. Coffin; ⁕22821 Lt. Dave "Tickler" McLeod; ⁕22848 Capt. Shamus "Carney" T. Allen The series was released on DVD in 2008.
Land of the Tiger

1997

Land of the Tiger

1997
8
Land of the Tiger is a BBC nature documentary series exploring the natural history of the Indian subcontinent, first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two in 1997. The production team covered the breadth and depth of India, from the Himalayan mountains in the north to the reef-fringed islands of the Indian Ocean, to capture footage of the country's wild places and charismatic wildlife. Land of the Tiger was co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and the WNET/13 network. It was produced by Mike Birkhead and presented by leading Indian naturalist Valmik Thapar. The series is characterised by scenes of Thapar riding on an elephant in locations across the country. The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's Continents strand. It was preceded by Spirits of the Jaguar in 1996 and followed three years later by Andes to Amazon.
The Extraordinary

1993

The Extraordinary

1993
8
The Extraordinary was an Australian television documentary series that featured stories of the paranormal and supernatural. It ran on the Seven Network from 1993 to 1996. The following year it moved to the Nine Network. If you ever wanted to be spooked by fantastic story-telling and compelling imagery without the horror, then this was your show. The show consisted of 4 -5 stories of ghosts, paranormal activity, urban legends, and unsolved mysteries. From local areas in Australia, to overseas locations, every nook and cranny was covered, including local and international personalities and stars telling their own personal encounters with the phenomenon that would give you goosebumps. The Extraordinary was a successful show, lasting 3 years on Channel 7 before being poached by Channel 9 in 1997, where it ended its run. It was successful enough to be taken up by US broadcasting to be re-dubbed there by US personality Corbin Bernsen.
Country House Rescue

2008

Country House Rescue

2008
9
Country House Rescue is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand and in South Africa. In each episode, an expert visits a struggling country house and tries to turn its fortunes by giving advice and suggestions to the owner/s. The first four series saw Ruth Watson in this role. The fifth series, airing from June 2012, saw Simon Davis take the role. The series premiered in December 2008, and gained audiences of up to 2.7 million on its first run. In March 2009, it was reported that a second series of Country House Rescue featuring Ruth Watson had been commissioned by Channel 4, to be filmed in HD. The second series was originally planned to return for an extended 14 episode run, in early 2010, however 3 episodes were brought forward, and aired during November and December 2009 as a mini-series. The second series of new episodes aired throughout Spring 2010, and the third
Frost/Nixon The Watergate Interview

1977

Frost/Nixon The Watergate Interview

1977
10
The Nixon Interviews were a series of interviews of former United States President Richard Nixon conducted by British journalist David Frost, and produced by John Birt. They were recorded and broadcast on television in four programs in 1977. The interviews became the subject of the play Frost/Nixon, which was later made into a film of the same name; both starred Michael Sheen as Frost and Frank Langella as Nixon.
The Law of the Playground

2006

The Law of the Playground

2006
8
The Law of the Playground is a British television series broadcast on Channel 4 produced by Zeppotron in which various British comedians and celebrities recollect the past times of childhood at school. Throughout the series many different aspects of school life are brought up such as bullies, punishment, games, etc.
The Investigators

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The Investigators

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10
The Investigators is an Irish scientific television series broadcast on RTÉ One. The series examines some of the most interesting projects being worked on by leading Irish scientists across the globe and assesses what potential impact they may have in the future. The selection of projects is diverse, ranging from the identification of a protein which may help to arrest and even reverse the onset of Alzheimer's disease to the design of a camera which can capture an extraterrestrial event that happened billions of years ago. Each programme focuses on a specific area of life such as Ireland in Space, Ageing, Sensors, Climate Change, Crops of the Future and the Nano Revolution. The series airs each Thursday at 23:05.
African American Lives

0000

African American Lives

0000
6
African American Lives is a PBS television miniseries hosted by historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr., focusing on African American genealogical research. The family histories of prominent African Americans are explored using traditional genealogic techniques as well as genetic analysis. Gates has written an associated book, In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past, which was published in early 2009.
James May's Big Ideas

2008

James May's Big Ideas

2008
6
James May's Big Ideas is a three-part British television miniseries in which James May, a journalist and self-acknowledged geek travels the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction, or his big ideas. The series is produced by the BBC and the Open University and began airing at 8pm on Sundays on 28 September 2008. The first episode documents his search for the ultimate form of personal transport, ranging from jetpacks to flying cars. In the second episode, May looks at bionics and robotics and if robots can exceed the boundaries of their programming. The third episode focuses on energy.