The BEST episodes directed by Andrew Thompson
#1 - The Marvellous World of Roald Dahl
BBC Documentaries - Season 2016 - Episode 201
Fighter pilot, inventor, spy - the life of Roald Dahl is often stranger than fiction. From crashing his plane over Africa to hobnobbing in Hollywood and his remarkable encounters with everyone from Walt Disney to President Roosevelt - this is the story of his greatest adventures and how his real-life escapades find expression in his most famous books, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Matilda. Through a vast collection of his letters, writings and archive, the story is told largely in his own words with contributions from his last wife Liccy, daughter Lucy and biographer Donald Sturrock. Long-term collaborator and illustrator Quentin Blake also creates exclusive new drawings for the film which are specially animated to bring Dahl's marvellous world to life.
#2 - Beautiful Equations
BBC Documentaries - Season 2010 - Episode 108
Artist and writer Matt Collings takes the plunge into an alien world of equations. He asks top scientists to help him understand five of the most famous equations in science, talks to Stephen Hawking about his equation for black holes and comes face to face with a particle of anti-matter. Along the way he discovers why Newton was right about those falling apples and how to make sense of E=mc2. As he gets to grips with these equations he wonders whether the concept of artistic beauty has any relevance to the world of physics.
#3 - Inside Animal Minds: Who’s the Smartest? (3)
NOVA - Season 41 - Episode 10
On Inside Animal Minds’ third and final installment, “Who’s the Smartest?”, we ask “What makes an animal smart?”. Many scientists believe the secret lies in relationships. Throughout the animal kingdom, some of the cleverest creatures — including humans — seem to be those who live in complex social groups, like dolphins, elephants and apes. Could the skills required to keep track of friend and foe make animals smarter? To find out, NOVA goes inside the social lives of some of the smartest animals on the planet.
#4 - The Secret Life of Arthur Ransome
BBC Documentaries - Season 2005 - Episode 42
To generations Arthur Ransome's books, including Swallows and Amazons, were an integral part of growing up. But was there a darker side to the author? In this drama-documentary, the enthusiastic Griff Rhys Jones follows a trail that begins in Russia, reveals close links with many leading Bolsheviks, an affair with Trotsky's secretary and previously unreleased KGB documents about Ransome. But was Ransome actually spying for the British secret service all along?