The BEST episodes of BBC Documentaries season 2002

#1 - A Very English Genius: How Michael Ventris Cracked Linear B

Season 2002 - Episode 39 - Aired 7/22/2002

On 1 July 1952, a 30-year-old architect called Michael Ventris made a BBC radio broadcast which was to secure his place in archaeological and history books forever. He announced that he'd deciphered Linear B, Europe's earliest known, and previously incomprehensible, writing system. His discovery was to revolutionise our understanding of Western civilisation. It was made all the more remarkable by the fact that Ventris was no more than an amateur enthusiast, a man passionately and often tortuously determined to crack the linguistic code which had puzzled experts, archaeologists and academics for three decades.

#2 - Great Natural Wonders of the World

Season 2002 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/2002

Great Natural Wonders of the World focuses on natural landscapes rather than wildlife. This show spends an hour highlighting some of the greatest visions of the world ever seen. It is arranged by continent and specifically covers the following: * North America - Deserts, canyonlands, Death Valley, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mesas, the Grand Canyon and Limestone Caves * South America - Amazon River, Angel Falls, the Andes and glaciers * Pacific Ocean - Hawaiian volcanos & Coral Atolls * Asia - Mt Fuji, Guilin & the Himalayas * Europe - Alps, Rivers, Ice Caves, the Northern Lights * Africa - Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Rift Valley & the Negev Desert * Australasia - Olgas, Uluru, Deserts, 12 Apostles (before one fell over recently), Kimberleys, Great Barrier Reef, New Zealand's mountains and fjords * Antarctica

#3 - Arthur: King of the Britons

Season 2002 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/31/2002

A documentary, narrated by the late Richard Harris, exploring the roots of Arthurian legend. Historian Geoffrey Ashe is interviewed about the legend and the historical events that inspired it,while Harris (who played Arthur on stage and screen) narrates on location.

#4 - Pyramid

Season 2002 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/2/2002

Dramatised documentary describing how the Great Pyramid of Giza - the only one of the Seven Ancient Wonders to survive to the present day - was built.

#5 - Accidents in Space

Season 2002 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/10/2002

#6 - Moses

Season 2002 - Episode 20 - Aired 12/1/2002

Recognised as a hugely influential prophet in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, Moses outlined a basis for morality which has lasted over 3,000 years. Using the latest scientific evidence and dramatic reconstruction, Jeremy Bowen chronicles the life of the great spiritual leader, finds explanations for some of the miraculous events that were recorded, and assesses his legacy.

#7 - Dan Cruickshank and the Lost Treasure of Kabul

Season 2002 - Episode 44 - Aired 5/4/2002

In the face of war, Dan Cruickshank explores the wonders of a once-great civilisation, discovering monuments to rival the pyramids, treasure that outshines Tutankhamun's and even magical ancient sculptures of naked cavorting women, heroically hidden from the Taliban. Afghanistan stands at the crossroads of western and eastern civilisation, but its brilliance has been clouded by centuries of conflict - from the conquering armies of Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan to occupation by the British and the Russians and finally the rise of the Taliban. Travelling the most land-mined country in the world, dodging rival warlords and gangs of gunmen, Dan reveals for the first time the cultural tragedy of Afghanistan. But as he climbs the terribly scarred cliff face of the destroyed giant Buddhas of Bamiyan, he glimpses symbols of great hope for a lost civilisation.

#8 - Sense and Sensation

Season 2002 - Episode 23 - Aired 8/5/2002

Historian John Brewer explores the rich culture of 18th-century London, and traces the birth of Georgian society.

#9 - The Voynich Mystery

Season 2002 - Episode 24 - Aired 12/9/2002

How the contents of an enigmatic book unearthed in an Italian monastery in 1912 has confounded scientists and code-breakers.

#10 - Somme Journey

Season 2002 - Episode 17 - Aired 6/6/2002

David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party and Sinn Fein's Tom Hartley explore the issue of war and memory as they walk the WWI killing fields of Northern France and Flanders.

#11 - The Angry Brigade

Season 2002 - Episode 28 - Aired 11/20/2002

30 years ago Britain's longest political trial ended at the Old Bailey with 10 year jail sentences for four young revolutionary anarchists. They were members of the Angry Brigade; a clandestine urban guerrilla group who, for a few short years in the early 1970s, went on a bombing spree that brought terror to the heart of the British political establishment. Targets included senior Government ministers, captains of industry and top ranking policeman. The Angry Brigade is a dramatised documentary which reconstructs the key moments and events of the time told through the eyes of one of the main members of the group. The programme explores how these largely middle class students made the journey from hippie idealists to urban terrorists and the police investigation that finally cracked them.

#12 - 50 Places To See Before You Die

Season 2002 - Episode 22 - Aired 11/10/2002

Earlier this year 20,000 members of the public cast their vote on what they saw as the locations everyone should visit at least once. The result is a definitive wishlist of global hotspots. In addition to the top 50, four viewers file a report from their favourite place.

#13 - The Private Lives of Pompeii

Season 2002 - Episode 29 - Aired 9/30/2002

With the possible exception of the pyramids, Pompeii is arguably the foremost archaeological site in the consciousness of a European television audience. So how would you make a new programme about this Roman city that could be termed truly innovative without compromising the integrity of the archaeology? The Private Lives of Pompeii concentrated on the people that lived and worked in Pompeii at the time of its destruction, as depicted in the archaeology of their houses, their tombs and the surviving documents that relate to them. Rather than use a presenter, the programme uses three story-lines plaited together to form a clever multi vocal commentary. A female narrator (voice over) introduces us to the themes and ideas that lie behind the structure of the Roman society of Pompeii, themes which are then played out by actors illustrating the private lives of four key characters. A third commentary endorses what the viewer has seen and heard by relaying evidence through interviews with historians and archaeologists. The drama unfolds in the years between the earthquake of AD62 an the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79, a time, we are told, of uncertainty and change. An intense atmosphere is created through the re-enactments which are staged in the surviving streets and houses of Pompeii itself; thus curiosity about the private individuals elegantly leads us at the same time to the structure of Pompeian society and to many of the town's most important buildings. The digital effects only make their presence fully felt near the end of the programme when they are used to illustrate the work of the Pompeii Forum Project. Digital enhancement is used throughout the programme and is now extremely subtle: for archaeological viewers a clear distinction between the virtual and the real is likely to become an increasingly important issue. This was a complex and intelligent programme which stretched the medium and chivvied the televisually slothful viewer to keep up, while stri

#14 - The Abyss

Season 2002 - Episode 30 - Aired 9/29/2002

Peter Snow presents highlights from today's three deep-sea dives around the world. In 2002 BBC organized three concurrent dives , first in Monterey Bay where unmanned submersible is lowered into underwater canyon which is over mile deep. Second dive is in Grand Cayman where submersible Atlantis will explore life at the spectacular Cayman Wall , Kate Humble reports . During the dive, the crew used bait to attract a deep-water giant, the six-gill shark. Third dive takes place in middle of the Atlantic 1200 miles west of Portugal, which is also deepest of the three dives, divers will descent in Russian submersible Mir from research vessel Keldish and the Mir will dive in the bottom of the ocean in 2300 metres .

#15 - 11 September - One Year On

Season 2002 - Episode 31 - Aired 9/11/2002

News 24's coverage of 11 September.

#16 - SAS - Iranian Embassy Siege

Season 2002 - Episode 32 - Aired 7/25/2002

In the Spring of 1980 heavily armed terrorists force their way into the Iranian Embassy in London. They demand the release of their comrades in Iran or they will kill all the hostages. After one of the hostages is executed by the terrorists, Margaret Thatcher ordered the SAS, Britain's elite counter terrorist unit to storm the building. Millions watched stunned, as live on air, the assault took place.

#17 - A Very English Genius

Season 2002 - Episode 33 - Aired 7/22/2002

"A Very English Genius" is a documentary telling the story of how Michael Ventris became obsessed with the quest of cracking the earliest known writing system, Linear B, which originated in Greece. The documentary begins with his introduction to the ancient script, on a school trip to a museam, continues through his endeavours to crack the language, and ends with his unexplained death, providing various theories to what exactly caused his final demise.

#18 - Walking with Giant Killers

Season 2002 - Episode 34 - Aired 1/4/2002

Danny Baker and Danny Kelly take a nostalgic look back at some dramatic encounters between footballing Davids and Goliaths, focusing on those FA Cup matches in which, confounding all the odds, the underdogs prevailed.

#19 - Turner: The Man Who Painted Britain

Season 2002 - Episode 37 - Aired 4/7/2002

While Joseph Mallord William Turner is considered by many to be Britain's greatest landscape painter, his private life reveals a man of extremes and contradictions. This docudrama explores the extraordinary story of a brilliant self-made man.

#20 - Vivaldi Unmasked

Season 2002 - Episode 41 - Aired 7/17/2002

Conductor Charles Hazlewood explores the life of composer Antonio Vivaldi, examining the development of his music and his most famous work, The Four Seasons. Having mastered the violin and been hailed a child prodigy, the ordained priest and teacher went on to court scandal by embarking on a passionate affair with a much younger woman, and ended his life penniless and far from home.

#21 - Falklands War Stories: The Correspondent

Season 2002 - Episode 42 - Aired 5/22/2002

Brian Hanrahan reminisces about his experiences while covering the Falklands War in 1982.

#22 - The Falklands Play Row

Season 2002 - Episode 43 - Aired 4/10/2002

In 1987, the BBC commissioned a play to mark the fifth anniversary of the Falklands conflict. But the play was not shown until 2002. This documentary examines the political furore surrounding the decision not to show it and talks to the main players in the drama.

#23 - The Cult of Kahlo

Season 2002 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/31/2002

Frida Kahlo is now the most successful Latin American artist that the world has ever seen. However, when she died in 1954 she was almost unknown. Tim Niel's film explores the life and afterlife of the iconic painter and includes interviews with Frida's friends and family, Tracey Emin and Salma Hayek, who plays Kalho in a new feature film.

#24 - Life on Air: David Attenborough's 50 Years in Television

Season 2002 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/20/2002

Michael Palin presents a profile of the television career of David Attenborough, from controller of BBC Two to his wildlife programmes such as Life on Earth and The Blue Planet.

#25 - The Boy Can't Help It

Season 2002 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/27/2002

A documentary about Tourettes sufferer John Davidson. This is a follow-up to the 1989 TV documentary John's Not Mad focusing on his present circumstances as an adult with Tourettes and the impact the earlier documentary had on his life. The film also follows an 8 year old who has been diagnosed with Tourettes.