The BEST episodes of National Geographic Documentaries season 2010

#1 - 2210: The Collapse?

Season 2010 - Episode 34 - Aired 9/18/2010

In the year 2210, scientists uncover the ruins of a great civilisation – so powerful one could argue it dwarfed anything that came before it. Sifting through the wreckage of cities overtaken by the desert and swallowed up by the sea, they piece together a remarkable story of collapse – the story of what on Earth happened to us. AKA: Doomsday 2210 (UK) Collapse: Based on the Book by Jared Diamond

#2 - Volcanic Ash Chaos: Inside the Eruption

Season 2010 - Episode 22 - Aired 6/18/2010

The devastating eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull in mid-April brought mass disruption to skies over Europe, shutting down European airspace and stranding hundreds of thousands of air passengers around the world. As news crews frantically monitored the ash cloud's progress and reported on the repatriation of tourists and business travellers, a National Geographic Channel film crew was on the ground in Iceland. They witnessed and captured dramatic events unfolding at the scene before, during and after the two eruptions. This exclusive footage will appear in Volcanic Ash Chaos: Inside the Eruption. See never-seen-before footage and experience the dangers faced by the crew as they filmed from the glacier next to the enormous crater spewing fire and ash, with gigantic sonic booms rocking them to the core every 10 minutes. Being trapped in a flood and having to drive into enormous walls of dense ash cloud that affected the team's breathing, are just some of the other challenges encountered during filming. This timely programme features other dramatic events including Coast Guard rescue flights and exclusive eyewitness accounts from the scene. Also see renowned geologists collecting vital data from lava and ash, as well as explaining the science behind the volcano chaos and its global impact, including the disruption in air travel - the biggest since 9/11.

#3 - Stone Age Atlantis

Season 2010 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/13/2010

Melting ice, rising seas - a huge tsunami wave heads for the coast. These are not headlines from today; they are stories from our prehistoric past. In Stone Age times, Northern Europe was a wonderful place to live where people pioneered a new, advanced, culture. But these were also times of frantic climate change when the seas were rising; drowning the land. See the story of a lost world in Stone Age Atlantis.

#4 - Moonshine

Season 2010 - Episode 46 - Aired 11/25/2010

Explore the history of the rebel liquor that sparked a war between bootleggers and the law during prohibition and launched NASCAR as a nationwide sensation. NGC travels to Appalachia to uncover the secrets of this unlawful liquor

#5 - Lost World: Underwater

Season 2010 - Episode 21 - Aired 6/17/2010

Some of the world’s best cave divers have travelled to the Bahamas Islands to plunge into the unique abyss found in blue holes – underwater caves that can go hundreds or even thousands of feet down and feature a maze of passages and tunnels, which act as liquid time capsules. Led by National Geographic emerging explorer and anthropologist Kenny Broad, the team of divers and archaeologists investigate these caves to unlock the mysteries of an ancient Bahamas teeming with life that quickly vanished, leaving the islands now mostly barren. What caused these animals to disappear, and could 800-year-old human skulls provide the answer? Cave-ins, poisonous gasses and potentially deadly effects from pressure of venturing too deep, cave diving is a dangerous sport – a lesson the team learns firsthand after encountering the remains of a diver wearing a 1970s wet suit and flashlight whose visit to one blue hole proved to be his last.

#6 - China's Lost Pyramids

Season 2010 - Episode 28 - Aired 8/10/2010

They tower over some of the most tranquil countryside in rural China. They're giant, man-made mountains that hold the keys to a violent history scarcely imaginable in such peaceful surroundings. These are the ancient pyramids of a bygone era characterised by battles and bloodshed, as warring kingdoms wrangled with each other in a power struggle spanning generations. Today, these huge structures present historians with some of the world's most fascinating and well-preserved examples of ancient tombs. Deep within the pyramids lie the mummies of early China's most important generals, emperors, lords and ladies; people for whom size definitely mattered, with the scale of their final resting place mirroring the magnitude of their status.

#7 - Commando Rescue

Season 2010 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/8/2010

Scott O'Grady's F-16 Fighting Falcon is blown to smithereens over Bosnia. Lucky to be alive, he needs to outmaneuver Serbian ground forces who want one thing only - his head. In Afghanistan, a US Marine accidentally falls out a chopper door and into the arms of heavily armed Al Qaeda terrorists. And in Sierra Leone, British soldiers are captured and exploited as live bartering tools by a gang of drunken guerilla warriors. Will these fallen heroes suffer the ultimate sacrifice? Or can their brothers in arms, risking life and limb, rescue them in time?

#8 - Obama's White House

Season 2010 - Episode 35 - Aired 9/24/2010

Catch a glimpse of presidential life from behind the camera in this intimate and exclusive film. As an inspiration to millions worldwide, President Obama is already a modern-day icon. Meet the man behind the images, as this extraordinary show offers a snapshot of the President's life as you've never seen him before. Working out of the West Wing, office photographer Pete Souza is tasked with creating the official photographic archive of Obama's time in Office, granting him unprecedented access to the President as he goes about his work in the White House and beyond. From official state engagements to light-hearted family moments, this program features a series of Souza's best shots, as well as capturing the unique relationship he shares with the President - a relationship which allows him to shoot Obama off-guard. Whether travelling on Air Force One or hanging out with family dog Bo, Souza never leaves his boss's side, making this a truly comprehensive portrait of the most influential man on the planet.

#9 - Heart of the Amazon

Season 2010 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/23/2010

National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis travels deep into the rain forest to visit the Barasana people and witness a majestic and ancient ritual. The film will be Introduced by Dr. Davis, who will also participate in a discussion after the screening with Dr. Martin von Hildebrand, an ethnologist featured in the film who has advocated in defense of the rights of the Barasana and other indigenous peoples of Amazonia.

#10 - Quest for King Solomon's Mines

Season 2010 - Episode 45 - Aired 11/23/2010

Historians and archaeologists head to a supposedly cursed mountain in south-west Ethiopia, where decades before an English adventurer claimed to have discovered the gold mines of alleged king of Israel, King Solomon.

#11 - The Hunt for Lincoln's Assassin

Season 2010 - Episode 50 - Aired 12/26/2010

After assassinating President Abraham Lincoln, the famous stage actor John Wilkes Booth, a confederate sympathizer, eludes thousands in one of the largest manhunts in U.S. history.

#12 - Inside the State Department

Season 2010 - Episode 44 - Aired 11/9/2010

In a planet full of conflict, America faces challenges like never before. Inside the Department of State follows US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her team of top advisors into some the most embattled regions of the planet. Travel behind the scenes on some of Clintons most crucial overseas missions to date: including trips to Pakistan, Israel, Egypt and Afghanistan. Each mission sheds new light on the machinery & strategy of American diplomacy.

#13 - Weirdest Planets

Season 2010 - Episode 48 - Aired 12/17/2010

With temperatures ranging from 1000 to 2000°C, gravity 15 times stronger than Earth's, and a year that lasts just 5.6 of our days, HAT-P-2b is not a planet you'd want to visit for vacation.

#14 - Peru's Lost Pyramid City

Season 2010 - Episode 36 - Aired 9/27/2010

Five hundred years ago, the last great pyramid-building civilization descended into a world of unimaginable horror. What drove them to extremes of human sacrifice?

#15 - World's Biggest Cave

Season 2010 - Episode 49 - Aired 12/20/2010

In 2009, a team of British cavers investigated a recently uncovered cave in a remote Vietnamese jungle. The Son Doong cave is enormous; can it be larger than the current world-record holder? The explorers traveled for miles through the cave before hitting a 46-foot-high wall. Now, follow the team as they return to Son Doong to finish exploring the cave and climb the wall. Will Son Doong prove to be the worlds biggest cave? And what secrets are undiscovered inside this unique ecosystem?

#16 - My 9/11

Season 2010 - Episode 32 - Aired 9/11/2010

Harrowing personal stories of 9/11, including testimonies from ordinary people caught up in the tragedy and those in power trying to prevent it.

#17 - Saxon Gold: Finding the Hoard

Season 2010 - Episode 47 - Aired 12/9/2010

For the first time ever, see the full magnificent hoard of Saxon treasure unearthed in Staffordshire in 2009. What does it reveal about our past?

#18 - Nazi Supership: Who Sank the Bismarck?

Season 2010 - Episode 58 - Aired 10/25/2010

Almost 70 years after its sinking, the powerful headlights of two high-tech research submersibles illuminate the silhouette of the biggest German battleship ever. The pride of the German Kriegsmarine: Bismarck. In 1941 the Bismarck was sent out to raid and destroy allied supply convoys in the North Atlantic. With resources vital to their nation under threat, the British fleet went after this supposedly unsinkable ship. But who actually sank the steel giant? This high-end, CGI-intensive documentary retraces the first and final voyage of Hitler's dreaded weapon: the Bismarck. The Bismarck was a German battleship and one of the most famous warships of the Second World War. The lead ship of her class, named after the 19th century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Bismarck displaced more than 50,000 tonnes fully loaded and was the largest warship then commissioned. This documentary is telling the story with the last survivors and visits the mangled wreck after sixty years.

#19 - The Twins Who Share A Brain

Season 2010 - Episode 20 - Aired 6/15/2010

Meet Tatiana and Krista Hogan, a set of two-year-old twins conjoined at the head. Like most conjoined twins, they share bone, veins and arteries, and in this sense, they share a brain. But their mother believes that because they share a thalamus, each girl can actually see and feel what the other is doing. Cameras follow these little medical marvels to get an intimate look into their lives. Watch the Hogan family attempt to live as normal a life as possible.

#20 - Into the Lost Crystal Caves

Season 2010 - Episode 39 - Aired 10/10/2010

NGC goes inside one of the greatest natural marvels on the planet - a giant crystal cave described as Superman's fortress, with magnificent crystals up to 36 feet long and weighing 55 tons. A team of experts venture into the cavern, enduring scorching-hot temperatures that could kill a human after just 15 minutes of exposure. They'll push the boundaries of physical limitation to explore a crevasse that could lead to another - and perhaps more spectacular - crystal cave.

#21 - Amish at the Altar

Season 2010 - Episode 43 - Aired 11/8/2010

In an age when online dating and reality TV abound, Amish romance looks anything but modern. Three couples - two Amish and one ex-Amish - share the traditions underlying courtship, engagement and marriage in Amish culture. From Rumspringa, the once-in-a-lifetime experience of a world outside the fold, to an intensive 18-week period of church evaluation that would test any couple's commitment, NGC cameras capture the details as the community prepares for the highly anticipated weddings.

#22 - Inside Google

Season 2010 - Episode 40 - Aired 10/11/2010

A behind the scenes look at Google today. From Google’s offices in China and Russia to the Googleplex (its Silicon Valley headquarters), uncover why this company’s corporate philosophy and attitude is so unique among major companies today.

#23 - Headhunters Of World War II

Season 2010 - Episode 38 - Aired 10/9/2010

#24 - Snakes That Fly

Season 2010 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/2010

It's time for some high-stakes acrobatics in the Indonesian jungle. Gliding tree snakes know how to get the jump on a quick meal. But to catch this flying dragon, the snake will need to be quick indeed.

#25 - Sunken Treasures of the Nile

Season 2010 - Episode 51 - Aired 7/27/2010

Of all the archaeological sites in Egypt that may still yield ancient treasure, perhaps the richest is the Nile River. Enormous boats navigated the river’s perilous waters loaded with monumental items, obelisks and riches for the pharaoh’s royal temples. The question remains … what lost treasures could modern technology reveal at the bottom of the Nile? In this program we join the archaeological search to locate and extract these lost artifacts that could unlock some of the mysteries of Egyptian history. What lost treasures could modern technology reveal at the bottom of the Nile? A team of archaeologists hopes to locate lost artifacts that could unlock some of the mysteries of Ancient Egypt.