Mastermind
For over 20 years, Mastermind has prided itself on setting the most difficult questions of any television quiz and, no matter who takes to the fearsome, black, spotlit chair, the tension is always palpable. Round One gives four contestants one minute to answer as many questions as possible on their chosen specialist subject. Round Two sees each answer questions on general knowledge for a further minute.
Long Way Round
Setting off on motorbikes from London in April 2004, actor Ewan McGregor and his friend and fellow actor Charley Boorman travel through some of the most beautiful, and at times dangerous, terrain the world has to offer. Crossing over into mainland Europe, they ride through France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada before arriving 115 days later at their final destination, New York City, USA.
Africa's Dragon Mountain
The Drakensberg is a mountain range that will haunt the imagination of anyone who stands in its presence. Stretching over a thousand kilometres across Southern Africa, with peaks that plummet some 2000 meters down into its lower valleys, the Drakensberg counts not only as the subcontinent's biggest mountain range, but also its most extreme.
"Drakensberg" translates from Afrikaans to "Dragon Mountain". The documentary film Africa's Dragon Mountains reveals how this mountain takes on a dragon-like personality, alternatively rewarding and decimating the wild animals that fight for survival along its slopes.
Thursday 9 September at 22:30Churchill's Bodyguard
TDuring the twenty-one years Walter Thompson spent in Churchill's service, numerous attempts were made on the great statesman's life. Sinn Fein, Indian separatists, and Hitler all tried and failed. This was due in no small part to Thompson's dedicated and sometimes heroic efforts.
Tracing events from 1890 to 1945, this enthralling documentary series offers a completely new perspective on Churchill as seen through Thompson's eyes – the eyes of the man who many would argue knew him best. Archive footage is punctuated with entries from Thompson's diaries, photograph albums, memorabilia and mementoes, as well as newly shot interviews with Thompson's family members including his son, daughter and niece, to tell the story of a remarkable friendship.
Weekdays from Monday 6 September at 19:30Stalin's Back
Reporter John Sweeney travels more than 5,000 miles through the old Soviet Union from Stalin's birthplace in Georgia to a former labour camp in Russia, to find out whether one of the 20th Century's most notorious mass murderers is really being rehabilitated.
The Making Of Adolf Hitler
The exact circumstances of Hitler's transformation from pathetic drop-out to ruthless politician have remained a mystery. Equally mysterious are the true circumstances of Hitler's vitriolic anti-Semitism, which formed the basis of his rabble-rousing speeches since his first involvement in politics in 1919.
This film casts new light on both these crucial aspects of Hitler‟s early life, and covers the German dictator‟s obscure youth in Vienna and Munich, his traumatic experiences as an army private in the trenches of Flanders, as well as his dubious role in the revolutionary upheaval of post-war Munich, a period he later tried to cover up.
Monday 13 September at 20:30Inside The Mind Of Adolf Hitler
At the height of the Second World War, with the future of the world still hanging in the balance, understanding the enemy's thinking was of supreme importance. The Americans tried to predict how it would all end by getting inside the mind of the one man above everyone else who could determine the final outcome; Adolf Hitler. US military intelligence calculated that knowing what Hitler would do could prove decisive, not only in winning the war but also saving millions of lives.
The top secret psychological profile that the American secret service produced was locked away for decades. It is now declassified and this unique document - the first psychological profile of a world leader drawn up by another nation's secret service - has been revealed.
Monday 6 September at 20:30Emperor Hirohito
Emperor Hirohito was one of the most controversial figures in Japanese history, and despite Japan's remarkable post-war recovery, the Emperor's legacy is still that of an extreme warlord. At the centre of the nation‟s military, political and spiritual life, from Manchuria to Pearl Harbour, Hirohito fought a campaign that cost more than 20 million lives.