Timewatch

1. S01E01Episode 1September 29, 1982—WINDSORS' WAR: The continuing controversy surrounding the war-time role of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Victims of a bad press, they rem
2. S01E02Episode 2October 27, 1982—THE CHINA OF THE MANCHU EMPERORS and the signing of the treaties which gave Britain Hong Kong. Why do the Chinese regard these treaties as u
3. S01E03Episode 3November 24, 1982—'IF THE SPANISH ARMADA HAD LANDED ...' What would have happened if on Monday 7 August 1558 a Spanish Army had marched on London from the inv
4. S01E04Episode 4December 22, 1982—Film 1: Sir Thomas More, the Tudor statesman who lost his head on the scaffold in 1535, was made a saint in 1937; now the heroic reputation

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

1. S02E01Episode 1January 26, 1983—HOW DO YOU DEMOCRATISE A NAZI? On the 50th anniversary of Hitler's elevation to the chancellorship of the Third Reich Simon Winchester repor
2. S02E02Episode 2February 23, 1983—In a new edition of THE DIARY OF SAMUEL PEPYS, editor Robert Latham has uncovered previously unknown details of Pepys's life. THE WEEDERS:
3. S02E03Episode 3March 30, 1983—THE PEACE MOVEMENT IN THE 1930s AND TODAY: Fifty years ago, British politics was dominated by campaigns for peace. What are the parallels wi
4. S02E04Episode 4April 27, 1983—THE LOVED AND HATED KING: Richard III - hunchback murderer of the princes in the Tower, or victim of Tudor propaganda? On the 500th annivers
5. S02E05Episode 5June 1, 1983—FRANCE AND THE NAZIS: Following the arrest of Klaus Barbie, butcher of Lyon, memories of Nazi collaboration have again returned to haunt a g
6. S02E06Episode 6June 29, 1983—BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE: During the Falklands war, the Argentinians made great capital of the last time they'd fought the British - and wo
7. S02E07Episode 7July 27, 1983—SHADOW OF THE GALLOWS: After Parliament's vote on hanging, an investigation into the history of Tyburn and the mass public executions in the
8. S02E08Special: Albert, Prince ConsortSeptember 7, 1983—A special programme devoted to the life and historical reputation of Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria. From Osborne House on the Isl
9. S02E09Episode 9October 12, 1983—THE BATTLE FOR MARTIN LUTHER: Martin Luther, the German priest who split the Catholic church and began the Reformation, was born 500 years a
10. S02E10Episode 10November 1, 1983—BEFORE THE NATIONAL HEALTH: A remarkable newly discovered archive of silent film reveals hospital life in the 1920s and 30s. How did people

Season 2 ranked & reviewed

1. S03E01The Klagenfurt Affair / The Black DeathJanuary 3, 1984—In May 1945, British soldiers near the Austrian border town of Klagenfurt handed over 26,000 Yugoslav anti-Communist refugees to Tito's Comm
2. S03E02Episode 2January 11, 1984—PREVENTING THE THIRD WORLD WAR: 1984 opens amid the greatest fears of international tension and nuclear holocaust since the Cold War. Lord B
3. S03E03Episode 3January 31, 1984—THE LAST FÜHRER: Among the Nazi war leaders tried at Nuremberg, Hitler's successor Admiral Doenitz received the lightest sentence of all. No
4. S03E04Episode 4March 6, 1984—THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE: A meeting with the man who met the men who charged with the Light Brigade. Now aged 97, he has devoted his
5. S03E05Episode 5April 3, 1984—SEX AND THE VICTORIANS: Did Victorian wives really 'lie back and think of England'? New research suggests they enjoyed a far more liberated
6. S03E06Episode 6May 1, 1984—THE BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION: In 1924, 28 million people visited the last of the great imperial exhibitions at Wembley - now it is almost f
7. S03E07The Conquest and the ConquerorMay 8, 1984—THE CASE FOR KING WILLIAM: Why did William of Normandy believe the Crown of England was his right? What do we know of the barons who stamped
8. S03E08Episode 8June 6, 1984—Two names that shaped Britain in two World Wars. SECRETS OF THE KAISER: The private papers of Germany's last Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, un
9. S03E09Episode 9July 10, 1984—SIR WALTER RALEIGH: In North Carolina they are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the first settlement in North America. Colonisation of t
10. S03E10Episode 10August 7, 1984—ELECTION 1784: It was the first modern General Election. Two parties, two national leaders - the King versus Parliament. With a computer ana
11. S03E11Episode 11September 5, 1984—THE FIRST FOOTBALL HOOLIGANS: How new is soccer violence? Christopher Andrew uncovers new evidence that pitch invasions, mob riots and attac
12. S03E12Episode 12October 3, 1984—ABRAHAM LINCOLN: How true are historical novels? Gore Vidal's 'Lincoln' draws the political battlefield in Washington during the American Ci
13. S03E13Episode 13November 7, 1984—THE LAST UPRISING: In 1839, 7,000 Welsh miners and ironworkers marched on Newport to demand their democratic rights. The result was the last
14. S03E14Episode 14December 5, 1984—NELSON: Heroes inevitably suffer at the hands of those who worship them, few more so than one of the most popular of all, Nelson. Since his

Season 3 ranked & reviewed

1. S04E01Episode 1January 9, 1985—REAGAN'S COWBOYS: Why have successive presidents celebrated the cowboy as all-American hero? THE AGE OF CHIVALRY IS DEAD: But did it ever f
2. S04E02Episode 2January 30, 1985—TAFF VALE: In 1900 the railway workers of Taff Vale embarked on a strike which has political implications to this day. Timewatch examines th
3. S04E03Special: The Age of Charles IIFebruary 6, 1985—'Let not poor Nellie starve.' With those words Charles II, the 'Merry Monarch', died 300 years ago. Of all British sovereigns, this womanisi
4. S04E04Episode 4March 6, 1985—CHURCHILL AND ROOSEVELT exchanged 2,000 letters during the Second World War. Collected for the first time, they reveal the tensions behind t
5. S04E05Episode 5April 3, 1985—THE UNUSED WEAPON: By 1945 the Allies and the Nazis had stockpiled five times more chemical weapons than had been used throughout the First
6. S04E06The Battle for BerlinMay 8, 1985—In April 1945, British and American troops were sweeping across Western Germany. Charles Wheeler was among them. They stopped 50 miles short
7. S04E07Aspects of WarOctober 10, 1985—This month's programme comes from the centre of Oxford where Peter France introduces three stories which have their roots deep in the confus
8. S04E08Elements of JusticeNovember 7, 1985—SUMMER OF THE HANGING JUDGE: An examination of the life and times of Judge George Jeffreys 300 years after he presided over the infamous Blo
9. S04E09Magic CirclesDecember 5, 1985—Film 1: As the world waits for Halley's Comet, a recently discovered diary written by a 17th-century merchant from Rye in Sussex reveals the
10. S04E97Episode 97—
11. S04E98Episode 98—
12. S04E99Episode 99—

Season 4 ranked & reviewed

1. S05E01Matter of RecordJanuary 1, 1986—Three films which reflect the way official records are preserved for future generations. Film 1: Christopher Andrew examines the extraordin
2. S05E02Episode 2February 6, 1986—Two stories shed new light on the life and times of Henry Tudor, who took the throne of England from Richard III 500 years ago. Film 1: The
3. S05E03The Master BuildersMarch 6, 1986—Three films presented from the British Museum reveal how visionaries and others dealt with the 'outsider' as they set out to perfect a socie
4. S05E04Episode 4April 3, 1986—Three stories presented from the Virago bookshop in Covent Garden about the lives of women in worlds dominated by men. THE NINE DAY QUEEN:
5. S05E05Special: All the King's MenMay 1, 1986—In January 1943 lone British agent Henri Dericourt was dropped over occupied France. His mission was to organise the reception and departure
6. S05E06The Road to WarJune 8, 1986—In 1936 'The Road to War' used newsreel to try to alert the American people to the mounting horror of war in China, Ethiopia, Italy, Germany
7. S05E07The Price of the PastOctober 9, 1986—Peter France introduces three films exploring the backgrounds of historic items recently auctioned and the motivations of the bidders: - A
8. S05E08A Medieval AffairNovember 11, 1986—The Domesday Book was completed 900 years ago, but it says little about the daily worries and concerns of the people whose land and animals
9. S05E09The Human FactorDecember 4, 1986—Film 1: How a Bulgarian peasant farmer stumbled across the largest Thracian treasure ever discovered - more than 160 silver bowls and jugs,
10. S05E97Episode 97—

Season 5 ranked & reviewed

1. S06E01Codes of ConductJanuary 15, 1987—Peter France presents three films which reflect the extent to which codes of 'honour', allegiance' and 'behaviour' have had their effect on
2. S06E02Faces of CromwellFebruary 12, 1987—Views of Oliver Cromwell vary as much today as when Parliament asked him to become King in 1657: a tyrant, a repressed religious bigot who m
3. S06E03Symptoms of an AgeApril 2, 1987—Two stories showing how previous generations have dealt with the problems of pollution and disease: DEVONSHIRE COLIC: In Georgian times, a
4. S06E04Fateful CenturyApril 30, 1987—Mary Queen of Scots has come down to us as a tragic heroine - but what kind of respect does she command as a 16th-century ruler? Anne Boleyn
5. S06E05Times of ChangeJune 25, 1987—1: The last attempt by central government to impose educational benchmarks on the majority of British schools. 2: Disinherited Londoners re
6. S06E06Affairs of StateSeptember 16, 1987—Christopher Andrew and Gabriel Ronay investigate two political mysteries. THE ZINOVIEV LETTER led to the defeat of the first Labour Governm
7. S06E07Images of a RevolutionOctober 14, 1987—What really happened in Russia in October 1917? How far can we rely on the vivid films from the period to give us a true picture of the Revo
8. S06E08The Art of ChivalryNovember 11, 1987—Two films examine the reality behind the ideal. When MANFRED VON RICHTHOFEN died in 1918 he had become a figure of myth; a knight of the ai
9. S06E09Judgment in JerusalemDecember 9, 1987—Explores the trial of Nazi officer Adolph Eichmann through a controversial book, 'Eichmann in Jerusalem' by Hannah Arendt. Many Jews read he
10. S06E97Episode 97—
11. S06E98Episode 98—
12. S06E102Episode 102—

Season 6 ranked & reviewed

1. S07E01Evidence of NeglectJanuary 6, 1988—Three films examine the ways our historical record is under attack. In fireproof vaults, millions of feet of film shot on nitrate stock in t
2. S07E02Wars of the WordFebruary 3, 1988—The control of national television is seen by regimes the world over as a necessary adjunct to their survival today. Peter France presents t
3. S07E03The Man in the Iron MaskMarch 2, 1988—Henry Lincoln investigates the story of the 'Man in the Iron Mask' and - using evidence which only came to light last year - separates fact
4. S07E04The Hunger WinterMarch 30, 1988—In September 1944, in retaliation for Dutch support of the Arnhem landings, the Nazis cut off all food supplies to the population of western
5. S07E05Dishonour and DeathJune 1, 1988—Christopher Andrew presents two stories from the darker and more secret side of British history over the past 150 years. THE DIARY OF A VER
6. S07E06Verdict on the ShroudJuly 27, 1988—How old is the Shroud of Turin? To millions of believers it's the burial cloth of Jesus, to sceptics it's a clever medieval fake. Recently t
7. S07E07Shadow of the RipperSeptember 7, 1988 5.0Bizarre theories have surrounded the unexplained killings in Whitechapel since they hit the headlines in 1888. This film dispels the grisly
8. S07E08A Woman's StoryOctober 5, 1988—One hundred years after the matchgirls strike, this dramatised documentary looks at the life of Annie Besant, strike leader, pioneering 19th
9. S07E09Visions of a Conqueror: The Glorious RevolutionNovember 9, 1988—Peter France examines the Glorious Revolution of 1688 from the perspective of William of Orange, unearthing the real motives behind his inva
10. S07E10Bukharin and the TerrorDecember 7, 1988—Fifty years ago, Nikolai Bukharin, Lenin's right-hand man and favourite of the Bolsheviks, was shot by Stalin's henchmen after the last of t
11. S07E95Episode 95—
12. S07E97Episode 97—

Season 7 ranked & reviewed

1. S08E01Light in the DarkJanuary 11, 1989—During the Nazi occupation of eastern Poland, a small group of Jews in the city of Lvov tried to save themselves from the death camps by hid
2. S08E02An Age of EmpireFebruary 8, 1989—What effect did Charlie Chaplin have on the sale of tea? What first caused the sudden and surprising popularity of tennis and golf? And to w
3. S08E03Sacrifice at Pearl HarborApril 5, 1989—For nearly 50 years the world has been led to believe President Roosevelt's statement that the attack was a total surprise and completely un
4. S08E04Playing with HistoryMay 3, 1989—Two stories reflect the contribution made to history by non-professionals. BRITISH AND GUARANTEED: A look at those who re-create their chil
5. S08E05WitnessesMay 31, 1989—Two eyewitness accounts of the past - 500 years apart. The 15th-century letters of Margaret Paston push aside people's misconceptions about
6. S08E06The Night of the Long KnivesJuly 27, 1989—In July 1962, Harold Macmillan sacked a third of his Cabinet, including Chancellor of the Exchequer and some of his oldest political friends
7. S08E07Summer of the BombAugust 9, 1989—Did the atomic bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki really shorten the war and save Allied lives? Based on American archive records, th
8. S08E08The Land of Lost ContentSeptember 6, 1989—England's land was green but never pleasant. So why do villages and fields conjure up a happy, wholesome past? This film unravels the ironic
9. S08E09TrotskyOctober 4, 1989—Leon Trotsky was one of the architects of the Russian Revolution and creator of the Red Army. Brilliant and eloquent, and expected to succee
10. S08E10Fascist Legacy: 1: A Promise FulfilledNovember 1, 1989—During the Second World War, Italian forces in Yugoslavia murdered hundreds of thousands of civilians. Historians have now exposed the start
11. S08E11Fascist Legacy: 2: A Pledge BetrayedNovember 8, 1989—At the end of the Second World War, conclusive evidence of war crimes was presented against more than 1,200 high-ranking Italian Fascists. Y

Season 8 ranked & reviewed

1. S09E01An Edge of ConspiracyJanuary 17, 1990—Was the last prisoner of Spandau Prison in Berlin really Rudolf Hess, one time deputy to Adolf Hitler, or a doppelganger put in his place by
2. S09E02Napoleon's Last BattleFebruary 21, 1990—Timewatch explores the myth of the man who had a vision of a united Europe 175 years ago.
3. S09E03Hungary: The End of SilenceMarch 21, 1990—The Communist party of Hungary has been forced to surrender its monopoly on truth, but it still controls access to the official archives. An
4. S09E04Accounts of a Forgotten ArmySeptember 5, 1990—In 1945 the German State and its army disappeared. Recently, harrowing tales from Germans who were prisoners in American camps at that time
5. S09E05Helping the Police with Their EnquiriesSeptember 19, 1990—In the USA it is becoming standard practice for police to call in archaeologists and anthropologists with their skills at excavation and bon
6. S09E06The Sipan AffairOctober 3, 1990—In January 1987 a band of grave robbers broke into a royal tomb at Sipan in northern Peru. The treasure they plundered was worth millions. W
7. S09E07I Don't Want to Be Remembered As a ChairOctober 17, 1990—On the shore of Sabbathday Lake in Maine lives a religious community of nine men and women. They are the last practising Shakers - members o
8. S09E08All the King's JewsOctober 31, 1990—Seven hundred years ago tomorrow - on 1 November 1290 - the Jews were expelled from England. Christopher Andrew unfolds the extraordinary st
9. S09E09A War Far from HomeNovember 14, 1990—In 1914-15 138,000 Indians fought on the Western Front. More than a quarter were casualties. We know what the ordinary soldier felt about th
10. S09E10One of the Reasons WhyNovember 28, 1990—Charles Wheeler tells how the colonial policy of the post-war Labour government led to the start of a 30-year war in Vietnam.
11. S09E11White Man's Grave, Black Man's GraveDecember 12, 1990—On January 23 1915, black insurgents broke into a house on the biggest plantation in British colonial Nyasaland. The rebels killed the white
12. S09E50Episode 50—
13. S09E94Episode 94—

Season 9 ranked & reviewed

1. S10E01Savagery and the American Indian: 1: WildernessJanuary 23, 1991—Historians and archaeologists have started to reassess some of the ingrained myths of American history. American Indians lived in sophistica
2. S10E02Savagery and the American Indian: 2: CivilisationJanuary 30, 1991—Every year the Sioux nation of South Dakota pays homage to more than 300 unarmed Indians killed by US troops on 29 December 1890. For the su
3. S10E03The Man Who Made the SupergunFebruary 13, 1991—The assassination a year ago of Dr Gerald Bull prevented Saddam Hussein from acquiring a 'supergun'. Bull designed the world's best howitzer
4. S10E04Reluctant ComradeFebruary 27, 1991—In 1934, Robert Robinson, a young black car worker from Detroit, was blacklisted by America after renewing a short-term contract from the Ru
5. S10E05The Transmission of Roger BaconMarch 13, 1991—A death ray to combat the Antichrist; the effectiveness of astrology; the bizarre sexual practices of the Brahmins; and the impossibility of
6. S10E06Palestine: The First IntifadaMarch 27, 1991—For the last three years Palestinians have been involved in an Intifada against the Israeli occupation of their homeland; 50 years ago the B
7. S10E07A Cold WarApril 10, 1991—In 1945 Britain, America and the USSR were allies against Hitler; less than a year later Winston Churchill condemned Soviet expansionism. Wi
8. S10E08Beside Franco in SpainSeptember 18, 1991—The story of how Britain abandoned Spain's democratically elected government during the Spanish Civil War of 1936 and gave clandestine suppo
9. S10E09Charles Darwin - Devil's ChaplainOctober 2, 1991—Charles Darwin lived in fear of disgrace because of his views. He believed that humans were just a better sort of ape, that we evolved from
10. S10E10The Columbus ConspiracyOctober 16, 1991—Was Columbus really the first to discover America? Five hundred years ago three ships sailed from Spain on the most famous voyage in history
11. S10E11Harvests of Iron: 1: The Watch on the SommeOctober 30, 1991—In the first of two programmes about the First World War, German writer Ludwig Harig makes a pilgrimage to the Somme, hoping to understand w
12. S10E12Harvests of Iron: 2: The Theatre of OperationsNovember 6, 1991—The letters between military surgeon Georges Duhamel and his wife Blanche lay forgotten in a family attic for 75 years. Recently rediscovere
13. S10E13Suffer the ChildrenNovember 20, 1991—In the 1830s a pioneering social investigation into child labour uncovered an appalling picture of deprivation, poverty and remorseless phys
14. S10E14The Spoils of WarDecember 18, 1991—During the Second World War, the Nazis took many art treasures for "care and safe-keeping", including the priceless collection of French Imp
15. S10E98Episode 98—
16. S10E99Episode 99—
17. S10E100Episode 100—
18. S10E120Episode 120—
19. S10E130Episode 130—
20. S10E140Episode 140—
21. S10E220Episode 220—

Season 10 ranked & reviewed

1. S11E01Battle of the StylesJanuary 15, 1992—In October 1834 the Houses of Parliament burned down. Which architectural style would best express Victorian values? Architects, politicians
2. S11E02KwaiJanuary 29, 1992—Tells the full story of the "Death Railway", made famous by the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai. In just 15 months, 26,000 allied PoW
3. S11E03Tito: 1: Churchill's Man?February 26, 1992—In late 1943 Winston Churchill made what he would later describe as one of the biggest mistakes of the war. On the advice of his special env
4. S11E04Tito: 2: His Own ManMarch 4, 1992—When Marshal Tito imposed a communist dictatorship on Yugoslavia in 1945, the western allies regretted their support for the wartime resista
5. S11E05Woolly Al Walks the Kitty BackMarch 11, 1992—Until now, the three-man Argentine junta which led the invasion of the Falkland Islands has kept its secrets. Tonight, for the first time, a
6. S11E06The Story of Elisabeth Nietzsche: 1: Forgotten FatherlandApril 1, 1992—In Paraguay the blond, blue-eyed people of New Germany speak the same Saxon as their ancestors did when they arrived there more than 100 yea
7. S11E07The Story of Elisabeth Nietzsche: 2: Mother of the FatherlandApril 8, 1992—In 1889, when her Aryan colony in Paraguay began to fail, Elisabeth Nietzsche returned to Germany to look after her dying brother. Over the
8. S11E08SS-3: The Assassination of Reinhard HeydrichJune 3, 1992—On Wednesday 27 May 1942, two assassins waited for a German staff car to round a hairpin bend in a suburb of Prague. Their target was SS Obe
9. S11E09Gladio: 1: The RingmastersJune 10, 1992—For 40 years the Gladio - a secret network of former Nazis originally tasked with resisting the communist threat in occupied territories at
10. S11E10Gladio: 2: The PuppeteersJune 17, 1992—In August 1980, the left-wing Red Brigades were blamed for the bombing of a Bologna, Italy, railway station that resulted in 86 dead and sco
11. S11E11Gladio: 3: The Foot SoldiersJune 24, 1992—Examines whether Italian Special Forces were involved in the kidnapping and assassination of Italian prime minister Aldo Moro, who supported
12. S11E12The Un-Americans: 1: Five Minutes to MidnightSeptember 2, 1992—At the dawn of the Cold War, both communists and anti-communists in America thought the world was on the brink. This special three-part seri
13. S11E13The Un-Americans: 2: No Place to HideSeptember 9, 1992—Mention McCarthyism and most people think of the Hollywood blacklist. In fact, tens of thousands of ordinary people's lives were destroyed b
14. S11E14The Un-Americans: 3: To Hell with TruthSeptember 16, 1992—Contrasts the fame and fortune of HUAC witness Harvey Matusow, whose lies went unquestioned, with the experiences of those who refused to co
15. S11E15A Diplomat in Japan: 1: A Clash of CulturesSeptember 23, 1992—A documentary drama based on the memoirs of English diplomat Ernest Satow. Arriving in Japan at a time of political upheaval in the 1860s, S
16. S11E16A Diplomat In Japan: 2: Witness to a RevolutionSeptember 30, 1992—Satow's unique understanding of the forces struggling for supremacy in Japan enabled him to have a direct influence on the events leading to
17. S11E17Special: The Cuban Missile Crisis: 1: Defying Uncle SamOctober 7, 1992—30 years ago, American reaction against the Cuban Revolution led the world to the brink of nuclear war. Recounting the various US-inspired a
18. S11E18Special: The Cuban Missile Crisis: 2: Eyeball to EyeballOctober 14, 1992—October 1962: The US naval blockade, the shooting down of a US spy plane, and the Soviet preparations for a nuclear response to a US invasio
19. S11E19Sold Down the RiverOctober 21, 1992—When white men fell out in 1861, Black Americans gained a measure of freedom. But by 1915, 50 years after the end of the Civil War, blacks i
20. S11E20Roger Casement - Heart of DarknessOctober 28, 1992—A personal account by actor Kenneth Griffith of the rise and fall of Irish nationalist hero Roger Casement. Knighted by the British for his

Season 11 ranked & reviewed

1. S12E01Allied to the MafiaJanuary 13, 1993—The extraordinary story of one of the war's most secret alliances - between the US Naval Intelligence and the Mafia. Denied for 50 years, th
2. S12E02The Sparks That Lit the BonfireJanuary 27, 1993—Examines the origins of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and reveals startling new evidence of the Irish government's crucial role in the em
3. S12E03The Stolen ChildFebruary 10, 1993—During the Second World War the Nazis snatched 200,000 Aryan-looking Polish children from their mothers to replenish the "master race" back
4. S12E04The Secret File on J. Edgar HooverFebruary 24, 1993—A new profile of the man who was director of the FBI for nearly 50 years. This investigation of Hoover's private life reveals that top gangs
5. S12E05The Pill: Prescription for RevolutionMarch 10, 1993—Described as "the greatest invention since the wheel" by novelist Angela Carter, the contraceptive pill played a crucial role in the sexual
6. S12E06Buffalo BillMarch 24, 1993—A new look at the legend of William F Cody. From 1883 to 1916, millions of people throughout the world thrilled to the adventures of Buffalo
7. S12E07Special: Battle of the BombersApril 7, 1993—Fifty years ago Bomber Command launched a massive campaign against Nazi Germany - the Battle of the Ruhr. In this special edition Jonathan D
8. S12E08On Behalf of the State: Memories of HangingJune 2, 1993—On 23rd August, 1964, the last person in Britain was hanged. To those involved in it, the process of judicial execution was a 'most secret b
9. S12E09True Story of the Roman ArenaSeptember 15, 1993—Julius Caesar courted popular support with spectacular displays of gladiatorial combat. But new archaeological research explains what really
10. S12E10The Mother of All BattlesSeptember 29, 1993—It cost more lives than the British Army lost in the entire Second World War. The Battle of Kursk, south of Moscow, was fought 50 years ago.
11. S12E11Hunger Strike: A Hidden HistoryOctober 13, 1993—On 5 May 1981, Bobby Sands died on hunger strike at the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. Nine more prisoners starved themselves to death. Us
12. S12E12Children of the Third ReichNovember 10, 1993—In April, a group of 18 people met in a small town halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Some were Jewish, the sons and daughters of Holoc
13. S12E13The Mysterious Career of Lee Harvey OswaldNovember 21, 1993—Was Lee Harvey Oswald a mentally disturbed gunman acting alone, as the report of the Warren Commission suggested? Was he one of two gunmen,
14. S12E14Chairman Mao the Last EmperorDecember 20, 1993—Mao Tse-tung ruled China from 1949 until his death in 1976, and this film examines for the first time on television the true extent of his t

Season 12 ranked & reviewed

1. S13E01Forgotten HeroesJanuary 12, 1994—One In four British merchant seamen died during the Second World War. Life on board ship was dangerous, poorly paid and carried a far higher
2. S13E02The Real RasputinJanuary 26, 1994—When Grigorii Efimovich Rasputin was murdered in 1916, rumour and political expediency set to work to paint him as a villain, responsible fo
3. S13E03Spies in the SkyFebruary 9, 1994—Since 1949, dozens of planes and up to 200 US, British and allied air-crew have been lost in an undeclared aerial espionage war between the
4. S13E04Presumed Guilty - A Women's History of Divorce 1945-1969March 9, 1994—In the decades leading up to reform of the divorce laws in 1969, thousands of women suffered the injustices of a system that treated a faile
5. S13E05Racism or Realism? - A History of ImmigrationApril 6, 1994—While the British government publicly operated an open-door policy to immigrants, in private it was terrified about the growing black popula
6. S13E06Seeds of WarJune 26, 1994—The question of how the First World War was started has been one of the great controversies of the 20th century. The flashpoint was the assa
7. S13E07The Myth of the Spanish InquisitionNovember 6, 1994—An entire popular mythology has made the Spanish Inquisition a byword for human evil - sadistic, fanatical and omnipotent. But in reality it
8. S13E08Hitler's Secret WeaponsNovember 13, 1994—In the final few months of the Second World War, Hitler's revolutionary V1 and V2 missiles terrorised southern England. In London alone, 25,
9. S13E09Flames of WarNovember 20, 1994—A film about the horrors of the English Civil War, using letters, diaries and memoirs of ordinary people in 17th-century England. The histor
10. S13E10Age of the SphinxNovember 27, 1994—The tale of one man's attempt to rewrite the history of the world by redating Egypt's greatest mystery, the Sphinx. Until now, no one can sa
11. S13E11Khrushchev - The Peasant PremierDecember 4, 1994—In the centenary year of his birth, and using previously unseen home movies, this film explores the contradictions of the Ukrainian peasant'
12. S13E12Memo from Machiavelli: How to Succeed in British PoliticsDecember 11, 1994—Niccolo Machiavelli's name is synonymous with political intrigue, but recent analysis of his work suggests that he was a political pragmatis
13. S13E13Typhoid MaryDecember 18, 1994—Story of the woman judged to be such a danger to public health that she was incarcerated by the city of New York for 23 years. In the winter
14. S13E96Episode 96—
15. S13E98Episode 98—
16. S13E99Episode 99—

Season 13 ranked & reviewed

1. S14E01Out of the AshesJanuary 11, 1995—Three children of victims of the Holocaust tell the almost unbelievable stories of their parents' survival. From ghetto, through concentrati
2. S14E02Uncle Ho and Uncle SamMarch 23, 1995—Using unique archive material from Vietnam and interviews with US agents, this programme tells the story of the friendly relations in 1945 b
3. S14E03The BBC in VietnamMarch 30, 1995—The reports of young journalists like Martin Bell, David Jessel, Brian Barron, and Julian Pettifer brought the front line of the war into th
4. S14E04The Life and Loves of Oscar WildeApril 15, 1995—A candid portrait of Oscar Wilde and his remarkable family, including revelations by his grandson Merlin Holland and Lady Alice Douglas, a d
5. S14E05Special: Biafra - Fighting a War without GunsJuly 23, 1995—On the 25th anniversary of the end of the 1967-70 Biafran war, Timewatch examines the doomed struggle of the Ibos, known as "the Jews of Afr
6. S14E06Evidence of VikingsOctober 8, 1995—The modern view of Vikings is that they were not very different from anyone else at the time. Timewatch travels to Iceland, the Shetlands, a
7. S14E07The True Story of PocahontasOctober 15, 1995—Pocahontas was the first heroine of American history. Disney has released a romanticised cartoon version of her story, but the real story is
8. S14E08KamikazeOctober 22, 1995—The word kamikaze is synonymous with death. But not every kamikaze who vowed to die in the Second World War fulfilled his promise. Shot down
9. S14E09Quiet RevolutionOctober 29, 1995—One of the most important revolutions of the 20th century has taken place not on the battlefield but in the home. In 1900, one in three work
10. S14E10The Projection RacketNovember 5, 1995—The 1930s were a golden age for Hollywood and its gangster films. But behind the screen, the Mob was turning a small-time protection racket
11. S14E11Tanks - Wonder Weapon of WW1?November 12, 1995—Eighty years ago, a secret new weapon was born - the tank. From its inauspicious debut on the Somme in 1916 to the massed-tank battles of Ca

Season 14 ranked & reviewed

1. S15E01Karnak - A Hidden HistoryJanuary 14, 1996—The temple at Karnak in Egypt, founded around 1500 BC, was the greatest religious shrine of the ancient world, taking 2,000 years and the wo
2. S15E02Russia's Secret WarJanuary 21, 1996—Some historians have always suspected that Stalin was behind the Korean War, but the Soviets have denied involvement. By obtaining documents
3. S15E03Drake's Last VoyageJanuary 28, 1996—Four hundred years ago today, Sir Francis Drake was buried at sea off the coast of Panama after unsuccessfully trying to recapture past glor
4. S15E04Bad BoysFebruary 4, 1996—A 1973 documentary from the 'Man Alive' series portrayed the lives of six teenage male offenders and their time in Peper Harow, a community
5. S15E05Voices of Victorian LondonFebruary 11, 1996—Had documentary film-makers roamed the streets of London in the mid-19th century, they would have encountered an extraordinary range of char
6. S15E06Special: Haig - The Unknown SoldierJuly 3, 1996—A special edition of the historical documentary series. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig has been lampooned as the worst type of British offi
7. S15E07Hannibal and Desert StormSeptember 10, 1996—When General Norman Schwarzkopf planned and executed the Gulf War's "Desert Storm", he looked to the history books for his strategy and foun
8. S15E08The History of a MysterySeptember 17, 1996—Rennes-le-Chateau in southern France is home to one of the century's greatest conspiracy theories. For over a century there have been rumour
9. S15E09Gold Rush MemoriesSeptember 24, 1996—A hundred years ago, gold was discovered on a tributary of the Klondike River in north-west Canada, sparking off an extraordinary stampede a
10. S15E10Stalin's Foreign SlavesOctober 1, 1996—For half a century the Soviet Union's labour camps made virtual slaves of millions of Russians. Tens of thousands of foreigners were also ca
11. S15E11Baiting the BearOctober 8, 1996—From 1948-64 Curtis E LeMay and Thomas Power controlled the nuclear bombers and missiles of the USA's Strategic Air Command, the most powerf
12. S15E12Remember AberfanOctober 15, 1996—Tonight's documentary visits the small mining village in South Wales where, in October 1966, disaster struck when a coal tip above the villa
13. S15E13Cry HungaryOctober 22, 1996—Forty years ago this week, thousands of Hungarians demonstrated on the streets of Budapest in protest against Soviet occupation of their cou

Season 15 ranked & reviewed

1. S16E01Love StoryFebruary 25, 1997—A Second World War love affair between German housewife Lilly Wust and young Jewish lesbian Felice Schragenheim.
2. S16E02Before ColumbusMarch 4, 1997—Christopher Columbus is popularly believed to have been, in 1492, the first European to discover America. However, some historians are convi
3. S16E03Secret MemoriesMarch 11, 1997—A wireless operator who survived torture and a Nazi concentration camp, a 20-year-old sabotage expert, and an MI6 agent who filmed his own u
4. S16E04The Boer War: The First Media WarMarch 18, 1997—The Boer War of 1899-1902 saw correspondents and cameramen play a major part in war propaganda for the first time. Diaries, memoirs, photogr
5. S16E05Birth StoryMarch 25, 1997—For centuries babies were born at home, their mothers assisted through the birth by other women. But 50 years ago, childbirth was taken out
6. S16E06Forgotten AlliesApril 1, 1997—When war broke out in South East Asia in 1941, one hill tribe - the Christian, English-speaking Karen - distinguished itself in the fight ag
7. S16E07Back to the Iron AgeApril 18, 1997—Tonight's documentary reassesses a project from 1977 designed to find out more about prehistoric life. For over a year a group of young peop
8. S16E08The True Story of the Bridge on the River KwaiOctober 28, 1997—Forty years ago a war movie created a legend. Timewatch now tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel Toosey, the British officer in Burma whose
9. S16E09Lords of the MayaNovember 4, 1997—As Christianity became a dominant religious force in Europe, a religious movement was shaping the ancient Mayan civilisation of central Amer
10. S16E10Alison: A Personal HistoryNovember 11, 1997—In 1988 the third film about the inspirational life of Alison French, who has cerebral palsy, saw her get married to Mark John. Ten years an
11. S16E11The Gentlemen SpiesNovember 18, 1997—The first secret documents released by MI5 to the Public Records Office cover its establishment by the mysterious Vernon Kell, code-named "K
12. S16E12The African TradeNovember 25, 1997—Transatlantic slavery was responsible for the largest long-distance forced migration in history. Europeans did not venture into the interior
13. S16E13Lenin's Secret FilesDecember 2, 1997—Secret files documenting the life of Lenin were hidden away for decades by Soviet authorities in a labyrinth of vaults deep underground, beh
14. S16E14Remember the Ugandan AsiansDecember 9, 1997—Twenty-five years ago the Ugandan Asians arrived in Britain, having been expelled from their own country. Greeted warmly on their arrival, t
15. S16E15In Search of CleopatraDecember 16, 1997—Explores the myths that still surround the legendary Egyptian queen, and attempts to unravel the truth behind a life - and death - that help

Season 16 ranked & reviewed

1. S17E01Hitler and the Invasion of BritainApril 7, 1998—Examines why Hitler abandoned plans to invade Britain in 1940 and prepared, instead, to attack the Soviet Union. NEW SEASON 1/6.
2. S17E02Grammar School BoysApril 14, 1998—Nine grammar school boys recall their schooldays and reflect on how that system affected their lives. With former Chancellor of the Excheque
3. S17E03The Oklahoma OutlawApril 21, 1998—In 1976 the chance discovery of a mummified body inside a ghost ride in Long Beach, California, unearthed a chain of events leading all the
4. S17E04The Roman Way of WarApril 28, 1998—Roman Emperor Trajan led two great wars against the people of Dacia. No written documentation of this campaign survives, but its story is de
5. S17E05Las Vegas and the MormonsMay 5, 1998—Las Vegas, the world's gambling capital: Over 30 million people visit each year, most of them unaware that clean-living Mormons played a maj
6. S17E06Aborigine: A Collision of ConscienceMay 12, 1998—As the Aborigine people fight for their land rights, Australia's historians extract revelations from the archives. Letters and diaries from
7. S17E07Sex and WarSeptember 29, 1998—An estimated quarter-million homosexuals fought for Britain during the Second World War. At the time homosexuality was still a criminal offe
8. S17E08Lloyd George's WarOctober 6, 1998—Eighty years ago the end of the First World War was celebrated as a triumph for democracy, yet some would later dismiss it as futile. The mo
9. S17E09The Pilgrim ObsessionOctober 13, 1998—It is accepted in American history that the Pilgrim Fathers were a group of religious separatists who founded the first permanent colony at
10. S17E10Banking with HitlerOctober 20, 1998—Swiss banks stand accused of collaborating with the Nazis before and during the Second World War. But 60 years ago, when US Secretary of the
11. S17E11The British in IndiaOctober 27, 1998—Tonight's programme follows historian Andrew Roberts across the Indian subcontinent as he argues that Britain should take pride in its imper
12. S17E12An American FirefightNovember 3, 1998—In October 1993 elite units of the US army were pinned down on the streets of Mogadishu in Somalia by forces of Mohammed Farah Aidid, whom t
13. S17E13Operation SealionNovember 10, 1998—

Season 17 ranked & reviewed

1. S18E01Grey Owl: The Great White HoaxApril 17, 1999—In the thirties Grey Owl tricked the establishment into believing he was the world's first eco-warrior. Archie Belaney was in fact a Briton
2. S18E02The CrossingApril 24, 1999—In 1944, American submarines attacked two Japanese boats in the South China Sea, unaware that the vessels were crammed with more than 2,000
3. S18E03Tales from the Oklahoma Land RunsMay 1, 1999—A pistol shot at noon in 1889 signaled the start of the first race between thousands of desperate men and women to stake their claim on gove
4. S18E04The Lost Temple of JavaMay 8, 1999—When English explorer Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles travelled to the heart of the Indonesian island of Central Java in the early 1800s, he fou
5. S18E05Sleeping with the EnemyMay 22, 1999—Marcelle and Elise are two elderly French women who live at opposite ends of the country but shared similar experiences in the Second World
6. S18E06Before the TitanicMay 29, 1999—In 1909 the passenger liners Florida - carrying Italian immigrants to New York - and Republic - carrying American tourists to Europe - colli
7. S18E07The Forgotten VolunteersJune 5, 1999—Two-and-a-half million Indians fought for Britain in Second World War campaigns from Egypt to the Far East. Subject to some of the most brut
8. S18E08Letting the Genie out of the BottleJune 26, 1999—Danish politicians sparked a storm of controversy in 1969 by voting to legalise all forms of pornography, becoming the first country to appr
9. S18E09The Spies Who Fooled Hitler: MI5 at WarOctober 2, 1999—The series returns. Captured German spies were turned into double agents and used by MI5 to deceive Hitler during the Second World War. New
10. S18E10Ivan the TerribleNovember 6, 1999—The title bestowed by history on Russia's first tsar has become synonymous with tyranny and mass bloodshed, his 16th-century reign character
11. S18E11Tales of the Eiffel TowerNovember 20, 1999—Loathed by the intellectual establishment after its construction in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is now a cherished symbol of Paris. Tonight's fil
12. S18E12A Very British MutinyDecember 4, 1999—In September 1943, 191 men from Montgomery's 8th Army - who had helped to drive Rommel's troops out of Africa - refused to take part in the

Season 18 ranked & reviewed

1. S19E01The Germans We KeptJanuary 8, 2000—In 1946 almost half-a-million German prisoners of war were still being held in Britain, with the ban on fraternisation lifted only in Decemb
2. S19E02Myths of Nelson's NavyJuly 25, 2000—

Season 19 ranked & reviewed

1. S20E01The Empire State StoryJanuary 12, 2001 5.0Opened 70 years ago, the Empire State Building remains one of the enduring symbols of New York City. Tonight's programme explores its colour
2. S20E02Himmler, Hitler, and the End of the ReichJanuary 19, 2001—Heinrich Himmler was regarded as Hitler's most loyal henchman. But in the last days of the war, his role in a plot to make peace with the we
3. S20E03The King's ServantJanuary 26, 2001—Hollywood's portrayal of Thomas More, Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor, is that of a saint but in truth he was a much more complex and interesti
4. S20E04Nero's Golden HouseFebruary 2, 2001—Ten years into his reign, the notorious emperor Nero attempted to build the largest palace the Romans would ever see, the Domus Aurea or "Go
5. S20E05Public Enemy Number OneFebruary 9, 2001—During the Great Depression the American public looked for real-life anti-heroes to match the gangster movies - and found one in John Dillin
6. S20E06Hitler, Churchill, and the ParatroopersFebruary 16, 2001—In 1941 the first large-scale paratroop attack took place when Hitler ordered the invasion of Crete. Within a week Churchill gave the order
7. S20E07The Last SurrenderMay 11, 2001—For Japanese officer Hiroo Onoda, the Second World War continued until 1974. Now 78 years old and living in Brazil, Onoda tells how he final
8. S20E08DebutantesMay 18, 2001—Archive footage and interviews, with among others the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, help recapture the balls, dresses, romances, and broke
9. S20E09Strangeways RevisitedMay 25, 2001—Rex Bloomstein returns to find out what happened to some of the prisoners featured in the award-winning documentary series he made 21 years
10. S20E10ScharnhorstJune 1, 2001—A documentary examining the mystery behind the demise in December 1943 of Germany's supposedly unsinkable warship, and a look at the current
11. S20E11Roman Soldiers to BeJune 8, 2001—Following guidelines described by the ancient author Vegetius nearly 2000 years ago, and supervised by historian Kate Gilliver, nine volunte
12. S20E12Bombing GermanyAugust 23, 2001—Towards the end of the Second World War, many German towns with minimal strategic or industrial importance suffered "saturation bombing". Th

Season 20 ranked & reviewed