Top Rated Documentary TV Series - Page 188

The Search for the Nile

1971

The Search for the Nile

1971
6.3
The Search for the Nile is a 1971 BBC One docudrama miniseries about the 19th-century European quest to find the source of the Nile River, focusing on explorers like Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, and David Livingstone. The acclaimed six-part series, starring Kenneth Haigh as Burton, is known for its detailed portrayal of the explorers' hardships, rivalries, and discoveries, winning a Primetime Emmy and a Peabody Award.
Paul Merton in China

2007

Paul Merton in China

2007
8
Paul Merton in China was a four-part television series broadcast on Five commencing from 21 May 2007. It follows the journey of Paul Merton, comedian and writer, and his interpreter Emma, as they voyage across the country, exploring Chinese culture, expansion and change from Mao Zedong's reign. The series was a hit for Five and Merton confirmed on Michael Parkinson's show that a second series entitled Paul Merton in India had been commissioned. The theme music from Channel Five's advertisement is Michel Legrand's Di Gue Ding Ding, which was also used as the theme music to Heston Blumenthal's series In Search of Perfection aired concurrently on BBC Two. All four episodes were released on DVD in late October 2008.
The Big Story

1949

The Big Story

1949
7.3
Based on a popular radio series, each show tells a different reporter's Big Story, a true story selected from newspapers across the United States. Comments from the actual reporter open and close each show but the permanent narrator drives the plot line and a featured actor dramatizes the reporter's role.
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

1981

Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

1981
6.3
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years is an 8-part 1981 drama serial based on the life of Winston Churchill, and particularly his years in enforced exile from political position during the 1920s and 30s. It was written and directed by Ferdinand Fairfax and Churchill was played by Robert Hardy. Hardy's brilliant performance as Churchill won critical acclaim and a BAFTA award in 1982. He reprised the role in The Sittaford Mystery, Bomber Harris and War and Remembrance and at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the end of World War II in 1995 when he quoted a number of Churchill's wartime speeches in character.
Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men

2008

Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men

2008
7
Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men was a documentary series broadcast on Bravo between 20 October 2008 and 10 August 2009. It followed Danny Dyer as he embarked on meeting some of the most feared and prolific men in the United Kingdom.
Whicker's World

1959

Whicker's World

1959
7.2
Whicker's World is an award-winning British television documentary series that ran from 1958 to 1994, presented by journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker. Originally a segment on the BBC's Tonight programme in 1958, Whicker's World became a fully-fledged television series in its own right in the 1960s. The series was first shown by the BBC until 1968, and then by ITV from 1969 to 1983, when it was produced by Yorkshire Television, in which Whicker himself was a shareholder. The series returned to the BBC in 1984, and to ITV again in 1992.
The Rock 'n' Roll Years

1985

The Rock 'n' Roll Years

1985
6.8
Series linking the events of the year with music via newsreels, headlines, films, broadcasts and rock performance footage.
Charterfeber Norge

2006

Charterfeber Norge

2006
7.2
Charterfeber is a Norwegian docu-soap that debuted in March 2006. The show is about Norwegians traveling on a fully chartered vacation to southern Europe. The last time the program was sent on Norwegian television, TV3, was in December of 2012. TV3 and the production company, Rakett Film & TV, have just released information about an upcoming season of the series.
Extreme Survival

1999

Extreme Survival

1999
8
Extreme Survival is a survival television series hosted by Ray Mears. The series airs on the BBC in United Kingdom, it is also shown on Discovery Channel in the United States, Canada, India, Italy, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Russia, where he demonstrates his wilderness skills and shares amazing tales of survival from some of the world's most menacing environments. The show was first broadcast in 1999, after the success of World of Survival from 1997–1998, and ended in 2002. His journeys have take him to the farthest corners of the earth, encountering indigenous peoples who embody his philosophy and live in tune with their natural environment.
Battle 360°

2008

Battle 360°

2008
7.2
Battle 360°, also written as Battle 360, is an American documentary television series that originally aired from February 29 to May 2, 2008 on History. The program focuses on the World War II-era aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.The series consists of ten episodes.
Antikrundan

1989

Antikrundan

1989
5.8
Antikrundan is the Swedish version of the original BBC format Antiques Roadshow. The show visits different locations in Sweden and lets people bring their antiques to be valued by experts. It remains popular and often has more than 2 million viewers. The 19th season was shown in 2009. Most of the experts have been with the programme since the start. Jesper Aspegren was the original host. He left in 1999 and was succeeded by Anne Lundberg. Antikrundan started out as a coproduction between SVT Malmö and the BBC where the Antiques Roadshow would visit Scandinavia for two programmes. Antikrundan premiered in August 1989 on TV2 and has since been shown on SVT every year. Antiques Roadshow is shown on BBC Lifestyle and TV8 in Sweden.
Who Do You Think You Are?

2007

Who Do You Think You Are?

2007
6.3
Well known Canadians set out to discover their family roots.
History Detectives

2003

History Detectives

2003
7.3
A group of researchers help people to find answers to various historical questions they have, usually centering around a family heirloom, an old house or other historic object or structure. It devotes itself "to exploring the complexities of historical mysteries, searching out the facts, myths and conundrums that connect local folklore, family legends and interesting objects."
The Mechanical Universe

1985

The Mechanical Universe

1985
8.6
The Mechanical Universe... And Beyond, is a 52-part telecourse filmed at the California Institute of Technology, and produced by Caltech and INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications. The series introduces university level physics, covering topics from Copernicus to quantum mechanics. Produced starting in 1985, the videos make heavy use of historical dramatizations and visual aids to explain physics concepts. The latter were state of the art at the time, incorporating almost 8 hours of computer animation created by computer graphics pioneer Jim Blinn. Each episode opens and closes with a "phantom" lecture by Caltech professor David Goodstein. After more than a quarter century, the series is still often used as a supplemental teaching aid, for its clear explanation of fundamental concepts such as special relativity. The Mechanical Universe lectures are actual freshman physics lectures from Physics 1a and 1b courses at the California Institute of Technology. The room seen in the videos is the Bridge lecture hall. T
Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn

1993

Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn

1993
8
Filmed on location in some of the world's most beautiful, noteworthy gardens, hosted by Audrey Hepburn, and co-narrated by Michael York, this series includes exemplary public and private gardens in England, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Dominican Republic & U.S.A.
Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy

2002

Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy

2002
7.3
Over three episodes, Dawn French interviewed some of the most prolific and celebrated female comedians of the time. Later in 2006, several of the interviews were shown in full. The interviewees being: Whoopi Goldberg, Catherine Tate, Kathy Burke, Julie Walters, Victoria Wood and Joan Rivers.
City Confidential

1998

City Confidential

1998
7.8
Tells the story of one crime, the ensuing investigation, and the ripple effect it had on a community. Speaking with family, friends, detectives, journalists, and others close to the case, the series mixes firsthand accounts and archival footage to explore the crime and its outcome.
CMT Crossroads

2002

CMT Crossroads

2002
8
Country music stars collaborate with performers from other musical genres and exchange stories about their mutual love for music.
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

1984

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

1984
6.8
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous is an American television series that aired in syndication from 1984 to 1995. The show featured the extravagant lifestyles of wealthy entertainers, athletes and business moguls. It was hosted by Robin Leach for the majority of its run. When Leach was joined by Shari Belafonte in 1994, the show was renamed Lifestyles with Robin Leach and Shari Belafonte. Leach ended each episode with a wish for his viewers that became his signature phrase, "champagne wishes and caviar dreams."
Closer to Truth

2000

Closer to Truth

2000
6.3
Closer to Truth is a continuing television series on PBS & public television originally created, produced and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn. The first premiere series aired in 2000 for 2 seasons, followed by a second series aired in 2003 for a single season. The current / third series of the program, Closer to Truth: Cosmos. Consciousness. God., launched in 2008, with 12 full seasons to date. Robert Lawrence Kuhn is the creator, executive producer, writer and presenter of the series. Peter Getzels is the co-creator and producer / director. The show is centered on on-camera conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, theologians, and scholars, covering a diverse range of topics or questions from the size and nature of the universe, to the existence and essence of God, to the mystery of consciousness and the notion of free will.