LOST WORLDS
Upcoming episodes
May 2nd
600a
Secret A-Bomb Factories
In 1939 a group of scientists - Albert Einstein among them - warned President Roosevelt, of the possibility that Hitler's Germany might be close to producing an atomic bomb. Roosevelt issued an order - whatever it takes, the US has to be the first to develop an atomic bomb. And within three years they were well on their way to creating a hidden world of secret cities and classified nuclear facilities, built inside America. 400,000 people were part of it - though only a handful really knew the truth.
May 3rd
600a
Lost City Of Aphrodite
Widely recognised as one of the greatest and best preserved sites in the Classical World, Aphrodisias is a magnificent city of marble dedicated to the goddess of beauty, love and sex - Aphrodite. Forgotten until the mid-20th century, the city's remarkable state of preservation led to comparisons with Pompeii. Lost Worlds recreates the city's most amazing buildings and tries to unravel the life story of the man who ordered them built - a former slave freed by Julius Caesar.
May 6th
200a
Ivan The Terrible
Ivan the Terrible, Russia's first Tsar, led a brutal and unpredictable life. A renowned sadist, Ivan was the originator of Russia's secret police. He fortified walls to counter the advancing age of artillery, expanded the borders of his nation and built a new generation of Kremlins. Follow a team of historical detectives who use evidence from recent excavations, scientific studies and historical documents to piece together clues to what Ivan's Russia looked like. Computer graphics will allow viewers to fly over, enter the streets, walk through the halls and peer into the world of Russia's Terrible Tsar.
May 6th
300a
Stalin's Supercity
Stalin is often considered one of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history. He was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century and his regime of terror caused the death and suffering of tens of millions, but he also envisaged a grandiose architectural plan on an unimaginable scale.
May 6th
400a
Sin City Of The West
The Wild West was an era of American growth fueled by lawless gambling towns, frenzied gold rushes, and legendary racketeers. Gunfighters and misfits thrived in an anarchic society where people were simply looking for a good time and a way to get filthy rich. Follow a team of historical detectives who use evidence from recent excavations, scientific studies and historical documents to piece together clues to what the Wild West looked like. Computer graphics will allow viewers to fly over, enter the streets, walk through the halls and peer into this lost age.
May 6th
500a
Age Of Airships, The
Airships flew years before the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane, yet it has been almost forgotten. The largest aircraft ever built was an airship. The first aerial bombardment of one nation by another was conducted using airships and they still are the only airborne aircraft carriers ever built. Follow the rise and fall of the airship and discover the shining future of air travel that never was.
May 6th
600a
Ramses' Egyptian Empire
1300 BC. The mighty Egyptian civilization is in its golden age. Its ruler is Ramses II, a man who intends to be the greatest of the Pharaohs. He will make his mark by building: vast statues; towering obelisks; temples carved from the living rock. Ramses is a giant of a man, dominating his kingdom for 67 years, pushing it on to ever greater glory. The ruins of what he built still stand, and with the aid of new research and cutting edge graphics technology, the true scale of his ambition can now be fully revealed. We reconstruct the grand hypostyle hall at Karnak; explore the technical innovation and engineering skill that produced the temple at Abu Simbel; we rebuild the Ramesseum as he would have seen it, and uncover how the extraordinary tomb that Ramses built for himself would have looked when his body was finally laid there.
May 7th
600a
Churchill's Secret Bunkers
During WWII, a vast complex of secret bunkers was constructed under the streets of London. Lost to time, this world was an important refuge from the nightly onslaught of Nazi air raids, but only now can we reveal the full extent of the scheme. The existence of Churchill's Bunker is no secret, but that there was an entire subterranean city, built to keep the British government running, is only now being revealed. Very little of this covert network, which also sheltered American General Dwight Eisenhower, has ever been revealed to the public. Now this lost world is brought back to life with cutting-edge computer graphic technology--the tunnels beneath the heart of London's great buildings; the underground command center from where the Battle of Britain was coordinated; the deep level, ultra-secure chambers that could withstand the most deadly weapons in the Nazi arsenal. Beneath the sidewalk, this program exposes wartime secrets we were never meant to know.
May 8th
600a
Jesus' Jerusalem
Tens of thousands travel yearly to Jerusalem to visit where Jesus walked, preached, suffered, was crucified, and buried. But since his death, the city has been destroyed and rebuilt more than 20 times. Our experts follow the evidence to reveal the city that Jesus would have visited. They rebuild Herod's Temple Mount--in its time the largest man-made structure. They explain the manipulation of light and stone that created the Holy Sanctuary--said to 'sparkle like a snow-capped mountain in the sun.' They explore the network of aqueducts, pipes, tunnels, and pools that kept this desert city from thirst and enabled it to handle an influx of pilgrims that routinely swelled its population from 30,000 to 300,000. They seek the places where Jesus performed miracles. And they map his final hours: including the real route of the 'Via Dolorosa'--the path that led to his place of execution. With new research and CGI, we'll glimpse a world hidden for more than 20 centuries.
May 9th
600a
Real Dracula, The
In a country torn by bloody civil war, a young man seizes power. In his native tongue, he is called Dracula. This is not the vampire, Count Dracula, but a real historical figure: a Romanian prince. Dracula was a warlord who became known all across Europe for both his breath-taking courage and his terrifying cruelty. But he also left an enduring legacy. Not just in blood...in brick, mortar and stone. He constructed palaces. He founded the city that was to become his country's capital. He also built one of Eastern Europe's most breath-taking mountaintop castles. Now, with state of the art computer animation, Dracula's lost world will be brought back to life: his birthplace in the fortified town of Sighisoara; the gothic splenour of Transylvania's Bran Castle; the sumptuous palace of Targoviste; and the real castle Dracula: Poenari.