Content from Pioneer Productions

An investigation by Professor of Geological Sciences, Roger Bilham, of the science behind the earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011.

This documentary film explores the varied and often surprising ways in which gold and the societies it is part of have transformed over time. Join Idris Elba on a global journey that traces the human story of gold—and discover why the element’s contributions remain crucial to our evolution.

Take a photographic journey thorough time from the violent birth of our planet four and a half billion years ago, through ice-ages, massive volcanic eruptions and the dinosaurs' reign to the first humans. For the first time, see the incredible story of our planet unfold in one single, seamless camera move.

In one single, epic camera move we journey from Earth's surface to the outermost reaches of the universe on a grand tour of the cosmos, to explore newborn stars, distant planets, black holes and beyond.

The film explores the background and build-up to this final flight to disaster. Using dramatic reconstruction, archive footage and exclusive interviews with leading historians and engineering experts, the special delves into the political and scientific events that led up to the catastrophe.

We follow leading experts on a quest to unlock the mysteries surrounding the tomb of Christ, using the latest scientific techniques to restore the Aedicula housing the tomb.

Following the unprecedented disruption caused by the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano, The Volcano That Stopped Britain explores the geological and scientific background behind the headlines of this extraordinary story. The documentary identifies the dangers posed by the ash and the effects that it has on aircraft and aviation, as well as exploring the impacts of further possible eruptions to the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

Ten years after one of the most deadly tsunamis ever known, scientists are making a shocking discovery. Experts used to believe that the biggest killer waves were only generated in a handful of regions, but mounting evidence now suggests that more of the world’s coasts, from the Mediterranean to Australia, could be in grave danger. But where will the next Big One strike?

A dramatisation based on the exchange of letters between Mary Queen of Scots and her cousin Elizabeth I, detailing the hatred and obsession in their bitter rivalry. Expert historians examine and interpret the royals' motives for the animosity that lasted more than two decades, and which threatened to tear apart the reigning monarch and her kingdom.

The BBC looks at our current weather and climate compared to the climate of our past to see if it really is changing...which it is and they explain science behind it

On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic embarked on its maiden voyage, sailing from Southampton, England, to New York City. One of the largest and most luxurious passenger liners at the time, the Titanic was also equipped with watertight compartments, which led many to consider the ship unsinkable; an anonymous deckhand famously claimed that “God himself could not sink this ship.” On April 14, however, the ship struck an iceberg, and early the next day it sank. Some 1,500 people perished.

Find out what went on behind the stately walls of the British manor house a century ago.

Dive into a real-time investigation of the shocking daylight robbery at Paris' Louvre Museum. Former thieves, security staff, eyewitnesses and investigators piece together the crime and ongoing chase to recover France's crown jewels before it's too late.

A brief account of the Earth's geological progression, from its creation 4.6 billion years ago to scientists' predictions of its demise more than 2.5 billion years in the future.

Triggered by observations in radio astronomy, scientists discovered extremely high-energy "quasi-stellar radio sources" - or quasars for short. How could this enormous amount of energy be explained, even though quasars are relatively small and far away? Einstein's general theory of relativity was a starting point with the possibility of exploding stars that collapse in a gravitational collapse and take surrounding matter and energy with them. The gravitational forces are so strong that even light can no longer escape. But how can we make the invisible measurable?

The ancients hid the secrets of their incredible knowledge of astronomy in their temples and palaces, built to align with the sun, on the same day, all over the world. Revealing our species' obsession with the sun, across thousands of years and every continent, this is architectural magic on a cosmic scale.

Down to the Earth’s Core takes viewers from the sidewalk to the centre of the planet in one epic unbroken shot. Using spectacular computer generated imagery; the camera smashes through almost 9 000 kilometres of solid rock to explore the hidden world beneath our feet. Experience an earthquake inside the San Andreas Fault, blast out of a volcano, encounter bizarre cave-dwelling creatures and enter caves full of giant crystals – all inside planet Earth. As the camera lowers into Earth's bosom, the planet’s extraordinary story, is laid bare layer by layer, showing how prehistoric forests became modern-day fuel, witnessing the dinosaur’s cataclysmic death, and watching as stalactites form and gold grows before our eyes. Deeper, beyond the reach of any mine, any drill, we find wonders beyond imagination: towering molten metal tornadoes, forests of solid iron crystals, until we reach the strangest, least understood place on the planet – the core.

Epic flooding, millions without power, numerous fatalities, gridlock and heartbreak; go inside the megastorm to learn why it happened and how one could hit again. This documentary is an in-depth one-hour special on the wrath and destruction of Hurricane Sandy.

Reenactment of key moments that led to the sinking of the "unsinkable" Titanic.

Explore the mysterious regions inside the human body. See how vital organs interconnect to make human life possible. Learn how skeletons fit together. Witness the lightness and strength of bone, how muscles work as levers, what it takes to achieve the "perfect" body. See how the heart functions, and learn the roles of white and red blood cells. Discover the complex systems controlling breathing, digestion, glandular changes, and hearing.

Naked Science is an American documentary television series that premiered in 2004 on the National Geographic Channel. The program features various subjects related to science and technology. Some of the views expressed might be considered fringe or pseudo-science, and some of the scientists may present opinions which have not been properly peer-reviewed or are not widely accepted within their scientific communities, in particular on topics such as Bermuda Triangle or Atlantis for example.

Exactly 100 years ago, the world of the British manor house was at its height. It was a life of luxury and indolence for a wealthy few supported by the labor of hundreds of servants toiling ceaselessly "below stairs" to make the lives of their lords and ladies run as smoothly as possible. It is a world that has provided a majestic backdrop to a range of movies and popular costume dramas to this day, including PBS' "Downton Abbey." But what was really going on behind these stately walls? "Secrets of the Manor House" looks beyond the fiction to the truth of what life was like in these British houses of yesteryear. They were communities where two separate worlds existed side by side: the poor worked as domestic servants, while the nation’s wealthiest families enjoyed a lifestyle of luxury, and aristocrats ruled over their servants as they had done for a thousand years.

This series features some of the world's biggest and meanest machines and examines their complex mechanics.

An exploration of engineering marvels. This brand new series reveals the extraordinary feats of engineering hidden inside the world's most spectacular man-made constructions. From the world's biggest plane and largest free-spanning dome to the tallest building and the largest space ship, each superstructure is taken apart using state-of-the-art CGI and insight from world class specialists to reveal the startling innovations that turn it from dream to reality.

A look at several mystery cases

Cutting-edge imagery provides an extraordinary inside look at four animal pregnancies.

Animals Like Us offers viewers a new and exciting way of seeing the natural world! Each episode offers a rare glimpse into the complex lives of charismatic animals that behave a lot like we do! Throughout the Animal Kingdom, wild animals live in sophisticated societies, inhabited by individuals that show deep emotion and real intelligence. In fact, the closer we look at their actions, and unravel what drives them to behave as they do, the more we realize animals are a lot like us!

Follow mothers who go to extreme lengths to save and protect their children from murder, international kidnapping, mass suicide and judicial corruption. The episodes will reveal how each mother took matters into their own hands and organized covert operations.

The enormous popularity of recent British dramas such as Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, and Sherlock, has led to vast interest in the real-life stories and history of the icons of Great Britain. Each episode of this series visits a famous British building or institution to explore its past and present, meeting a wide range of experts and historians along the way.

Crushed, flooded and exploded into life – Europe is a battlefield of Nature. Discover the extraordinary and shocking geological story of how Europe was created by nature’s most titanic forces.

Join Tony Robinson as he ventures into the country's extraordinary and fiery past, revealing how our islands were forged from molten rock, volcanic explosions, ice and seismic upheaval.

Hard-hitting amateur, CCTV and news footage reveals how some of the world's biggest natural disasters took away people's lives, homes and hope in Witness Disaster.

Using advanced engineering technology and science, a team of experts set out to recreate the impact of natural forces to investigate what the effects are.

The Year The Earth Went Wild looks back at a year where almost every month was affected by a natural disaster. A record-breaking cold winter, the Tsunami in Japan, the extraordinary killer American tornado season, the floods in Australia and a hurricane in New York. 2011 has seen an onslaught of epic-scale climate and geological events across the world - all caught on camera in the most spectacular fashion.