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TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.

Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.

Consistently stunning documentaries transport viewers to far-flung locations ranging from the torrid African plains to the chilly splendours of icy Antarctica. The show's primary focus is on animals and ecosystems around the world. A comic book based on the show, meant to be used an as educational tool for kids, was briefly distributed to museums and schools at no cost in the mid-2000s.

Charles Tisseyre explores the world of science and technology through real-world stories. Each episode features reports delving into technological breakthroughs and developments in scientific research, environmental issues, space exploration, as well as health and medicine.

This newsmagazine series investigates intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all aspects of the human experience. Over its long run, the show has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, driven the reopening — and resolution — of cold cases, and changed numerous lives. CBS News correspondents offer an in-depth look into each story, with the emphasis on solving the mystery at its heart.

Long-running Channel 4 documentary series covering issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current affairs and the environment. Known for featuring a mole inside organisations under journalistic investigation.

Strip-Tease was created by Jean Libon and Marco Lamensch. The aim of the creators was to produce documentary films of a new genre, in which the commentators take a back seat to let the protagonists have their say. The program mainly deals with excerpts from everyday life (family meals, washing up, the life of a farmer's wife). Viewers can thus recognize themselves in their daily intimacy.

The people, places and stories making news in the British countryside.

An annual award ceremony presented by MTV to honor the best in the music video medium.

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987. The older version featured historical figures such as Helen Keller and Mark Twain, or long-dead entertainment figures such as Will Rogers or John Barrymore. The A&E series has placed the emphasis on such people as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Plácido Domingo, Freddie Mercury, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eric Clapton, Pope John Paul II, Gene Tierney, Selena, Diego Rivera, Mao Zedong and Queen Elizabeth II, and fictional characters like The Phantom, Superman, Hamlet, Betty Boop, and Santa Claus. The program ended up profiling enough figures that in 1999, A&E spun it off into an entire network, The Biography Channel.

The Discovery Channel's Shark Week, first broadcast on July 17, 1987, is a weeklong series of feature television programs dedicated to sharks. Held annually, normally in July or August, Shark Week was originally developed to raise awareness and respect for sharks. It is the longest-running cable television programming event in history. Now broadcast in over 72 countries, Shark Week is promoted heavily via social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Since its 1988 premiere, this critically acclaimed documentary series has presented hundreds of films that put a human face on contemporary social issues by relating a compelling story in an intimate fashion. "POV" has won virtually every major film and broadcasting award available, including 38 Emmys, 22 Peabody Awards and three Oscars.

Timewatch is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29 September 1982 and is produced by the BBC, the Timewatch brandname is used as a banner title in the UK, but many of the individual documentaries can be found on US cable channels without the branding.

This award-winning weekly automotive magazine provides unbiased, consumer-oriented car news with feature stories on related topics.

The Joy of Painting was an American television show hosted by painter Bob Ross that taught its viewers techniques for landscape oil painting. Although Ross could complete a painting in half an hour, the intent of the show was not to teach viewers "speed painting". Rather, he intended for viewers to learn certain techniques within the time that the show was allotted. The show began on January 11, 1983, and lasted until May 17, 1994, a year before Ross' death.

Weekly current affairs show

Investigative news magazine on Chile's social and political contingency.

An Australian media analysis television program currently focusing on critiquing the Australian media.

40 Minutes was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. The documentaries could be on any possible subject, the only connection being that they last forty minutes. Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, Forty Minutes On.

MTV's acclaimed music series showcases today's top artists and rising stars in the industry performing acoustic versions of their songs.

Michael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.

Bharat Ek Khoj is a 53-episode Indian historical drama based on the book The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru, that dramatically unfolds the 5000 year history of India from its beginnings to the coming of independence in 1947. The drama was directed, written and produced by Shyam Benegal with cinematographer V. K. Murthy in 1988 for state-owned Doordarshan. Benegal's regular script collaborator Shama Zaidi also co-wrote the script.

Rescue 911 is an informational reality-based television series that premiered on April 18, 1989 and ended on August 27, 1996. The series was hosted by William Shatner and featured reenactments of emergency situations that often involved calls to 911. Though never intended as a teaching tool, various viewers used the knowledge they obtained watching the show. Two specials, titled "100 Lives Saved" and "200 Lives Saved," were dedicated to viewers who had written to CBS with their stories on how the knowledge they obtained watching the show allowed them to save the life of someone else. At least 350 lives have been saved as a result of what viewers learned from watching it. The show's popularity coincided with the widespread adoption of the 911 emergency system, replacing standalone police and fire numbers that would vary from municipality to municipality. The number is now universally understood in the United States and Canada to be the number dialed for emergency assistance nationwide.

Prisoners of Gravity was a Canadian public broadcasting television news magazine program that explored speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic books — and its relation to various thematic and social issues. Produced by TVOntario, the show was the brainchild of former comic retail manager Mark Askwith and writer Daniel Richler, and was hosted by Rick Green. The series aired 139 episodes over 5 seasons from 1989 to 1994.

National Geographic's Explorer gives viewers special access to the issues of the day.

Compass is an Australian weekly news-documentary program screened on ABC Television on Sunday nights. Originally presented by Geraldine Doogue, the program is devoted to providing information about faith, values, ethics, and religion from across the globe.

32. Gün is a Turkish national and international television news show. Launched in 1985 by Mehmet Ali Birand, it is Turkey's longest-running and most influential news programme. Originally aired on TRT 1, it then moved to private channels, moving home several times. It has aired on Kanal D since 2005. Contributors to 32. Gün include Rıdvan Akar, Cüneyt Özdemir, and Can Dündar.

Paris By Night is a popular Vietnamese language musical variety show, produced by Thúy Nga and hosted by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên, featuring musical performances by modern pop stars, traditional folk songs, one-act plays, and sketch comedy.

An Austrian magazine-TV show.

Carl Sagan covers a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe.

Cult films receive interesting introductions from an expert, before the entire film is screened.

Nightline, or ABC News Nightline, is a late-night news program that is broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main anchor from March 1980 until his retirement from the program in November 2005. Nightline airs weeknights at 12:37 a.m. Eastern Time, after Jimmy Kimmel Live!. It previously ran for 31 minutes, but in 2011, the program was reduced to 25 minutes. When the program moved to 12:37 a.m. ET, the program was expanded to 30 minutes. In 2002, Nightline was ranked 23rd on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

Exhaustive 13-part survey of the television medium from its hesitant beginnings in the 1920s to the multi-million dollar extravaganzas of today and the cable and satellite technologies of the future [relative to 1985]. Tackling the medium as a worldwide phenomenon, the series examines each of the principal areas of programming - news, drama, documentaries, and light entertainment - and the unique impact of "live" coverage.

Attention please! Are you ready for an adventurous tour through the human body? With a lot of humour, our physical appearance is being introduced from head to toe along cells and organs in an educational way. The heart, blood, nerves and kidneys, each single one is a miracle which renders life possible.

The Secret City was a television program designed to teach children how to draw, starring Mark Kistler as as the fictional ‘Commander Mark’ who led viewers and in-studio club members through various drawing exercises in a sci-fi clubhouse setting full of fun, fantasy, and adventure. While the show’s format essentially prioritizes instruction over narrative, ongoing ‘drama’ is created by the frequent addition of new key features to the emerging scenery of the giant Secret City mural. Often Special Guests would appear on the show to demonstrate other art forms or practical applications for drawing skills. The show was created by John Price & Mark Kistler, based on Bruce McIntyre's AVDP. Much of the series was edited live in-camera and was shot in a somewhat semi-scripted format. It was produced at Maryland Public Television through private funding by Children's Video Associates, and intended for broadcast via national PBS syndication. It also aired on TVOntario.

The Really Wild Show was a long-running British television show about wildlife, broadcast by the BBC as part of their CBBC service to children. It also runs on Animal Planet in the US. The show was broadcast continuously since 21 January 1986. In April 2006 the BBC announced that the show would be axed that summer, and as such the last ever episode was shown in April 2006, giving the show a run of 20 years.

First Tuesday or This World is a monthly television documentary strand, shown in the United Kingdom on the ITV network and was produced by Yorkshire Television. The subject matter was mainly social issues and current affairs stories from around the world. It ran from 5 April 1983 to 2 November 1993, with programme being shown on the first Tuesday of the month, hence the title. In 1993, Network First was a part replacement for First Tuesday.

In hour-long, in-depth explorations, CNN hosts examine extraordinary individuals, unexpected events and controversial subjects through interviews, stories, images and videos.

BBC series exploring cultures around the world.

Aviation history series which aired on the Discovery Channel family of networks. Originally called Great Planes.

The Many Dream Journeys of Meme is a Japanese anime television show created by Nippon Animation. The show originally aired from 1983 to 1985 and was primarily educational. Episodes usually dealt with scientific discoveries and inventions, though there were also a few futuristic and science fiction stories and situations. The series has been translated into many languages, including Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hebrew, and Arabic and Serbo-Croatian.

Dan Darret and his two sisters, Tess and Daisy, are left to run the The Pole Position Stunt Show after their parents disappear during a stunt race. When their uncle Zachary reveals that their parents were government agents using the stunt show as a cover for a secret crime-fighting organization, the kids vow to carry on their parents' work. Along with pet Kuma and two high-tech talking cars, Roadie and Wheels, they become the New Pole Position Force.

The Cook Report was a British current affairs television programme shown on ITV, produced for the network by Central Television from 1987 to 1998.

Newton's Apple is an American educational television program produced and developed by KTCA, and distributed to PBS stations in the United States that ran from 1983 to 1999. The show's title is based on the rumor of Isaac Newton sitting under a tree and an apple falling near him—or, more popularly, on his head—prompting him to ponder what makes things fall, leading to the development of his theory of gravitation. The show was produced by Twin Cities Public Television. For most of the run, the show's theme song was Ruckzuck by Kraftwerk, later remixed by Absolute Music. Later episodes of the show featured an original song. An occasional short feature appeared called "Science of the Rich and Famous" in which celebrities appeared to explain a science principle.

Marty Stouffer's Wild America was the first wildlife and nature series to focus exclusivvely on the wild animals and wild lands of North America.

"Detective! Knight Scoop" is an amusement programme. Based on requests contributed by the viewers, to protect the public order, morals and peace in society, the chief detective sends out excelling detectives who thoroughly pursuit any task they're presented with.

An avant-garde omnibus that features works by off-the-wall artists in many different disciplines.

Personal reflections on the best of 20th Century architecture.

This documentary series uses drama and commentary to shed light on the lives and works of Joseph Conrad, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, T. S. Eliot, Henrik Ibsen, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, Luigi Pirandello, Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf.