The world underground undergoes devastating changes in a post-apocalyptic world. This documentary examines how man-made and natural caverns will evolve over millennia. Geothermal power plants will buckle under the strain of superheated steam. NORAD, America's former nuclear command center, will come under attack from a leaking reservoir. The Naica Crystal Caves in Mexico will grow giant gypsum crystals, while New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns will fill...

The unique human species evolved on a unique planet. This documentary explores innovations and adaptations that brought us from the brink of extinction to control our destiny. Fire and clothing enabled us to survive the Ice Age, during which we domesticated the wolf. Farming led to settlements, but crop failures brought warfare and livestock bred infectious disease. Organized religion inspired monuments like Pharaoh Khufu's Great Pyramid, engineered...

This documentary examines the apocalyptic fate of every home in the world. Gas leaks turn suburbs into infernos; paint causes some high-end homes to explode in flames; and low-income housing towers in the Bronx will sink into marshland. Hearst Castle will be toppled by a hidden flaw, while Dubai's Burj Khalifa will succumb to corrosion from sand storms and salt water. America's homes will become refuges for bobcats, dust mites and bedbugs while household...

Europe's Dark Age followed the collapse of Rome, but two new forces emerged from the fringes of the old empire. This documentary highlights the rise of Islam, funded by a gold rush in the Arabian Desert, and the Viking civilization, facilitated by longships. Viewers learn about the Cordoba scholarship that advanced scientific and medical knowledge; the Easter Island civilization that produced monumental statues; and the Crusade, during which the fight...

This documentary looks at wildcatters, or Texas oil prospectors, who used unscientific methods to guess where oil fields might be. Pattillo Higgins discovered the Spindletop Hill field near Beaumont. Columbus Marion Joiner located the legendary East Texas Oil Field--also known as the Black Giant. These men risked financial ruin to chase their dreams and were ultimately responsible for petroleum-fueled economic booms during the 20th century.

DuPonts have influenced affairs of state since the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson. This documentary traces their accomplishments over two hundred years, beginning with Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours' immigration to America. Highlights include: Eleuthere Irenee's construction of a gunpowder business in Delaware's Brandywine region; Lammot's expansion into dynamite production; Pierre Samuel's diversification into other chemical products; and the corporation's...

This documentary looks at political, industrial, medical, and transportation revolutions of the late 18th and 19th centuries. The American Revolution inspired other nations to revolt for freedom and liberty. The Industrial Revolution pioneered mass production, led to mass consumerism, and turned Britain into a world power. Steam powered engines and railway networks decreased travel time and facilitated urban migration. However, industrial megacities...

Flight was born in America at the turn of the 20th century. But WWII saw more planes built in a single year--300,000--than had been built in the previous 40. This documentary profiles the key military airplanes of the Second World War, the men who designed them, and the men and women who built them in the race to defeat Hitler's war machine. They include Bill Boeing's 247, the first modern airliner; Donald Douglas' DC-3, adapted for military use as...

This documentary looks at the expansion of the Islamic and Spanish Empires in the late 15th century. Sultan Mehmet II introduced artillery to bombard Constantinople, which he renamed Istanbul after the Ottoman victory. Hostility towards the West compelled European traders to search for alternative routes to Asia. Bartolomeu Dias charted a path around southern Africa while Christopher Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic to the Bahamas. The Aztec...

Approximately 5,000 years ago, humans discovered metal. This documentary provides an overview of how metals shaped world history and civilizations. Bronze and iron empowered the ancient world and allowed Egyptian and Greek empires to expand. Gold drove Spanish conquistadors to pillage the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Potosi silver mines generated an economic revolution in Europe, ushering in the Consumer Age. Steel built infrastructure of the modern...