American Epic

The little-known story of a public health revolution that doubled the human lifespan is discovered.

An examination of the continuity and evolution of TV's main character archetypes through the years, this documentary series includes remarks from many actors and creative forces as it explores such archetypes as the independent woman, misfit, crusader, and man of the house.

Documentary about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

NOVA: The Elegant Universe is a three-hour miniseries about the string theory, which some physicists believe may unify the forces of nature. Scientific commentary is provided by Brian Greene, a professor of physics at Columbia University. He uses computer animation to illustrate his explanations for the idea which has been called the "theory of everything." Contains three sections: "Einstein's Dream," "String's the Thing," and "Welcome to the 11th Dimension." Greene is the author of The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, published by Norton in 1999. This miniseries was originally broadcast on PBS in October 2003.

Biblical scholar Bruce Feiler and modern sojourners undertake pilgrimages to sacred sites in this series. Each installment focuses on a modern-day pilgrim and their private spiritual journey.

A typically ambitious miniseries from Boston's PBS affiliate WGBH-TV, the seven-part, eight-hour Evolution was advertised as "A Journey Into Where We're From and Where We're Going." Although the Darwinian theory of evolution was given plenty of screen time, the series investigated all aspects of the evolutionary process, as related to survival, sex, and religion. One of the series' distinctions was its ability to find a common ground for scientists and fundamentalists alike: as one of the participants of the series noted, "We're just studying what God has made, however he made it." In addition to standard documentary footage, the project made extensive use of animation, dramatizations, and expert interviews. Individual episode titles included "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" (the two-hour opener), "Great Transformations," "Extinction!," "The Evolutionary Arms Race," "Why Sex?," "The Mind's Big Bang," and "What About God?" Co-produced by Blue Sky Productions and narrated by actor Liam Neeson, Evolution made its first PBS appearance on September 24, 2001.