Curious People: An Incomplete History of Nine Lessons & Compendium

Celebrate the last night of the Pythons on the big screen! With John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.

With unprecedented access, this program reveals the humour, chaos and passion that went into bringing the Flying Circus to the stage culminating in the legendary One Down, Five To Go.

Blue Peter presenters Helen Skelton and Barney Harwood want to learn more about the solar system so they challenge scientists Helen Czerski and Jem Stansfield to find out more. They look at how to make telescopes and rockets, and use a toilet roll to measure the distances between planets.

An exploration of the notion of 'God' and World Peace through Religion, Spirituality, History, Science, Politics and Arts.

With unique access to Nasa, Brian Cox follows Perseverance rover’s search for life on Mars during a critical seven-day period as it undertakes an epic journey across the red planet.

How's it all gonna end? This experience takes us on a journey to the end of time, trillions of years into the future, to discover what the fate of our planet and our universe may ultimately be. We start in 2019 and travel exponentially through time, witnessing the future of Earth, the death of the sun, the end of all stars, proton decay, zombie galaxies, possible future civilizations, exploding black holes, the effects of dark energy, alternate universes, the final fate of the cosmos - to name a few.

Horizon interviews some experts and looks at the matters which can change our lives in the future, like: climate change, the future of transport, energy production, gene therapy, artificial intelligence, among other things.

For one night only, Professor Brian Cox goes unplugged in a specially recorded programme from the lecture theatre of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. In his own inimitable style, Brian takes an audience of famous faces, scientists and members of the public on a journey through some of the most challenging concepts in physics. With the help of Jonathan Ross, Simon Pegg, Sarah Millican and James May, Brian shows how diamonds - the hardest material in nature - are made up of nothingness; how things can be in an infinite number of places at once; why everything we see or touch in the universe exists; and how a diamond in the heart of London is in communication with the largest diamond in the cosmos.

Eric Idle persuades Professor Brian Cox to present a lecture on the birth of the entire universe. Brian soon realises Eric is actually hosting a comedy and musical extravaganza.

Author of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, polymath Douglas Adams was a pioneer of science fiction, comedy, technology and environmental activism. We're on a journey with Douglas Adams - diving into the broad questions of life, the universe and everything at a time when we are all asking questions of ourselves and our place on Earth - and our fear of destroying it. Campaigning for endangered species and the coming storm of climate change, he was years ahead of his time. Optimistic about the infinite possibilities that computers will bring, obsessing with the art of writing, while exploring parallel dimensions and artificial intelligence, his philosophy and ideas are meaningful, and visionary.

The illustrator and author paints scenes from a 70-year-long career, including his work with Roald Dahl. With David Walliams, Joanna Lumley, Peter Capaldi, Ore Oduba and Michael Rosen.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Anthony Irvine was a comedian and cabaret performer. His act was a little unusual. As the Iceman, he went on stage - to melt ice. But what happened next and where did he go?

Armando Iannucci presents a personal argument in praise of the genius of Charles Dickens. Through the prism of the author's most autobiographical novel, David Copperfield, Armando looks beyond Dickens - the national institution - and instead explores the qualities of Dickens's work that still make him one of the best British writers. While Dickens is often celebrated for his powerful depictions of Victorian England and his role as a social reformer, this programme foregrounds the elements of his writing which make him worth reading, as much for what he tells us about ourselves in the twenty-first century as our ancestors in the nineteenth. Armando argues that Dickens's remarkable use of language and his extraordinary gift for creating characters make him a startlingly experimental and psychologically penetrating writer who demands not just to be adapted for television but to be read and read again.

Kate Humble and Helen Czerski reveal the inner workings of the sun and investigate why scientists think changes in the sun's behaviour may have powerful effects on our climate.

With input from an eclectic mix of scientists, engineers, sportspeople (and about thirty thousand snails) the film focuses on the many incarnations of speed and how it affects us all on land, sea, sky, space and even in our thoughts.

Comedian and history buff Al Murray is joined by historian Dan Snow, writer Natalie Haynes and broadcaster and film expert Matthew Sweet for a fresh look at a subject very close to his heart - the great British war movie. This roundtable discussion looks at both the films themselves, from A Bridge too Far to Zulu, and uses them as a lens on British history, cultural attitudes and our changing views on conflict over the decades.

Physicist Dr Helen Czerski takes us on a journey into the science of bubbles - not just fun toys, but also powerful tools that push back the boundaries of science.

Dr Helen Czerski delves into the Horizon archive to chart the transformation of a little-known theory into one of the greatest scientific undertakings in history.

Oceanographer Dr Helen Czerski and zoologist Dr George McGavin carry out an ‘autopsy’ on the North Sea to understand the startling changes taking place in the world's oceans.

Fifty years into the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is threatened by arctic temperatures. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun — but the mission fails. Seven years later, a new team is sent to finish the mission as mankind’s last hope.

Eccentric aliens give a man the power to do anything he wants to determine if Earth is worth saving.

Pioneering documentary maker Philomena Cunk returns with her most ambitious quest to date: venturing right up the universe and everything to examine life and existence in an attempt to find out the point of it all. Along the way, she interrogates experts on subjects from the big bang to biology and art to artificial intelligence. Really get to the nub of it.

Eve is a catastrophe—low on self-esteem but high on fantasy, especially when it comes to music. Over the course of one Glasgow summer, she meets two similarly rootless souls: posh Cass and fastidious James, and together they form a band.

Razzle Dazzle follows the eager members of "Mr. Jonathon's Dance Academy" who, with their unique dance routines, compete for Grand Final success at Australia's most prestigious competition. Amidst parental politics, petty rivalry, creative controversy and the hysterics of pushy stage mothers, the film takes you behind the glamor and the glitter to a world where, sometimes, winning is everything!

A distance planet in a distant star system has a plan: to construct highly advanced miniature robots to send to a wide number of planets in need of an evolutionary boost.

An overly romantic librarian believes she's found the one after just three dates, but her friends are more concerned with political turmoil, which leads to a right wing coup.

Thanks for reading the writing about this DVD, which is the third in the Nine Lessons and Carols series. The shows are put together each year by Robin Ince and are a beautiful hotch potch of non religuous Christmas fun. Watching this is like watching the Royal Institution Christmas lecture crossed with the Royal Variety Show. It's informative, funny and you never know what's coming next. And it has a star stuffed line up - this DVD features Robin Ince, Richard Herring, Steve Mould, Helen Arney, Matt Parker, Isy Suttie, Marcus Du Sautoy, Jo Neary, Gavin Osborn, Ian Stone, Grace Petrie, Nick Doody, Josie Long and Alan Moore.

With a chance to win £100,000 for their ailing child, a couple enter a game show where they must face the most brutal challenge of all — being honest.