SUPER SCIENCE MONDAYS
CALCULATING ADA: THE COUNTESS OF COMPUTING
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 07 December 2020 CAT: 22:00 Episodes: 1x 60 mins
In August 1843 a brilliant young countess, Ada Lovelace, approached an irascible inventor to offer her help to secure funding for the world’s first mechanical computer. She alone had grasped the full implications of such a machine and had even written the first computer program for it.
THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE UNIVERSE
Brand New Series - premieres 21 December 2020 CAT: 20:00 (back to back episodes) Episodes: 2x 60 mins
Theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalilitakes us back in time to tackle the greatest question in science: how did the universe begin? Through a series of critical observations and recreations of experiments that revolutionized our understanding of our world, Al-Khaliliunravels the cosmic mystery of science’s creation story.
HISTORY LOVER TUESDAYS
EMPIRE OF THE TSARS
Brand New Series –Premieres 15 December 2020 CAT: 22:00
Episodes: 3 x 60 mins –ends 29 December 2020
Lucy Worsleytravels in the footsteps of the Romanovs, the all-powerful dynasty who ruled Russia for more than three centuries. She introduces us to a roll call of extraordinary characters: Peter the Great, the visionary who transformed a country into an empire; Catherine the Great, the minor princess from Germany who became the mightiest woman in the world. And the last tsar, Nicholas II, the loving father and husband who provoked a revolution. This is the story of a glittering family, whose spectacular palaces hide stories of betrayal, scandal, and murder.
WILDLIFE WEDNESDAYS
SLOW MOTION
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 02 December 2020 CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 1x 60 mins
In our hectic world so much seems to pass us by. All around us dramas are playing out, but they often happen so fast that we don’t even see it: blink and you’ll miss it. But when you slow down the action a whole new world is revealed. Little lizards become velociraptors and hummingbirds aerobatic pilots. Using technology we can start to fully understand the remarkable feats of speed, power and precision found in the natural world. Slow down a little, you might be surprised by what you see!
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 09 December 2020 CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 1x 30 mins
Christmas traditions and history are full of characters from the natural world. Jesus’ mother, Mary, was ferried on the back of a donkey. There is perhaps no animal more closely bound to Christmas as Santa’s crack team of reindeer. And what Christmas would be complete without the iconic robin red breast?
But the changing climate is threatening their existence. By keeping wildlife in our thoughts and actions we can safeguard their future and secure their place on our Christmas cards for years to come.
LIFE’S A BEACH
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 23 December 2020 CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 1x 60 mins
To us the beach is one giant playground, but for wildlife it’s a place to live, to find food and to raise their young. Amongst the fish and chips, sandcastles and donkey rides it’s easy to forget that beaches are vital habitats, home to a myriad of animals. Whether grey seals are duellingfor a mate and raising their young, or black bears and tigers are scouring the coastline for a tasty snack, animals have been using the beach for millennia. One thing’s for sure –the beach is full of surprises!
TRAVEL & ADVENTURE FRIDAYS
ON THE RAILS
Brand New Series - premieres 04 December 2020 CAT: 20:00
Episodes: 5x 60mins -ends 01 January 2021
A writer, journalist and major reporter, Olivier Weber took his camera around the world, to the compartments and wagons of trains. Because the train is a unique starting point to discover a country, this documentary series renews the genre of rail travel by taking the time to meet the people, appreciate the stories and the daily life of the inhabitants met along the way. From Mauritania to Sicily, from Mexico to the USA and Czech Republic, each episode takes us onboard an emblematic train, to meet those who live, eat and sleep and build projects there … On the Rails also explores what surrounds this legendary means of transport: the villages, the breathtaking landscapes, the must-see tourist steps, the train stations, the countryside and the mountains crossed by the journalist.
HUMAN STORY SATURDAYS
BOLERO: A GLOBAL HIT
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 12 December 2020 CAT: 22:00 Episodes: 1 x 60 mins
A Bolero is played every 15 minutes in the world. This film tries to answer how this famous melody inspired and influenced the world pop-culture? It explores the complexity and the richness of a piece so simple in appearance: the emotions it triggers, vertigo it creates, the words it inspires.
BEST OF CURIOSITY SUNDAYS
TOP SCIENCE STORIES OF 2020
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 06 December 2020 CAT: 19:00 Episodes: 1x 60 mins
2020 has been a year filled with astonishing discoveries on Earth and beyond. We take a look back at the many fascinating science stories from the unprecedented Coronavirus and the search for a vaccine, the lift off and landing of the Dragon X Space Shuttle, the wildfires in Australia, the mass bleaching events at the Great Barrier Reef and so many more.
BEYOND THE LIGHTS
Brand New Series - premieres 13 December 2020 CAT: 21:00
Episodes: 3 x 60 mins –ends 27 December 2020
Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio*
They are the people that rock our world; what rocks theirs?Beyond the Lights goes beyond fame to reveal the passions of celebrities on a mission to change the world.Shaquille O’Neal went from being poor and bullied – and becoming a bully –to success and fame in the NBA.He credits the Boys & Girls Club with turning his life around and has spent the past thirty years giving back to America’s children.At age 19, while on a missionary trip to a clinic in Brazil, Kristen Bell helped to deliver two babies.The experience ignited her nurturing nature, which endures today in the organization she founded, “No Kid Hungry.” Samuel L. Jackson was fourteen years old when Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” Speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and from that time onward has been a passionate supporter of civil rights. Here are leading entertainers and artists, in their own words, telling us what inspires them.
* Embargoed until further notice
Curiosity Channel is available on DStv channel 185
