Mark Williams' Big Bangs is a four-part English documentary series which traces the history of all things explosive – from humble beginnings in the ninth century with the Chinese alchemists to the present day.
The series originally aired in the UK on Sky One in 2006. There are three hour-long episodes.
Mark Williams' Big Bangs premieres in South Africa on DStv's Discovery Channel on Wednesday 6 February 2008, at 17h30.
Synopsis
Mark Williams' Big Bangs lights the blue touch paper with an explosive new four-part documentary tracing the history of all things explosive - from humble beginnings with ninth-century Chinese alchemists to the present day.
Mark, best known for his roles in the sketch comedy series The Fast Show, will learn about the history of explosives by creating some impressive blasts of his own.
His chronological journey takes him to, among other places, China, Denmark, Germany, Istanbul and Belgium. Each location plays host to a re-creation of an almighty bang, demonstrating the big sparks of that time.
His exploration of the world of explosions leads Mark to create a firecracker from bamboo sticks, climb Mount Etna to find sulphur, build a musket and fire a machine gun.
Not to mention blowing up a huge building, the destruction of a Ford Escort by cannon, explosions to clear potential avalanches and the dismantling of a railway line.