Starting on
BBC Knowledge in June, 2009:
EarthshocksPremiere date: Wednesday, 17 June 2009 at 21h30
Earthshocks investigates the natural phenomena that have shaped our planet’s past, and then forecasts the future to see how potential recurrences of these events would impact our world as we know it.
The show conists of 4 documentaries that fuse the latest in scientific research with vivid computer generated imagery to predict catastrophic events in the Earth’s future.
The series reveals the story of how the earth and the solar system were bombarded by a single massive asteroid storm that changed our planet forever, and explains why the recent discovery of a vast crater off the coast of Australia has thrown up an amazing and controversial new theory on how dinosaurs evolved from the biggest explosive impact of all time.
The show also explores the enormous increase in volcanic activity over the past 1,000 years, and takes the viewer into the future to show the kind of unimaginable devastation that would be inflicted on America and Asia by the return of the Hyper-cane; a storm with winds of up to 700 miles per hour which annihilated whole ecosystems 3,000 years ago.
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Visions of the FuturePremiere date: Wednesday, 17 June 2009 at 22h30
Imagine a world where human thoughts directly connect with computers. Where your fridge could re-order what you need on the internet and pay for it using your credit card, and where long haul space travel is the norm.
American theoretical physicist Michio Kaku believes these ideas and more are possible, and provides a guide through the complexities of how everyday life could be transformed for all of us in the future.
The show features interviews with the world’s leading scientists, including artificial intelligence pioneers Marvin Minsky and Rodney Brooks, geneticist Francis Collins and immunologist Anthony Fauci.
It also discusses, not just the likely changes that technology will bring, but their implications across all aspects of our lives.
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Tribe 3Premiere date: Friday, 26 June 2009 at 21h30
In this third season of extreme tribal adventures, explorer and expedition leader Bruce Parry experiences amazing cultures from around the world.
Bruce believes there is only one way to understand a different culture - to immerse you in it completely.
In previous seasons Bruce has lived with cannibals in New Guinea and taken life-threatening jungle potions in the jungles of Central Africa. Now, he pushes the boundaries of immersive anthropology with more journeys to the ends of the Earth and the people who live there.
This third season finds Bruce undertaking six long expeditions to the world's most remote, untouched and flamboyant people.
Tribes featured in the season include the Matis of the Amazon, whose first contact with modern man was only 40 years ago, the Nenet reindeer herders of Siberia, the devout Buddhist Layap tribe of Himalayan kingdom Bhutan, and the inhabitants of the tiny, isolated South Pacific island Anuta.
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FATHER'S DAY SPECIALS
from 06h00 on Sunday, 21 June BBC Knowledge celebrates Father’s day with selection of programmes on a theme of masculine resilience and determination.
Shows through the day include:
SAS: Are You Tough Enough?The SAS recruitment and training regime is designed to break people. Legendary for its relentless rigour, it is the ultimate physical and mental challenge for all who are privileged enough to take part.
In this elimination show, hosted by Dermot O’Leary, 29 civilians are pushed to the brink as they are challenged to prove they are tough enough to survive the gruelling SAS initiation process.
The Trossachs in central Scotland provide the treacherous terrain for the exercises and after each challenge, contestants are weeded out until only the bravest and toughest are left.
SAS Desert: Are You Tough Enough?Twenty-four members of the public go back to the roots of the SAS, taking on Special Forces training in a desert environment similar to that of World War Two.
Dermot O'Leary commentates on the new recruits' progress, as Staff Sergeant Eddie Stone puts them through their paces.
The unforgiving terrain of Namibia's Skeleton Coast is the setting for the challenge, as the recruits learn to live, travel and fight like the military elite. Harsh conditions and a punishing fitness regime await them as they attempt to prove they possess the mental and physical prowess needed for the SAS.
Hunting Chris RyanWhen the Bravo Two Zero patrol went horribly wrong during the Gulf War, SAS trooper Chris Ryan was the only one to evade death or capture. His incredible escape marks him out as one of the toughest men in the world.
Now Chris's mental and physical strength is put to the test against an international team of former Special Forces soldiers, who try to hunt him down in some of the most extreme environments on Earth.
SAS Jungle: Are You Tough Enough?
Regarded as the toughest and most gruelling training regime in the world, the SAS recruitment process puts soldiers through the ultimate physical and mental challenge which only about 10 out of 125 professional soldiers will make it through. But how will members of the public fare in the most unforgiving tests they will ever endure?
Eighteen men and six women - volunteers ranging from a chemist to a kung fu champion, from the early 20s to middle age - have made it through the screening. Can they endure 10 days of hell in the Borneo jungle, as SAS soldiers re-create the brutal selection process in one of the most hostile environments on Earth?
BBC KNowledge is on DStv Channel 251.