W2TCH

Timewatch (1982 – 2011)

1982 • 30 seasons • Documentary • TV-PG
On October 1, 2026
#10355
10355th by Pulse TV show online
2.3PULSEPulse MeterOur daily Pulse Meter measures public activity and popularity signals across the web.How it works →

All seasons

Timewatch — Season 15

  • Jan 14, 1996First aired
  • 13 episodesin this season
  • 50mavg. runtime
Season Trailer
#Episode nameAir dateRuntimeRating
0150mKarnak - A Hidden HistoryThe temple at Karnak in Egypt, founded around 1500 BC, was the greatest religious shrine of the ancient world, taking 2,000 years and the work of 80,000 people to complete. Yet much of what went on behind its walls was kept hidden. With the aid of computer reconstructions and film shot at religious sites in Egypt, Timewatch reveals its fascinating hidden history.Jan 14, 1996Jan 14, 199650m0250mRussia's Secret WarSome historians have always suspected that Stalin was behind the Korean War, but the Soviets have denied involvement. By obtaining documents from recently opened archives and finding new eyewitnesses, Timewatch has uncovered evidence that Stalin was involved in the war and that over 70,000 members of the Soviet military took part.Jan 21, 1996Jan 21, 199650m0350mDrake's Last VoyageFour hundred years ago today, Sir Francis Drake was buried at sea off the coast of Panama after unsuccessfully trying to recapture past glories. History records that his reputation lay in tatters just eight years after defeating the Spanish Armada. This film retraces his strange final odyssey and finds that, contrary to prevailing belief, it was a shrewdly planned venture thwarted by ill fortune. The truth lies with the Guayou Indians of Colombia, in the letters of the men who sailed with him, and with those who tried to stop him.Jan 28, 1996Jan 28, 199650m0450mBad BoysA 1973 documentary from the 'Man Alive' series portrayed the lives of six teenage male offenders and their time in Peper Harow, a community in Surrey that promoted a policy of treatment rather than punishment. This film shows the youngsters as they were then and, over two decades later, updates their stories. Was the radical Peper Harow rehabilitation experiment a success? Have the men managed to break the cycle of violence that was such a part of their lives?Feb 4, 1996Feb 4, 199650m0550mVoices of Victorian LondonHad documentary film-makers roamed the streets of London in the mid-19th century, they would have encountered an extraordinary range of characters. A rat catcher, a woman who sells dog dirt, and a depressed street clown are brought to life in this programme, capturing their tragic, amusing, and moving stories. Based on transcribed interviews with a wide range of working people as part of a survey of London labour and life by Henry Mayhew, the Victorian journalist and founder of Punch magazine.Feb 11, 1996Feb 11, 199650m0650mSpecial: Haig - The Unknown SoldierA special edition of the historical documentary series. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig has been lampooned as the worst type of British officer for his command of the army in the First World War. But did he, as accused, send thousands of British to a futile death? On the 80th anniversary of the battle of the Somme, Timewatch explores a newly emerging historical debate.Jul 3, 1996Jul 3, 199650m0750mHannibal and Desert StormWhen General Norman Schwarzkopf planned and executed the Gulf War's "Desert Storm", he looked to the history books for his strategy and found his inspiration in the distant figure of Hannibal. First of a seven-part series.Sep 10, 1996Sep 10, 199650m0850mThe History of a MysteryRennes-le-Chateau in southern France is home to one of the century's greatest conspiracy theories. For over a century there have been rumours about treasure buried beneath its streets. This edition of Timewatch sets out to solve the mystery and to separate fact from fiction.Sep 17, 1996Sep 17, 199650m0950mGold Rush MemoriesA hundred years ago, gold was discovered on a tributary of the Klondike River in north-west Canada, sparking off an extraordinary stampede across the snowbound passes of the Yukon. Will White from Dorset was one of the thousands of amateur prospectors who set out to make their fortune. White's story, gleaned from his letters home, is interwoven with tales of colourful characters of the time.Sep 24, 1996Sep 24, 199650m1050mStalin's Foreign SlavesFor half a century the Soviet Union's labour camps made virtual slaves of millions of Russians. Tens of thousands of foreigners were also caught up in this nightmare world. Using newly-released film from the Soviet archives and testimonies of former prisoners, Timewatch traces the history of these slave-labour camps.Oct 1, 1996Oct 1, 199650m1150mBaiting the BearFrom 1948-64 Curtis E LeMay and Thomas Power controlled the nuclear bombers and missiles of the USA's Strategic Air Command, the most powerful military force the world has ever seen. But it is now believed that, without the president's knowledge, they built up a huge nuclear arsenal and provoked the Kremlin. Timewatch has uncovered a secret plan that risked a Third World War in the sixties.Oct 8, 1996Oct 8, 199650m1250mRemember AberfanTonight's documentary visits the small mining village in South Wales where, in October 1966, disaster struck when a coal tip above the village collapsed and crashed down the hillside at speed, sweeping everything up which lay in its path. How are the villagers coping with their grief 30 years on? This respectful documentary commemorates the disaster and features archive footage alongside contemporary interviews with some of the survivors and the bereaved parents.Oct 15, 1996Oct 15, 199650m1350mCry HungaryForty years ago this week, thousands of Hungarians demonstrated on the streets of Budapest in protest against Soviet occupation of their country and communist oppression. Subsequent Soviet retribution resulted in the deaths of between 3,000 and 5,000 Hungarians. Ex-revolutionaries Bela Liptak, Greg Pongratz, and Imre Mecs reunite to watch Jeremy Bennett's 1986 film 'Cry Hungary' and discuss how far the ideals of the revolution were achieved.Oct 22, 1996Oct 22, 199650m