Documentary
International trade has been ferried around the world via boat for centuries. If the business of shipping stopped tomorrow, half the world would starve, and the other half would freeze. A testament of humanity's will to tame the elements and expand our reach; shipping has…
We discover how a steel box with a standard set of dimensions revolutionised global trade. It began in 1956, when a refitted oil tanker carried nearly 60 containers down the East coast of America from Newark to Houston. This radical new approach was the brainchild of American trucking magnate Malcolm McLean, who had seen the inefficient process of loading goods between ship and truck and knew there had to be a better way. He sold his multimillion dollar trucking business to fund this new endeavour. What followed changed the world. The cargo container.
We explore the incredible record-breaking ships built to move massive volumes of cargo and the history of invention and engineering that defined the industry. In the early years of the 20th century, ocean vessels became a site of competition between nations. Who could build the biggest and fastest ships. It was in this race that early record-breakers were built. Ships like the Lusitania, the Olympic and the Titanic.
We set a course for the most treacherous sea routes, the most ingenious man made canals, and the most extreme conditions ship crews will face. Shipping routes have been defined and redefined over decades. All in pursuit of finding the fastest and safest way to move goods between ports. Along these routes, the dangers are many. Around the coast of Africa, pirates still rule the waters, preying on shipping vessels. Particularly those who are crewed by countries known to pay ransoms. Maps of global shipping routes reveal these dark spots, where ships dare not travel. Regions like the coast of Somalia, a notorious pirate strait. The ocean itself is often treacherous.
We take a closer look at the science and evolution of modern ports, built to service vessels that are growing in scale each year. Sea ports and their cities are at the heart of the shipping industry. The gateway through which goods are moved between land and sea. As trends and technology have evolved over the course of the 20th century, so too do these cities. Rising and falling economies inexorably linked to the industry they are built around.
Narrator (voice)
The specter of drug trafficking haunts Europe. Struggling with ultra-violent criminal groups that control the vast majority of cocaine trade, European police forces are overwhelmed. The epicenter of all this trafficking: the Netherlands. A nation at the forefront of international trade and drug policy. This two-part film delves into the origins of European drug trafficking through the unique history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
MythBusters is a science entertainment television program created and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The show's hosts, special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, use elements of the scientific method to test the validity of rumors, myths, movie scenes, adages, Internet videos, and news stories.
This is your chance to reach out and touch the past! Just as a forensic anthropologist analyses bones, and a historian deciphers ancient texts, we now have the technology to "read" the buildings, ruins and landscapes where history was made. The series, presented by Dallas Campbell, teams Steve Burrows (pictured), the brains behind the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, with a team of pioneering laser scanning experts from the Centre for Advanced Spatial Technologies to unlock the secrets of the world’s greatest engineering and cultural achievements. Locations include the Colosseum, Petra, Machu Picchu, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Pyramids and Jerusalem.
It is 2014 and the machines have not taken over…yet. The newest, most technologically advanced series from H2™, Rise of the Machines, reveals how the inventions behind the world’s most extreme machines have enabled them to evolve beyond humanity’s wildest imagination. This visually stunning series uses mind-blowing CGI animations to reveal the extraordinary engineering at the heart of the world’s most extreme machines. From the world’s biggest mega truck to the world’s fastest train to a revolutionary heavy lift ship, ground breaking CGI animation explodes the machines apart to reveal the ingenious inventions hidden under their skin that enables the teams who drive, fly and sail them to be at the top of their game. This series takes us inside these machines in close up detail and explores what helps these elite ships, trucks, trains and aircrafts rise above all others.
This series presents a number of unique vehicles that helped to shape Australia's automotive history. We briefly look at some of the most iconic cars to hit the Australian highways ( goat tracks ) and why we loved or hated them and how they faired on our roads and race tracks. Some of these cars are unique to Australia, while other cars will be instantly recognised in other parts of the world. Some international models were renamed and rebadged for the Australian market, but you may still recognise them just the same. We've asked automotive journalists Mark Oastler, John Wright & Joe Kenwright to present their exclusive articles for the Shannons Club in a television format.
Relive the biggest events of Australian Motorsport history in 'Shannons Legends of Motorsport', hosted by Neil Crompton. In an entertaining 12 part series, Neil Crompton, Australia's premier motoring commentator, brings to life the history of Australian Motorsport with rarely seen historical footage from Seven's extensive archives dating from the '60's to the '90'. In the he second 12 part series, hosted by Bill Woods and Aaron Noonan, they interview many of our Australian motorsport legends and reveal even more historical footage taken from the Network Seven archives. The third 15 part series includes a number of short clips outlining some of the most iconic people, cars and race events in our Australian automotive history.
Series in which intrepid presenter Kate Humble follows the ancient frankincense trade route of Arabia across the amazing modern world of the Middle East. Kate's journey along the 2,000-mile trail that first connected the Arab world with the West takes her on a quest that's steeped in history, searing with desert heat, and full of characters and adventure.
