Talk:Timewatch

To do

Check the following issues of The Times: 7, 8, 14 and 15 April 1998, and all relevant issues September, October and November 1998, and October 1997. James500 (talk) 05:11, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Episodes

I have been trying to make sense of the episode history of this series. The following document contains what I have been able to determine. Additions/corrections are welcome. Most of this data came from the BFI database. DancesWithGrues (talk) 09:55, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

BBC Timewatch Episode List

The following is believed to be the breakdown by series of all known "Timewatch" episodes. This list is probably incomplete. No official BBC source for this data exists. Series typically began broadcast in autumn and continued until the following spring or summer, but the earliest and latest series may not conform to this pattern.

"The Secret History of Genghis Khan" carries a date of 2004 but appears to have been first broadcast in January 2006 [see http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/the-secret-history-genghis-khan], probably on 13/01/2006.

"Chaplin and Hitler: The Tramp and the Dictator", by Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kroft, is listed on the BBC website as being broadcast as part of Timewatch on 28/02/2003, however the available recording does not carry Timewatch titles, is dated 2001, and was apparently first broadcast in 2002. It was probably an independently-produced documentary acquired by the BBC.

"Myths of Nelson's Navy" does not appear to be a Timewatch show though it is described in some sources as such. It was written and directed by Andrew Williams and carries a date of 2000 but was apparently broadcast on 18/04/2001.

"A Timewatch Guide" is a different series


Series 1 (1982-1983)

Untitled broadcast (24/11/1982)
Untitled broadcast (26/01/1983)
Untitled broadcast (27/04/1983)

Series 2 (1983?-1984)

Untitled broadcast (31/01/1984)

Series 3 (1984?-1985)

The AGE OF CHARLES II (06/02/1985)

Series 4 (1985-1986)

MAGIC CIRCLES (05/12/1985)
The MASTER BUILDERS (06/03/1986)
Untitled broadcast (03/04/1986)
The Road to War (08/06/1986)

Series 5 (1986?-1987)

A Medieval Affair (11/11/1986)
Fateful Century (30/04/1987)
Untitled broadcast (06/08/1987)
Untitled broadcast (13/08/1987)

Series 6 (1987-1988)

Untitled broadcast (14/10/1987)
Untitled broadcast (11/11/1987)
JUDGEMENT IN JERUSALEM (09/12/1987)
EVIDENCE OF NEGLECT (06/01/1988)
WARS OF THE WORD (03/02/1988)
The MAN IN THE IRON MASK (02/03/1988)
The HUNGER WINTER (30/03/1988)
DISHONOUR AND DEATH (01/06/1988)
SHREDS OF EVIDENCE (27/07/1988)

Series 7 (1988-1989)

SHADOW OF THE RIPPER (07/09/1988)
A WOMAN'S STORY (05/10/1988)
VISIONS OF A CONQUEROR (09/11/1988)
BUKHARIN AND THE TERROR (07/12/1988)
LIGHT IN THE DARK (11/01/1989)
An AGE OF EMPIRE (08/02/1989)
SACRIFICE AT PEARL HARBOUR (05/04/1989)
PLAYING WITH HISTORY (03/05/1989)
WITNESSES (31/05/1989)
The NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES (27/07/1989)
SUMMER OF THE BOMB (09/08/1989)

Series 8 (1989-1990)

The LAND OF LOST CONTENT (06/09/1989)
TROTSKY (04/10/1989)
Fascist Legacy A Promise Fulfilled (01/11/1989)
Fascist Legacy A Pledge Betrayed (08/11/1989)
An EDGE OF CONSPIRACY (17/01/1990)
NAPOLEON'S LAST BATTLE (21/02/1990)
Hungary: the End of Silence (21/03/1990)
DUNKIRK 1940: THE GREAT ESCAPE (27/05/1990)
A Homecoming (01/07/1990)

Series 9 (1990-1991)

Accounts of a Forgotten Army (05/09/1990)
Helping the Police with Their Enquiries (19/09/1990)
The Sipán Affair (03/10/1990)
I DON'T WANT TO BE REMEMBERED AS A CHAIR (17/10/1990)
All the King's Jews (31/10/1990)
A WAR FAR FROM HOME (14/11/1990)
ONE OF THE REASONS WHY (28/11/1990)
White Man's Grave, Black Man's Grave (12/12/1990)
SAVAGERY AND THE AMERICAN INDIAN - WILDERNESS (23/01/1991)
SAVAGERY AND THE AMERICAN INDIAN - CIVILISATION (30/01/1991)
Man Who Made the Supergun (13/02/1991)
The RELUCTANT COMRADE (27/02/1991)
The Transmission of Roger Bacon (13/03/1991)
Palestine: the First Intifada (27/03/1991)
The Cold War (10/04/1991)

Series 10 (1991-1992)

Beside Franco in Spain (18/09/1991)
Charles Darwin - Devil's Chaplain (02/10/1991)
The Columbus Conspiracy (16/10/1991)
HARVESTS OF IRON The Watch on the Somme (30/10/1991)
HARVESTS OF IRON The Theatre of Operations (06/11/1991)
SUFFER THE CHILDREN (20/11/1991)
The SPOILS OF WAR (18/12/1991)
Battle of the Styles (15/01/1992)
Kwai (29/01/1992)
Churchill's Man? (26/02/1992)
His Own Man (04/03/1992)
Woolly Al Walks the Kitty Back (11/03/1992)
The STORY OF ELIZABETH NIETZSCHE FORGOTTEN FATHERLAND (01/04/1992)
The STORY OF ELIZABETH NIETZSCHE MOTHER OF THE FATHERLAND (08/04/1992)
SS-3: the Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich (03/06/1992)
GLADIO The RINGMASTERS (10/06/1992)
GLADIO The PUPPETEERS (17/06/1992)
GLADIO The FOOT SOLDIERS (24/06/1992)

Series 11 (1992-1993)

The UN-AMERICANS Five Minutes to Midnight (02/09/1992)
The UN-AMERICANS No Place to Hide (09/09/1992)
The UN-AMERICANS To Hell with Truth (16/09/1992)
A DIPLOMAT IN JAPAN A CLASH OF CULTURES (23/09/1992)
A DIPLOMAT IN JAPAN WITNESS TO A REVOLUTION (30/09/1992)
CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS DEFYING UNCLE SAM (07/10/1992)
CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS EYEBALL TO EYEBALL (14/10/1992)
SOLD DOWN THE RIVER (21/10/1992)
ROGER CASEMENT - HEART OF DARKNESS (28/10/1992)
Allied to the Mafia (13/01/1993)
The SPARKS THAT LIT THE BONFIRE (27/01/1993)
The Stolen Child (10/02/1993)
The Secret File on J Edgar Hoover (24/02/1993)
The PILL PRESCRIPTION FOR REVOLUTION (10/03/1993)
Buffalo Bill (24/03/1993)
Battle of the Bombers (07/04/1993)
ON BEHALF OF THE STATE: MEMORIES OF HANGING (02/06/1993)

Series 12 (1993-1994)

TRUE STORY OF THE ROMAN ARENA (15/09/1993)
The Mother of All Battles (29/09/1993)
Hunger Strike: a Hidden History (13/10/1993)
CHILDREN OF THE THIRD REICH (10/11/1993)
The Mysterious Career of Lee Harvey Oswald (21/11/1993)
CHAIRMAN MAO - THE LAST EMPEROR (20/12/1993)
FORGOTTEN HEROES (12/01/1994)
The REAL RASPUTIN (26/01/1994)
Spies in the Sky (09/02/1994)
Presumed Guilty - A Women's History of Divorce 1945-1969 (09/03/1994)
RACISM OR REALISM? - A HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION (06/04/1994)
Seeds of War (26/06/1994)

Series 13 (1993-1994)

The Pill: Prescription for Revolution (24/09/1994)
The MYTH OF THE SPANISH INQUISITION (06/11/1994)
HITLER'S SECRET WEAPONS (13/11/1994)
FLAMES OF WAR (20/11/1994)
Age of the Sphinx (27/11/1994)
Khrushchev The Peasant Premier (04/12/1994)
MEMO FROM MACHIAVELLI HOW TO SUCCEED IN BRITISH POLITICS (11/12/1994)
TYPHOID MARY (18/12/1994)
OUT OF THE ASHES (11/01/1995)
Uncle Ho and Uncle Sam (23/03/1995)
The BBC in Vietnam (30/03/1995)
The Life and Loves of Oscar Wilde (15/04/1995)
Hitler's Death: the Final Report (30/04/1995)
Biafra - Fighting A War Without Guns (30/07/1995)

Series 14 (1995-1996)

EVIDENCE OF VIKINGS (08/10/1995)
The True Story of Pocahontas (15/10/1995)
KAMIKAZE (22/10/1995)
Quiet Revolution (29/10/1995)
The Projection Racket (05/11/1995)
TANKS - WONDER WEAPON OF WW1? (12/11/1995)
KARNAK - A HIDDEN HISTORY (14/01/1996)
RUSSIA'S SECRET WAR (21/01/1996)
DRAKE'S LAST VOYAGE (28/01/1996)
Bad Boys (04/02/1996)
VOICES OF VICTORIAN LONDON (11/02/1996)
HAIG THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (03/07/1996)

Series 15 (1996-1997)

HANNIBAL AND DESERT STORM (10/09/1996)
The HISTORY OF A MYSTERY (17/09/1996)
GOLD RUSH MEMORIES (24/09/1996)
STALIN'S FOREIGN SLAVES (01/10/1996)
BAITING THE BEAR (08/10/1996)
REMEMBER ABERFAN (15/10/1996)
CRY HUNGARY (22/10/1996)
LOVE STORY (25/02/1997)
BEFORE COLUMBUS (04/03/1997)
SECRET MEMORIES (11/03/1997)
The BOER WAR The FIRST MEDIA WAR (18/03/1997)
BIRTH STORY (25/03/1997)
FORGOTTEN ALLIES (01/04/1997)
BACK TO THE IRON AGE (18/04/1997)

Series 16 (1997-1998)

The TRUE STORY OF THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (28/10/1997)
LORDS OF THE MAYA (04/11/1997)
ALISON: A PERSONAL HISTORY (11/11/1997)
The GENTLEMEN SPIES (18/11/1997)
The AFRICAN TRADE (25/11/1997)
LENIN'S SECRET FILES (02/12/1997)
REMEMBER THE UGANDAN ASIANS (09/12/1997)
IN SEARCH OF CLEOPATRA (16/12/1997)
HITLER AND THE INVASION OF BRITAIN (07/04/1998)
GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS (14/04/1998)
The OKLAHOMA OUTLAW (21/04/1998)
The ROMAN WAY OF WAR (28/04/1998)
LAS VEGAS AND THE MORMONS (05/05/1998)
ABORIGINE - A COLLISION OF CONSCIENCE (12/05/1998)

Series 17 (1998-1999)

SEX AND WAR (29/09/1998)
LLOYD GEORGE'S WAR (06/10/1998)
The PILGRIM OBSESSION (13/10/1998)
BANKING WITH HITLER (20/10/1998)
The BRITISH IN INDIA (27/10/1998)
An AMERICAN FIREFIGHT (03/11/1998)
GREY OWL THE GREAT WHITE HOAX (17/04/1999)
The CROSSING (24/04/1999)
TALES FROM THE OKLAHOMA LAND RUNS (01/05/1999)
The LOST TEMPLE OF JAVA (08/05/1999)
SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY (22/05/1999)
BEFORE THE TITANIC (29/05/1999)
The FORGOTTEN VOLUNTEERS (05/06/1999)
LETTING THE GENIE OUT OF THE BOTTLE (26/06/1999)

Series 18 (1999-2000)

The SPIES WHO FOOLED HITLER MI5 AT WAR (02/10/1999)
IVAN THE TERRIBLE (06/11/1999)
TALES OF THE EIFFEL TOWER (20/11/1999)
A VERY BRITISH MUTINY (04/12/1999)
The GERMANS WE KEPT (08/01/2000)
Brazil: An Inconvenient History (29/04/2000)

Series 19 (2000?-2001)

The EMPIRE STATE STORY (12/01/2001)
HIMMLER, HITLER AND THE END OF THE REICH (19/01/2001)
The KING'S SERVANT (26/01/2001)
NERO'S GOLDEN HOUSE (02/02/2001)
PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE (09/02/2001)
HITLER, CHURCHILL AND THE PARATROOPERS (16/02/2001)
The LAST SURRENDER (11/05/2001)
DEBUTANTES (18/05/2001)
STRANGEWAYS REVISITED (25/05/2001)
SCHARNHORST (01/06/2001)
ROMAN SOLDIERS TO BE (08/06/2001)
BOMBING GERMANY (23/08/2001)

Series 20 (2001?-2002)

The MAKING OF ADOLF HITLER (04/01/2002)
Mystery of the Iron Bridge (11/01/2002)
DEATH OF THE BATTLESHIP (18/01/2002)
KILL 'EM ALL AMERICAN WAR CRIMES IN KOREA (01/02/2002)
JUBILEE DAY (08/02/2002)
MYTHS OF THE TITANIC (19/04/2002)
The Victorian Way of Death (04/05/2002)
BATTLE FOR BERLIN (10/05/2002)
STALIN AND THE BETRAYAL OF LENINGRAD (09/08/2002)
The MYTH OF CUSTER'S LAST STAND (16/08/2002)

Series 21 (2002-2003)

AKHENATEN AND NEFERTITI THE ROYAL GODS OF EGYPT (06/09/2002)
MURDER AT HARVARD (14/12/2002)
WHITE SLAVES, PIRATE GOLD (10/01/2003)
LOST CITIES OF THE MAYA (17/01/2003)
ROCKET AND ITS RIVALS (24/01/2003)
RAMESES III BEHIND THE MYTH OF A PHARAOH (31/01/2003)
1914 THE WAR REVOLUTION (07/02/2003)
Chaplin and Hitler: The Tramp and the Dictator (28/02/2003)

Series 22 (2003-2004)

CONCORDE: A LOVE STORY (19/10/2003)
Zulu - The True Story (24/10/2003)
The Greatest Storm (31/10/2003)
The Last Tomb Raider (07/11/2003)
Mystery of the Missing Ace (14/11/2003)
GALLIPOLI THE FIRST D-DAY (28/11/2003)
THROUGH HELL FOR HITLER (05/12/2003)
BRITAIN'S X FILES (09/01/2004)
The Lost Liner and the Empire's Gold (21/01/2004)
The SECRETS OF ENZO FERRARI (23/01/2004)
The Mysteries of the Medieval Ship (30/01/2004)
How Mad Was King George? (06/02/2004)

Series 23 (2004-2005)

Who Killed Rasputin (01/10/2004)
The Lost Heroes (08/10/2004)
The Mystery of the Black Death (15/10/2004)
The Black Pharaohs (22/10/2004)
The Secrets of the Mary Rose (29/10/2004)
Julius Caesar's Greatest Battle (05/11/2004)
Who Killed Ivan the Terrible (29/01/2005)
MURDER IN ROME (04/03/2005)
WHO KILLED STALIN? (11/03/2005)
PRINCESS MARGARET: A LOVE STORY (26/03/2005)
The Killer Wave of 1607 (02/04/2005)
Britain's Lost Colosseum (20/05/2005)
The Year Without Summer (27/05/2005)
Emperor Hirohito (01/07/2005)

Series 24 (2005-2006)

The Gunpowder Plot (04/11/2005)
Pol Pot: The Journey to the Killing Fields (11/11/2005)
Children of the Doomed Voyage (18/11/2005)
INSIDE THE MIND OF ADOLF HITLER (25/11/2005)
The Secret History of Genghis Khan (13/03/2006?)
The BOG BODIES (20/01/2006)
Battle of the River Plate (27/01/2006)
The Floating Brothel (03/02/2006)
Unknown Soldiers (24/02/2006)
Missing in Action (03/03/2006)
The Crusaders' Lost Fort (14/04/2006)
The Mystery of the Headless Romans (21/04/2006)
Battle for Warsaw (28/04/2006)
The Iron Coffin (05/05/2006)
San Francisco's Great Quake (12/05/2006)
The Princess Spy (19/05/2006)

Series 25 (2006?-2007)

The Hunt for U-864 (05/01/2007)
Beatlemania (12/01/2007)
Killer Cloud (19/01/2007)
Hadrian's Wall (26/01/2007)
Zeppelin: The First Blitz (02/02/2007)
The Last Duel (09/02/2007)
Remember the Galahad (02/04/2007)
Hijack (13/04/2007)
The Wave That Destroyed Atlantis (20/04/2007)
The Hidden Children (27/04/2007)
Gladiator Graveyard (11/05/2007)
The People's Coronation (18/05/2007)

Series 26 (2007?-2008)

Viking Voyage (05/01/2008)
BLOODY OMAHA (06/01/2008)
The Wreckers (12/01/2008)
The Greatest Knight (19/01/2008)
The Pharaoh's Lost City (26/01/2008)
TEN POUND POMS (02/02/2008)

Series 27 (2008-2009)

STONEHENGE (27/09/2008)
BRITAIN'S FORGOTTEN FLOODS (04/10/2008)
The BOXER REBELLION (11/10/2008)
YOUNG VICTORIA (18/10/2008)
The LAST DAY OF WORLD WAR ONE (01/11/2008)
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S LOST GUNS (21/02/2009)
QE2: THE FINAL VOYAGE (28/02/2009)
The REAL BONNIE AND CLYDE (07/03/2009)
Captain Cook: The Man Behind the Legend (14/03/2009)
WWI ACES FALLING (21/03/2009)
Pyramid: The Last Secret (28/03/2009)
IN SHACKLETON'S FOOTSTEPS (04/04/2009)
The Prince and the Plotter (04/07/2009)

Series 28 (2009-2010)

Blitz: The Bombing of Coventry (06/10/2009)
Edward VII Prince of Pleasure (23/03/2010)
Atlantis: The Evidence (02/06/2010)

There was no 2010-2011 series

Series 29 (2011-2012?)

Code-Breakers: Bletchley Park's Lost Heroes (25/10/2011)
The Most Courageous Raid of WWII (01/11/2011)
Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the German Dams (08/11/2011)
Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story (15/11/2011)