Timewatch

- Season 25

(1982)

Only once have two submarines dueled, with one submerged submarine sinking another. In February 1945, HMS Venturer hunted down and sank the U-Boat U864 off the coast of Norway. The WWII German submarine was loaded with 65 tons of mercury destined for use in Japanese weapons. 'Timewatch' examines the u-boat's final hour from both sides of the conflict and explores the dangers of the toxic wreck today.

In the 1960s, the Beatles inadvertently revolutionized the music industry, instigated the birth of youth culture and then, at the height of their popularity, inexplicably retired from the stage. Using unseen home movies, the Fab Four are shown during their touring years and lets the viewer see the record-setting musicians at work from the vantage of their road crew.

In 1783, thousands in Britain died as a result of an environmental disaster, choking on poisonous gases from a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland. The ensuing winter was one of the harshest ever recorded and claimed even more lives. This forgotten disaster has remained a mystery for the past 200 years. 'Timewatch' reveals the evidence and reviews the likelihood of a repetition.

A look at Hadrian's Wall, one of the unsung wonders of the Ancient World.

Long before World War II, in WWI in fact, Germany began the world's first strategic bombing campaign. In an attempt to demoralize the people of Britain, in early 1915 a German zeppelin airship dropped bombs on the Norfolk town of Great Yarmouth. It was the start of a campaign lasting two-and-a-half years which killed 1,500 people. Timewatch reexamines the forgotten Blitz.

After quarreling over a bank loan, two men took part in the last fatal duel staged on Scottish soil. BBC News's James Landale retraces the steps of his ancestor, who made that final challenge. On 23 August 1826, two men met at dawn in a field just outside Kirkcaldy in southern Fife. Only one walked away alive. One was David Landale, a linen merchant and pillar of the community. The other was George Morgan, a soldier-turned-banker with a fiery temper. The pair had quarreled over a bank loan, an argument that had led the banker to spread rumours about his client's ...

Twenty-five years after the Royal Navy landing ship Sir Galahad was sunk in a fiery blaze in the Falkland Islands by the Argentine air force while unloading British troops, survivors, friends and family affected by the calamity told how this act continued to impact their lives.

In 1970 a flight with more than twenty children on board was hijacked by a Palestinian guerrilla group. It was the only time a British commercial aircraft has ever been hijacked. Timewatch probes the ethics of negotiating with hijackers and discusses the alternatives.

In July 1942 the French authorities willingly collaborated with the Germans to round up Jews to be sent to concentration camps. It was a betrayal on a huge scale. Yet many ordinary French people risked their own lives to save thousands of Jewish children. Told in their own words, these are the hair-raising stories of four young Jewish children secretly hidden from the Nazis. Today, they look like anyone's grandparents. Their stories are of narrow escapes, incredible adventures, and great heroism. Also of painful loss, and guilt. As these survivors return to the places...

A team of archaeologists and scientists comb Crete for conclusive evidence that Europe's first great civilization, the Minoans, was destroyed by a devastating natural disaster. Is it possible that the sudden fate of the Minoans was the origin of Plato's tale of Atlantis, the fabulous city that was swallowed by the sea?

Thanks to the revolutionary work of forensic anthropologists Dr Fabian Kanz and Professor Karl Grossschmidt, 'Timewatch' has been able to establish a detailed picture of how gladiators may have lived, fought and died 2000 years ago in Ephesus. A tombstone identified one 50 year-old body as gladiator trainer Euxenius. His remains, and the skeletons of 68 other gladiators nearby, reveal much about the diet, lifestyle, medical care and fighting conditions of the legendary warriors.

In June 1953 Britain was still suffering from the privations imposed by World War II. Despite the hardships, the country was excited by a once-in-a-lifetime event. A young queen was beginning her reign. Thanks to television, the common Briton was able to see his monarch crowned for the first time in Britain's 1000 year history. Observers and participants shared their memories of the historic occasion.