Timewatch

A Women Making Movies release of a British Broadcasting production.

Re-examines the claim that a Welsh Prince, named Madoc was the first European to discover America, reaching there in 1170 and settling with the Mandan Indians of North Dakota.

Recounts the stories of British secret agents in the Second World War. Uses archive footage and personal testimonies from people such as Oluf Reed-Olsen, Brian Stonehouse and Tony Brooks.

Uses diaries, memoirs, photographs and archive film to examine the role that the media played in the Boer War 1899-1902.

Documentary showing the changes in childbirth over the past fifty years. Looks at the shift to hospital deliveries after the Second World War and the dehumanising experience that many women complained they suffered from. Discusses how the switch to hospitals changed the relationship between the mother and the midwife.

Uses archive footage, recently released documents and interviews with war veterans to discuss the Karen tribe of Burma's role in fighting against the Japanese in the Second World War. After the war the Allies rejected Karen's demands for independence. Veterans who fought with the Karen in the war returned to Burma to help their old friends and by 1949 aided and trained by elite British forces they had overrrun nearly all of Burma. They were prevented from victory by British intelligence cutting supply lines and the consequences of this defeat which has been a constant state of civil war against the Burmese government are explored in the documentary.

Documentary which reassesses a project from 1977 which was designed to discover more about prehistoric life. A group of young people lived and worked on a replica of an Iron Age farm. The success of the project is questioned in the light of recent archaeological discoveries. The orginal volunteers now middle-aged go back to the site to talk about the experience.

The true story behind the real bridge and the man who had to supply the men to build it, Lt. Col. Toosey. Toosey left behind nearly 50 hours of audio-tapes detailing his experiences in captivity. The programme draws on these tapes, interviews with British and Japanese war veterans, and previously unseen post-war correspondence with Toosey's former captor, Sergeant Major Saito.

As Christianity became the dominant force in Europe, a religious movement was shaping the ancient Mayan civilisation of Central America. It was based upon the arrival of a messianic "fire child" into Mayan territory in AD 378. This film reveals evidence from an excavation in Honduras that suggests the Mayans were responsible for a cult of blood sacrifice.

In 1988, the third film about the inspirational life of Alison French, who has cerebral palsy, saw her get married to Mark John. Ten years and two children later, she talks candidly about her experiences as a disabled person as well as her new career as a youth and community worker

Drawing on secret documents which will be released to the Public Records Office for the first time in November 1997, this programme examines the role played by the mysterious Vernon Kell, known as `K', in the setting up of MI5 in 1909, and documents the fight against German spies sent to Britain during World War I.

Transatlantic slavery was responsible for the largest, long-distance, forced migration in history. But, since Europeans did not venture into the interior until after abolition, how did around 12 million Africans fall into their clutches? This programme delves into history and finds that, contrary to popular belief, most of the business was conducted by black slave merchants trading on the coast with Europeans.

Stored deep underground by Soviet authorities, secret files documenting the life of Lenin were hidden away for decades in a labyrinth of vaults, behind blast-proof steel doors, specially strengthened to withstand nuclear attack. The programme's exclusive access to the intimate dossiers reveals a disturbed man with a turbulent personal life whose political reign involved terror tactics against the enemies of socialism to force the pace of revolutionary change and direct orders for mass executions.

Twenty-five years ago, the Ugandan Asians arrived in Britain. Expelled from their homes in Uganda, they came with just £50 in their pockets to face two very different sides of British hospitality. This year, a report has shown them to be one of the most successful communities in Britain, and Uganda has asked them to return. With interviews, propaganda footage and news archive, this programme explores the emotional history of the Ugandan Asians and examines how they feel about Britain and the home they left behind.

This film explores the myths that surround the legendary Egyptian queen, and attempts to unravel the truth behind a life, and death, that helped to shape the civilised world for the next 500 years.