How the theme of hero worship grew from tales of King Arthur in Malory's "Le Morte D'Arthur". Included: comments from filmmaker George Lucas on how the "Star Wars" films evolved from the book. Narrated by Donald Sutherland.

How Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" reflects concerns about the consequences of scientific experimentation. Included: a profile of Shelley; comments from authors Anne Rice and Anne K. Mellor. Donald Sutherland narrates.

The scientific and sociological impact of Darwin's "The Origin of Species." Included: comments from Rev. Jerry Falwell; a re-creation of Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle. Narrated by Donald Sutherland.

Written in 1949, George Orwell envisioned a grim future. By 1984, he imagined political leaders manipulating the multitudes into placing infinite faith in their power. In Great Books: 1984, revisit Orwell's life and work, and explore his darkest novel which is sometimes difficult to distinguish from today's reality.

There is a dark side to each one of us where our forbidden fear, lust and anger lurk. These unconscious desires do not rest quietly in the human psyche. They are in a sense our enemy within. One man believed he could exorcise our demons through the study of dreams. Sigmund Freud took pride in disturbing the sleep of humanity. At the turn of the century in Vienna, Austria, Dr. Sigmund Freud claimed he had discovered a new doorway to the unconscious... So tell me anything that comes into your mind. Perhaps we could begin with your dream last night. Freud's self-proclaimed masterpiece, The Interpretation of Dreams, offered readers a window into our most secret selves. In his revolutionary work, Freud suggested that often the purpose of dreams is to satisfy through fantasy the instinctive urges that society judges unacceptable. The laws of logic that rule our waking world do not apply to the kingdom of sleep where we are free to experience fantastic adventures. For Freud this liberation of fantasy was a path that led to the heart of the unconscious.

An examination of “The Inferno,” the 14th-century work by author Dante Alighieri that details the implications and consequences of life choices.