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The programme-makers re-opened the investigation into his death and found conclusive evidence to suggest that Rasputin was murdered in St Petersburg in 1916 in a plot hatched by rogue members of the British Secret Service – with a fatal shot fired at close range by Secret Agent Oswald Rayner.

The documentary is based on extraordinary new evidence uncovered by intelligence historian, and programme consultant, Andrew Cook.

In addition, BBC Timewatch brought in Richard Cullen, former Metropolitan Police Commander, and a trainer of police cadets in forensic detective work in Russia, to re open the case.

Re-examining the original autopsy reports, Richard Cullen found that the original explanation for Rasputin’s death did not tally with the forensic evidence.

In particular, he questions one of the key autopsy photographs which shows a gunshot wound situated in the centre of Rasputin’s forehead, which bears the hallmarks of a professional assassination.

The accepted version of Rasputin’s death states that he was poisoned, then shot, and finally drowned in the River Nevka by five disaffected aristocrats, led by Prince Felix Yusupov.

The conspirators were said to be concerned about Rasputin’s influence on Tsar Nicholas II, and his wife Tsarina Alexandra.

Over the years historians have questioned Yusupov’s version of events but failed to come up with credible alternative theories.

Watch the full documentary now (playlist)

An unprecedented look into the underworld of Vancouver’s downtown east-side ghetto. This 65 minute documentary follows one man’s 30 day experiment of joining the thousands of homeless, ill, and addicted, who survive the streets of Vancouver’s cold, wet December.

He starts off with nothing but a pair of underwear. Where he ends up is a place he never knew existed, even though its a place he passed by every day.

He has no money, no friends, no family, and most importantly, no home. He must navigate the institutions, policies and services alongside the thousands of people that call Vancouver’s streets home.

This is the perfect film for anyone who wants to see first hand what life is like on Vancouver’s streets, but doesn’t want to risk murder from gang violence, contracting a fatal or chronic disease, or a life-long addiction to crack or heroin. Official Selection 2009 Queens International Film Festival and Official Selection 2010 Oxford FIlm Festival.

Watch the full documentary now (playlist)

Just like the director did some ago in Microcosmos, this is a project in which we can see the advances of film-making, the one that can show us images that we had never seen before.

From the crystallization of Vitamin C through and electronic microscope, to the sea horses love dance, from the amazing life of the walking fish to the love parakeets, from the beautiful dance of Jellyfish to the lava rivers, every single image is filled with color, life, joy and some kind of mystery.

Blending humor with seriousness innocence with wisdom an African griot uses the evocative language of myth and fable to relate the birth of the universe and the stars the fiery beginnings of our planet and the appearance of life on earth featuring animals as the main players.

Genesis is one of the most fascinating and relevant documentaries. It is an account of the beginning of everything, but focuses most especially on the nature of life on our planet.

The truths contained in this film and the fashion in which they are masterfully woven into a much broader, overall picture are compelling, the imagery is mesmerizing, and for anyone who is truly interested in the essence and mannerisms of life as we know it, this film is an excellent introduction to a fuller, more complete understanding.

Watch the full documentary now (playlist)

Star-gazing reached incredible heights thousands of years before the Hubble. Learn the amazing advances made by the great ancient culture of Central America.

Take another fascinating trip through time to discover the precursors from centuries or even millennia ago of todays cutting-edge technological breakthroughs. Using the latest scholarship, hands-on demonstrations, and dramatic reenactments, The Ancient Maya: Tools of Astronomy shows just how far ahead of their times they really were.

Without the aid of magnifying technology or even a firm idea of where they stood on the planet, the Mayan grasp of the universe through astrological observation was simply stunning. Host Michael Guillen travels to Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula to get a firsthand look at the ancient world’s most skilled astronomers.

Climb the giant pyramid of Kukulkan and see how it functioned as a giant solar observatory. Examine El Caracol at Tikal, which looks amazingly like a modern day observatory. Learn how the Maya used the sun to lay out their various temples and observatories and examine their incredibly complex and accurate calendar.

Watch the full documentary now (playlist)

How does a chimpanzee see the world? A research project at Edinburgh Zoo is designed to answer just that question in an innovative new way – by training chimps to use video touch screens and giving them a special chimp-proof camera.

How will they react to tools which in evolutionary terms are a few million years ahead of them?

As chimp specialist Betsy Herrelko finds out, trying to communicate with chimps using video technology has its trials and tribulations as power struggles, bites and fights get in the way of the hairy chimp directors.

However, by the end of the programme we are privileged to see the world’s first film shot by chimpanzees.

Watch the full documentary now (playlist)

It was the most ambitious building project ever attempted in the history of mankind. And its story has been almost impossible to tell – until now.

Based on astonishing new archaeological finds and extraordinary first-person accounts, Great Wall of China tells the story of one of the greatest wonders the world has ever known. It’s more than 3,000 miles in length and was built in just 20 years by a workforce of nearly two million using technology and construction techniques that continue to inspire awe even today.

The story of its building, one of human drama, labor and loss, is told in this film through three individuals, each one central to the tale. Thirteen-year-old Emperor Muzong, whose Kingdom is pushed to the brink of destruction by invading Mongolian warriors, demands that a wall be built that can never be breached again.

General Qi Jiguang, a military hero and engineering genius, is tasked with overseeing the largest workforce ever assembled on earth. And Zhou Li, an ordinary soldier, is forced to work in conditions of unimaginable hardship but ultimately finds sanctuary and peace in the shadow of this great wall.

Watch the full documentary now (playlist)

hot in HD with stunning footage from NASA and state of the art CGI graphics, History (TM) brings the beauty and mysteries of the cosmos home to viewers with The Universe: Season 3.

We once considered ourselves to be at the center of the universe – now we know that we are just a small speck in a giant cosmos.

This season, The Universe ventures outside of our solar system in another epic exploration of the universe and its mysteries. Discover “alcohol clouds,” which are filled with organic molecules, and learn about a hypothetical planet that may exist beyond Neptune.

Click on the links bellow to watch the episodes from this season.
Please read FAQ No.10 before watching.

1. Deep Space Disasters. The history of space disasters and the potential for danger in space – from explosive launches, fiery reentries, fire in an oxygen-rich atmosphere, deadly micrometeoroid impacts, catastrophic solar flares and a host of other space hazards astronauts risk on every mission. Also discussed are what could happen if a ship encounters a black hole or gamma-ray burst.

2. Parallel Universes. The theory of the multiverse – the possibility of parallel dimensions existing where Earth and everyone on it are duplicated many times over, and how physicists search for evidence of these doppleganger realities using state of the art particle colliders that can detect higher dimensions of existence.

3. Light Speed. The speed of light, the ultimate speed limit enforced by the laws of the universe, and how scientists are looking for ways to exceed it; a look at what happens when we reach the “light barrier”; what could happen if we surpass it, and how the “cosmic constant” can be manipulated.

4. Sex in Space. Experiments in human sexuality in space; the psychology of relationships and reproduction that must be addressed if mankind wish to colonize other planets; how pregnancy and birth could be handled in microgravity and the complications that could arise under such conditions; and the answer to whether or not sex has already been attempted during a space mission.

5. Alien Faces. How differently life on Earth has evolved between animals, from the deep ocean to those on land, their environments played a role in their design; and an imaginative look at how similar life could take form under vastly different environments of alien worlds.

6. Deadly Comets and Meteors. How comets and meteors played a role in the formation of the solar system; their possible role in the extinction of the dinosaurs; and the theories that cometary dust could bring alien viruses to Earth.

7. Living in Space. How human colonies could exist in space, from domed cities to underground bases, to orbital habitats, to hollowed-out asteroids. Also a look at how robots will play a role in space survival; how food will be grown; the advances in space suit and equipment technology; and a look at how resources could be gathered and processed to sustain such otherworldly colonies.

8. Stopping Armageddon. Some of the ideas scientists are exploring to save Earth one day from an inevitable meteor impact, including ways to divert near-Earth objects (NEOs) with laser beams, nuclear bombs, solar sails, satellites that act as artificial gravity sources, and rocket engines that could attach to and push them out of Earth’s path.

9. Another Earth. How astronomers search for other Earth-like planets around other stars; which stars are candidates for possible discovery; and how techniques develop and the sensitivity of equipment improve will make finding another Earth just a matter of time.

10. Strangest Things. Some of the most bizarre things in the universe such as odd moons, strange stars, exotic particles, mysterious black holes, and invisible dark matter.

11. Edge of Space. The prospects for the commercialization space, from $20 million dollar vacation trips to the ISS, the possibility of orbital hotels, and spaceplane flights 120 miles above the Earth are just the beginning. Also a look at the hazards, such as cosmic radiation and space debris, that could spell disaster for these outerspace endeavors.

12. Cosmic Phenomena. Various cosmic phenomena, both “good” – such as the beauty of the aurora borealis, the thrill of a meteor shower, the miracle of photosynthesis, and the “bad” – such as UV radiation that can “get under our skin”, and solar flare activity that can not only scramble electronics, but could threaten life on Earth.