John B. Bredar

Documentary exploring the parallels between 'The Return of the King' and real events and people in history.

A documentary about the influences on Tolkien, covering in brief his childhood and how he detested the onslaught of industry through the idyllic countryside, moving on to describe his fighting experience from WWI, and closing with a look at the Finnish inspiration for the scholar's self-invented languages of Elfish. In between are interviews with the cast of the films and some clips, by far the most from "The Fellowship of the Ring", but a few glimpses of Rohan riders (from "The Two Towers") are provided. Also, there are interviews with a range of the filmmakers.

Featuring behind-the-scenes footage and unprecedented access to its hallowed halls, this program from National Geographic takes viewers on an in-depth tour of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue -- the White House. Interviews with presidents and first ladies offer a revealing look at what goes into running that famous household, and White House employees give viewers a taste of the preparations involved in hosting a state dinner.

In 1858 Charles Darwin struggles to publish one of the most controversial scientific theories ever conceived, while he and his wife Emma confront family tragedy.

The events of the hajj have long remained veiled from non-Muslims, who are forbidden even to enter the holy city of Mecca. A team of Muslim filmmakers gained access to Islam's holiest place at the peak of the pilgrimage to document the holy event for National Geographic Television.

The Vikings were the most ferocious warriors of the Middle Ages. Especially fearsome were the select few who wielded a formidable weapon: a light, razor sharp, virtually indestructible sword with its maker's name, Ulfberht, inlaid along the blade.

Provides a behind-the-scenes look, with unprecedented access, into life inside the Vatican. With rare footage of secret archives, private chapels and papal quarters, the program explores the Vatican's long, powerful history, and the unique traditions and ceremonies that have survived for nearly 2000 years. Accounts from Vatican officiants, historians and devoted individuals who work closely with the Pope John Paul II provide privilieged insight into the inner workings of one of the richest wonders of the world.

It is a story about the Gulf of Maine, a sea within the sea, a body of water that is warming 97% faster than the global ocean. What happens here to the animals in the water, to the jobs that are dependent upon it and to the millions of people living along its shores is likely to happen worldwide. We are at a crossroads for the future of the Gulf and all our oceans. Does it retain enough of its biodiversity and regenerative strength to weather the human-induced storm? Is the sheer beauty of this place and spectacular range of its creatures enough to wake us to what is at stake?

In a race against developers in the Rocky Mountains, paleontologists uncover a unique fossil site packed with astonishingly well-preserved bones of mammoths, mastodons, and other giant extinct beasts. The discovery opens a highly focused window on the vanished world of the Ice Age in North America.

It contains 99.9 percent of all the matter in our solar system and sheds hot plasma at nearly a million miles an hour. The temperature at its core is a staggering 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. It convulses, it blazes, it sings. You know it as the sun. Scientists know it as one of the most amazing physics laboratories in the universe.

Half a century ago, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first humans to stand atop the highest mountain of earth. Now, their sons and Brent Bishop, son of the first American to summit Everest, make a historic expedition to face Everest's unforgiving heights. Experience their harrowing, deeply individual quests to conquer this awesome peak - and discover the dramatic history of Everest, from tragedy and triumph to the unsung role of the remarkable Sherpa people. With gripping, on-location filming and never-before-seen archival footage, this is the thrill of Everest as only National Geographic can present it!

An investigation into the mysterious people who built Machu Picchu, the 15th-century Inca citadel located in southern Peru.

It’s a revelation conjuring heated debate: According to a recently translated ancient text called the Gospel of Judas, the disciple infamous for betraying Jesus may well have been Christ’s most faithful servant and—because the Savior asked him to—accepted perpetual disgrace to bring about Jesus' death. Explore the mysticism of early Gnostic thought expressed in words written on a 1,700-year-old leather-bound papyrus. Hear the interpretations of four biblical scholars. Follow this fragile document from its discovery in Egypt to its translation and ultimate presentation to the world. And share your thoughts on the Gospel of Judas.

Documenting the shadowy world of illegal trade that in this era of globalization spans the entire planet with a growing web of criminal networks. Counterfeiting is not just about knock-off brand handbags or pirated DVDs; these global supply chains also carry much more dangerous items: drugs, weapons, fake pharmaceuticals, knock-off car and airline parts, and more.

Deep in the Andean mountains lays a mysterious ruin named Machu Picchu. For 400 years it sat abandoned on its misty cliff, the quintessential lost city in the jungle. Rediscovered in 1911, it contained no written records or carvings, nothing that could shed light on its history. For a century since, it has defied the endless scores of visitors and scientists who attempted to understand its purpose. Who were the mysterious people who built it and why did they build it here? Today an international team of archeologists, engineers and scientists are finally piecing together the clues. Together they are discovering astonishing new burials, revealing the intricacies of its ingenious engineering and finally decoding the secrets of Machu Picchu.

Join two scientists and an explorer as they travel to Lebanon to find out more about the ancient Phoenicians. The scientists are using genetics to determine the link between the current Lebanese population and the early Phoenicians from bone excavations made at ancient sites. Meanwhile, the explorer tries to retrace the shipping and sailing routes of the Phoenicians, who were aggressive explorers that discovered and conquered other Mediterranean lands.

Discover the secrets of the Confederate hand-powered submarine, the H.L. Hunley, as researchers raise it and open it for the first time in more than a century.

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Explores the history of drugs. From the early cave dwellers who first stumbled upon psychedelic mushrooms to the over 6000-year-old tradition of opium cultivation in the East to a modern pharmaceutical industry with over 24,000 drugs on the market, drugs have played a role in our lives since well before recorded human history. THE STONED AGES explores the reasons weve used drugs through the ages to heal our bodies and minds, to connect with a higher power, to feel better, for recreation, to escape, for performance enhancement, and even to prolong our lives while considering the devastating consequences that accompany the choice to use certain drugs. This fascinating, fresh, and insightful documentary will ask the question: overall, have drugs done more to help us or hurt us?

As part of a high-tech forensic probe into the demise of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, scientists use X-rays and CT scans as they attempt to reach a conclusion about just how this famed king died. In addition, they explore the mysterious curse on explorers linked to Tut's tomb excavation.