Episode 6
Conservator Adriana is cleaning a beautiful sculpture thought to have been designed by the Renaissance master Donatello and produced in his workshop, almost 600 years ago. Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels is a work known as a relief, in which three-dimensional elements stand out against a flat base. Once a layer dirt is lifted, Adriana discovers ancient varnish, which she must remove without damaging the paint surface below. And as she cleans, she makes a discovery about the piece which helps to explain how it was originally used.
Theatre and Performance curator Simon has just taken delivery of a costume from the 2013 stage play The Audience, in which Helen Mirren played the Queen across six decades of her reign. The dress, a regal outfit inspired by a 1950s gown from royal couturier Sir Norman Hartnell, has a secret that explains how Mirren was able to undertake up to 10 quick changes each night during the show – it zips up at the back like an enormous coat. After conservator Gesa makes a mannequin in the shape of Helen Mirren on which to display the dress, Simon invites its designer, renowned theatrical designer Bob Crowley, to the V&A for a reunion with his royal creation.
In Devon, archivist Christopher is meeting up with a 91-year-old master of his craft, a man whose creations have made all our lives easier. Sir Kenneth Grange designed the Kenwood Chef, the parking meter, the famous blue-and-yellow Intercity 125 train, Parker pens, and a breakthrough Kodak camera – as well as hundreds of other products – in a career as a designer spanning 60 years. Now, he's donating the archive of his life's work to the V&A, and Christopher faces the daunting task of selecting just a few key pieces for a display in the new V&A East Storehouse. Sir Kenneth is also donating his sketchbooks to the museum, containing a day-by-day record of his thinking as he set about creating products that many of us have used for decades.
At V&A Dundee, the team have recruited contemporary artist and designer Yinka Ilori to help them fill the enormous entrance hall at the museum, one of the largest exhibition spaces in Scotland. Yinka, a designer famous for filling public spaces with giant and very colourful works of art, is proposing building a 170 sq metre technicolour maze, for children of all ages, filled with zip-up panels to allow you to slip through from one section to another. But will the result meet with the approval of a focus group of local children?
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
The Mega-Brands That Built America
The Mega-Brands That Built America is the newest series in History's "That Built" franchise, telling the origin stories of some of the most successful businesses in history: from mega-stores like Costco and Walmart to sporting goods giants like Spalding and Wilson, titans like Ivory Soap, Schick and Gillette, to shipping giants like Fedex and UPS, and countless more of the biggest brand names in history. Each story is told through the "That Built" franchises' signature blend of expert interviews and archival, mixed with original premium recreations. Through the eyes of the visionaries and entrepreneurs behind the brands, the series takes viewers on a journey; starting with how it all began, following the innovations, the failures, and all the incredible achievements that forever changed the way Americans live. It's everything you didn't know about the colossal brands you know so well.
Hazardous History with Henry Winkler
The eight-episode fast-paced, nostalgia-fueled series will take viewers on a thrilling ride through America's past.
General Hospital
General Hospital, which celebrated its golden anniversary on April 1, 2013, continues its tradition of passion, intrigue and adventure that takes place in the fictional town of Port Charles in upstate New York. The glamour and excitement of those who have come to find their destinies in this familiar seaport town intertwine with the lives, loves and fortunes of beloved, well-known faces. As always, love, danger and mind blowing plot twists continue to abound on General Hospital with contemporary storylines and unforgettable characters.
Mama June: From Not to Hot
Mama June: From Not to Hot is all about Mama June's dramatic transformation. "I'm a mama, a grandmama, and a BIG reality star — and now I'm ready for a BIG change," Mama June narrates as we see her strike various poses. But she's not just talking about physical changes, she's revamping her entire life! "It's time to say goodbye to bad men and junk food," Mama June says before adding that fans (and haters) can all "[say] hello to a whole new me, because when they see what I look like now, they're not going to believe their eyes!" At this point we see a string of text that I assume are all things that went into Mama June's dramatic makeover. Included in the list are weight loss surgery, physical therapy, liquid diet, tummy tuck, gastric sleeve, strength training, breast implants, high intensity training, and laser teeth whitening.
The Gilded Age
The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic change, of huge fortunes made and lost, and the rise of disparity between old money and new.
Against this backdrop of change, the story begins in 1882 — introducing young Marian Brook, the orphaned daughter of a Union general, who moves into the New York City home of her thoroughly old money aunts Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook. Accompanied by Peggy Scott, an accomplished African-American woman, Marian inadvertently becomes enmeshed in a social war between one of her aunts, a scion of the old money set, and her stupendously rich neighbors, a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife, George and Bertha Russell.
In this exciting new world that is on the brink of the modern age, will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path?