The Toys That Built the World - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
Masters of Invention
Insights into a number of visionaries and the competitive rivalries between iconic brands that changed the world of toys for ever, starting with a look at some unexpected inventions. During the Second World War, a naval engineer accidentally created an iconic spiral toy that walks downstairs, while an engineer trying to invent a synthetic rubber for the war effort instead created a strange putty.
Clash of the Toy Titans
The post-war baby boom created an unprecedented demand for toys, sparking a battle for industry domination between two of the world's most famous brands.
Toy Car Wars
The competitive rivalry between toy cars Matchbox and Hotwheels. As car culture cranked up in the early 1950s, young English machinist Jack Odell invented one of the world's most successful toys when he created a toy car small enough to fit inside a matchbox for his daughter to take to school. A decade or so later, in Los Angeles, Elliot Handler created one of the biggest toy rivalries in history when he brought in a former missile designer to make a toy car behemoth of his own.
Board Game Empires
Fierce rivalry between board game manufacturers. Milton Bradley created the Checkered Game of Life, one of America's first board games. However, the Parker brothers threatened Bradley's reign with a range of offerings, including Monopoly.
Recently Updated Shows
The Chi
The Chi is a timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption. Kevin is the pre-teen who must step past shattered illusions and embrace the normal rites of childhood, while Brandon the dreamer makes his own nearly impossible leap of faith to succeed in life and love with girlfriend Jerrika. Emmett is the carefree teen is thrust into complex responsibility with guidance from his mother Jada, and Ronnie is the drifter whose struggle to love and be loved calls into question his every pursuit.
Cops
COPS follows police officers, constables, and sheriff's deputies during patrols and various police activities by embedding camera crews with their units. The show's formula adheres to a classic cinéma vérité ethos. With no narration or scripted dialog, it depends entirely on the commentary of the officers and on the actions of the people with whom they come into contact.
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Jimmy Carr hosts as Sean Lock and Jon Richardson play the words and numbers game.
Have I Got News for You
Based on the week's news, Have I Got News for You is fronted by guest hosts and features two regular team captains, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop. Each week the show invites two guests to cast a jaundiced eye over the week's news, resulting in a fast flow of anarchic, spontaneous and hugely entertaining wit and humour. Guests typically represent the world of politics, comedy, show-business and journalism, and are often themselves particularly newsworthy participants. The final touches of Have I Got News for You are put together only hours before recording, allowing guests to comment on the late-breaking news stories of the day.