Ancient Skies - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
Gods and Monsters
We uncover the story of our relationship with the skies from our earliest ancestors, through to the birth of the science of astronomy. Our story begins with one of the earliest known creation myths - the Babylonian Enuma Elish. With spectacular CGI animation, we see the clash of the gods Marduk and Tiamat that the Babylonians believed gave birth to the earth and the sky. In this episode we visit the caves of El Castillo in Northern Spain. Deep inside the caves we see some of the earliest cave paintings in the world. Astronomer Phil Plait shows us how the skies could be used to navigate and tell the time, either by observing the phases of the moon, or by tracking the movements of the sun across the horizon. We look at Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza and see that, as our earliest civilisations developed, we built monuments that enabled us to observe the skies and worship them. We visit Ancient Greece, where the great storytellers Hesiod and Homer were populating the world with gods and monsters. That is until the first philosophers started to look at the world not in terms of individual events that showed the actions of living gods in the sky, but as phenomena that were all part of the patterns of the natural world. As philosophy and early science start to reshape the world from mythological to rational, we are on the cusp of a revolution that gave birth to modern science.
Finding the Center
Episode two of this landmark series delves further into our ancient understanding of the skies above. After exploring the mysterious creatures living at the edge of the world, we follow the story of our earth as it takes shape and a place in the cosmos in the minds of great astronomers and scientists including Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Galileo. From flat Earth legends to Galileo's telescope, track major changes in scientific understanding. Ideas rise and fall as we continue to explore our ancient skies.
Our Place in the Universe
In Episode 3, we complete the puzzle of our ancient skies, collecting the missing pieces required for an accurate model of our universe. We break through the spheres that defined our skies for millennia, abandon the long-held idea of circular orbits, discover new neighbors in our solar system, and begin to comprehend the enormity of our ever-growing universe. A cast of scientific pioneers reshapes the solar system and better understands a growing universe. But there is still much more space to explore.
Recently Updated Shows
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live features a diverse lineup of guests that include celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human-interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band.
The Floor
The Floor is a physical quiz show that sees 81 contestants face off in quiz duels on a giant LED floor divided into a 9×9 grid of squares, each representing its own field of knowledge.
The first challenger, selected at random, must choose one of his or her neighboring opponents to go head-to-head in an epic quiz duel in the opponent's category. The winner takes over the loser's square, gaining valuable ground as they expand their territory, while the loser exits the game. The winner must then choose – do they continue on and attempt to secure another square? Or do they let The Floor choose a new challenger? The last contestant standing who gains full control over The Floor takes home a life-changing $250,000 cash prize.
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.
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch
Gaining full and unprecedented access to one of the most infamous and secretive hotspots of paranormal and UFO-related activities on earth, The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch will feature a team of scientists and experts who will conduct a thorough search of this infamous 512-acre property located in Utah's Uinta Basin. They will attempt to find out the truth behind more than 200 years of mysteries - involving everything from UFO sightings and paranormal activities to animal mutilations and Native American legends of a shape-shifting creature known simply as The Skinwalker.
