Brunel's Last Launch

Special Episode60 minnov. 10, 2011
Brunel's Last Launch

Nowadays, London's East End is synonymous with the 2012 Olympic Games. Cutting-edge engineering and design have transformed the Olympic Park. But 150 years ago, the world was watching for a very different reason, although the spectacle on display was as high-tech as anything on offer today. The East End was once home to the most advanced shipbuilding industry - and best workers and shipyards - in the world. A century and a half ago, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Britain's most famous engineer, was about to launch a ship five times bigger than any that had ever been built before, the most revolutionary vessel the world had ever seen: the SS Great Eastern. Pioneering the transition from sail to steam and timber to iron, Brunel and East London's ship builders created vessels that were bigger, faster and tougher than ever before. But this launch was a disaster. Brunel went from hero to laughing stock overnight as his leviathan stuck on the slipway. Brunel died not long after. Today archaeologists are scouring the banks of the Thames to discover why launching such a big vessel proved a complete disaster. Examining the slipways, they hope to discover what went wrong and how it affected shipbuilding in London for ever. Tony Robinson joins them in their quest to solve the puzzle. But he and the team also explore some of the extraordinary successes of this long-gone industry and a time when the East End led the world.

Brunel's Last Launch has aired on nov. 10, 2011 at 17:30
Brunel's Last Launch is a special episode of season 18
Previous EpisodeNext Episode

Trailer

We do not have any trailers for this episode

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
WWE Premium Live Events
Running

WWE Premium Live Events

Beginning with the 2014 Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View on 4 May 2014 the WWE began airing all of their Wrestling Pay-Per-Views exclusively on the WWE Network. Subscribers who pay the $9.95 monthly fee will be able to view any Pay-Per-Views past, present and in the future exclusively on the WWE Network at no additional charge as long as their monthly fees are paid up-to-date.

Tell Me Lies
Running

Tell Me Lies

Tell Me Lies, which was published in 2018, tells the story of a young woman's obsession with a man who's good at being charming. When Lucy Albright arrives on the campus of her small college, away from her mother whom she's never forgiven for an act of betrayal in her early teen years, Lucy embraces college life and all it has to offer. But everything changes when she meets Stephen DeMarco, who has a mysterious past of his own. Their addicting entanglement will have consequences they never could have imagined.

GenreDrama
The Chi
Running

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.

GenreDrama
See No Evil
Running

See No Evil

See No Evil pieces together the truth when shocking surveillance footage reveals breakthrough clues to solve a murder.

Too Much
Upcoming

Too Much

Jessica is a New York workaholic in her mid-thirties, reeling from a broken relationship that she thought would last forever and slowly isolating everyone she knows. When every block in New York tells a story of her own bad behaviour, the only solution is to take a job in London, where she plans to live a life of solitude like a Bronte sister. But when she meets Felix – a walking series of red flags – she finds that their unusual connection is impossible to ignore, even as it creates more problems than it solves. Now they have to ask themselves: do Americans and Brits actually speak the same language?