Victorian Pharmacy - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
Episode 1
In a unique experiment, historian Ruth Goodman, Professor Nick Barber and PhD student Tom Quick are recreating an authentic 19th-century pharmacy. The team discover the world of the pharmacy at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign in 1837; a world where traditional remedies, such as leeches, oil of earthworm and potions laced with cannabis and opium, held sway. After sampling some of the old ways, the team venture into new discoveries, such as the Malvern water cure, the bronchial kettle for curing coughs, and the invention of Indian tonic water.
Episode 2
The team take on the challenges of the 1850s and 60s, a time when overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions had reached their peak, leading to unprecedented outbreaks of disease. 'Cure all' medicines that had promised to cure virtually everything, were all the rage and the team make their own out of rhubarb, liquorice, soap and syrup.
They also venture into the uncertain world of electrotherapy and find out how the discovery of germs made disinfectants a bestseller; but to make their own they need to extract carbolic acid from coal tar.
Plus Tom attempts to emulate an ambitious Victorian publicity stunt by building his very own dog-powered mortar and pestle. But will it work?
Episode 3
The pharmacy enters a period of new inventions and new laws. In 1868 pharmacies were regulated by law for the very first time - and Ruth, Tom and Nick face a taste of the tough examinations pharmacists went through to become qualified.
They also explore the world of poisons and hazards that were completely unregulated until this time - from arsenic and opium to explosives. But the lack of restrictions they had enjoyed enabled 'experimental chemists' to invent products ranging from matches to fireworks, to custard and jelly. The team learn the processes involved in each, and lay on a Victorian style firework display for their customers.
Episode 4
The last programme in the series sees Ruth, Tom and Nick continue with Barber and Goodman's Pharmacy through to the end of the Victorian era.
Tom branches out into photography and dentistry using the latest technology, such as the foot-pedal dental drill. Ruth makes condoms out of sheep's intestines. Nick learns how to make the Victorian version of aspirin - producing a cure for warts and corns along the way. And for those customers who like a little pampering, the team turn their hands to making their very own brand of perfume.
As they shut up shop for the last time, the team reflect on a revolution in public healthcare that put a chemist's shop in every town in the country.
Recently Updated Shows
The Testaments
Drama based on Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale sequel which picks up more than fifteen years after Offred's final scene, and is narrated by three female characters.
Industry
Industry follows a group of young graduates competing for a limited set of permanent positions at a top investment bank in London—but the boundaries between colleague, friend, lover, and enemy soon blur as they immerse themselves in a company culture defined as much by sex, drugs, and ego as it is by deals and dividends. As members of the group rise and fall, they must decide whether life is about more than the bottom line.
Snapped
Who are these women and what drives them to kill? Oxygen's hit true crime series, Snapped, profiles fascinating cases of women accused of murder. Did they really do it? And if they did, why? Whether the motivation is revenge against a cheating husband, the promise of a hefty insurance payoff, or putting an end to years of abuse, the reasons are as varied as the women themselves. From socialites to secretaries, female killers share one thing in common: at some point, they all snapped. Each episode of Snapped chronicles the life of a woman who has been charged with murder. These shocking but true stories turn common assumptions about crime and criminals upside down, and prove that even the most unlikely suspects can be capable of murder.