When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions or NASA's Greatest Missions: When We Left Earth in the UK is a Discovery Channel HD documentary miniseries consisting of six episodes documenting achievements of the United States of America in human space exploration of the past 50 years, spanning from the first Mercury flights through the Gemini program to the Apollo moon landings, the Space Shuttle, and the construction of the International Space Station. It was created in association with NASA to commemorate the agency's fiftieth anniversary in 2008.

In the heart of the Alaskan wilderness lies the US Army’s Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC). Part of the Army Test and Evaluation Command, the CRTC has granted Future Weapons exclusive access to film extreme cold weather tests on weapons systems and equipment – assessing their performance in Arctic conditions.

In a three-part series, Dr Adam Rutherford tells the extraordinary story of the scientific quest to discover the secrets of the cell and of life itself. Every living thing is made of cells, microscopic building blocks of almost unimaginable power and complexity. “I am normally not a lover of scientific docu’s but this one I found I had to watch all 3 parts back to back”. The final part reveals how our knowledge of cells has brought us to the brink of one of the most important moments in history. Scientists are close to repeating what has happened only once in four billion years - the creation of a new life form.

Living in the depths of the New Guinea rainforest are the spectacular birds of paradise - creatures so beautiful that the first Europeans believed they must have fallen from heaven. Filming their bizarre courtship displays is the Holy Grail of wildlife film makers: some perform like iridescent acrobats, others make hypnotic pulsing sounds as they quiver and vibrate. David Attenborough narrates the film. He has been entranced by these birds since he was a boy and he introduces a team of New Guinean naturalists as they embark on a gruelling expedition to try to film ten birds of paradise deep in the heart of the rainforest.

We have an extraordinary relationship with dogs - closer than with any other animal on the planet. But what makes the bond between us so special? Research into dogs is gaining momentum, and scientists are investigating them like never before. From the latest fossil evidence, to the sequencing of the canine genome, to cognitive experiments, dogs are fast turning into the new chimps as a window into understanding ourselves. Where does this relationship come from? In Siberia, a unique breeding experiment reveals the astonishing secret of how dogs evolved from wolves. Swedish scientists demonstrate how the human/dog bond is controlled by a powerful hormone also responsible for bonding mothers to their babies. Why are dogs so good at reading our emotions? Horizon meets Betsy, the world's most intelligent dog, and compares her incredible abilities to those of children. Man's best friend has recently gone one step further - helping us identify genes responsible for causing human diseases.

In a three-part series, Dr Adam Rutherford tells the extraordinary story of the scientific quest to discover the secrets of the cell and of life itself. Every living thing is made of cells, microscopic building blocks of almost unimaginable power and complexity. “I am normally not a lover of scientific docu’s but this one I found I had to watch all 3 parts back to back”. This episode explores how scientists delved ever deeper into the world of the cell, seeking to reveal the magic ingredient that can spark a bundle of chemicals into life. Their discoveries have brought us to the brink of being able to create life for ourselves.

What better way to cap off 2003, the "Year of the Blues," than with this eminently watchable documentary about Chester A. Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf? Arguably second only to Muddy Waters among the Mississippi Delta singers who traveled north and pioneered urban electric blues (their supposed rivalry is the subject of one of this DVD's bonus features), Wolf was a big, imposing man with an inimitable, booming voice and a lasting influence on generations of rock & rollers--all of which comes across in the 90-minute film. Not only do we get a history of his life (told by family members, musical associates like longtime guitarist Hubert Sumlin, and Wolf himself) that's far more entertaining than the norm for this genre, we also get some history of the blues in general. And not only do we hear snippets of Wolf's music, we hear several complete songs, including some priceless filmed performances. Quite simply, this one should become a touchstone for documentaries of its kind.

Our planet is heating up and one of the first casualties will be our food. Solutions to this crisis lie within Mother Nature herself in the form of diverse genes found in the wild ancestors of our staple foods - and the man to hunt them down is Dr Ken Street, the Indiana Jones of agriculture. Ken and his team will travel to the land where agriculture began nearly 10,000 years ago. In the remotest parts of the Middle East and Central Asia, the genetic origins of our daily bread and other food still survive. The crops growing here have taken centuries to develop robust genetic traits that allow them to thrive in the harshest of climates. Scientists around the world want access to these genes so they may be integrated into food crops compromised by global warming.

International investigative documentary series. With extraordinary access to the closed world of Europe's Gypsies, as well as dramatic covert footage, This World examines how Romanian Gypsy children across the continent are forced to beg and steal, often for the profit of organised crime. The film also highlights the racism and discrimination suffered by the Romani people and efforts to integrate them into mainstream culture. From Madrid to Milan to Romania, film maker Liviu Tipurita uncovers a shocking phenomenon of children trafficked to beg and steal.

In a three-part series, Dr Adam Rutherford tells the extraordinary story of the scientific quest to discover the secrets of the cell and of life itself. Every living thing is made of cells, microscopic building blocks of almost unimaginable power and complexity. “I am normally not a lover of scientific docu’s but this one I found I had to watch all 3 parts back to back”. The first part explores how centuries of scientific and religious dogma were overturned by the earliest discoveries of the existence of cells, and how scientists came to realize that there was, literally, more to life than meets the eye.