The Substance

A giant asteroid is heading toward Earth so some astronauts disembark from a nearby space station to blow it up. The mission is successful, and they return to the station unknowingly bringing back a gooey green substance that mutates into one-eyed tentacled monsters that feed off electricity. Soon the station is crawling with them, and people are being zapped left and right!

This ifilm is a new documentary that explores the controversial use of marijuana and the evolution of mainstream society. From a dangerous narcotic, listed as a Schedule 1 Drug substance since the 1970s, to the rush to decriminalize it today. …

Of all the wonders of the human body, there's one more mysterious than any other. Blood: five precious litres that keep us alive. Yet how much do we really know about this sticky red substance and its mysterious, life-giving force? Michael Mosley gives up a fifth of his own blood to perform six bold experiments. From starving it of oxygen to injecting it with snake venom, Michael reveals the extraordinary abilities of blood to adapt and keep us alive. Using specialist photography, the programme reveals the beauty in a single drop. Michael even discovers how it tastes when, in a television first, he prepares a black pudding with his own blood.

Of all the wonders of the human body, there's one more mysterious than any other. Blood: five precious litres that keep us alive. Yet how much do we really know about this sticky red substance and its mysterious, life-giving force? Michael Mosley gives up a fifth of his own blood to perform six bold experiments. From starving it of oxygen to injecting it with snake venom, Michael reveals the extraordinary abilities of blood to adapt and keep us alive. Using specialist photography, the programme reveals the beauty in a single drop. Michael even discovers how it tastes when, in a television first, he prepares a black pudding with his own blood.

A giant asteroid is heading toward Earth so some astronauts disembark from a nearby space station to blow it up.

A look at how comedy has influenced the social and political landscape throughout history.

Uranium is created violently in the collapse of a star long ago. A massive explosion; a supernova that is the birth our solar system. Uranium is woven throughout the fabric of our Earth, and uranium still crackles, with the heat and violence of that creation. Uranium spits energy unlike any other rock. Its energy transforms DNA, and shapes the very nature of what it means to be human. You are who you are, because of uranium. Uranium is a changeling. Leave a lump of it alone and when you return, it will have turned into something else — all by itself.

This programme explores the legend behind the ‘holy grail’ of western alchemy: the ‘Sorcerer’s Stone.’ Sometimes known as the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, this much sought after substance can supposedly transform inexpensive metals into pure gold. It has also been suggested that this incredible item can make humans younger, and bring enlightenment to those who possess it.

People suffer largely unnoticed while the rest of the world goes about its business. This is a documentary exploration of the mythic beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge, the most popular suicide destination in the world, and those drawn by its call. Steel and his crew filmed the bridge during daylight hours from two separate locations for all of 2004, recording most of the two dozen deaths in that year (and preventing several others).

Love it or hate it, the pop decade that brought us, variously, Wham!, Bananarama, Annie Lennox, Morrissey, Michael Jackson, S'Express and, er, Joe Dolce certainly had variety. Award-winning author Dylan Jones is in the driving seat for this authoritative four-part look back. No stone (rose) remains unturned, as he revisits the New Romantics, hip-hop, indie jingle, synth-pop and club culture. Not to mention Culture Club…