In Search of the Dark Ages
1979 · 2 seasons · 8 eps · ★ 7.5 · Documentary
Ended
In Search of the Dark Ages was a television series, written and presented by Michael Wood, and first shown in 1979. It is also the title of a book written by Wood to support the series, which was published in 1981. The television series consisted of a series of separate programmes, hence the collective title is often written as In Search of ... The Dark Ages. It began with In Search of Offa, recorded in 1978 by BBC Manchester, and shown on 2 January 1979. Subsequent programmes in the first series were on Boadicea, King Arthur and Alfred the Great, shown with a re-run of Offa over successive nights in March 1980. The first series was such a success when shown in an off-peak slot on BBC Two that a second series was broadcast in 1981, with subjects including William the Conqueror, Ethelred the Unready, Athelstan and Eric Bloodaxe.
Created by Michael Wood
Network: BBC Two
Your Rating
Episodes
More from Michael WoodSee all →
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet · 2020Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
★ 10.02020
MovieDocumentary
Sir Ian McKellen reads the poetry, Michael Wood traces the journey on the ground. Together they conjure up the extraordinary life, times and words of China’s greatest poet, Du Fu. In this film, the first to ever be made about Du Fu in the west, Michael follows his tracks by road, train and riverboat. Along the way, he meets ordinary people, dancers and musicians, who help to tell the amazing story of a poet whose words have resonated through the centuries, describing the experiences of ordinary people caught up in war, corruption, famine and natural disasters. "I am one of the privileged. If my life is so bitter, then how much worse is the life of the common people?"
Legacy - The Origins of Civilization · 1991Legacy - The Origins of Civilization
★ 10.01991
SeriesDocumentary
What can the past teach us about the present? Come along as charismatic historian Michael Wood (The Story of India) travels the globe to trace the origins of six great civilizations: Iraq, India, China, Egypt, Central America, and Western Europe. Each journey offers surprising perspectives on questions that matter today-about the environment, the individual, society, and spirituality.
Art of the Western WorldArt of the Western World
★ 10.0
SeriesDocumentary
First broadcast on October 2, 1989, these 18 original 30-minute episodes provide a panorama of 2000 years of architecture, painting and sculpture, and studies the art masterpieces as reflections of the Western culture that produced them.
Conquistadors · 2000Conquistadors
★ 9.52000
SeriesDocumentary
Conquistadors is a documentary retelling of the story of the Spanish expeditions of conquest of the Americas. In this 4-part series historian Michael Wood travels in the footsteps of the Spanish expeditions, from Amazonia to Lake Titicaca, and from the deserts of North Mexico to the heights of Macchu Picchu.
The Story of India · 2007The Story of India
★ 8.92007
SeriesDocumentary
For over two millennia, India has been at the centre of world history. But how did India come to be? What is India? These are the big questions behind this intrepid journey around the contemporary subcontinent. In this landmark series, historian and acclaimed writer Michael Wood embarks on a dazzling and exciting expedition through today's India, looking to the present for clues to her past, and to the past for clues to her future. The journey takes the viewer through majestic landscapes and reveals some of the greatest monuments and artistic treasures on Earth. From Buddhism to Bollywood, from mathematics to outsourcing, Michael Wood discovers India's impact on history - and on us.
In Search of Shakespeare · 2003In Search of Shakespeare
★ 8.22003
SeriesDocumentary
Complete four part series exploring the life of the world's greatest and most famous writer. Presenter-led, mixing travel, adventure, live action interviews and specially shot documentary and live action sequences with the RSC on the road. A history series - it focuses not on the plays, but on the history and sets the life of the poet in the extraordinary times in which he lived. We are introduced to the dark world of Queen Elizabeth's police state - a time of surveillance, militarism and foreign wars. We are reminded that Shakespeare lived through the Spanish Armada, the Gunpowder Plot, the colonisation of the New World and the beginnings of British power in America. But most importantly Shakespeare also lived through England’s Cultural Revolution: an enforced split with the old medieval English spirit world which was to lead the English people into a brave new Protestant future.
In The Footsteps of Alexander the Great · 1998In The Footsteps of Alexander the Great
★ 8.11998
SeriesDocumentary
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great was a BBC documentary television series first shown in 1998. It was written and presented by British historian and broadcaster Michael Wood.
Wood retraced the travels of Alexander the Great, from Vergina in Macedonia, where his father Philip II of Macedon died and Alexander was proclaimed king, through seventeen present-day countries to the borders of India and back to Mesopatamia, where he died. Whereas most of Wood's documentary series had titles beginning "In Search of...", the title of this series reflected a slightly different approach.
The series was directed by David Wallace.
Hitler's Search for the Holy Grail · 1999Hitler's Search for the Holy Grail
★ 8.01999
MovieHistoryDocumentary
The worldwide Nazi search for archaeological and historical support for their beliefs in the Aryan (German) master race.
Michael Wood's Story Of England · 2010Michael Wood's Story Of England
★ 8.02010
SeriesDocumentary
Groundbreaking series in which Michael Wood tells the story of one place throughout the whole of English history. The village is Kibworth in Leicestershire in the heart of England - a place that lived through the Black Death, the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution and was even bombed in World War Two.
The Story of China · 2016The Story of China
★ 7.82016
SeriesDocumentary
Michael Wood embarks on a great historical adventure, exploring the stories, people and landscapes that have helped create China's distinctive character and genius over four thousand years.
In Search of Myths and Heroes · 2005In Search of Myths and Heroes
★ 7.52005
SeriesDocumentary
In Search of the Trojan War · 1985In Search of the Trojan War
★ 7.41985
SeriesDocumentary
Michael Wood examines how far the historical and archeological evidence matches with the tale of the Trojan War.
King Alfred and the Anglo Saxons · 2013King Alfred and the Anglo Saxons
★ 7.02013
SeriesDocumentary
Michael Wood argues that the most important and influential British kings were a father, son and grandson who lived over a thousand years ago during the age of the Vikings.
How China Got Rich · 2019How China Got Rich
★ 6.32019
MovieDocumentary
Over the last 40 years, China has been transformed out of all recognition. The scale of its growth and the sheer speed of change has been astonishing. The country has seen the largest lifting of people out of poverty that has ever taken place in human history. How did an impoverished and backward communist country become an engine of global capitalism? What lies ahead for this economic behemoth?
Christina: A Medieval Life · 2008Christina: A Medieval Life
2008
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Michael Wood explores village life in 14th century England, a time of plague, war and famine. Through the use of a remarkably complete set of documentary records, he explores one village - that of Codicote in Hertfordshire - looking at its boom times and its poorer times. Wood brings the period to life by focusing in on one family, that of the poor peasant Christina Cok, her father Hugh, her estranged husband William, and her children John and Alice. By looking at the poorest members of Codicote's society, Wood approaches his history from the bottom-up rather than taking the traditional historical approach of top-down, 'kings and barons' story-telling.
Gilbert White: the Nature Man · 2006Gilbert White: the Nature Man
2006
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Gilbert White was a "parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist, ecologist and ornithologist. He is best known for his Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne. Michael Wood explores the scientific life of the remarkable man.
More Like This
The Defiant Ones · 2017The Defiant Ones
★ 7.82017
SeriesDocumentary
A four-part documentary series that tells the stories of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre -- one the son of a Brooklyn longshoreman, the other straight out of Compton - -- and their improbable partnership and surprising leading roles in a series of transformative events in contemporary culture.
The Joy of Painting · 1983The Joy of Painting
★ 8.51983
SeriesFamilyDocumentary
The Joy of Painting was an American television show hosted by painter Bob Ross that taught its viewers techniques for landscape oil painting. Although Ross could complete a painting in half an hour, the intent of the show was not to teach viewers "speed painting". Rather, he intended for viewers to learn certain techniques within the time that the show was allotted. The show began on January 11, 1983, and lasted until May 17, 1994, a year before Ross' death.
LIGHT & MAGIC · 2022LIGHT & MAGIC
★ 7.82022
SeriesDocumentary
When George Lucas set out to make Star Wars, little did he know he would end up revolutionizing an industry. This is the story of a team of creative geniuses who put the magic in the movies we love.
Cosmos · 2014Cosmos
★ 8.52014
SeriesDocumentary
Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson provides clarity for the vision of the cosmos as he voyages across the universe with never-before-told stories that delve into the scientific concepts of the laws of gravity and the origins of space and time.
Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 · 2025Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26
★ 8.62025
SeriesAnimationDrama
Six studios and seven directors adapt the early works of Tatsuki Fujimoto, the mastermind behind "Chainsaw Man," into an anime anthology. Each episode is an anime adaptation of a short story he drew from ages seventeen to twenty-six, including the first manga he ever submitted for competition. Watch as vivid tales of young love, chaos, madness, and the bonds between people unfold in each episode.
Columbo · 1971Columbo
★ 8.11971
SeriesCrimeDrama
Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.
Neon Genesis Evangelion · 1995Neon Genesis Evangelion
★ 8.61995
SeriesSci-Fi & FantasyAnimation
At the turn of the century, the Angels returned to Earth, seeking to wipe out humanity in an apocalyptic fury. Devastated, mankind's last remnants moved underground to wait for the day when the Angels would come back to finish the job. Fifteen years later, that day has come... but this time, humanity is ready to fight back with terrifying bio-mechanical weapons known as the Evangelions. Watch as Shinji, Rei, Asuka and the rest of the mysterious shadow agency Nerv battle to save earth from total annihilation.
Doctor Who · 1963Doctor Who
★ 7.91963
SeriesDrama
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Martin · 1992Martin
★ 7.51992
SeriesComedyDrama
Sassy sitcom centering on radio and television personality Martin Payne. Series focuses on his romantic relationship with girlfriend Gina, her best friend Pam and escapades with best friends Tommy and Cole.
