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Seven Wonders of the Industrial World

2003

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 The Great Ship Sep 04, 2003

This episode focuses on the construction of the SS Great Eastern, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to be both the first ship entirely made out of iron and the most luxurious vessel of the day. However, whilst the ship itself was a marvel of shipbuilding, its construction was marred by accidents, scandal and misfortune, including a destructive fire which practically wiped out the shipbuilder's yard, problems with the launch and financial scandals, all of which would contribute towards Brunel's deteriorating health and comparatively early demise in 1859 and the popular belief that the ship was 'jinxed' (a rumour leading to the urban legend of two bodies being found trapped in the hull upon its dismantling).

EP2 The Brooklyn Bridge Sep 11, 2003

Focusing on the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, the episode examines the family that built it - John Augustus Roebling, who designed the bridge; his son, Washington Roebling, who took over construction following his father's death shortly after the project was announced; and Washington's wife Emily Roebling, who taught herself engineering principles and took on the burden of her husband's work after his health was destroyed by the decompression sickness he suffered owing to the length of time he spent working and overseeing matters in the pressured atmosphere of the underwater caissons used to build the bridge.

EP3 The Bell Rock Lighthouse Sep 18, 2003

This episode tells the story of the construction in the early nineteenth century of the offshore lighthouse on Bell Rock, by the Scottish engineer Robert Stevenson. Bell or Inchcape Rock was a place which had claimed the lives of sailors and sank ships for hundreds of years, but which was underwater except for a couple of hours at low tide each day - causing difficulties in both constructing a design that would stand up to the terrible storms and waves that ravaged the area, and in actually constructing it during the few months of fair weather that were available each year, whilst simultaneously housing the builders who worked on it.

EP4 The Sewer King Sep 25, 2003

Set in London during the 1850s, this episode focuses on the construction of the London sewerage system, built to replace the antiquated medieval system that was overworked and inadequate for the needs of the-then largest metropolis in the world, causing epidemics of disease and a permanent foul stench to fill the air. The episode follows the efforts and work of Joseph Bazalgette, the brilliant engineer who designed the influential and modern sewer system that would purify the city, transform the streets above and would result in the end of the epidemics of cholera and typhoid that had ravaged the population - although not for the reasons that he initially thought.

EP5 The Panama Canal Oct 02, 2003

Both the French and the American efforts build a sea-level canal through Panama linking the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean are presented in this episode; firstly, the ill-fated effort by Ferdinand de Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal, to construct the canal, which - derailed by the ravages of tropical diseases (which decimated the workforce to the tune of over 22,000 men) and the impossibilities of constructing a sea-level canal through the mountains - saw financial scandals that ruined his reputation and brought down the French government. The episode then takes up the story seventeen years later, after the United States took up the challenge and, after leading a concentrated effort to eradicate the causes of the tropical diseases and switching from a sea-level to a lock-system canal, triumphantly saw the linking of the Pacific and the Atlantic.

EP6 Transcontinental Railway Oct 09, 2003

The episode follows the construction of the Pacific Railroad, the first transcontinental rail system, which would unite the eastern and western seaboards of the United States. Started in Sacramento by a consortium of local shopkeepers with no experience in building a railroad, the episode follows their efforts to build from west to east through the forbidding Sierra Nevada mountains with the help of Chinese labourers whilst simultaneously following the efforts of the workers of the Union Pacific to build from east to west, and their problems in dealing with the lawless nature of the wild west, attacks by Native American raiding parties, and financial corruption and scandal.

EP7 The Hoover Dam Oct 16, 2003

The final episode focuses on the construction of the Hoover Dam during the Great Depression of the 1930s, focussing in particular on the ruthless pace set by Frank Crowe, the builder, whose eagerness to complete the project well before schedule and subsequent exploitation of the workforce (who were desperate for any employment and were forced to accept conditions of extreme hardship in the process) would result in both many terrible deaths and the (eventual) construction of a new city to house the workers. The Director of Photography Mike Spragg was nominated for a Bafta for Best Cinematography Factual 2004
8.4| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

Seven Wonders of the Industrial World is a 7-part British documentary/docudrama television miniseries that originally aired from 4 September 2003 to 16 October 2003 on BBC. The programme examines seven engineering feats that occurred during the Industrial Revolution.

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Reviews

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.
Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
mpv2010 This is the very moving story of the people behind some of the most groundbreaking constructions of the industrial world.The music: Trailblazing by Steven Jablonsky it's on YouTube.If you're interested in industrial history and curious to how some of the early structures were ever built, then this is for you.The seven are: Brunel's Great Eastern Ship The Panama Canal The Hoover Dam The Brooklyn Bridge The Bell Rock Lighthouse London Sewer System The Trans-Continental Railway Each of the seven is played out as a sort of docu-drama. The acting is first rate and the attention to detail is faultless. The narration is by Robert Lindsay (GBH, My Family and Citizen Smith) and his timbre is spot-on.Of the seven episodes (all of which are great) the one I enjoyed most was the London Sewer System and Joseph Bazalgette's solution. The shear pigheadedness of the Water Board is astonishing; but here the episode played a great debt of homage to Dr Jon Snow. The physician who identified that the terrifying cholera outbreaks were being spread by the water and not miasma (toxic air) as what the government officials' had been spouting.
Fritz_Gerlich ... but some episodes in the series also highlight the relationship between workers and bosses. As is still the case in unregulated environments, workers are nothing more than grist and they are of no more value than the bags of cement or rows of machinery. This can lead to horrific results and great resentment.Yes, these are all great accomplishments, but these are not all great men. For what kind of person send others to death without conscience?Viva la Revolucion! ;)Apparently I need ten lines of text before I can submit my comment. So here are the extra lines.
McTodd I can only agree with the previous comment posted by Richard Tunnah (I note that he, like me, is from Birmingham, cradle of the Industrial Revolution) - this is, quite simply, an astonishingly accomplished series. The dramatisation of the seven incredible projects is superb, featuring excellent actors (some unknown, some familiar, and some surprising - an unrecognisable, and suitably restrained, Steven Berkoff as Roebling of the Brooklyn Bridge, for example), and instantly banishes the knee-jerk feelings of trepidation one has upon hearing, or reading, the dread words: 'dramatic reconstruction'. This is opulent costume drama of the highest order, and based in fact! No neurotic young women or old maids, no moustache-twirling cads or callow bores here - these are true heroes of the old school, whether it be the pugnacious cigar-chomping Brunel, the youthful Scot Stevenson, or the mother and son team of the Roeblings.The techniques of filming the characters in to-camera interviews, following them at times with hand-held cameras as if for a news programme, and other 'faux live' methods, could have been risible if not performed by the consummate professionals who clearly made this series. They make the events covered accessible and relevant, without dumbing down, a difficult trick to pull off but here successful.The special effects are magnificent and illustrate the stories to perfection. Although not always convincing, they never fail to be beautiful. Who could not be stirred by the sight of the gigantic 'Great Eastern' beached at Millwall, looming over the surrounding landscape as she takes form?And who could not fail to be moved by the sheer determination of these great engineers?This is a series which does them justice, and is simply unmissable for anyone with even a vague interest in how the modern world was shaped.
Richard Tunnah Another winner for the BBC. Writing excellent, production values high, good special effects. Thing that I got from the series was what these Engineers had in bucket loads was ambition. Not necessarily for there own fame and fortune (though if that came then so be it), but for the project. To build a sewage system for London, build the Panama Canal or build a Railway across America needed that ambition and drive. Every episode left me feeling humble; we have technology, which these engineers could have scarcely imagined. But somewhere along the line we have lost that ambition. To see what could be achieved with primitive technology, human toil, imagination and ambition makes me wonder what could be achieved today if we put our mind to it.I would recommend this to anybody has a passing interest or uses technology. Watch this and you will feel humble.