2024 - Top 10 Documentary Series

It is the end of 2024 and today I will present a Top Ten list of documentary series that was featured on the blog.  However, I am not going to limit this section to just the Top 10 Documentary series.  This is going to be a two-part series: The Top 20 Documentary Series.  Today’s second part will be the Top 10.

The rules are simple, they had to be featured in the blog or on my database list over the past two years.  They have to have multiple episodes on a topic.

So will my 2024 Top Ten list remain the same as last year?  Or will there be a new top documentary series on the list?  Follow the rest of this blog to find out!

2023 Top 10 Documentaries
1. 1491: The Story of North America Before Columbus Episode 1 (47:25)  Episode 2 (46:56) Episode 3 (47:29) Episode 4 (47:15) Episode 5 (46:40)  Episode 6 (48:40)  Episode 7 (47:23)
2. *Face of Britain: Episode 1 (46:59) Episode 2 (46:54) Episode 3 (47:35)
3. The Last Journey of the Vikings - Episode 1 (49:55) Episode 2 (49:32)  Episode 3 (49:52) Episode 4 (49:58)
4. Charlemagne - Episode 1 (50:42)  Episode 2  (50:14)  Episode 3 (51:56)
5. Lost Kingdoms of Africa
6. Immortal Egypt:  Episode 1  Episode 2  Episode 3  Episode 4
7. A Stitch in Time with Amber Butchart
8. Storm over Europe - Episode 1 (51:17)  Episode 2  (50:35)  Episode 3  (50:08)  Episode 4  (50:19)
9. Rome without Limits with Mary Beard - Episode 1 (58:34) Episode 2 (59:00) Episode 3 (58:59) Episode 4 (59:00)
10. The Women Who Made History

2024 Top 10 Documentaries
1) 1491: The Story of North America Before Columbus Episode 1 (47:25)  Episode 2 (46:56) Episode 3 (47:29) Episode 4 (47:15) Episode 5 (46:40)  Episode 6 (48:40)  Episode 7 (47:23)
The First Nations crossed oceans and settled on the North American Continent. The First Nations people navigated their world by the stars.  They crossed mountains and rivers.  They built a variety of trade networks.  Their people built civilizations.  In 1492 their lives changed with the arrival of Christopher Columbus.  So what were the stories of the First Nations before Columbus?  *Highly recommended for a high school classroom, certain episodes can also be used in the art classroom as well!*

2) The Spice Trail - Episode 1 (58:27)  Episode 2 (57:43) Episode 3 (57:52)
Spices help transform meals and have revolutionized the way we eat.  Spices changed the course of human history.  Kate Humble travels the globe to learn how spices became a part of our kitchens.  She learns about pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, and saffron.  She follows the first spice explorers.  She learns about where these spices came from, their impact on the people, and how spices shaped the modern world.  *Highly recommended for both a history class and a food science class.*

3) Europe in the Middle Ages - Episode 1 (52:30)  Episode 2 (54:22)  Episode 3  (51:56) Episode 4 (52:23)
The Middle Ages were often considered a dark and dreary time.  Four estates lived during this time: knights, monks, peasants, and beggars.  This series follows the lives of people from each level of society.  You will see the Middle Ages through their eyes.  What was the reality of that?  However, it is a time when the modern age was born.  So what can we discover about the Middle Ages through these groups?  Was the Middle Ages all that dark?  *Highly recommended for the middle school history classroom.*

4) The Last Journey of the Vikings - Episode 1 (49:55) Episode 2 (49:32)  Episode 3 (49:52) Episode 4 (49:58)
The Last Journey of the Vikings is a docudrama series about the Viking People.  They traveled widely and shaped European politics.  What is the truth about the Vikings?  In the Eighth Century, the Vikings started appearing along the coasts of Europe.  With their fierce warriors, they gained a reputation as Europe’s terrorizers.  They targeted monasteries because the monks could not defend themselves.  Eventually, the Vikings’ strategy changed.  They mixed with the powerful.  So why did the Vikings become pirates?  How did they spread their influence over Europe?  Tune into this documentary to find out.  *Highly recommended for a middle school and high school classroom.  Highly recommended to mine for clips.*

5) Rome without Limits with Mary Beard - Episode 1 (58:34) Episode 2 (59:00) Episode 3 (58:59) Episode 4 (59:00)
Mary Beard explores the history of the Roman Empire beginning with the origin myths, the period of the republic, and the Empire.  She explores the Roman Empire beyond Rome and travels to a variety of places that were a part of the Empire.  She concludes the series with the question why did Rome fall?  It is a fascinating dive into the Roman Empire.  This documentary is a needed update to what available documentaries.  *Highly recommended for a middle school and high school classroom.  If you do not have space for all the documentaries, then show clips.*

6) Immortal Egypt:  Episode 1 (58:49)  Episode 2 (58:47) Episode 3 (58:58) Episode 4 (58:51)
Joann Fletcher explores the history of Ancient Egypt over four episodes.  She explores the height of Egypt's power, what caused Egypt to decline.  She takes us to Egypt's beginnings and weaves a tale of glory followed by despair.  She shows off grand monuments and the smallest finds.  This is an excellent documentary series to show while students are studying Ancient Egypt.  *Recommend this documentary for middle school and high school classrooms.*

7) The Great Plague - Episode 1 (43:50)  Episode 2 (44:18)  Episode 3 (44:13)
London was hit by the Great Plague in 1665.  100,000 people in London were killed over eighteen months.  The plague spread throughout the country as well killing more people.  What are the plagues' parallels to COVID-19?  Xand van Tulleken, Raksha Dave, and John Sergeant work to trace the origins of the plague in London over three episodes.  Xand looks at the records to see where it started.  Raksha looks at how the disease spread.   John discovers the symptoms of the plague and how it was transmitted. *Recommended for a history class.*

8) Storm over Europe - Episode 1 (51:17)  Episode 2  (50:35)  Episode 3  (50:08)  Episode 4  (50:19)
Barbarians were heading to Rome.  What made these barbarians leave their homelands?  They left behind beautiful objects in their wake.  They were in the search of a new homeland because another tribe was threatening their lives and livelihoods.  Eventually, Rome was sacked.  These barbarians would be left to pick up the pieces Rome left behind.  Who were these invaders?  Why were they called barbarians?  How did they shape European history?  What did they leave behind?  *Recommended for a middle school history classroom.  Appropriate for independent study students.*

9) The Truth About Franco: Inside Spain's Forgotten Dictatorship - Episode 1 (53:11)  Episode 2 (52:50)  Episode 3 (52:31)  Episode 4 (53:38)
Francisco Franco was a Spanish general who seized power in Spain during the Civil War.  He was considered one of Europe’s most enigmatic dictators.  He would rule Spain with an iron fist for four decades.  He once said that he had no problem killing Spain to prevent the Marxists from taking over.  He was a man who had many faces but could not shut up.  Spain still has the scars of his reign.  Who was the man? *Highly recommended for a history class and for use in research projects.*

10) Charlemagne - Episode 1 (50:42)  Episode 2  (50:14)  Episode 3 (51:56)
Charlemagne was the most important Emperor of the Middle Ages.  The story begins with a monk gathering wood for a fire.  He was a scholar in Charlemagne’s court and was his friend.  He is the narrator of Charlemagne’s story.  He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day.  He was the most powerful ruler of his time.  Even the pope was intimidated by him.  He was superhuman.  However, what is a myth, and what is reality?  *Recommended for the history classroom and research purposes.*