02: Blast Off! | James May’s 20th Century

Duration: 29'11''

Synopsis

James May investigates what the Space Race did for all of us who never got a chance to blast off into orbit.

Further Information

More clips from James May's 20th Century

01: Honey I Shrunk the World | James May's 20th Century

01: Honey I Shrunk the World | James May's 20th Century

BBC Two | 2007 | 29'05''

James May discovers how planes, cars, televisions and computers made our world seem a whole lot smaller.

03: Body Fantastic | James May's 20th Century

03: Body Fantastic | James May's 20th Century

BBC Two | 2007 | 28'57''

James May discovers just how far he can push his body, exploring some of the most remarkable medical advances over the last hun...

04: Take Cover! | James May's 20th Century

04: Take Cover! | James May's 20th Century

BBC Two | 2007 | 28'56''

James May investigates some of the most ingenious ideas to emerge from 20th century warfare, flying in the RAF's latest supersonic...

05: Inventing the Teenager | James May's 20th Century

05: Inventing the Teenager | James May's 20th Century

BBC Two | 2007 | 29'20''

During the 20th century teenagers evolved to the point of almost becoming a separate species. James May is on a journey...

06: Big City, Bright Lights | James May's 20th Century

06: Big City, Bright Lights | James May's 20th Century

BBC Two | 2007 | 28'35''

Each day 180,000 people move into a city somewhere on the planet. James May investigates how the high-rise urban livin...

More resources about Modern USA

S01E10: The Assassination of JFK | Days That Shook the World

S01E10: The Assassination of JFK | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 29'42''

The stories of a day that rocked the American presidency: the assassination of its youngest leader, John F. Kenn...

Till (2022)

Till (2022)

BBC Two | 2024 | 2'00'23''

After black 14-year-old Emmett Till is lynched in Mississippi for offending a white woman, his grieving mother goes public in her fight for justice. Activist org...

S01E03: The Assassination of MLK | Days That Shook the World

S01E03: The Assassination of MLK | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 28'53''

This program follows the day Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

03: Globalisation | World 2000

03: Globalisation | World 2000

BBC Two | 2000 | 29'17''

What is globalisation and how does it affect us?

George Floyd: A Killing That Shook the World | Panorama

George Floyd: A Killing That Shook the World | Panorama

BBC One | 2020 | 28'51''

Thousands of people have joined marches against racism after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Clive Myrie ...

KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy

KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy

BBC Three | 2015 | 57'30''

Documentary investigating the Ku Klux Klan. Film-maker Dan Murdoch witnesses first-hand their secretive rituals and hears why their member...

Black Peoples of the Americas: 05: Civil Rights in the US | History File

Black Peoples of the Americas: 05: Civil Rights in the US | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'07''

Drama documentary covering the history of civil rights in the USA in the 50's and 60's. Today's stor...

Surviving 9/11

Surviving 9/11

BBC Two | 2021 | 1'29'48''

A deeply personal film that moves between accounts of the two-hour period when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and hijacked Flight 93 and...

S01E00: Apollo 11 Moon Landing | Days That Shook the World

S01E00: Apollo 11 Moon Landing | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 29'45''

20/07/1969 - The day Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.

02: The Road to Repeal | Prohibition: 13 Years That Changed America

02: The Road to Repeal | Prohibition: 13 Years That Changed America

BBC Two | 1997 | 50'11''

It took the rise of Al Capone and a crime wave that swept the nation to convince America that prohibition...

The Black American Fight for Freedom

The Black American Fight for Freedom

BBC Two | 2021 | 58'47''

Fifty years on from the promise of equality and the Civil Rights Act, this documentary reveals the moments where America had the chance ...

Stories of immigration to America | American Voices: A History of America 1917-1941

Stories of immigration to America | American Voices: A History of America 1917-1941

BBC Two | 2008 | 5'28''

The experiences of people who immigrated to America in the early 20th century.

The Cold War | American History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

The Cold War | American History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

BBC Four | 2019 | 6'44''

Lucy explains the post-war tensions between the US and Russia and the reasons why atomic bomb testing became...

03: Martin Luther King | Secrets of Leadership

03: Martin Luther King | Secrets of Leadership

BBC Two | 2003 | 47'39''

Martin Luther King is seen as an inspiration for peaceful protest campaigns. Andrew Roberts challenges this perception in a pr...

9/11 Ten Years On | The Conspiracy Files

9/11 Ten Years On | The Conspiracy Files

BBC Two | 2011 | 59'00''

A decade after the attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, the Conspiracy Files looks at why some people still question wh...

Black Peoples of the Americas: 04: After Emancipation | History File

Black Peoples of the Americas: 04: After Emancipation | History File

BBC Two | 1997 | 19'02''

Schools programme which looks at how people moved from slavery to freedom. How did former slaves acquire...

04: Trade, Debt and Aid | World 2000

04: Trade, Debt and Aid | World 2000

BBC Two | 2000 | 29'14''

Global creation and distribution of wealth, effect of fair trade and international debt.

09: Crime and Prohibition | Time to Remember

09: Crime and Prohibition | Time to Remember

BBC Four | 2010 | 29'02''

Material from the 50s newsreel documentary series Time to Remember tells the story of the media circus that surrounded gangsters...

02: The Brooklyn Bridge | Seven Wonders of the Industrial World

02: The Brooklyn Bridge | Seven Wonders of the Industrial World

BBC Two | 2003 | 49'13''

This programme tells the story of father and son engineers John and Washington Roebling and their scheme to b...

03: Supremacy | American History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

03: Supremacy | American History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley

BBC Four | 2019 | 59'05''

Lucy Worsley reveals the myths and deceptions in the story of America following the United States' emergenc...

More from James May

Why Do Cats Have Nine Lives? | James May's Things You Need to Know

Why Do Cats Have Nine Lives? | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2012 | 2'45''

James May explains about speed, using a fast-moving mix of animation and graphics. Here he explores why te...

S01E01 | James May's Cars of the People

S01E01 | James May's Cars of the People

BBC Two | 2014 | 59'26''

James May discovers how cars became an everyday part of people's lives. His journey begins in Europe, where he reveals a tale of war,...

S01E06: Music | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

S01E06: Music | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

BBC HD | 2012 | 59'20''

Dara O Briain and his expert team examine the science behind music. James May explores how music is linked to our emotions and M...

Creating moulds | James May's Man Lab

Creating moulds | James May's Man Lab

BBC Two | 2011 | 10'50''

James re-forms some impractical kitchen items into the perfect lemon squeezer in his very own foundry.

06: Big City, Bright Lights | James May's 20th Century

06: Big City, Bright Lights | James May's 20th Century

BBC Two | 2007 | 28'35''

Each day 180,000 people move into a city somewhere on the planet. James May investigates how the high-rise urban livin...