Toyotomi Hideyoshi ascends to power as the de facto ruler of Japan. Still, Date Masamune, a young daimyo in the north ignores his missives.

Examine the fragile interdependence that exists between forests' wide variety of residents, including bald eagles, hunting dogs and Siberian tigers.

Adam Hart-Davis investigates the Victorian innovations that left a lasting impression on British society. The Victorians defined standards for a whole range of activities, from engineering to table manners. Hart-Davis finds out how the rules for sports such as tennis and football evolved, and discovers how standardisation in manufacturing made new inventions, such as the sewing machine, affordable.

Tony works jobs from the Middle ages, 1000 to 1500 AD. This is the time of castle building and cathedral construction. What do you do to get a piece of crust? Tony Robinson presents some of the worst jobs ever from various historical periods in England, ranging from the dark ages through the Victorian era. Season one focuses on historical periods, while season two combines places, social status and periods of time (for example, rural, urban, maritime, etc.). From the channel 4 website: "The history we are taught usually features the lives and times of the great and the good, of the haves but not the have-nots. However, the monarchs, aristocrats and magnates could not have existed without the battalions of minions who performed the tasks that were beneath their masters and mistresses."