Backdrop fallback

An Ocean Apart

An Ocean Apart

Share

An Ocean Apart

1988- 1988

1 Seasons

7 Episodes

6.7(3 votes)

Ended

Documentary

Overview

When the 20th century opened, Britain dominated world affairs, and America stood on the sidelines. Now their positions are reversed. This is the story of how it happened.

Links & Resources

Social & External

Production Companies

BBC

Episodes

No episodes found for this season.

The people behind it

Cast & crew

1 featured cast member

Starring

David Dimbleby

David Dimbleby

Creative team

Created by: Adam Curtis
David Dimbleby
Produced by: Peter Salmon
Adam Curtis

Similar TV Shows

Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer

Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer

When a suspect is found in a journalist's murder, the case is considered closed until a secret diary suggests 13 more victims — and possible cannibalism.

Planet Earth

Planet Earth

David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.

Wild Isles

Wild Isles

This nature documentary introduces viewers to the fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland across four main areas: woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and marine.

Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist

Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist

From Notre Dame to the NFL, Manti Te'o's future in football showed promise until a secret online relationship sent his life and career spiraling.

Darwin's Dangerous Idea

Darwin's Dangerous Idea

Andrew Marr explores how Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has taken on a life of its own far beyond the world of science.

Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates

Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates

Take a trip inside the mind of Bill Gates as the billionaire opens up about those who influenced him and the audacious goals he's still pursuing.

The Dynasty: New England Patriots

The Dynasty: New England Patriots

Go inside the franchise's 20-year journey, from the unique chemistry that fueled six Super Bowl wins to the internal strife that sparked a turf war. Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft, and key players reveal the road to—and cost of—greatness.

Wonderland: From JM Barrie to JRR Tolkien

Wonderland: From JM Barrie to JRR Tolkien

An extraordinary variety of writers, who often suffered terrible adversity throughout their lives, created wonderful places full of happiness in which children lived far from the sorrows of adult life.

Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action

Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action

This jaw-dropping documentary goes behind the scenes of America's most controversial talk show to expose its biggest scandals, both on- and off-camera.

Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle

Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle

Examines the dawn of the comic book genre and its powerful legacy, as well as the evolution of the characters who leapt from the pages over the last 75 years and their ongoing worldwide cultural impact. It chronicles how these disposable diversions were subject to intense government scrutiny for their influence on American children and how they were created in large part by the children of immigrants whose fierce loyalty to a new homeland laid the foundation for a multi-billion-dollar industry that is an influential part of our national identity.

A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley

A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley

This documentary takes a look at some of the most horrible and despicable murders in modern British history. From Jack the Ripper in the 1880s to Agatha Christie's best known stories.

Game Changers

Game Changers

The series explores the history behind the most iconic games and how they went on to influence the world of pop culture and beyond.

Making Manson

Making Manson

Through 20 years' worth of never-before-aired conversations, those closest to the case have their views challenged as Manson talks openly about his part in the infamous crimes, as well as his upbringing, criminal youth and his true feelings about "The Family."

Start Up, Fall Down: From Billionaire to Convict

Start Up, Fall Down: From Billionaire to Convict

One of Milan's most exclusive parties takes a dark turn when a woman reports sexual assault. This documentary chronicles the investigation that followed.

Money, Explained

Money, Explained

We spend it, we borrow it, and save it. Now let's talk about money and its many minefields, from credit cards to casino, scammers to student loans.

50 Seconds: The Fernando Báez Sosa Case

50 Seconds: The Fernando Báez Sosa Case

This documentary series explores the case of Fernando Báez Sosa, whose fatal beating by a group of young men was caught on video, shocking Argentina.

The Restless Wave

Three hour-long programs about the history of the Royal Canadian Navy. Filmed archives from Ottawa, the CBC and newsreels provide the bulk of the visuals.

High Horse: The Black Cowboy

High Horse: The Black Cowboy

Three-part pop culture and historical documentary confronts and reclaims the Wild West while revealing the story of the Black cowboy — a history that has largely been untold.

Journey to the Far Right

TV documentary filmmaker Nicholas Fraser investigates the threat of race hatred by talking to French fascists, Italian supporters of Mussolini, neo-Nazis in Germany, and those who deny the existence of the Holocaust.

The Murders Before the Marathon

The Murders Before the Marathon

Journalist Susan Zalkind investigates the triple murder that took her friend’s life, the national tragedy that shook her city, and the haunting question that connects the two events: if the murders had been solved, could the Boston Marathon bombing could have been prevented?

Recommended TV Shows

The War

The War

The story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

American Experience

American Experience

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

World War II with Tom Hanks

World War II with Tom Hanks

Explores WWII from Germany's invasion of Poland through the atomic age, examining pivotal battles, wartime leaders like Churchill and Roosevelt, and the human cost of total war.

WWII in HD

WWII in HD

WWII in HD is a 10-part American documentary television miniseries that originally aired from November 15 to November 19, 2009 on the History Channel. The program focuses on the firsthand experiences of twelve American service members during World War II, including an Army nurse, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a second generation Japanese American and prisoner of war, and an Austrian Jewish immigrant. The twelve members recorded their time in both theaters and some had later interviews; found footage from the battlefield was paired with the stories of the twelve service members. The episodes premiered on five consecutive days, with two episodes per day. The series is narrated by Gary Sinise and was produced by Lou Reda Productions in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States.

American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden

American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden

Featuring rare footage and interviews with CIA insiders, this edge-of-your-seat documentary series traces the epic hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Top Gear

Top Gear

Motoring programme featuring reviews of and reports about cars of all types.

How Do They Do It?

How Do They Do It?

An insider's look at the engineering and scientific miracles behind the things that form the modern world.

Biography

Biography

Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987. The older version featured historical figures such as Helen Keller and Mark Twain, or long-dead entertainment figures such as Will Rogers or John Barrymore. The A&E series has placed the emphasis on such people as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Plácido Domingo, Freddie Mercury, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eric Clapton, Pope John Paul II, Gene Tierney, Selena, Diego Rivera, Mao Zedong and Queen Elizabeth II, and fictional characters like The Phantom, Superman, Hamlet, Betty Boop, and Santa Claus. The program ended up profiling enough figures that in 1999, A&E spun it off into an entire network, The Biography Channel.

The Civil War

The Civil War

A documentary on the American Civil War narrated by Ken Burns, covering the secession of the Confederacy to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Death of the Pastor's Wife

Death of the Pastor's Wife

What happened to Mica Miller? This documentary series retraces her promising life, toxic marriage and the mysterious circumstances of her death.

Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States

Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States

Oliver Stone's re-examination of under-reported events in American history.

Natural World

Natural World

Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.

World War II: From the Frontlines

World War II: From the Frontlines

Through vividly enhanced archival footage and voices from all sides of the conflict, this docuseries brings WWII to life like never before.

The Real History of Science Fiction

The Real History of Science Fiction

The series heads to the very frontiers of space and science to produce the definitive television history of science fiction, told through its impact on cinema, television and literature, with the help of filmmakers, writers, actors, and graphic artists. Each episode will explore one of the enduring themes of science fiction: time travel; the exploration of space; robots and artificial intelligence; and aliens.

The World Wars

The World Wars

The story of three decades of war told through the eyes of various men who were its key players: Roosevelt, Hitler, Patton, Mussolini, Churchill, Tojo, DeGaulle and MacArthur. The series examines the two wars as one contiguous timeline starting in 1914 and concluding in 1945 with these unique individuals coming of age in World War I before ultimately calling the shots in World War II.

Horizon

Horizon

Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.

Mysteries at the Museum

Mysteries at the Museum

Don Wildman unearths relics from the world's greatest institutions to reveal secrets from the past. He examines each artifact to illuminate history's most incredible triumphs, sensational crimes and bizarre encounters.

Doctor Who Confidential

Doctor Who Confidential

Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The running time of the first two series was 30 minutes, being extended to 45 minutes in the third. BBC Three also broadcast a cut-down edition of the programme, lasting 15 minutes, shown after the repeats on Sundays and Fridays and after the weekday evening repeats of earlier seasons.

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War

With firsthand accounts and access to prominent figures around the world, this comprehensive docuseries explores the Cold War and its aftermath.

World War II in Colour

World War II in Colour

World War II In Colour is a 13-episode television documentary miniseries recounting the events of World War II narrated by Robert Powell. The show covers the Western Front, Eastern Front, and the Pacific War. It is on syndication in America on the Military Channel. This series is in full color, combining both original and colorized footage.