Arthur C Clarkes Mysterious Universe: Series 2

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Science Documentary hosted by Carol Vorderman, published by ITV in 1994 - English narration

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Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious Universe: Series 2 The adventure continues in this final collection of the groundbreaking, classic TV series by Arthur C. Clarke. In Mysterious Universe, Clarke and his team of highly respected scientific experts travel the globe seeking the truth behind mythical creatures, ancient legends and hair-raising rituals.

[edit] A Crop of Circles

What force or unseen hand in the night creates crop circles? Are fields of energy, as yet unknown to science, generated within the circles? The global phenomenon of crop circles has intrigued scientists, parapsychologists and new age enthusiasts alike. This episode attempts to determine the real causes behind them while distinguishing the hoaxes from the authentic circles.

[edit] At Deaths Door

Who can tell us the truth about life after death? Meet a minister who claims he was swallowed up by the fires of all, and a girl who says she saw her grandmother in the gardens of heaven. Arthur C. Clarke reviews claims of near-death and out-of-body experiences made by people who have seen the lights at the end of a dark tunnel.

[edit] Baffling Bombardments

Weird tales of objects falling from clear skies are examined. Apples, fish, frogs and coke raining down are just some of the few strange occurrences in this episode. Arthur C. Clarke looks for possible explanations.

[edit] Callers from the Cosmos

Who or what sent an explained signal to a radio telescope that scans the universe for extra-terrestrial intelligence? The existence of aliens, extra-terrestrials and life beyond Earth are investigated. Tales of contact, abduction and witnesses are heard first hand.

[edit] Cracking Codes Writings Runes and Other Riddles

The Vinland Map is one of the most controversial artifacts in the field of cartography. It was supposedly drawn in a pre-Columbian era depicting a portion of the Americas. The Kensington Runestone is a giant slab with runes on it claiming that Scandinavian explorers reached the Americas in the 14th century. This, and similar mysteries, are investigated in this episode.

[edit] Into Thin Air

This episode details the stories of people who supposedly saw buildings and other structures only for them to disappear afterwards. We meet a woman who saw a burning house in an empty field; was she witnessing a tragedy yet to happen? How did an arctic explorer come to map a land that never was?

[edit] Meeting Mary Visions of the Virgin

Clarke investigates modern-day apparitions of the Virgin Mary in three distinct locations. Was a vision of the Virgin Mary really seen in Fatima, Portugal? In Ireland, believers and non-believers say they’ve seen a statue move. And is there a secret to the apparition of the Virgin Mary on a church wall in another part of Ireland? Does a video create doubt about the claims by young people in Bosnia Herzegovina of seeing visions?

[edit] Mysteries of the North

This episode explores mysteries of northern regions where the mercury is at sub-zero levels. Is there really a wild man in the northern Russian forest? What unknown forces doomed the Norse settlements in Greenland at the end of the 14th century? Can a monster have survived in the depths of a Swedish lake for 900 years?

[edit] Spirits of Place Haunting and Specters

Spirits, ghosts, phantoms and the various places they haunt are examined by Clarke in this episode. Narratives from the most terrifying incidents around the world are included: a spectre in Alabama’s state capital, a ghostly figure in a photograph, and a judge’s decision as to whether the presence of spirits invalidated the sale of a house.

[edit] Squaring the Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, has been a site for bizarre disappearances and wreckage for ships and aircraft. Scientists are baffled trying to determine the reasons behind the phenomenon, but there are some plausible hypotheses.

[edit] The Evil Eye

Curses and omens have been known to defy logic and rational thought. Has a weeping stone brought misery and misfortune to the owners of a Scottish castle? Are the Chicago Cubs suffering a long-term curse from the malevolent influence of a goat they turned away from their ballpark? And what about the archeologists who descended into the tomb of King Tut? Arthur C. Clarke analyzes mysterious accounts of well-known curses such as The Curse of the Pharaohs in Egypt.

[edit] The Strange Powers of Animals

Claims that some animals have extraordinary psychic abilities are investigated. We meet a woman whose dog is credited with diagnosing her cancer, a man whose dog foresaw a heart attack that otherwise would have killed her, an indoor cat who makes its way across central London and then 70 miles of countryside to the home it lived in six months earlier, and a cow that traveled 7 miles in search of her calf that had been sold at the market.

[edit] True or False More Than Meets the Eye

Some of the most revered historic treasures lying in various museums around the world may be hoaxes. We examine a brass plate supposedly left by Sir Francis Drake on the west coast of North America. Looking at a fossil that changed our understanding of evolution – was it faked? Did two school boys fool the world with a decorated bone, or is it in fact a masterpiece of Stone Age art? Arthur C. Clarke investigates a few cases where a conclusive authenticity is almost impossible to determine.

[edit] The Burning Question

Bizarre tales of spontaneous human combustion are investigated. One man seeks to learn how his mother had been reduced to ashes. And how did a house remain undamaged even as a man inside was consumed by flames? Scientists share some possible clues that they have uncovered during their research.