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Seven Wonders of the Industrial World was a series that screened on the ABC here in Australia during the middle of 2004. With its blend of drama and documentary fact this series proved immensely popular with audiences on a Sunday evening, regularly winning its timeslot and having several of the episodes ranking in the top ten watched programmes for the week. It is now available on DVD as a two-disc set.
Following on from the industrial revolution of the mid 18th to the mid 19th century where the very shape of society was altered forever, came a period of an amazing array of technical and engineering achievement the likes of which the world had never seen. The 130 odd years from the beginning of the 19th century saw the advent of the steam locomotive, the automobile and the aircraft, among a host of other feats both mechanical and civil. This seven-part series is dedicated to some of the most amazing civil engineering feats ever seen in the world, ranging from the early 1800s construction of Scotland's Bell Rock Lighthouse through to the 1930s depression era construction of the Hoover Dam.
What's unique about this series is the manner in which each story is told. It is with the use of drama rather than straight documentary that is used to illustrate and capture the very human side of each story. Rather than a boring set of photos, construction facts and figures and a dry monotone narrator, we have actors playing the roles of those involved. We see their dreams, their challenges, and listen to their thoughts as they try to get each project finished on time against often insurmountable odds. Much of what they have to say is directly adapted from letters, notes, or newspaper cuttings of the day. There is still a narrator which adds realism and a documentary style to what we are seeing, but with the actors playing the roles of those involved we really do get a feel for just what it was like in the era that each story takes place.
The wonders cover a wide and diverse range of projects from around the globe. They include engineering great Isambard Kingdom Brunel's extraordinary ship - The Great Eastern, the amazing achievement that was the Bell Rock Lighthouse, the near on impossible to achieve Panama Canal, and the imposing facade of the Hoover Dam.
Seven episodes, seven imposing wonders of the industrial world. Well worth a look if you missed it when it was on television.