the cosmos is all that is or ever was or
ever will be come with me
these miniseries were so good you’ll
wish they were a bit longer welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top ten
documentary miniseries does it seem so
in light theme for this list we’re
focusing on documentaries that were
split into several different episodes
that ran over a specific period of time
rather than feature-length one part or
DOX we will not be afraid to speculate
but we will be careful to distinguish
speculation from fact number ten cosmos
a personal voyage the cosmos is also
within us we’re made of starstuff
we are away of a cosmos and know itself
if you want to look at science in a
completely different way look no further
than this 13-part series originally
running from September to December in
1980 this miniseries shows the late
great science communicator Carl Sagan
giving us a history lesson on many
different aspects of science this is our
own Milky Way seen from the outside from
astrology to the human brain to climate
change it may not take much to
destabilize the Earth’s climate to
convert this heaven our only home in the
cosmos into a kind of hell all tied
together with groundbreaking effects and
a killer soundtrack
the result was one of the most-watched
public TV series ever with 500 million
people watching it around the world and
a 2014 reboot hosted by Neil deGrasse
Tyson January 1st the Big Bang
[Music]
number nine the Beatles Anthology there
are four of the nice instructions we’ve
ever had on our stage the bezel if
there’s any band that deserves a huge
anthology dedicated to them it’s the Fab
Four accompanied by albums a book and
two new songs
[Music]
the anthology takes us from John Paul
George and Ringo smiled hoods all the
way to their breakup in 1970 I want to
do this and Joe wants to do that
you know George was often you know
people would you know we had families an
in-depth look at the best and worst
times in the Beals history with dialog
coming from interviews with the band
members themselves the anthology
commemorates a successful career
[Music]
plus we also hear their best songs at
different points throughout the series
making this one a practice in nostalgia
as well
[Music]
number eight the blue planet join us on
a journey to the very bottom of the deep
sea to an alien world never revealed
before one of several miniseries to be
narrated by David Attenborough the blue
planet takes us on a one-of-a-kind
journey through the world’s oceans
teaching us about their histories and
taking us through their unexplored
underwater recesses these three meter
sharks come such great Suede’s through
the sardine shows that their tracks are
clearly visible from the air through
eight episodes we see underwater
creatures from places like South Africa
Australia and the Arctic and are shown
never-before-seen animals and behaviors
from the depths of the ocean
[Music]
utilizing almost 200 filming locations
and taking almost five years to complete
the blue planet ended up winning
multiple Emmys and spawned the 2003
theatrical documentary deep blue this is
a world of constant jeopardy an endless
cycle of birth death and renewal number
seven a personal journey with Martin
Scorsese through American movies film is
a disease Frank Capra said when it
infects your bloodstream it takes over
as the number one hormone who better to
take us on a trip through some of the
best movies ever made then one of the
most acclaimed directors ever a poet or
a painter can be a loner the American
film director has to be first and
foremost a team player grouping some of
his favorite movies based on the type of
director who brought them to life
director and film historian Martin
Scorsese gives the viewer a look at the
best movies from genres like silent film
westerns film noir and even musical the
world was a stage and it belonged to
those who could sing and dance
in a three-part miniseries that lasts
almost four hours
ain’t got no eyes II can enter the
spirit land has to wander forever
between the winds speaking as a fan and
filmmaker Scorsese explains how the
movies influenced the industry and his
own filmmaking actually when I was a
little younger there was another journey
I wanted to make it was a religious one
I wanted to be a priest however I soon
realized that my real vocation my real
calling was the movies number 6 walking
with dinosaurs
now you’ve reached a remarkable period
in Earth’s history known as the
Cretaceous it is a very different world
paving the way for a franchise that
included miniseries about walking with
beasts walking with cavemen and walking
with monsters prehistoric ride as well
as a feature like film in 2013 this
miniseries used cgi animatronics and
special effects to recreate how
dinosaurs live and behaved in the
Mesozoic era
but now the Pasillas are the only ones
of that kind but remain and the result
was much more like Jurassic Park than
anything you’d expect to see in a TV
documentary mimicking nature
documentaries by eliminating talking
head interviews
[Music]
what’s even crazier is that this BBC
production was the most expensive
documentary series per minute ever made
according to the Guinness Book of World
Records and we say that it was worth it
took millions of years for earth to
recover and when it did the giant
dinosaurs were gone
never to return number five the civil
war more than three million americans
fought in it and over six hundred
thousand men two percent of the
population died in it
famed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns
has made several celebrated
documentaries for PBS and this one in
particular became the channels
most-watched show to that point with
about 40 million tuning in to its first
broadcast I can do it all McClellan said
but he did nothing with 9 episodes aired
over five straight nights the Civil War
showed Burns’s trademark use of archival
photos of war combined with a musical
soundtrack narration interviews add
after recreations of significant
historical figures but not once in a
century our men permitted to bear such
responsibilities for freedom and justice
for God and humanity as are now placed
upon you Burns documentary proved so
successful with the American public
even then President George HW Bush was a
fan if the rebels would lay down their
guns and go home Lincoln said they
should be welcomed back as citizens of
the United States number 4 North America
you find our own story
our spirit forged in the land narrated
by Tom Selleck and internally produced
by the Discovery Channel this miniseries
is a feast for the senses and is a
virtual tour of all the nature that
North and Central America have to offer
30,000 males largest concentration of
snakes on earth in the first five
episodes were taken to places like the
Canadian Prairies the Appalachian
Mountains and even Costa Rica where we
see incredible landscape shots as well
as the behavior of the wildlife and
underwater life throughout the continent
they quickly separate the cat from her
mother’s side
beautiful and informative this series
turns the camera toward a continent that
many call home but few truly stop to
admire she is smitten
[Music]
number three jazz now you have the
people getting the spiritual sound of
the church and they also get in that
secular sound of the blues over a decade
after his extremely successful
miniseries the civil war Ken Burns
brought another successful documentary
to PBS this time he focused on the
history of American jazz music blackie
when they invent this music weren’t
looking back to Africa they were looking
at America and looking at the future and
looking at what they were as Americans
told through interviews with some of the
genres most significant personalities
and illustrated with Burns’s signature
use of archived photos his name in the
neighborhood was little Louie but his
full name was Louis Armstrong this
miniseries showed us the great artists
records and jazz styles that popped up
over the genres timeline but also
touched on some of the most
controversial aspects of his history
more specifically racial segregation and
drug use to support his habit to feed
the beast as he remembered he stole from
friends pawned his horn
even became a pimp number two the world
at war – every Patriot Germany could not
be free while Versailles stood Hitler
alone seemed the savior foretold by the
monuments of the border an expensive
undertaking that cost a record nine
hundred thousand pounds
the oldest miniseries on this list is
also the longest with 26 episodes but
it’s a series that earned enough praise
to justify its inclusion I saw the
Arizona blow up and she just like if she
just rained sailors created in Britain
but told from the point of view of
interviewees who had been there and
witnessed the event firsthand thing I
remember most about that morning was
terror and confusion the world at war is
a detailed historical account of World
War 2 Hitler had a 90% young for a
million still voted nine taking us from
the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany
all the way to the aftermath of the war
Isaac’s expensive and celebrated work
gives us a comprehensive look of one of
the most world-changing events ever
Singapore’s fall meant that the whole of
Southeast Asia layered Japan’s feet
within weeks the Japanese army was at
the borders of India and the Japanese
Navy was steaming close to the shores of
Australia before we unveil our top pick
here are a few honorable mentions when
he swung that bat he was the producing
that you’ve ever seen
aha welcome to the story of film and
Odyssey an epic tale of innovation
across twelve decades six continents
and a thousand films
on the brink of a major expedition he
readies himself to face the challenge of
the Seas danger and mystery although
walrus use ice to rest on they also love
to bask on rocks in the Summer Sun
things a vital part of a chimpanzees
dive number one
planet Earth and some just can’t seem to
get enough of them
the first BBC nature doc filmed in crisp
and clear High Definition this
miniseries was the priciest documentary
of its kind to ever have been made for
the BBC a follow-up to David
Attenborough’s the Blue Planet this
effort focused less on underwater worlds
and more on general nature educating the
public on the earth and its wildlife
with sublimely filmed footage and
smashing ratings records in the process
the more extravagant a male is the more
likely he’ll be notice so successful it
prompted the 2007 feature film version
earth blinded by Sam the calf barely has
the strength to go on
as well as the follow-up series Frozen
Planet and human planet planet Earth was
a groundbreaker in the medium that took
five years to make
[Music]
do you agree with our list what’s your
favorite all-time documentary miniseries
[Music]
with new top 10s published every day be
sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
ever will be come with me
these miniseries were so good you’ll
wish they were a bit longer welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top ten
documentary miniseries does it seem so
in light theme for this list we’re
focusing on documentaries that were
split into several different episodes
that ran over a specific period of time
rather than feature-length one part or
DOX we will not be afraid to speculate
but we will be careful to distinguish
speculation from fact number ten cosmos
a personal voyage the cosmos is also
within us we’re made of starstuff
we are away of a cosmos and know itself
if you want to look at science in a
completely different way look no further
than this 13-part series originally
running from September to December in
1980 this miniseries shows the late
great science communicator Carl Sagan
giving us a history lesson on many
different aspects of science this is our
own Milky Way seen from the outside from
astrology to the human brain to climate
change it may not take much to
destabilize the Earth’s climate to
convert this heaven our only home in the
cosmos into a kind of hell all tied
together with groundbreaking effects and
a killer soundtrack
the result was one of the most-watched
public TV series ever with 500 million
people watching it around the world and
a 2014 reboot hosted by Neil deGrasse
Tyson January 1st the Big Bang
[Music]
number nine the Beatles Anthology there
are four of the nice instructions we’ve
ever had on our stage the bezel if
there’s any band that deserves a huge
anthology dedicated to them it’s the Fab
Four accompanied by albums a book and
two new songs
[Music]
the anthology takes us from John Paul
George and Ringo smiled hoods all the
way to their breakup in 1970 I want to
do this and Joe wants to do that
you know George was often you know
people would you know we had families an
in-depth look at the best and worst
times in the Beals history with dialog
coming from interviews with the band
members themselves the anthology
commemorates a successful career
[Music]
plus we also hear their best songs at
different points throughout the series
making this one a practice in nostalgia
as well
[Music]
number eight the blue planet join us on
a journey to the very bottom of the deep
sea to an alien world never revealed
before one of several miniseries to be
narrated by David Attenborough the blue
planet takes us on a one-of-a-kind
journey through the world’s oceans
teaching us about their histories and
taking us through their unexplored
underwater recesses these three meter
sharks come such great Suede’s through
the sardine shows that their tracks are
clearly visible from the air through
eight episodes we see underwater
creatures from places like South Africa
Australia and the Arctic and are shown
never-before-seen animals and behaviors
from the depths of the ocean
[Music]
utilizing almost 200 filming locations
and taking almost five years to complete
the blue planet ended up winning
multiple Emmys and spawned the 2003
theatrical documentary deep blue this is
a world of constant jeopardy an endless
cycle of birth death and renewal number
seven a personal journey with Martin
Scorsese through American movies film is
a disease Frank Capra said when it
infects your bloodstream it takes over
as the number one hormone who better to
take us on a trip through some of the
best movies ever made then one of the
most acclaimed directors ever a poet or
a painter can be a loner the American
film director has to be first and
foremost a team player grouping some of
his favorite movies based on the type of
director who brought them to life
director and film historian Martin
Scorsese gives the viewer a look at the
best movies from genres like silent film
westerns film noir and even musical the
world was a stage and it belonged to
those who could sing and dance
in a three-part miniseries that lasts
almost four hours
ain’t got no eyes II can enter the
spirit land has to wander forever
between the winds speaking as a fan and
filmmaker Scorsese explains how the
movies influenced the industry and his
own filmmaking actually when I was a
little younger there was another journey
I wanted to make it was a religious one
I wanted to be a priest however I soon
realized that my real vocation my real
calling was the movies number 6 walking
with dinosaurs
now you’ve reached a remarkable period
in Earth’s history known as the
Cretaceous it is a very different world
paving the way for a franchise that
included miniseries about walking with
beasts walking with cavemen and walking
with monsters prehistoric ride as well
as a feature like film in 2013 this
miniseries used cgi animatronics and
special effects to recreate how
dinosaurs live and behaved in the
Mesozoic era
but now the Pasillas are the only ones
of that kind but remain and the result
was much more like Jurassic Park than
anything you’d expect to see in a TV
documentary mimicking nature
documentaries by eliminating talking
head interviews
[Music]
what’s even crazier is that this BBC
production was the most expensive
documentary series per minute ever made
according to the Guinness Book of World
Records and we say that it was worth it
took millions of years for earth to
recover and when it did the giant
dinosaurs were gone
never to return number five the civil
war more than three million americans
fought in it and over six hundred
thousand men two percent of the
population died in it
famed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns
has made several celebrated
documentaries for PBS and this one in
particular became the channels
most-watched show to that point with
about 40 million tuning in to its first
broadcast I can do it all McClellan said
but he did nothing with 9 episodes aired
over five straight nights the Civil War
showed Burns’s trademark use of archival
photos of war combined with a musical
soundtrack narration interviews add
after recreations of significant
historical figures but not once in a
century our men permitted to bear such
responsibilities for freedom and justice
for God and humanity as are now placed
upon you Burns documentary proved so
successful with the American public
even then President George HW Bush was a
fan if the rebels would lay down their
guns and go home Lincoln said they
should be welcomed back as citizens of
the United States number 4 North America
you find our own story
our spirit forged in the land narrated
by Tom Selleck and internally produced
by the Discovery Channel this miniseries
is a feast for the senses and is a
virtual tour of all the nature that
North and Central America have to offer
30,000 males largest concentration of
snakes on earth in the first five
episodes were taken to places like the
Canadian Prairies the Appalachian
Mountains and even Costa Rica where we
see incredible landscape shots as well
as the behavior of the wildlife and
underwater life throughout the continent
they quickly separate the cat from her
mother’s side
beautiful and informative this series
turns the camera toward a continent that
many call home but few truly stop to
admire she is smitten
[Music]
number three jazz now you have the
people getting the spiritual sound of
the church and they also get in that
secular sound of the blues over a decade
after his extremely successful
miniseries the civil war Ken Burns
brought another successful documentary
to PBS this time he focused on the
history of American jazz music blackie
when they invent this music weren’t
looking back to Africa they were looking
at America and looking at the future and
looking at what they were as Americans
told through interviews with some of the
genres most significant personalities
and illustrated with Burns’s signature
use of archived photos his name in the
neighborhood was little Louie but his
full name was Louis Armstrong this
miniseries showed us the great artists
records and jazz styles that popped up
over the genres timeline but also
touched on some of the most
controversial aspects of his history
more specifically racial segregation and
drug use to support his habit to feed
the beast as he remembered he stole from
friends pawned his horn
even became a pimp number two the world
at war – every Patriot Germany could not
be free while Versailles stood Hitler
alone seemed the savior foretold by the
monuments of the border an expensive
undertaking that cost a record nine
hundred thousand pounds
the oldest miniseries on this list is
also the longest with 26 episodes but
it’s a series that earned enough praise
to justify its inclusion I saw the
Arizona blow up and she just like if she
just rained sailors created in Britain
but told from the point of view of
interviewees who had been there and
witnessed the event firsthand thing I
remember most about that morning was
terror and confusion the world at war is
a detailed historical account of World
War 2 Hitler had a 90% young for a
million still voted nine taking us from
the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany
all the way to the aftermath of the war
Isaac’s expensive and celebrated work
gives us a comprehensive look of one of
the most world-changing events ever
Singapore’s fall meant that the whole of
Southeast Asia layered Japan’s feet
within weeks the Japanese army was at
the borders of India and the Japanese
Navy was steaming close to the shores of
Australia before we unveil our top pick
here are a few honorable mentions when
he swung that bat he was the producing
that you’ve ever seen
aha welcome to the story of film and
Odyssey an epic tale of innovation
across twelve decades six continents
and a thousand films
on the brink of a major expedition he
readies himself to face the challenge of
the Seas danger and mystery although
walrus use ice to rest on they also love
to bask on rocks in the Summer Sun
things a vital part of a chimpanzees
dive number one
planet Earth and some just can’t seem to
get enough of them
the first BBC nature doc filmed in crisp
and clear High Definition this
miniseries was the priciest documentary
of its kind to ever have been made for
the BBC a follow-up to David
Attenborough’s the Blue Planet this
effort focused less on underwater worlds
and more on general nature educating the
public on the earth and its wildlife
with sublimely filmed footage and
smashing ratings records in the process
the more extravagant a male is the more
likely he’ll be notice so successful it
prompted the 2007 feature film version
earth blinded by Sam the calf barely has
the strength to go on
as well as the follow-up series Frozen
Planet and human planet planet Earth was
a groundbreaker in the medium that took
five years to make
[Music]
do you agree with our list what’s your
favorite all-time documentary miniseries
[Music]
with new top 10s published every day be
sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
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