Civilisations: Rise and Fall
Channel: BBC Earth (DStv 184)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Docu-Drama, Documentary Series, History
The moments when four ancient worlds faced disaster are brought to life in an epic series exploring Rome, Egypt, the Aztecs and the samurai of Japan.
Drawing on the beautiful art and artefacts left behind by these four cultures, now held in the British Museum, the series reveals the human stories at the heart of each crisis to reveal what led them to fall into the echoes of history.
In the series premiere, "Rome": How a perfect storm of calamitous events destroyed the once mighty Roman Empire.
In 395 AD, the emperor Honorius inherits a vast but fragile empire.
For more than 400 years the Roman empire has ruled territory encompassing a multitude of people and languages.
But keeping this disparate whole together is a massive challenge, and decisions taken by Honorius' predecessors have opened up alarming faultlines within the system.
These cracks, which are slowly weakening Rome, are encoded in its artefacts:
- the Honorius Coin depicts an image of the emperor standing on the body of a barbarian,
- a Terracotta Theatre Mask reveals deep-seated Roman prejudices towards northern peoples,
- and a wedding gift made for one of Rome's elite couples, known as the Projecta Casket, attests to inequality in Roman society, and the wealth of the one percent.
Guided by General Stilicho, Honorius must control a fractured system plagued by rebellion, economic inequality and a corrupt elite.
The challenge becomes acute in 410 AD when Rome's greatest existential crisis in 800 years arrives: the Visigoths, led by Alaric - a Goth leader bent on revenge.
He besieges and plunders the city, sending shockwaves through the ancient world and marking the beginning of the end for the Western Roman Empire.
The Two Escobars
Channel: S3
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Documentary, Sport
An investigation reveals organised crime's involvement in sports in Colombia.
This documentary examines how crime, soccer and nationalism collided in Colombia through the intertwined fates of Pablo and Andres Escobar.
S.W.A.T. 8
Channel: Universal TV (DStv 117)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Police Procedural, Drama
Final season!
S.W.A.T. stars Shemar Moore as Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, an L.A.-born and raised S.W.A.T. Sergeant who leads an elite tactical team that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles.
Torn between loyalty to the community where he was raised and his brothers in blue, Hondo works to bridge the divide between his two worlds as he grapples with new parenthood alongside his wife Nichelle.
Rounding out 20-Squad are:
- David "Deacon" Kay, a dedicated family man and experienced officer;
- Victor Tan, newly single and eager to embrace a leadership role on the team;
- and Zoe Powell, a cocky newcomer working to find her place on the squad.
Finally, Commander Robert Hicks oversees all of Metro S.W.A.T.
Led by Hondo, 20-Squad embraces their differences and works together to save lives and protect their city in an increasingly troubled world.
In the Season 8 premiere, "Vanished": SWAT tackles a mission with personal ties for Hondo when they race to find a group of missing students and their bus driver, Hondo's former high school football coach.
Also, Hicks has reservations regarding Hondo's new 20-Squad team addition, Devin Gamble (Annie Ilonzeh), a cop with a family background deeply entrenched in crime.
Storms from Above
Channel: BBC Earth (DStv 184)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Nature, Documentary
Storms are becoming stronger and stronger. But the fightback has begun. And it's taking place above the clouds.
Today, cutting-edge technology is helping us track the most dangerous weather like never before - warning people about lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes so they can get to safety.
The world's weather is being policed by incredible flying laboratories, like the aeroplane taking off every day in the UK carrying four tonnes of science equipment.
Our weather is being observed by high-altitude drones made in Switzerland flying higher than ever before.
And it's being watched over from space by futuristic weather satellites like the new and game-changing ones from the USA.
They detect and track hurricanes over the Atlantic to minimise the destruction they cause when they make landfall in the Caribbean and in US states like Florida.
Europe has its own secret weapon too, the most modern weather satellite ever constructed, looking out for dangerous weather including spotting wildfires early and enabling emergency services to save lives.
Watched over by satellites, drones and weather planes, we're better at forecasting weather than ever.
But we are also trying to control the weather, using cloud seeding to create rainfall.
It's a controversial topic and it's happening all over the world.
Survival of the Thickest 3
Channel: Netflix South Africa
TX Time: 10h00 (all episodes)
Genre: Comedy-Drama, Comedy
After a bad breakup, passionate stylist Mavis Beaumont seizes the opportunity to start over in life and love while finding happiness on her own terms.
Survival of the Thickest centres on Mavis Beaumont (Michelle Buteau).
Black, plus-size and newly single (not by her choice), Mavis unexpectedly finds herself having to rebuild her life as a struggling stylist.
She's determined to not only survive but thrive with the support of her chosen family, a body positive attitude, and a cute v-neck with some lip gloss.
The scripted comedy is based on Buteau's book of essays.