Brainiac: History Abuse (2005)
- Genre
- documentary film
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Length
- 1 season, 8 episodes
- Rating
- 6.7 of 10 from 3 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
This series presents historical facts and experiments in a fun and ridiculous way. It includes segments like wearing armor, cooking medieval meals, and reenacting battles with fruits and vegetables. A host guides viewers through each oddball demonstration.
playfulinformalsillylight-heartedwhimsicalparodiceducationalfast-paced
What happens
Brainiac: History Abuse is a British entertainment documentary show that aired on Sky1 from 1 June to 20 July 2005. It is a spin-off of the show Brainiac: Science Abuse concentrating on historical subjects. The show is presented by Charlotte Hudson with additional input from Stephen Wisdom as "Ernest Clough, History Buff", and Regina Cotter as Shell in the Kitchen cooking traditional medieval delicacies. The series wasn't as popular as its scientific counterpart, and was axed after one series. However, it is repeated on Sky3. Regular features include: "Men in Steel" and "Knight Fever" – highlighting modern-day activities you can do (with varying degrees of difficulty) while wearing a suit of armour. Shell's Kitchen – medieval (and to most modern tastes, unpalatable) recipes, presented in a parody of the style of Nigella Lawson. Ancient Hist-O-Wee – historical uses for urine Historical medicinal remedies Ancient Vege-Battles: historical battles illustrated using fruit and vegetables The Brainiac Battering Ram Squad "fixing" an everyday problem with unnecessary force, such as opening a vending machine or a locked car Like Brainiac: Science Abuse before it, the show always ends with an item in which a caravan gets blown up. In deference to the theme, they use a "historical" explosive for an everyday task (e.g. a WW2 depth charge to unblock a toilet). Torture instruments were shown and demonstrated with fruit (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
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Decisive Weapons (1996)
Brainiac: Science Abuse (2003)
Drama Connections (2005)
Planet Earth (2006)
How Art Made the World (2005)
Ancient Discoveries (2003)
Weapons That Made Britain- More like this series, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.