I, Videogame (2007) - 5 Episodes

Episode 1:
In the 1950s, the Cold War quickly evolved between the world superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union. Mutually assured destruction enforced an uneasy stalemate, yet also drove computer technology to create missile simulations in order to predict the results of a nuclear war. This same computer technology was used to develop the first computer game in 1958 – Tennis for Two. The Space Race and the Vietnam war coincided with Steve Russell’s game Space War! and the emergence of the first true giants in the videogame business – Nolan Bushnell and Atari. In post-World War II Japan, electronics and computer technology emerged to rebuild a land and economy devastated by the atomic bomb. Space Invaders and Pac-Man soon followed, and the Golden Age of videogames was born. Among others, individuals featured in this episode include Steve Russell, Nolan Bushnell, Ralph Baer (considered by many to be the inventor of the videogame) and Toru Iwatani (Pac-Man designer). Videogames emerged as a form of entertainment where the player was in control, as opposed to the more passive diversion of watching television.

The Battle of Chernobyl (2006)

Director:
Thomas Johnson

Review:
The accident that occurred at Chernobyl on 26th April 1986 was the most disastrous reactor malfunction in the history of nuclear power. 56 people died immediately following the accident and substantial amounts of radioactive material were released into the atmosphere. This contaminated not only the Ukrainian town nearby and surrounding regions but it also spread across western Europe and eventually around the globe. Hundreds of thousands of people had to be evacuated from the region and to date approximately 4,000 have died from the long-term effects of radiation poisoning.

If you liked this doc be sure to check Inside Chernobyl’s Sarcophagus which is the aftermath of this documentary.