BBC - Connections (1994) - Episode 4: Whodunit - Season 2

Connections is a documentary television series created, written and presented by science historian James Burke. It took an interdisciplinary approach to the history of science and invention and demonstrated how various discoveries, scientific achievements, and historical world events were built from one another successively in an interconnected way to bring about particular aspects of modern technology. The series was noted for Burke's crisp and enthusiastic presentation (and dry humour), historical re-enactments, and intricate working models.

Episode 4: "Whodunit" starts with a billiard ball and ends with a billiard ball. Along the way, Burke examines Georgius Agricola's De Re Metallica, how mining supported war, the role of money, the Spanish Armada, large ships, problems posed by a wood shortage, glass making, coal, plate glass, mirrors, the sextant, barometers, the discovery of granite and seashells in the mountains, which enabled a new view of the age of the earth, and Darwin's theory of evolution, Francis Galton's Eugenics, and the forensic use of fingerprints.

Season 1:
Episode 1: The Trigger Effect
Episode 2: Death in the Morning
Episode 3: Distant Voices
Episode 4: Faith In Numbers
Episode 5: The Wheel of Fortune
Episode 6: Thunder in the Skies
Episode 7: The Long Chain
Episode 8: Eat, Drink and Be Merry
Episode 9: Countdown
Episode 10: Yesterday, Tomorrow and You
Season 2:
Episode 1: Revolutions
Episode 2: Flexible Response
Episode 3: Getting it Together