Microbes and Men

Dramatised stories of the founders of modern medicine. Until the 1840s, medicine had remained basically unchanged since the days of the ancient Greece. In the 60 years following it was transformed into a modern science.

Microbes and Men Miniseries release dates →

1. S1 E6

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   6. The Search for the Magic Bullet

   Finale 52 years ago

   6: The Search for the Magic Bullet by MARTIN WORTH At the turn of the century two men, one in London, the other in Frankfurt, were embarking on research which each hoped would provide the cures so sorely needed. At the time it would have been impossible to say which would succeed. Music composed by DUDLEY SIMPSON Cameraman JOHN ELSE Designer COLIN SHAW Producer PETER GOODCHILD Director DENIS POSTLE

2. S1 E5

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   5. The Tuberculin Affair

   52 years ago

   5: The Tuberculin Affair by MARTIN WORTH 1890 was the year Germany was to play host to the world's most eminent doctors at an International Congress. For eight years Koch had been working slowly towards a cure for tuberculosis. Now the pressure was on him to produce results that would surpass the French success with rabies. Music composed by DUDLEY SIMPSON Producer PETER GOODCHILD Director SIMON LANGTON

3. S1 E4

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   4. Certain Death

   52 years ago

   4: Certain Death by BRUCE NORMAN On 6 July 1885 young Joseph Meister was brought to Pasteur's laboratory. He had been savaged by a rabid dog and bitten 14 times. Death from rabies seemed certain, unless Pasteur would treat him with an untried and possibly lethal vaccine. Music composed by DUDLEY SIMPSON Film editor CLARE DOUGLAS Producer PETER GOODCHILD Director SIMON LANGTON

4. S1 E3

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   3. Men of Little Faith

   52 years ago

   3: Men of Little Faith by JOHN WILES The early 1870s. Although a revolution is under way in the understanding of disease, ignorance and opposition to the new ideas exist at all levels. Can Pasteur or Koch find a practical outcome of their experiments that will convince the sceptics? Music composed by DUDLEY SIMPSON Film editor ROY FRY Producer PETER GOODCHILD Director PETER JONES

5. S1 E2

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   2. A Germ is Life

   52 years ago

   2: A Germ is Life by MARTIN WORTH In the small French town of Arbois stand the graves of Louis Pasteur's three young daughters. Two had died from typhoid, one from an inoperable tumour - a stark reminder of the background to his struggle to find the cause of disease. Music composed by DUDLEY SIMPSON Producer PETER GOODCHILD Director PETER JONES

6. S1 E1

   E1

   1. The Invisible Enemy

   52 years ago

   In the 1840s, the Vienna General Hospital was one of the great centres of European medicine, yet many mothers died of 'childbed fever'. Ignaz Semmelweis set out to find the origin.