Every season of The Real Thing ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of The Real Thing!

James Burke employs a detective to illustrate how the senses pick up clues from the outside world, how the brain solves the mystery and decides what is out there. Illustrates how easy it is to fool the best detective and asks: 'What is reality?'

The Private Eye

James Burke goes to the top of the Blackpool Tower and turns upside down to discover how the ears talk to the eyes and how we know which way is down

This Way Up

In order to answer the question 'When is reality?' James Burke finds himself in a Salvador Dali-like landscape and examines what motivates man, why light can never stand still and why one man's 'now' can be another man's 'then'

Time Out of Mind

From the stage set of 'The Mousetrap', James Burke examines the memory and asks: does it stay the same, how does it influence everyday actions and is the script for the future already written - from memory?

The Memory Lingers On

Looks at the complexity of the brain handling the simplest activity. James Burke's consciousness steps out of his body for a while to demonstrate how it acts as 'Mission Controller' for his own private universe.

The View from Within

James Burke considers whether language is the way in which reality is shared.

Life Sentence

Asking how you tell what's real and what isn't sounds like an obvious question. But in this series of six programmes, James Burke shows that the more you think about it the harder it is to answer. After all, what have you got, apart from your five senses, to prove those senses are giving you the real thing?

The Best Seasons of The Real Thing

The Best Seasons of The Real Thing

Season 1