
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.
- Created By
- First Aired on
Sep 18, 1974
- Popularity: 2.5598
- 2 votes
- Networks
- (GB)
- Status: Ended
Show Ended
1 seaons till Oct 23, 1974
Last episode: The Search for the Magic Bullet
Seasons & episodes
Total 1 seasons, 6 episodes

Season One
Aired
Episode 1The Invisible Enemy56 min
1: The Invisible Enemy by MARTIN WORTH 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 cause of this disease. Music composed by DUDLEY SIMPSON Designer DEREK DODD Cameraman NAT CROSBY Film editor DAN RAE Producer PETER GOODCHILD Director JOHN GLENISTER
Episode 2A Germ is Life56 min
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
Episode 3Men of Little Faith56 min
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
Episode 4Certain Death56 min
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
Episode 5The Tuberculin Affair56 min
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