The Great War: 1914-1918 (1996)

Name: The Great War: 1914-1918
Genre: Biography, Documentary, History
Rating: 8.4
Cast: Salome Jens

Biography · Documentary · History

The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century is a 1996 documentary series that aired on PBS. It chronicles World War I over eight episodes. It was narrated by Dame Judi Dench in the UK and Salome Jens in the United States. The series won two Primetime Emmy Awards: one for Jeremy Irons for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, the other for Outstanding Informational Series. In 1997, it was given a Peabody Award.

IMDb rating: 8.4 (439 votes)
Episode average: 7.8 -0.6 vs IMDb
Seasons: 1
Language: EN
Type: Mini-series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 1 season indexed

Cast

Salome Jens Narrator (voice)

Seasons

Season 1 (1996)

7.76 avg 8 episodes 7.5 → 7.5 50 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Explosion	7.5	26
2	Stalemate	7.6	20
3	Total War	7.8	16
4	Slaughter	7.8	18
5	Mutiny	8.2	14
6	Collapse	7.5	14
7	Hatred & Hunger	8.2	11
8	War Without End	7.5	12