‘Castles in the Sky’ tells humorous true story of pre-World War II scientists

Eddie Izzard stars in “Castles in the Sky,” a funny, moving and inspiring drama about the pioneering work on radar by a real but little-known team of scientists leading up to World War II.

On Feb. 26, 1935, Robert Watson-Watt demonstrated for the first time that aircraft could be detected by bouncing radio waves off them. By the time the war began in 1939, radar stations were dotted along the British coast, tracking aircraft at distances of 100 miles away.

It was this invention – more than any other – that saved the Royal Air Force. This drama follows those early years as Watson-Watt and his team of scientists worked tirelessly to see their invention taken seriously, from the highs and lows, to the battles for funding and the political wrangling.

Watch “Castles in the Sky” on Sunday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. on Arizona PBS.