Posted by Elaine on July 02, 2001 at 13:18:01:
In Reply to: History Channel/July 1-18 posted by Elaine on July 02, 2001 at 13:14:04:
July 19/31
: TIME LISTED IS BOTH EASTERN TIME and PACIFIC TIME.
07/19/2001
8:00 Ghost Plane of the Desert: "Lady Be Good." April 4, 1943--25 B-24
Liberators take off from their base in Libya on a bombing mission to Italy,
but only 24 return. In 1959, a British survey team discovers a plane, deep in
the desert. Using the diary of two crewmembers, along with the crew's
remains, we learn of their struggle to cross 100 miles of desert, without
food or water. CC [TV G]
9:00 The Battleships. The Darkness of the Future. With the signing of the
Treaty of Versailles ending WWI, the entire German High Seas Fleet was
scuttled. But soon a new arms race began between Britain, the U.S., and
Japan. Radical new battleships, larger and with even more firepower were
planned. By the mid-1930s, Italy, Russia, and a re-emerging National
Socialist Germany began building up their fleets. As political conditions
deteriorated in Europe, it was clear that the battleship would play a major
strategic part in future armed conflicts. CC [TV G]
10:00 Battlefield Engineering. Meet some of the most important, yet least-
recognized, warriors--the battlefield engineers who lay the groundwork for
oncoming conflicts. We'll cover combat engineering from ancient Rome to
Desert Storm, and take a look at the "Next Big Thing." CC [TV G]
11:00 Suicide Missions. Ball Turret Gunners. In war, certain missions
demand the most and constitute much of the legends of bravery. Journey back
to the Second World War, when fearless airmen manned the B-17's belly guns--
glass bubbles that at any moment could become their coffin. The ball turret
gunners called their work "flying the ball", others called it crazy! CC [TV
PG]
07/20/2001
8:00 Where Is Jimmy Hoffa? On July 30, 1975, former Teamsters' kingpin
Jimmy Hoffa went to meet someone at a Detroit restaurant, then vanished into
thin air. It was widely held that the Mafia was behind Hoffa's abduction.
Though no body was ever found, rumors abound as to its final resting place.
We explore the theories and suspects behind Hoffa's disappearance. CC [TV
PG]
9:00 The Battleships. Terror from Above. Although the early months of WWII
saw some of the most dramatic surface naval battles of all time, the rise of
the aircraft carrier spelled the demise of the battleship. From the sinking
of the British Hood and German Bismarck through the destruction of the
Japanese Fleet by U.S. Air and Surface Forces, through Korea, Vietnam, and
the Gulf War, where the modernized battleship played a support role, we
witness its passing. Today, not one battleship remains in commission in any
navy. CC [TV G]
10:00 Offshore Oil Drilling. Offshore oil drilling is one of mankind's
greatest technological feats. From the beginning of oil discovery, the
oceans' vast reserves have been the ultimate frontier. See how these
superstructures, both floating and fixed, revolutionized the search for crude
oil, and the environmental price we pay for their prolific production. CC
[TV G]
11:00 Incredible But True? Pompeii. August 24, 79 A.D. A day like any other
day in the thriving Roman resort town of Pompeii, sheltered in the shadow of
Mt. Vesuvius. Then, the volcano erupts and lava engulfs the city, preserving
it in time. Historians walk us through the daily life of this ill-fated
community. CC [TV PG]
07/21/2001
8:00 Fire at Sea. "Fire at Sea!" One of the most deadly cries heard aboard
a ship with each vessel that heads to sea at risk. From the ancient Greeks
use of Naphtha--the earliest known offensive use of maritime fire--to the
English "fire ships" sent against the Spanish Armada to today, fire has
played a pivotal role in naval history. Features footage of the 1904 burning
of the cruise ship General Slocum in New York's East River, the 1934 inferno
aboard the Morro Castle, and the 1998 fire on Carnival Cruise's Ecstasy. CC
[TV G]
10:00 The "Fighting I": The Story of the U.S.S. Intrepid. Complete history
of one of the Navy's most storied ships. A veteran of some of WWII's most
important battles in the Pacific, the carrier also played roles in the Cuban
Missile Crisis and Vietnam War, and recovered two space capsules. [TV G]
11:00 Lawbreakers. Japanese War Crimes & Trials: Murder under the Sun.
Though most people have heard of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, few know
that Japanese officers were also tried for crimes against humanity. This
program deals with the horrific stories of those held captive, and the trials
of those held responsible for the greatest crimes. [TV PG]
07/22/2001
8:00 Suicide Missions. Combat Photographers. Photographic images of war
stand as testimony to extraordinary human experience--the edge of life and
death, the extreme of good and evil. Gaze through the viewfinders of war with
the men and women who captured defining moments while bullets flew and bombs
exploded. From the U.S. Civil War to Somalia and Bosnia, we hear their
stories. CC [TV PG]
9:00 Military Blunders. Kasserine Pass/Battle of the Bulge. U.S. troops
arriving in Tunisia for their first campaign of WWII were certain that, with
their resources and equipment, they would quickly show the German Afrika
Korps who the new masters were. Unfortunately, Field Marshal Rommel and his
battle-hardened veterans hadn't read the new script! Next, we see how Field
Marshal Montgomery deployed British airborne brigades one bridge too far in
Germany and brought lightly armed paratroops up against two crack S.S. Panzer
divisions. [TV G]
10:00 History Undercover. Rudolf Hess: The Man Who Died Twice. In May 1941,
Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuted into a Scottish field with proposals
for ending the war. He believed that members of a British peace party would
welcome him. Instead, he was arrested and spent the next 46 years as a
solitary prisoner at Spandau. Apart from appearing at the Nuremberg Trials,
he would never speak or be seen in public again. Was it really Hess or an
imposter? We reveal the true nature of his mission and the reasons behind the
British government's secrecy. CC [TV PG]
11:00 Sworn to Secrecy. Roosevelt's Spymasters. Details President Franklin
D. Roosevelt's behind-the-scene use of political and military intelligence
operatives. From the legendary O.S.S. chief William Donovan to the wily
Switzerland-based Allen Dulles, American spymasters helped Roosevelt keep an
eye on his enemies--as well as his friends! Charlton Heston narrates. [TV G]
07/23/2001
8:00 This Week in History. Napoleon Takes Egypt. July 1799, Napoleon and
his fleet of 400 ships and over 34,000 men invade Egypt. But he also brings
along 150 scholars and experts in all fields of science and art. Their job--
to extend the frontiers of Western knowledge. On July 26, Napoleon took
Cairo. CC [TV G]
9:00 Secret Passages. Join our voyeuristic voyage into a hidden world of
adventure, mystery, and danger as we investigate secret passages. Hidden
rooms, concealed stairways, volcanic catacombs, underground labyrinths,
speakeasies, gangster hideaways, and underground cities--it's a trip inside a
world never meant to be seen by the general public. CC [TV G]
11:00 The Most. Extraordinary Nations and Places. Join our exhilarating
journey as we search down Earth's superlatives. From Mt. Everest's dizzying
heights to the Mariana Trench's murky depths, we cover the highs and lows.
Jump off the tallest waterfall, explore the longest river's source, visit the
smallest country, and see the why world's coldest spot is also its largest
desert! CC [TV G]
07/24/2001
8:00 Devil's Island: Hell on Earth. In French Guiana, we unearth the
hellish history of the penal colony Devil's Island, final stop for France's
incorrigibles and political prisoners from 1852 to 1945. We interview an 82-
year-old former prison secretary; actor Richard Dreyfuss, who claims descent
from inmate Alfred Dreyfus; and island authority Alexander Miles. CC [TV PG]
9:00 Greatest Raids. Attack on Dieppe. As dawn broke on August 19, 1942,
2nd Canadian Infantry Division troops, supported by British Commandos and
U.S. Rangers, launched a major raid on the German-held French port of Dieppe.
The action proved a disaster from the start--the Canadians, pinned down on
the beach under savage fire, had inadequate naval and air support and their
tanks couldn't cope with the shingle beach. Though only a fraction of the men
made it back to England, the lessons learned there were put to good use on D-
Day. CC [TV PG]
10:00 Cattle Ranches. From the 19th century's legendary cattle drives to
the million-acre ranch kingdoms that sprang to life with the end of the Open
Range to 21st-century techniques that include artificial insemination, embryo
transplants, and genetic engineering, we review the history of cattle
ranching. We'll ride herd with modern cowboys as they twirl ropes and brand
calves, and look to the cattle ranch of the future, where cloning will
produce the ideal meat-producing steer with a consistently juicy, low-fat
carcass. CC [TV G]
11:00 Tales of the Gun. The Guns of Colt. The weapons designed by Samuel
Colt revolutionized American warfare and society. From the first revolving
pistol to the high-tech M-16, from Bat Masterson's "Peacemaker" to Billy the
Kid's "Lightning", Colt's guns have earned a notch in time. See how "God
created men, and Samuel Colt made them equal." CC [TV G]
07/25/2001
8:00 Hitler and the Occult. Did Hitler's obsession with astrology,
numerology, ancient runes, and German mythology enable his early brash moves
and ultimately spell the Third Reich's doom? CC [TV PG]
9:00 Greatest Raids. PT Boats in the Pacific. Among the first U.S. Navy
vessels to see action in the Pacific in WWII were the motor torpedo boats of
PT Boat Squadron 3 in the Philippines during the Japanese invasion. And for
the next three years, from Guadalcanal to the coasts of Japan, they ran
reconnaissance and screening missions, landed raiding parties, and attacked
enemy shore installations and supply barges. See how they lived up to the
motto of John Paul Jones: "Give me a fast ship, for I intend to go in harm's
way." CC [TV PG]
10:00 Saloons. From a ladle and tin cup in an 1850s' mining camp and Civil
War tent saloons to Prohibition-era speakeasies, we investigate the history
of the American saloon, and go behind-the-scenes at Billy Bob's, a three-acre
Texan saloon, and a Los Angeles sports bar with a computerized liquor-
dispensing system. We see what it took to create the elaborate carved bars,
the purpose of the brass foot-rail, the impact of refrigerated railroad cars
on beer supply, and the transformational power of the bottle cap. CC [TV G]
11:00 The Big House. San Quentin. Step inside San Quentin--California's
oldest and best-known prison, which contains the state's only gas chamber.
Made necessary by Gold Rush lawlessness, and built in 1852 by inmates housed
on a prison ship, its violent history is rife with riots. Paul Sorvino
narrates the story of San Quentin, home to Charles Manson. [TV PG]
07/26/2001
8:00 The True Story of Mutiny on the Bounty. It's history's best-known
uprising on the high seas--the subject of books, poems, and movies. But even
after two centuries of documentation, questions still surround the 1789
mutiny on the HMS Bounty, its captain William Bligh, and the band of men who
commandeered the ship. Whose account is the truth? What inspired the
insurrection? And what happened to chief mutineer Fletcher Christian? We also
visit Norfolk, a South Pacific island where the people claim to be direct
descendants of the mutineers. CC [TV PG]
9:00 Greatest Raids. The SAS Siege on the Embassy. On May 6, 1980,
astonished British TV viewers watched as black-clad troopers blasted their
way into the Iranian Embassy in London to free 26 hostages being held by six
Iraqi-backed gunmen. The men who brought the six-day siege to a triumphant
conclusion were part of Britain's elite Special Air Service regiment, which
specializes in raiding and anti-terrorist operations, and whose motto
is: "Who dares wins." Includes a live-action reconstruction of the operation.
CC [TV PG]
10:00 The Railroads That Tamed the West. The year was 1869 and America had
just completed the greatest building achievement in its history--the
Transcontinental Railroad. East and West were now connected by a thin ribbon
of steel and wood. But the fledgling country now faced an even greater
challenge--how to harness the awesome potential of he railroad to tame the
still wide-open and wild West. CC [TV G]
11:00 Suicide Missions. Combat Photographers. Photographic images of war
stand as testimony to extraordinary human experience--the edge of life and
death, the extreme of good and evil. Gaze through the viewfinders of war with
the men and women who captured defining moments while bullets flew and bombs
exploded. From the U.S. Civil War to Somalia and Bosnia, we hear their
stories. CC [TV PG]
07/27/2001
8:00 The True Story of Gladiators. They began as slaves, prisoners of war,
the damned of ancient Roman society. Yet, a few would become wealthy and
famous--the sports stars of their day, main attractions in spectacular
entertainment meant to satiate the bloodlust of the Roman mob. Their ranks
included women, senators, and even an emperor who took the bloody sport to
new depths of depravity. Join as we examine the sometimes glorious and always
gruesome history of gladiators. CC [TV PG]
9:00 Greatest Raids. Mosquito Attack on Amiens Prison. After the Nazi
victory in France in 1940, Britain was isolated and among the few ways in
which she could strike back was by mounting air attacks and supporting
resistance movements in occupied Europe. In both activities, an extraordinary
aircraft played a vital role--the "Wooden Wonder", De Havilland's ultra-fast
Mosquito. One of the most spectacular missions of the Mosquito was the
pinpoint raid on Amiens Prison in France to free key resistance fighters who
faced imminent execution. CC [TV PG]
10:00 The Winchester. Winchester...the name still evokes images of the
Wild West and the taming of the frontier--it was the first reliable repeating
rifle and settlers brought it along as they moved west. Prized by Civil War
soldiers, the lever-action rifle was preferred by lawmen and outlaws alike. A
classic Winchester can command upwards of $100,000 from collectors trying to
buy a piece of the Old West. We see how a shirt manufacturer named Oliver
Winchester became the most famous gun maker of the American West. CC [TV G]
11:00 Incredible But True? Captives. As white settlers pushed west,
resulting wars with Native Americans took more victims than the dead. In an
overview of the captive-taking phenomenon among American tribes, we explain
the cultural role the practice played; and, in a look at four captivity
narratives, see the ordeals captives faced and the ways they responded. CC
[TV G]
07/28/2001
8:00 Tuskegee Airmen. Movie. Laurence Fishburn stars in a drama based on
true WWII events of the first African-American combat fighter pilots of the
U.S. Army Corps. Bigoted officers and the military establishment refused to
accept them as equal to white counterparts, until Eleanor Roosevelt
intervened and the men of the "Fighting 99th" were able to prove themselves.
This is the story of the Tuskegee Airmen and their struggle to defeat the
enemy--both at home and aboard. With Andre Braugher and Cuba Gooding, Jr.
(1995) CC [TV PG-L]
10:00 The True Story of the Big Red One. Pitting Hollywood fiction against
historical fact, we'll examine the reality behind Samuel Fuller's great war
movie "The Big Red One." Based upon Fuller's own World War II experiences,
the film starred Lee Marvin as the intrepid sergeant of a special infantry
squadron in various campaigns of the war. CC [TV G]
07/29/2001
8:00 Suicide Missions. Snipers. They are the most feared and hated men on
the battlefield, silent assassins who can kill with a single shot from miles
away. Creep along undetected with these brave men as they surgically deliver
swift death without warning, and learn why snipers are hunted mercilessly by
the enemy in every conflict. CC [TV PG]
9:00 Military Blunders. The Vincennes Affair/The Shooting Down of KAL 007.
A review of two massive military blunders that cost the lives of innocent
civilians on commercial aircraft. In 1988, an American missile cruiser, the
U.S.S. Vincennes, shot down an Iranian airliner over the Persian Gulf,
killing 290. The crew mistakenly thought the ship was about to be attacked by
a hostile Iranian fighter jet. Then, we look at the shooting down of a South
Korean airliner, KAL 007, by Soviet fighters. Moscow claimed it had strayed
into Soviet airspace. [TV G]
10:00 History Undercover. Air America: The CIA's Secret Airline. Looks at
the unique civilian airline known as Air America, secretly owned and operated
by the CIA, which began as an outgrowth of WWII's Flying Tigers. From secret
missions over China and Korea to aerial support in Vietnam and the secret war
in Laos, Air America formed a cornerstone of U.S. policy in Southeast Asia.
CC [TV G]
11:00 Sworn to Secrecy. The Secret Bunker. At the height of Cold War
paranoia, the U.S. government embarked on a secret duck-and-cover plan: a
network of underground bunkers made to protect top officials should the
Soviets attack. In 1992, a reporter blew the lid off the doomsday bunker. We
venture deep beneath West Virginia's hills to expose a luxurious last resort
for Congress. CC [TV G]
07/30/2001
8:00 This Week in History. Discovery of the Grand Canyon by John Wesley
Powell. In June of 1869, Major John Wesley Powell--a one-armed Civil War hero-
-set off down the uncharted canyons of the Green River on one of the last
great voyages of discovery in the Rocky Mountains. On August 5, 1869, he and
his team entered the Grand Canyon. CC [TV G]
9:00 Forensic Firsts. Today, crime investigation is a high-tech science.
But how did forensic detection get its start? In a riveting 2-hour special,
we trace the origins of four key investigative techniques: ballistics, trace
(microscopic) evidence, the polygraph, and criminal profiling. Rarely-told
stories of murder, kidnapping, terrorism, and stalking reveal how these
techniques were developed. Features interviews with top criminal
investigators and true-crime authors. CC [TV PG]
11:00 The Most. On the Move/U.S. Crime Fighter's/Isolation/Spoils of War.
This week, categories examined include: "on the move" (the Transcontinental
Railroad, Berlin Airlift, Silk Road); "crime fighters" (Wyatt Earp, Eliot
Ness, the Pinkerton Agency); "isolation" (Great Wall of China, WWII Japanese
soldiers who refused to surrender at war's end, the Mir Space Station); "the
spoils of war" (Nazi looting of Europe, Genghis Khan's empire, Inca King
Atahualpa's ransom); and our "The Most Moment" highlights Ford's landmark
vehicle. CC [TV G]
07/31/2001
8:00 Area 51: Beyond Top Secret. Born during the Cold War, Area 51 in
Nevada, also known as Groom Lake or Dreamland, became not only the Air
Force's most strategic test site, but also a symbol of everything that was
sneaky about the U.S. military-industrial-intelligence complex. In recent
years, UFO investigators claimed that the top-secret planes tested there were
built with technology gleaned from captured alien aircraft. We uncover the
secrets of the cryptic desert facility and look into mysterious deaths of
base workers. CC [TV G]
9:00 Air Power. The Bombers. Captures the history of strategic bombing
through the firsthand accounts of the men who commanded some of the world's
most awesome aircraft. Experience the speed and destructiveness of the De
Havilland Mosquito as it races over targets in the North Sea; cross the
German border with a formation of B-17s; follow the lead navigator as he
guides a squadron of B-29s from Guam to the outskirts of Tokyo; and face a
North Vietnamese onslaught with the crew of a B-52 stratofortress. CC [TV G]
10:00 Chesapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnel. Named one of the seven engineering
wonders of the modern age, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel connects
Virginia proper with its easternmost land mass. Stretching 17 miles across
the historic Chesapeake Bay, the structure represents a man-made boundary
between the Bay and the Atlantic. The structure includes two two-lane
highways supported mostly by trestles, four man-made and one natural island,
two truss bridges, and two revolutionary sunken tube tunnels. CC [TV G]
11:00 Tales of the Gun. Naval Guns. Perhaps one of the greatest expressions
of weapons, naval guns first encouraged nations to develop the concept
of "sea power." From sail, to steam, to steel, the warships of the world
exist for one purpose--to overpower the enemy at sea. Step aboard as we test
the mighty force of enormous guns at sea. CC [TV G]