NOTE: We are listing both EST/Pacific Time and individual television ratings. All rated [G] or [PG] unless noted. [NR] = Not Rated, news-related program.Saturday, January 1, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 4pm -- Wild West Tech episodes ending with: 7-8pm -- Wild West Tech "Freak Show Tech" The deformed didn't ask to be born...and sometimes, they weren't! Sure, Wild West freak shows featured plenty of people who were different through the circumstances of their birth. But many so-called "freaks" were man-made. Technology helped pull the wool over the eyes of the unsuspecting masses. Freak show operators used every trick in the trade to provide some of the most disturbing "entertainment" the West would ever see. From pickled severed heads to mummified outlaws, we look at the wild, the woolly, the weird, and the swindlers who assured that the freak shows would be unforgettable. Hosted by David Carradine. 8-12am -- Wyatt Earp (Movie) Chronicles the life of Wyatt Earp and how he became a law enforcement legend of the Wild West. Beginning in 1881 Tombstone, the film backtracks 17 years to a Midwestern cornfield where a young Wyatt considers running away from home to join his older brothers in the Union army. From there, the film follows Earp's experiences through 35 years of his life, including his tragic marriage and experiences as a lawman, and occasional vigilante, in Dodge City and Tombstone. Kevin Costner heads the cast with Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Annabeth Gish, Mark Harmon, Michael Madsen, Bill Pullman, Joanna Going, Jeff Fahey, Tom Sizemore, JoBeth Williams, Mare Winningham, Catherine O'Hara, and Isabella Rossellini. Director: Lawrence Kasdan. (1994) ____________________________________________________ Sunday, January 2, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- The Real Attila the Hun - No ruler in history represents the unbridled rage and brutality of the barbarian as much as Attila the Hun. In the 5th century, Attila swept through Europe, effectively extinguishing the classical Roman Empire. And for a time, he held the destiny of all of Western Europe firmly in his grasp. But in the end, it was Attila who unwittingly secured the future of the civilized world and Christian Europe. After his death, the Hun Empire began to break up, and the marauding Huns "scattered to the winds." 8-10pm -- The True Story of Hannibal - One of history's greatest military leaders, at age nine Hannibal accompanied his father Hamilcar Barca on the Carthaginian expedition to conquer Spain. Before embarking, the boy vowed eternal hatred for Rome, his people's bitter rival. Twenty years later, in 218 BC, he left New Carthage (now Cartagena, Spain) to wage war on "The Eternal City" with an army of about 40,000, including cavalry and elephants. After crossing the Pyrénées and Rhône River, he traversed the Alps while beset by snowstorms, landslides, and hostile mountain tribes. This 2-hour special brings to life the story of the Carthaginian general who struck fear in all Roman hearts and wreaked havoc with his masterful military tactics, bringing the mighty Roman Republic to the brink of ruin. Archaeologists, historians, and military experts guide us through ancient Carthage and give insight into his military strategy up to defeat at Zama in 203 BC. 10-11pm -- Conspiracy? - Jack Ruby. On November 24, 1963, a stunned America struggled to accept the assassination of President John F. Kennedy two days earlier. As tens of millions stared at their televisions that Sunday morning, they witnessed TV's first live murder--the killing of assassination suspect Lee Harvey Oswald by Dallas strip-club owner Jack Ruby. What was seen for 47 hours as an isolated tragedy became one of the most notable suspected conspiracies in U.S. history. And while the Warren Commission claimed that Oswald and Ruby both acted alone, the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded in 1979 that JFK's murder most likely resulted from a conspiracy. Now, a new development has shaken both sides of the conspiracy controversy. Recently revealed evidence suggests the CIA may have been tracking Oswald and indicates a possible link among anti-Castro Cubans, Carlos Marcello, Ruby, Oswald, and the CIA. ____________________________________________________ Monday, January 3, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Frontline Reporting. In March 2003, embedded civilian correspondents rolled along with the U.S. military convoy as it invaded Iraq. Equipped with satellite and video phones, digital cameras, and lightweight satellite uplinks, frontline reporters dispatched the news of war as it happened. Reports of war are as old as war itself; once the exclusive province of soldier-scribes like Julius Caesar, the accounts were usually written after the fact. Join us as we review the history and preview the future of frontline reporting. 8-9pm -- UFO Files - UFOs: Then and Now? The Innocent Years. In a comprehensive series investigating the UFO experience, we begin with a review of surprising imagery from cave paintings to Medieval frescoes to Renaissance art. But in the late 1940s, the modern era of UFO sightings took off with the mysterious crash of a flying object near Roswell, New Mexico. 9-11pm -- German and Japanese Kamikazes - This 2-hour special recounts the desperate measures taken by Axis forces to stave off defeat in WWII and the mythical origins of the Japanese kamikaze and their Nazi counterparts. Many in leadership were opposed to suicide tactics--the driving forces were often young junior officers who had grown up in a culture of militarism and extreme nationalism. As well as assessing the contribution of myth and propaganda, we reveal the more human stories behind those caught up in the kamikaze phenomenon. ____________________________________________________ Tuesday, January 4, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - The Erie Canal. Begun in 1817, the Erie Canal was an engineering wonder--363 miles of water highway linking the western frontier to the Atlantic seaboard. It took eight years to construct and thousands of hours of brutal labor, but by the time it was done, 3,000 canal boats traveled the new corridor, making New York City a commercial capital. 8-9pm -- Wild West Tech - Execution Tech. Journey back to the days when justice was swifter than a saloon girl on a Saturday night and examine the horrors of human design that brought terror to the Old West. Sheriffs and judges, desperate to stop the growing onslaught of outlaws, needed grisly technologies to punish and deter murderers, rapists, and rustlers. Join the crowd of onlookers who gathered at the grisly gallows to witness a man gaining infamy at one end of the rope--and sometimes, immortality at the other. Host: Keith Carradine. 9-10pm -- Modern Marvels - Engineering Disasters 8. Join us for a devastating but enlightening hour as we delve into complex and often-tragic engineering failures that have shaped our world. Five dramatic events unfold as we discover the causes of: the 1983 collapse of New England's Mianus Bridge; the sinking of the Ocean Ranger offshore oilrig in 1982; the crash of a Learjet 35 private plane carrying pro-golfer Payne Stewart in 1999; the 19th-century failure of South Fork Dam that resulted in the flooding of Johnstown, Pennsylvania; and the 1988 PEPCON (Pacific Engineering Production Company of Nevada) jet fuel plant explosion. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - Sears Tower. Some 23,000 people walk through the Sears Tower's domed entrances daily. 104 elevators (some double-decker), moving at speeds up to 1,600 feet per minute, transport workers and visitors to the 110 floors of North America's tallest building. Sears, Roebuck and Company began as a small mail-order business in Chicago, and by 1960, had grown into the biggest global retailer. Sears Chairman Gordon Metcalf proposed bringing the company under one roof to create the world's largest headquarters. Join us for a look at this pioneering building that remains a symbol of the future and a tribute to the company that dreamt big enough to build it! ____________________________________________________ Wednesday, January 5, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - The Gunboats of Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy deployed the River Patrol Force--a fleet of armored gunboats and smaller motorboats--on a mission to deny the enemy use of Vietnam's 3,000 nautical miles of rivers, canals, and small streams in order to cut their supply lines from Cambodia and disrupt enemy base areas. The linchpin of the riverine strategy was smaller motor-powered fiberglass boats. These small, agile boats, originally designed as pleasure craft, were perfect for nighttime stealth missions. 8-9pm -- Modern Marvels - George Washington Bridge. When opened on October 25, 1931, the George Washington Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Today, standing as a main traffic artery between Manhattan and New Jersey, the bridge referred to by locals as the "GW" is the busiest in the world, carrying nearly 320,000 cars each day. We'll examine the construction methods employed that made the bridge an anomaly, coming in both under budget and ahead of schedule, and see why the GW is distinguished in a city of great bridges. 9-10pm -- Full Throttle - 1988 Iroc-Z Camaro. History heads to the drag strip in this series as popular cars of the past are transformed into fine-tuned machines, revamped and ready for the speedway. Part reality show, part history, Full Throttle lets car lovers get under the hoods of their favorite rides. Two teams are given the same model of car in a similar state of disrepair. Supplied with a garage, tools, and parts, they've got just two days to get their wheels into high gear as they prepare to compete in an all-or-nothing drag race. The winner drives away in both cars; the loser walks away empty-handed; the viewer gets an adrenaline dose of automotive history. In this episode, GM's raging 1988 street machines, Iroc-Z Camaros, get a boost with new superchargers--giving them 70% more horsepower. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - Poison. Since ancient times, man has tried to control the "devil's bounty"--deadly substances found throughout nature. Paradoxically, some of these lethal compounds are now found to possess life-giving properties. In this hour, we explore how ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans came to rely on the pernicious power of poisons and learn the physiological action of these potent killers. During the Renaissance, known as the Golden Age of Poison, the deadly practice helped shape European history--most especially that of the Catholic Church. We continue our investigation into the gas attacks of WWI and up to the 21st century, when a new and serious threat of bioterrorism plagues the globe. Finally, we peer into the future with scientists experimenting with poisons and venoms from the plant and animal kingdoms that may play an important part in healing diseases such as arthritis and even cancer. ____________________________________________________ Thursday, January 6, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - The Junkyard. It's the place where one man's trash is truly another man's treasure. Enter the strange and mysterious world of the junkyard, where many pieces actually do add up to a whole. Uncover how junkyard operators create order out of seemingly random piles of junk. 8-9pm -- True Warriors - Behind Taliban lines in the foreign and notoriously dangerous terrain of Afghanistan, three Air Force commandos go hunting for terrorists in October 2002. Flaunting the notion of capture, Andy Kubik, Calvin Markham, and Bart Decker scout potential Taliban targets on foot or by horse, provide F-16s with real-time intelligence, paint each target with a laser pointer, and watch as precision bombs obliterate Taliban strongholds. This is the story of these little-known super soldiers. 9-10pm -- True Warriors - October 25, 1983, Operation Urgent Fury. The Navy's newest, top-secret weapon against terrorism, SEAL Team Six, gets its first "hot" operation--a danger-fraught mission to restore democracy to Grenada, a tiny Caribbean country hijacked by Cuban communists. Told they will face only light resistance, SEAL Team Six's job is to rescue the trapped Grenadian Governor. But they fast-rope into a hornet's nest of small arms fire and anti-aircraft artillery. Set up to fail, SEAL Team Six simply refused! 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - Extreme Aircraft. Join us for a supersonic look at some of the most cutting-edge aircraft ever developed--from the X-1 that first broke the sound barrier to the X-43 Scramjet that recently flew at Mach 7. These extreme aircraft have made their mark on aeronautical history, and sometimes on political history as well. The U-2 and SR-71 spy planes played a crucial role in the Cold War, and now Lockheed Martin's top-secret "Skunkworks" division is touting the new "air dominance" fighter plane-- the F/A-22 Raptor. ____________________________________________________ Friday, January 7, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Gangster Guns. During the 1920s and '30s in big cities and small towns alike, they earned a fierce reputation in a blaze of bullets. They were the best friends of criminals such as John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Al Capone, and Bonnie and Clyde. Handle their Colt 45s and 38s, Tommy guns, Whippets, and Browning automatic rifles as we uncover the stories of gangster guns. 8-9pm -- F117 Nighthawk Stealth - F117 Nighthawk Stealth. Designed in 1977 by Lockheed's covert development arm, the F117 Nighthawk was America's most secret armament program. Dogged by controversy and shrouded in secrecy, F117s have become the world's first truly stealth aircraft. First bloodied in Panama in 1989, F117s have been involved in all major conflicts of the past 20 years, providing the U.S. an unbeatable advantage in combat. Using archive film and color reenactments, we reveal the top-secret "black" world of stealth--the F117 Nighthawk. 9-9:30pm -- Mail Call - M-16/Viet Cong Booby Traps/Ravens/Wild Weasels/River Patrol Boats/Green Beret: #30. Why did the military replace the M-14 rifle with the M-16 during Vietnam? What kind of booby traps did the Viet Cong use? Who were the super-secret Ravens? What did the Wild Weasels do during the Vietnam War? What types of missions did river patrol boats take care of in Vietnam? How did the Green Berets get their name? In an episode devoted to the Vietnam War, R. Lee Ermey answers viewers' questions on military technology with practical demonstrations by military experts in the field. 9:30-10pm -- Mail Call - WWII Half Track/Arctic Vehicles/Weird Weapons/Navy Hydrofoil/Combat Controller: #35. Shot on location, R. Lee Ermey answers viewer questions about the military with practical demonstrations in the field. Lee tears around in a WWII M2A2 half track, with a combination of tracks and wheels; demonstrates Army vehicles designed for extreme arctic conditions, including the world's longest truck--the 572-foot Snow Train; strange weapons used by the Allies in WWII; and Navy hydrofoils. And he explains the function of Air Force combat controllers and Marine Corps gunnery sergeants. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - Cannons. Cannons have fired balls of iron and atomic bombs, changed the way wars are fought, and now come equipped with smart weapons. Beginning with 13th-century cannons that were designed to penetrate forts of the day, we'll see how cannons were first cast and later forged, and show how large cannons terrorized civilians and soldiers in WWI and WWII. Moving to the present, we feature the 40-ton self-propelled Crusader that launches 100-pound steel artillery shells more than 33 miles. ____________________________________________________ Saturday, January 8, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Conspiracy? - CIA and the Nazis. Six months after Allied Forces liberated German concentration camps, a military tribunal formed at Nuremberg to prosecute Nazi war criminals. Some of the most dangerous were brought to justice--but not all. Over 4,000 former Nazis went to work for the U.S. government, without the public's knowledge, to help fight the Soviet Union. Reinhard Gehlen, an intelligence officer for Hitler's General Staff, was tapped to head the U.S. intelligence program in West Germany to spy on the Russians. At the same time, former Nazi scientists and engineers were welcomed onto American soil. In 1998, a bill was finally signed into law that mandated declassification of documents concerning recruitment of former Nazis. We dig into the records to see if the ends justified the means and ask how far the U.S. should go to partner with a former enemy to fight another. 8-10pm -- The 9/11 Commission Report - Released July 22, 2004, one of the most significant findings of the 9/11 Commission Report is that a number of opportunities existed prior to that tragic day to disrupt the plot. The 500-plus page document by a bipartisan federal panel was the result of months of research and testimony that was spurred on by families of the victims and largely opposed by the Bush Administration. We learn about the findings from those who testified, those who wrote the report, and from the Commissioners themselves. 10-12am -- Time Machine - Osama bin Laden. Featuring former and current CIA agents, Special Forces soldiers, Washington insiders, and best-selling authors such as Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down), Steve Coll (Ghost Wars), Phillip Smucker (Al Qaeda's Great Escape), and Simon Reeve (The New Jackals), we take a 2-hour groundbreaking look at the hunt for the world's #1 archenemy. Filmed in 10 countries around the world, we trace bin Laden's rise through the Jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan to his present incarnation. ____________________________________________________ Sunday, January 9, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Stealth and Beyond - Air Stealth. They are the swarthy eagles of the sky, the sleek sharks of the sea, the invisible warriors of the battlefield. Join us for a 3-part look at the stealth aircraft, ships, and soldiers of today, yesterday, and tomorrow. This hour highlights past, present, and future advances in stealth military aircraft. Features footage of the F-117 Nighthawk, B-2 Spirit Bomber, and the Air Force's newest fighters, the F/A-22 Raptor and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and talks to test pilots and flight engineers. 8-9pm -- Stealth and Beyond - Sea Stealth. It's one thing to make a 60-foot-long jet aircraft seem invisible, but quite another to hide a 400-foot-long warship from the prying eyes of an enemy. In this hour, we explore the challenging world of stealth technology at sea and how modern engineering can make our largest warships appear to be tugboats or fishing vessels. Features exclusive footage of some of the most advanced warships in the world, including the Sea Shadow, DDX Stealth Cruiser/Destroyer, and Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer, plus a glimpse at the future. 9-10pm -- Stealth and Beyond - Land Stealth. Remember Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man? Well, sometime in the future, the U.S. hopes to deploy invisible warriors. In this hour, we examine the highly secretive world of the stealth soldier. Using deception, illusion, reflective surfaces, and forced perspective, the soldier of tomorrow will have advantages unimagined in history and science. We highlight new technology in materials and sensory detection being developed for the ultimate in military dupery. 10-11pm -- Conspiracy? - RFK Assassination. On June 5, 1968, just after midnight, Robert F. Kennedy was fatally wounded in the pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles following his win in that night's California presidential primary. The armed assailant was taken into custody that night and later identified as a 25-year-old Palestinian immigrant, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan. He remains in prison to this day for the assassination of Senator Kennedy. More than 35 years later, questions in the Robert Kennedy murder remain: Was there a second gunman in the pantry? Is there evidence of a police cover-up? What was Sirhan Sirhan's mental state that night and what drove him to assassinate RFK? ____________________________________________________ Monday, January 10, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Big Rigs of Combat: Jeeps. Looks at the American soldier's best friend in WWII--the Jeep. A "Blitz Buggy" could serve as a combat car, a snowplow, or ambulance! Its name derived from the designation "General Purpose", and the original design served as late as 1983 in Grenada before being replaced by the High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HUMVEE). 8-9pm -- UFO Files - UFOs: Then and Now? Cause for Alarm. Studies some of the most disturbing UFO sightings, including: a 4-day extravaganza in 1952, when UFOs cruised the skies over the White House; sightings in 1967 near a secret U.S./Canadian submarine detection base; controversial events at the U.K./U.S. air base at Bentwaters, England; and the military's Test Area 51 in Nevada. 9-11pm -- Time Machine - A 2-hour docudrama depicting the 10 days prior to the Allied invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944. Bad weather forced Eisenhower to cancel initial plans; Rommel went home for his wife's birthday; U.K. and U.S. paratroopers and commandos were briefed; and double agent Garbo sent his last deceptive messages to Germany. Based on David Stafford's book, we follow 10 ordinary lives over 10 extraordinary days. Interviews include a French Resistance fighter, British commandos and spies, and an U.S. paratrooper. ____________________________________________________ Tuesday, January 11, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Power Plants. Mankind controls the environment in a variety of ways, whether by capturing the force of a river, harnessing the power in coal or oil, controlling a nuclear reaction, or transforming the light of the sun into electricity. From Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla to Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein, the world's greatest minds have enabled us to acquire our light, heat, and power with a simple flip of the switch. Join us for an electrifying hour as we review the foundation for all of this--power plants. 8-9pm -- Wild West Tech: Military Tech. Featuring expert demonstrations, we focus on technologies used by the U.S. military after the Civil War in the western frontier, and show how some of the greatest advancements laid the groundwork for America's high-tech future. We spotlight such stories as the Wagon Box Fight in 1867, when 26 soldiers and six civilians fought off 800 mounted Sioux warriors using the new Springfield-Allin breechloading rifle, and Pancho Villa's raid, which ushered in the era of motorized vehicles into the U.S. military. 9-10pm -- Modern Marvels - Engineering Disasters 9. What happens when the calculations of builders and engineers prove wrong and their constructs come tumbling down? In this episode, we examine the 1987 failure of the Schoharie Creek Bridge in New York; the partial destruction by a runaway freighter of the Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans in 1996; the roof collapse of the Rosemont Horizon Arena in Illinois in 1979; the deadliest grain-dust explosion on record in Westwego, Louisiana, when a grain elevator exploded in 1977; and the crash of the British R101 airship in the 1920s. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - Pacific Coast Highway. For 25 years, construction crews dug, blasted, tunneled, and bridged their way up America's West Coast along the California, Oregon, and Washington shoreline to build the Pacific Coast Highway. Historians, road and bridge engineers, and experts relate this story of perseverance, primal machines, convict labor, and engineering brilliance as we tour its scenic route. And we look at the latest technologies used to keeping it running despite floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides. ____________________________________________________ Wednesday, January 12, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - U.S. Mints: Money Machines. How does America make money--literally? We visit the United States Mint and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to see the secretive government facilities where our legal tender is generated. With a storied past as tantalizing as the wealth they create, these mints can spit out fortunes in an hour and keep our economy flowing. 8-9pm -- Modern Marvels - Quarries. Dynamite explodes hills to bits, drills divide sheer stone walls, 400,000-pound blocks are pulled from pits by giant cranes, and men work around the clock to wrest rock out of the earth. Not diamonds or gold...rock, the raw material of civilization! Without rock, modern society wouldn't exist. Roads, sewers, dams, bridges, buildings, paint, glue, make-up, antacids, and even chewing gum need crushed stone. From ancient days to the present, we explore the evolution of quarrying techniques. 9-10pm -- Full Throttle - Mini Cooper. "The Little Car that Could", the 1978 English Mini becomes a road racer with a new suspension, braking system, and engine upgrades. Fasten your seatbelts for a wild ride as Full Throttle heads to the drag strip in revamped vintage cars. Part reality show, part history, we give two teams the same model of car in similar disrepair, garages, tools, and parts, and just two days to prepare before competing in an all-or-nothing drag race--and in this episode, on a road track with English-style right-hand drive cars! The winner drives away in both cars; the loser walks away empty-handed; the viewer gets an adrenaline dose of automotive history. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - The Arch. Join us as we explore the vast and varied world of the arch, one of the strongest and most versatile structures made by man. Deceptively simple, an arch can support tremendous weight because its structure is compressed by pressure, and it provides a much more spacious opening than its predecessor--post and lintel construction. Although ancient Egyptians and Greeks experimented with the arch, the Romans perfected it. Medieval Arabs incorporated it into stunning mosque architecture, soon followed by Europe's great medieval churches. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the steel arch became a favorite of architects and structural engineers. Dam builders employed it horizontally, using the water behind the dam to provide the pressure to compress it. And tomorrow, the arch will continue to serve mankind in every form--from nanotechnology to domes on Mars and beyond. ____________________________________________________ Thursday, January 13, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Camouflage. From ancient hunters' camouflage to computer-generated digital pattern uniforms, we uncover the past, present, and future of deception through disguise. During an ambush exercise by U.S. Marines, we learn that camouflage came from natural coloration and patterns of flora and fauna. The art of military camouflage took off in WWI with the use of the airplane, when the French learnt to hide from "eyes in the sky". It's a world of shadows and smoke, where even cities disappear through disguise. 8-10pm -- The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy - No other murder in history has produced as much speculation as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Forty years after he was fatally shot, more than 70 percent of polled Americans believe there was a conspiracy and that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone. In this 2-hour special, ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings takes a fresh look at the assassination, the evidence, the various and many theories, and an exact computer simulation of the famous Abraham Zapruder film that offers surprising results. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - Bullets. From "safe" bullets that stop hijackers but leave aircraft unscathed to bullets that chain-saw through steel and "smart" bullets computer-programmed to hit a target, this explosive hour examines the evolution of bullets from origin in the 1300s--stones and round lead balls shot from iron and bamboo tubes. Lead balls ruled until 1841 when a conical-shaped bullet changed ammo forever. We learn how to construct a modern cartridge, and at pistol and rifle ranges view demonstrations of modern firepower. ____________________________________________________ Friday, January 14, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Shipyards. Shipyards are waterside construction sites where the extraordinary takes shape and where some of the largest tools built by humans help create the biggest machines on earth. But shipyards and ships of today bear little resemblance to those of antiquity. From ancient days to the 18th-century Industrial Revolution to the epic effort performed at Pearl Harbor, we examine the shipyard, and look to its future. Will the craftsmanship and practical knowledge of how to build ships disappear in the 21st century? 8-9pm -- B-52: Stratofortress. For nearly half a century, one bomber has dominated the skies. With a maximum speed of 650 mph, a range of over 8,000 miles, and ability to drop a massive 70,000 pounds of bombs, it's the most lethal bomber in the world. This is the dramatic story of the race to produce the first intercontinental jet bomber and the success of the B-52--from the Cold War to its use in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan. The B-52's projected combat life is until 2045--no other bomber comes close to this record. 9-9:30pm -- Mail Call - The Jeep/Himars/Hurricanes. R. Lee Ermey, who portrayed the sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket", applies his gruff sense of humor in this half-hour series that answers viewers' mail about what the armed forces were, and really are, like! Shot on location, Ermey reads the questions on air and then sends them out to military experts in the field for answers and brief demonstrations. Ermey learns all about the Jeep; the new rocket launcher called HIMARS; and how and why the military hunts down hurricanes. 9:30-10pm -- Mail Call - Mortar/WWII GI's Personal Items/Native-American Arrows: #6. R. Lee Ermey, who portrayed the sergeant in Full Metal Jacket, applies his gruff sense of humor in this half-hour series that answers viewers' mail about what the armed forces were, and really are, like! Shot on location, Ermey reads the questions on air and then sends them out to military experts in the field for answers and brief demonstrations. Ermey learns how to aim an 81mm mortar; what personal items GIs carried in WWII; and how Native Americans made arrows. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - 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! ____________________________________________________ Saturday, January 15, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- The SS: Himmler's Mania. Presented in meticulous detail, our 6-part investigation of the SS reveals film footage long believed lost and eyewitnesses only now prepared to discuss Hitler's sinister reign of terror. Focusing on the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, we see how his penchant for the occult determined his barbaric politics, and how he mixed anti-Semitism with blood-and-soil mysticism. A chicken farmer with an agriculture diploma, he instigated "breeding" a new race and administered mass genocide like a tax official. 8-9pm -- The SS: Heydrich--The Hangman. Hitler called him "the man with the iron heart" and as head of the Security Police and SD (Security Service), Reinhard Heydrich commanded killing squads in Poland and the Soviet Union that shot hundreds of thousands of the "racially and nationally undesirable". Architect of the Holocaust, he authorized Adolf Eichmann to work out a large-scale deportation program for Europe's Jews that would end in extermination centers. Features footage of Heydrich's personal life from private archives. 9-10pm -- The SS: Death's Head. Regarded as SS elite and perpetrators of its most diabolic crimes, Death's Head battalions were deployed whenever particular cruelty and absolute devotion to duty were required and were responsible for the implementation of mass genocide in Nazi extermination camps. We show how willing henchmen were schooled to place themselves body and soul in the service of unimaginable barbarity--and how, or if, these atrocities weighed upon their consciences. Features an interview with Simon Wiesenthal. 10-11pm -- The SS: Waffen-SS. Opinions still differ on the military arm of the SS. Was the Waffen-SS the criminal terror instrument of Nazi genocide, or were they "soldiers like any others" as SS General Paul Hausser claimed after the war's end? The Waffen-SS found its true vocation in 1941 with Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. There, Himmler's "racial warriors" were the vanguard, determined to implement the "extermination of the Jewish-Bolshevik subhuman hordes" as decreed by Hitler.
For info on UFOs, check out the interview on MonsterVision's Mars Attacks page
Watch Mail Call every week if you know what's good for you, scumbag,
hosted by R. Lee Ermey of Full Metal Jacket
(movie available on video and DVD)
Wild West Tech hosted by David Carradine, some episodes narrated by Keith Carradine
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