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.Thursday, September 1, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. In the land of Mardi Gras, jambalaya, and zydeco, exists an engineering marvel called the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway that seems to go on forever. Two ribbons of concrete span the largest inland body of water in Louisiana, and at nearly 23.87 and 23.88 miles long, these two spans form the world's longest automobile bridge. At midpoint--12 miles out--water surrounds travelers who are unable to see either shoreline. The bridge is so long, it actually transverses 1/1000th of the earth's circumference! 8-10pm -- Isaac's Storm - September 8, 1900. Galveston, Texas. A typically hot and humid day. Women tended to chores; men traveled downtown to work, including Isaac Cline, head of the National Weather Bureau's local office. Cline believed the island was safe from hurricane, but by afternoon, a Category-4 storm proved how wrong he was. In a 2-hour special based on Erik Larson's book Isaac's Storm, weather experts, historians, and survivors' descendents guide us through that horrific day that claimed over 6,000. 10-11pm -- Tsunami 2004: Waves of Death - The 2004 Tsunami, centered in the Indian Ocean, was caused by a 9.3 earthquake--the second strongest quake on record. Join us for a minute-by-minute look at nature's fury at its worst, when the tsunami kills more than 200,000 people in 14 countries. In this special, we examine the tsunami as it moves from coast to coast through the eyes of people who lived through it and scientists now studying its path of devastation. Drawing on the extraordinary volume of amateur video that recorded the disaster, we take viewers inside the world's deadliest tsunami. ____________________________________________________ Friday, September 2, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Machu Picchu. The engineering marvel Machu Picchu sits perched on a ridge in the Peruvian Andes. Originally built by the Incas, this magnificent structure remains a mystery. Was it an observatory? Pleasure retreat? Fortress? This program presents the most current theories. 8-9pm -- The Three Wars of the Battleship Missouri - Join us for a review of the incredible 51-year career of BB-63, the battleship Missouri, which fought in WWII, the Korean War, and Desert Storm. The crew that served on her last voyage could have been grandchildren of the men who fought on her first. Though this behemoth should have been a relic after WWII, she was continually upgraded, making her a formidable first-line warrior to her final day in commission. Launched in 1944, she was the last battleship built and the last in service. But her most enduring image came in 1945, when the Allies accepted Japan's surrender on her deck in Tokyo Bay. Now a national monument in Pearl Harbor preserving the details of that historic day, we step aboard with some of the great men who served in her during the long career of this icon of US naval history. 9-10pm -- Modern Marvels - HMS Victory. The HMS Victory would play a crucial role in the foremost naval engagement in 19th century maritime history, the battle of Trafalgar. This victory was so decisive that no fleet challenged Britain's Royal Navy for more than one hundred years. Built with enough wood to cover the Empire State Building one and a half times, propelled by wind and firing solid shots from smooth bored muzzle-loading canons, ships like HMS Victory ruled the waves for over two centuries. Manned by a crew of 850 and capable of firing one and a half tons of iron shot in a single devastating broadside, these eighteenth century floating fortresses were as complex and sophisticated in their day as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is today. Using color re-enactments and the actual recollections of those who fought on board, this profile goes below the decks of the famous warship 10-10:30pm -- Mail Call - Fastest Army Vehicle/Uncle Sam/Tank Destroyers/Anti-Tank Rifle/Dive Bomber/Sea Dart: #47. R. Lee Ermey pits his trusty Jeep against the Army's nitro-burning dragster "Sarge" at an Arizona speedway; finds out if a real guy posed for the original Uncle Sam recruitment poster; reviews the evolution of Tank Destroyers; demonstrates a Boys .55 Caliber anti-tank "elephant gun" using a Spam tower as his target; finds out what caused the screaming noise when dive bombers attacked; and digs into his Fabulous Flops File to examine the Sea Dart--America's attempt to put a jet fighter on water skies. 10:30-11pm -- Mail Call - Sniper School/Hand Signals/Ho Chi Minh Trail/Motorcycles/Loading Palettes/C-119: #32. How do the Marines train snipers? What kind of hand signals do our soldiers use? How did the Viet Cong manage to bring so many supplies into South Vietnam on the primitive Ho Chi Minh Trail? What types of motorcycles have the military used through the years? Can the military air drop tanks? When did the C-119 Flying Boxcar transport plane operate and what did it carry? R. Lee Ermey heads to the field to answer these exciting viewers' questions on military technology. ____________________________________________________ Saturday, September 3, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 5:30-8pm -- Alive - Movie. The amazing, true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's plane that crashed in the middle of the Andes mountains, and their immense will to survive and pull through alive. Forced to do anything and everything they could to stay alive on meager rations and through the freezing cold, the only thing the team has riding on after losing so many of their good friends and family members is the slim chance of making it through alive and their faithfulness to God. Ethan Hawke stars with Vincent Spano and Josh Hamilton. (1993) 8-9pm -- Alaska's Bermuda Triangle - Alaska's Bermuda Triangle. There's something about Alaska that the tourist bureau doesn't want you to know. In Alaska, people, planes, and ships disappear. Suddenly, inexplicably, and permanently! Natives say that shape-shifting spirits kidnap lost travelers. Scientists tell of giant crevasses that swallow the unwary. Others tell of conspiracies to wreck aircraft. We take a detailed look at the 1972 incident that confounded the US military, when an airplane carrying two Congressmen vanished between Anchorage and Juneau. 9-11pm -- Alaska: Big America - Alaska--a land of extremes. Its size is staggering--nearly 600,000 square miles, or more than twice the size of Texas. Its vast distances, extreme weather, imposing landscape--all helped shape its history and the lives of those who come under its spell. Our 2-hour special heads to far-flung corners of the 49th State to hear compelling stories of life in the bush--from Russian expeditions in the 1700s to building of the Alcan Highway to the WWII Battle for the Aleutian Islands and 1959 statehood. ____________________________________________________ Sunday, September 4, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- The Day the Towers Fell - A riveting special that reveals the never-before-told stories of eyewitnesses, including amateur and professional photographers, caught in the horror of the World Trade Center tragedy. Images captured by many of the photographers are seen for the first time on television. Together, they provide startling and intensely personal firsthand accounts of that fateful day--stories of terror, hope, and survival. 8-10pm -- The World Trade Center - On September 11, 2001, terrorists did the unthinkable when they flew two fuel-loaded jetliners into the World Trade Center. The Twin Towers' physical height and symbolic stature made them the perfect target. They were remarkable achievements in architecture, construction, and technology. In this 2-hour profile, we look at how the WTC was constructed and talk to representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, New York's Office of Emergency Management, FEMA, and DNA experts about the aftermath. 10-11:20pm -- Band of Brothers - Carentan. After regrouping in the town of Angoville-au-Plain, Easy Company tries to capture the town of Carentan. Two days after D-Day, some members of Easy Company are still lost and alone in Normandy, including Pvt. Albert Blithe (Marc Warren), who finds the rest of the unit just in time to help take Carentan, which Allied armor from Utah and Omaha beaches need in order to link up. Later, the company returns to England, but celebrations are short-lived when news comes that they'll be moving out again. ____________________________________________________ Monday, September 5, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 6-8pm -- Decoding The Past - Beyond The Da Vinci Code. Is it the greatest story ever told--or the greatest story ever sold? A best-selling novel sparks a debate that could change Christianity forever. Were Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and co-leaders of their movement? Was Mary Magdalene, herself, the Holy Grail--the vessel said to hold Jesus's blood--and mother of his descendants? Did the early Church know this "truth" and deliberately mislead followers? Is there a secret, ancient society, the Priory of Sion, which still protects this bloodline? Have some of the most illustrious names in art and science been members? These are some of the questions that Dan Brown's best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code raises. We examine both sides of the story--the conventional view of Christianity and the "alternate history" proposed by Brown--so that viewers can decide. 8-9pm -- Reign of Terror - The bloody life and times of the Saudi terrorist who has been linked to a number of deadly attacks against U.S. troops and citizens and who called on Muslims to kill Americans everywhere in the world. Follow Osama bin Laden's trail from his privileged childhood as the son of a wealthy oil businessman to his battle against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and his involvement in the infamous 2001 World Trade Center bombing. 9-11pm -- Rome: Engineering an Empire - For more than 500 years, Rome was the most powerful and advanced civilization the world had ever known, ruled by visionaries and tyrants whose accomplishments ranged from awe-inspiring to deplorable. One characteristic linked them all--ambition--and the thirst for power that all Roman emperors shared fueled an unprecedented mastery of engineering and labor. This documentary special chronicles the spectacular and sordid history of the Roman Empire from the rise of Julius Caesar in 55 BC to its eventual fall around 537 AD, detailing the remarkable engineering feats that set Rome apart from the rest of the ancient world. Featuring extensive state-of-the-art CGI animation, and exclusive never-before-seen footage shot on a diving expedition in the water channels underneath the Colosseum. ____________________________________________________ Tuesday, September 6, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Bible Tech. Arguably the most influential book ever written, the Bible provides a glimpse into the origins of ancient technology and its use to withstand the elements, build great structures, wage war, and conserve precious water. We examine the technological plausibility of biblical structures and machines--including the Tower of Babylon, the Temple of Jerusalem, ancient bronze and iron forging, and shipbuilding skills that might have been employed to build Noah's Ark. 8-9pm -- Tsunami 2004: Waves of Death - The 2004 Tsunami, centered in the Indian Ocean, was caused by a 9.3 earthquake--the second strongest quake on record. Join us for a minute-by-minute look at nature's fury at its worst, when the tsunami kills more than 200,000 people in 14 countries. In this special, we examine the tsunami as it moves from coast to coast through the eyes of people who lived through it and scientists now studying its path of devastation. Drawing on the extraordinary volume of amateur video that recorded the disaster, we take viewers inside the world's deadliest tsunami. 9-11pm -- Roman Vice - The flowering of the Roman Empire saw incomparable power and civilization - and at the same time corruption, cruelty and depravity on an unparalleled scale. Emperors from Augustus to Tiberius and Nero built the biggest empire the world had ever seen, while presiding over a way of life riddled with violence, deviancy and excess. This special visits the archaeological sites of ancient Rome, talks to leading historians world-wide and uses stylish reconstructions to describe and explain how good and evil went side by side. ____________________________________________________ Wednesday, September 7, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Security Systems. Since civilization's earliest days, man has sought protection from those who would rob him of riches, knowledge, and even life. This is the story of the evolving systems designed to safeguard our most precious possessions, and of the enduring psychological war between protectors and thieves, each intent on outfoxing the other. 8-9pm -- 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." 9-10pm -- Julius Caesar's Greatest Battle - In an eight-year campaign through what is now France, Julius Caesar killed one million people, took a million more hostage and destroyed more than 800 cities. Follow in the footsteps of Caesar and the leader of the Gallic uprising, Vercingetorix, as the bloody conflict in Gaul reaches its climax. In 52 BC at Alesia, Caesar and Vergingetorix lead their armies into one of the greatest sieges in the history of warfare: a battle that will decide the fate of Gaul and shape the future of the entire Western World. 10-11pm -- Life and Death in Rome - Capital of the World. This provocative new series takes us back 2,000 years to an Ancient Rome you have never seen before. Our time-traveling guide (Neil Stuke) penetrates the heart of history's ultimate city as we reveal the extraordinary lives of real Romans and see how they lived, loved, and conquered the world. We discover a surprisingly modern place that gave us many things we take for granted--and see how the Romans turned murder into mass entertainment. In this hour, we follow three lads as they struggle to succeed. Two just want to make some cash and chase girls, but the third wants to be the first emperor and ruler of the world. Meanwhile, his daughter gives new meaning to royal sex scandals! ____________________________________________________ Thursday, September 8, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Car Crashes. In the mid-1960s, the US lost an average of 55,000 people yearly to car crashes. Since then, the number of cars on the road has doubled, but fatalities have decreased by nearly a third. The dramatic reduction is the culmination of research and development that led to safer roads and cars and quicker emergency response. But car-crash technology's future involves removal of its biggest threat--human drivers! Find out if computers and radar can prevent everything from fender-benders to pile-ups. 8-9pm -- The Real Spartacus - Long before Stanley Kubrick's film starring Kirk Douglas, Spartacus had unwittingly become a mythological icon of resistance against oppression worldwide. We'll look at the real Spartacus, focusing on his struggle against Roman forces, his time as a gladiator, and his role in the infamous slave revolt against Rome in 73 BC, which convulsed the great empire for two years before the uprising was put down and 6,000 slave rebels were crucified along 150 miles of the Appian Way. 9-10pm -- The Colosseum - Nothing symbolizes the Roman Empire at its height or Rome in magnificent ruins more than the Colosseum. Built in 70 AD, it seated 80,000 people, boasted a retractable roof, underground staging devices, marble seating, and lavish decorations. It still serves as the prototype for the modern stadium. The complexity of its construction, the beauty of its architecture, and the functionality of its design made it the perfect place for massive crowds to congregate for the bloody spectacles it contained. 10-11pm -- Life and Death in Rome - Sex and the Imperial City. Though Rome was a city built by men, behind them were many equally powerful women. This episode looks at the Empire's wives and mothers, its prostitutes and priestesses, and the conventions that controlled all their lives. We discover how sex shaped their day-to-day experiences and we tell the tragic story of Cornelia, a priestess in the cult of the Vestal Virgins for whom sex meant death. ____________________________________________________ Friday, September 9, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Dangerous Cargo. Toxic traffic is everywhere! An average of 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials hit our highways and railways daily. From Wild West wooden crates filled with explosives to HAZMAT containers of nuclear waste, we shadow dangerous cargo. We ride shotgun on a hazardous material shipment that's tracked by satellites; hunt down the hush-hush "ghost fleet"--trucks carrying classified government materials; and board a Con-Air flight moving another kind of nasty stuff--dangerous felons! 8-10pm -- Rome: Engineering an Empire - For more than 500 years, Rome was the most powerful and advanced civilization the world had ever known, ruled by visionaries and tyrants whose accomplishments ranged from awe-inspiring to deplorable. One characteristic linked them all--ambition--and the thirst for power that all Roman emperors shared fueled an unprecedented mastery of engineering and labor. This documentary special chronicles the spectacular and sordid history of the Roman Empire from the rise of Julius Caesar in 55 BC to its eventual fall around 537 AD, detailing the remarkable engineering feats that set Rome apart from the rest of the ancient world. Featuring extensive state-of-the-art CGI animation, and exclusive never-before-seen footage shot on a diving expedition in the water channels underneath the Colosseum. 10-11pm -- Life and Death in Rome - Chaos. In the 3rd Century AD, the Roman Empire faced its greatest threat--as the world's superpower. A combination of plague, bloody civil war, and imperial debauchery tore the Empire apart and brought it to its knees. This is the story of how the crisis came about, and it is the tragic tale of the unknown Emperor who pulled Rome back from the brink of disaster. ____________________________________________________ Saturday, September 10, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Brotherhood of Terror - For many Americans, the morning of September 11, 2001 made the threat of Islamic Fundamentalism a grave reality. But long before al Qaeda, the roots of the threat to America from the Middle East grew in an organization called the Muslim Brotherhood. Journey to Cairo, Egypt, where the Brotherhood was born in the late 1920s. Learn how Brotherhood members passed radical ideologies to legions of followers, including Ayman Zawahiri, who would become Osama bin Laden's right-hand man. Today, some experts say the Brotherhood could be a powerful ally in fighting the war on terror, while others believe that its dark history makes this movement one that can never be trusted. 8-9pm -- The 9/11 Hijackers: Inside the Hamburg Cell - For years, they remained nearly invisible, a small group of dedicated men waiting for the perfect chance to strike. Then, on September 11, 2001, after five years of preparation, they took action. The men's full stories and the details of their ambitious plan have now come to light. We track the progress of this unlikely group of young men who developed from unassuming college students into religious martyrs. These men, now known as the Hamburg Cell, were responsible for the cultivation of the al-Qaeda plot code-named "the planes operation". The group's leaders were four well-educated Muslim men who shared a common belief in radical Islam. Though Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, Ziad Jarrah, and Ramzi Binalshibh hailed from different countries--Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Yemen--a spirit of brotherhood prevailed among them. And in time, they committed to a singular purpose--to translate their religious fanaticism into catastrophic action. 9-12am -- The Siege - Movie. After a special branch of the US military takes prisoner a suspected Muslim terrorist mastermind, New York City becomes the target of escalating attacks. Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington), the head of the FBI/NYPD Terrorism Task Force, teams up with CIA operative Elise Kraft (Annette Bening) to track the responsible organization. As bomb attacks rage, the federal government decides to send the army into the city streets, led by General Devereaux (Bruce Willis), and declares martial law. With Tony Shalhoub (1998) ____________________________________________________ Sunday, September 11, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Osama's Hideouts - Osama's Hideouts traces the movements of the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden, from his early activism in Pakistan through the mystery of his present-day location. Elaborate graphic recreations demonstrate the likely appearances of Osama's various lairs. 8-9pm -- The Man Who Predicted 9/11 - In 2001, Rick Rescorla was the 62-year-old head of security at the Morgan Stanley Bank situated high up in the South Tower at the World Trade Center. Rescorla was convinced that Osama Bin Laden would use jet planes to try and destroy the World Trade Center. Long before September 11th, he developed an evacuation plan for the bank, hugely unpopular amongst the city whiz kids who worked there who thought he was mad. His evacuation plan however ultimately saved 3,000 of their lives. Rescorla's plan was put into effect after the first jet hit the North Tower--even though WTC managers were instructing everyone to stay in the buildings. When the second jet hit the South Tower, he averted panic and organized a rapid evacuation. Rescorla went back inside to help those injured and trapped get out. He was still inside when the building collapsed. His body was never found. 9-10pm -- Grounded on 9/11 - In response to the attacks on September 11, 2001, the FAA orders all planes out of the air. US and Canadian air traffic controllers face a calamity of epic proportions--how to safely re-route and land 6,500 planes carrying close to a million people. For individual air traffic controllers, the work is chaotic, intense, and deceptively simple: pick a new route for each flight; radio instructions to turn; listen for pilot confirmation; hold traffic to keep airways from overcrowding. From Cleveland, Ohio to Gander, Newfoundland, controllers on September 11th searched for alternate airports to land large jets even as their traumatized colleagues stream back from break rooms after watching the attacks on TV. 10-11:15pm -- Band of Brothers - Replacements. Fresh replacements join Easy Company in time for a massive paradrop into German-occupied Holland. The Dutch townspeople of Eindhoven welcome them as liberators, but when Easy and a cluster of British tanks move into a nearby town, a superior German force inflicts many casualties and forces a retreat. As they move onto another assignment in Holland, Capt. Winters (Damian Lewis) laments the retreat, and Capt. Nixon (Ron Livingston) thinks that the ambitious Allied operation seems to have failed. ____________________________________________________ Monday, September 12, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Extreme Gadgets. Join us for an exploration of the technological innovations that have made extreme sports a reality. The world's best extreme athletes, designers, manufacturers, and engineers explain and demonstrate why the gadgets, gear, and technology of these sports have captured the public's imagination and revolutionized the sporting industry. Sports covered include surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, in-line skating, street luge, wakeboarding, sport climbing, BMX biking, and sky surfing. (1-hour version) 8-9pm -- UFO Files - UFO Hot Spots. For those who study the UFO phenomenon, "UFO Hot Spots" are places around the globe known for a long history of UFO sightings and reports. From Brazil to Mexico, from Washington State to Florida, multiple witnesses, including air traffic controllers and even military personnel, confirm that something unexplained is repeatedly happening in the night sky. Tales of alien abductions, bizarre and chilling photographs of UFOs, and hours of videotape all abound as we search for UFO Hot Spots. 9-10pm -- Decoding The Past - The Bible Code: Predicting Armageddon. Is there a prophetic, highly accurate code locked within the Bible that outlines past and future events? Does the Code contain hidden messages about people such as Napoleon, Einstein, and Hitler, and key world events like WWII, the Kennedy brothers' assassinations, and 9/11? More frightening are references to future events--including Earth's impending end. We take a balanced look through the eyes of Code supporters and critics and let viewers determine its accuracy in predicting the future. 10-11pm -- Weird U.S. - Weirdly Departed. Hosts Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran dig up some of the strangest tales from the grave as they try to figure out what happens after we die. The boys head to Key West to look for the gravesite of a poor dead woman who just couldn't rest in peace--due to one man's undying love for her corpse. All this leads our two Marks to a town of mediums in Florida, where the residents communicate with spirits of the dead. On this madcap tour of America, Mark and Mark trek the country in search of bizarre, unexplained, or just plain zany stories. So put away your textbooks and get ready for something a tad more titillating. ____________________________________________________ Tuesday, September 13, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - More Gadgets. A salute to the tools and toys that have stood the test of time--from the Zippo lighter to the Palm Pilot, the 21st century's first great gadget. As we focus on the technology behind familiar gadgets, we see the subtle ways they have changed our lives. Other items include the flashlight, transistor radio, safety razor, and the metronome. We also go behind the scenes at Herbst-Lazar-Bell, a cutting-edge industrial design firm, and Gadget Universe, a fledgling retailer trying to topple the Sharper Image. 8-9pm -- Wild West Tech - Revenge Tech. It's said revenge is a dish best served cold, but in the Wild West, it was often served with a heaping helping of technology. From a liver-eating madman bent on avenging the death of a loved one to a teenage girl who switched her gender to exact vengeance on her husband's murderer, technology made a uniquely brutal form of frontier justice possible. Host David Carradine guides viewers through the most grizzly stories of score-settling the West ever saw. 9-10pm -- Shootout - North Hollywood Shootout. This is the story of the fiercest gun battle in U.S. police history. On February 28, 1997, a high stakes bank robbery went awry and devolved into an urban firefight that became one of the most violent shootouts in law enforcement history. With TV cameras capturing the action from above, two paramilitary-style gunmen take over a bank using terrorist technology. Donning full body armor and automatic weapons, they charge out of a Bank of America branch in North Hollywood, California, and with brutal and brazen disregard, they fire armor-piercing ammo at police and citizens, turning a congested residential area into a combat zone that ends with deaths and numerous injuries. Police on the scene that day recount their ordeal that very dangerous day. 10-11pm -- Man, Moment, Machine - Mine Rescue Mask. It's 1916, and several workers involved in building a tunnel 250 feet beneath Lake Erie become trapped after an explosion. The workers and their rescuers have only one hope for getting out--Cleveland resident Garrett Morgan and his new rescue hood invention. After a tragic fire at rival sewing factory killed hundreds, Morgan became determined to invent a device that could save workers trapped in a fire or industrial accident. In 1914, he receives a patent for a large heat-resistant canvas hood with a tube that hangs toward the ground and enables the rescuers to breathe the filtered air. When the explosion occurs, eight workers are killed instantly, while eight more lay dying. Morgan arrives and, when no one else is willing to test the hoods, Garrett and his brother don the masks and heroically head down into the tunnel to pull out survivors. ____________________________________________________ Wednesday, September 14, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Digi-Tech. DVD, CD, PDA, HDTV, PVR--they are the ultimate in "gotta have it" gadgets and gizmos and "to die for" technology that populate a digital world of acronyms. We trace digital technology back to the early 1940s and the first high-speed electronic computer used to calculate cannon trajectory charts for new artillery in WWII, and look at the rapidly approaching future in places such as MIT's Media Lab, where tomorrow's technologies are being developed today. 8-9pm -- Modern Marvels - Coffee. Traces the origins of this tasty drink from Ethiopia over 1,000 years ago to the espresso-fueled explosion of specialty coffee stores like Starbucks today. Along the way, we'll see how American companies like Hills Brothers, Maxwell House, Folgers and MJB grew to be giants. Discover how billions of coffee beans make their journey from coffee farms and plantations, and are processed in gigantic roasting and packaging plants before showing up in coffee cups all over the world. Details the invention and production of instant coffee, decaffeinated coffee and freeze-dried coffee, and the espresso machine. Also, we explain how coffee made shift work in factories possible, while coffeehouses provided a creative cauldron that brewed political and artistic progress in the 18th and 19th centuries. And, we also provide tips on how to make a better cup at home! 9-10pm -- Modern Marvels - Sugar. The sugar industry came of age on the backs of slaves toiling in Caribbean fields, and British desire to control production of sugar and its byproduct, rum. Sugar also played a surprisingly critical part in America's battle for independence. Tour a sugar plantation on Maui, Hawaii to get an inside look at how cane sugar is produced today and learn how the sugar stalks are put through an extensive process of extraction and purification--and how a ton of harvested cane results in 200 pounds of raw sugar. Learn the technology behind creating the sweetener in all of its permutations, including corn syrup, brown sugar, powdered sugar and cube sugar, and how it's used in candies, soda and sauces as well as more exotic uses such as in pipe tobacco and processed meat. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - Cereal: History in a Bowl. Move over pancakes, step aside bacon! Cereal is arguably the true breakfast king, a $9-billion industry with an indisputable place in pop-culture history. Full of surprise, nostalgia, and fascinating facts, our special celebrates the colorful--and crunchy--saga of a distinctly American breakfast. We see how a Presbyterian minister-turned-health-food-fanatic--Sylvester Graham, of "Graham cracker" fame--turned his countrymen from fried pork breakfasts to grain- and bran-heavy diets in 1824. We reveal the rivalries, tricks, and accidents that turned cereal into a breakfast sensation. And we examine the amazing feats of marketing used to promote the product--from creating iconic characters for packaging, to ingenious prizes that drove consumers to the shelves in droves. ____________________________________________________ Thursday, September 15, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Million Dollar Tech. For millennia, luxury toys have functioned as flashy instruments of affluence, authority, and identity and driven many kingly consumers to covet, create, and purchase these status symbols. From the Roman Emperor Caligula's special barges to Carl Faberge's impossibly intricate eggs, from plasma screen TVs to $600,000 Bentleys and Rolex watches, we examine spectacular personal possessions--paeans to the lords of a consumer culture that grows richer and technologically more sophisticated daily. 8-10pm -- Hell: The Devil's Domain - Our in-depth history of Hades begins with the story of a negative near-death experience, in which a man thinks he went to Hell after being declared clinically dead and before resuscitation. Following Lucifer's trail from cave paintings in France circa 6,000 BC to current portrayals in popular culture, our 2-hour exploration shows how Hell and the Devil remain powerful forces--at a church in Texas, where souls are delivered from Satan's grip; in talks with a survivor of the 1980s recovered memory craze, who "recalled" attending Witches' Sabbaths that practiced cannibalism; and at the modern Church of Satan. We review literary landmarks that expanded our ideas of the Underworld, from Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost to Mark Twain's anti-hero, and trace development of Christian, Moslem, Jewish, and Buddhist conceptions of the afterlife. The Devil's Rain MonsterVision host segments 10-11pm -- The Conquerors - King David. King David's reign of conquest begins in 1,000 BC when King Saul dies after having never succeeded in uniting the tribes of Israel. King David, the slayer of Goliath of Gath, fights his way to the top besting all contenders to the throne of Israel. In rapid succession, King David defeats the Philistines, the Moabites, the Aramaeans, the Edomites, and finally the Ammonites, establishing Israel as an independent national state and greatly extending its territories. In 995 BC, King David succeeds in capturing the Jebusite city of Jerusalem, making this the capital city of the Kingdom of Israel. David maintains his hold on power in the same manner he attained it--by removing anyone who gets in his way. ____________________________________________________ Friday, September 16, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Future Tech. A paper-thin, wall-sized holographic television...a car that runs on processed seawater...an army of robotic killing machines...outer-space luxury resorts and a cleaning droid controlled by your mind? Buckle-up for safety as we race into the near future--where fantasy becomes fact. There have always been visionaries, futurists, and dreamers predicting the world of tomorrow--flying cars, space-station colonies, and android personal assistants. But time has proven the fallacy of many of their predictions. So what future technology can we realistically expect? With the help of 3D animation, we present some pretty far-out predictions and take you to various research labs to see working prototypes of these technologies in their infancy. Join us on a rollicking ride through the entertainment room, down the road, over the battlefield, through the mind, out in space, and into the future, where science fiction becomes science fact. Back To The Future MonsterVision host segments 8-10pm -- Dog Fights - Ever imagine what it would be like to participate in the most historic air battles of all time? Imagine no more. This special puts viewers in the cockpit to recreate four famous air battles, using computer graphics, animation, firsthand accounts, and archival footage to make these thrilling and dangerous dogfights all too real. Each segment begins with an introduction to a pilot as we learn of the conflict he is engaged in, the history and technology of the aircraft that he flies, and the mortal enemy he must face. Then comes the moment of contact with the enemy--the fight begins! Experience a computer-generated recreation of the aerial battle as the voice of the pilot plays out this life and death combat. 10-10:30pm -- Mail Call - MK-19 Grenade Launcher/PPSH-41/WWII Weasel/Vertijet: # 79. R. Lee Ermey, is back at HQ for a new season of shows jam-packed with gear, gun and guts. First, the Gunny is pitching horseshoes and because "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," it's the perfect introduction to Lee's trip to Camp Pendleton where he gets some trigger time with the MK-19 grenade launcher. Next, the focus is on Russian tactics and weapons of WWII. Lee shows us the Russian sub machine gun of choice during the campaign, the PPSH-41. Then, it's time for a test drive when a WWII Weasel shows up at HQ. Finally, it's time to dip into the Gunny's Fabulous Flops file for a segment about the Vertijet, America's first vertical take-off jet aircraft. 10:30-11pm -- Mail Call - M-1 Garand Rifle/First Assault Rifle/Jato/Golden Knights Parachute Team/Barrage Balloons R. Lee Ermey answers viewer questions about the M-1 Garand, the rifle General Patton called "the greatest battle implement ever devised", and demonstrates the world's first assault rifle, the German MP-44. He takes to the sky to explain jet assisted take-off (JATO); offers an eye-popping look at the stunts performed by the Golden Knights, the Army's precision freefall parachute team; explains how barrage balloons protected London during the Blitz; and goes through the alphabet--military style! ____________________________________________________ Saturday, September 17, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Axes, Swords and Knives. Blade implements have been a part of civilized man's arsenal since the Paleolithic Age, when sharp tools were chipped off of flint or obsidian. But with the discovery of metallurgy, people were able to forge stronger, more versatile blade implements. We visit an axe-throwing contest in Wisconsin for an introduction to the least subtle of the blade tools. Then we visit a swordsmith and an experienced swordfighter who work in traditional methods from ancient sources, and review the history of knives. 8-11pm -- Battle of the Bulge - Movie. Epic story of the Nazi war machine's last desperate offensive. Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, and Charles Bronson star. (1965) ____________________________________________________ Sunday, September 18, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- The Horrors of Hussein - Everyone knows Saddam Hussein was a tyrant, but the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces in 2003 revealed the full extent of the terror apparatus Saddam used to maintain power. In this gripping hour, we examine the roots of this dictator-madman--how he used violence beginning in his teens to achieve his ends--and talk to victims of his terror. We also see how his ministry of terror became a family affair: his two sons, Ouday and Qusay, intended to establish a reign of terror that would last generations. 8-9pm -- High Hitler - Adolf Hitler dreamt of creating a master race, but achieved a Holocaust--the murder of millions of Jews and those deemed physical or mental defects. But the Führer, an appalling hypochondriac, abused laxatives and suffered from stomach cramps and embarrassing flatulence. And that was just the start! When he committed suicide in 1945, the great dictator was frail with tremors and a shuffling walk--a feeble condition concealed from the world. We explore the relationship between Hitler and his personal physician, Dr. Theodore Morell. How did amphetamine abuse, Parkinson's Disease, and tertiary syphilis impact on his state of mind? 9-10pm -- Saddam's Doctor: An Insider's Story - For more than 15 years Dr. Ala Bashir was a close confidante of Saddam Hussein. Bashir, a plastic surgeon, came to the attention of the Iraqi dictator for the pioneering work he carried out during the 1980s repairing injured soldiers and civilians from the eight-year long war with Iran. He not only treated Saddam and his son Uday, but also tended to Saddam's various wives and mistresses. In those years with Saddam he was a reluctant witness to some of the worst excesses of the regime and of Saddam's family. As Baghdad came under American bombardment in 2003, Dr. Bashir disobeyed one last order from Saddam and made his escape. Bashir gives first hand accounts of the brutality, the arbitrary violence and the terror of Saddam's regime. He describes a ruthless despot consumed by paranoia, obsessed by fears for his own safety, deeply superstitious and resorting to fortune-tellers to relieve his doubts. 10-11:10pm -- Band of Brothers - Crossroads. Capt. Winters (Damian Lewis) leads a contingent of Easy Company men on a risky mission over a Dutch dike that results in a "turkey shoot" of fleeing Germans, and is promoted to Battalion Executive Officer, leaving Easy Company in the hands of Lt. "Moose" Heyliger (Stephen McCole). After moving back off the line to France, Lt. Nixon (Ron Livingston) insists that Winters take a break and see Paris. But when Winters returns, news comes in of a massive German counterattack in the Ardennes Forest. ____________________________________________________ Monday, September 19, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - The Tool Bench: Hand Tools. Well over 2-million years before modern man evolved, his primitive ancestors were making tools. The ability to extend the hand and strengthen the arm is considered one of the keys to human evolution. Join us as we nail down the history of hand tools, and look at a new generation of computer-designed, high-tech hand tools. 8-9pm -- UFO Files - Britain's X-Files. Flying saucers...Close encounters...Top-secret government files...the Royal family. Join us for the amazing story of Britain's X-Files as we examine the bizarre and intriguing history of Britain's UFO phenomenon. The journey takes in skeptical prime ministers, senior RAF officers, and Royal believers Prince Philip and Lord Mountbatten. It begins in 1950, when Clement Attlee's government established the extraordinary Flying Saucer Working Party, and ends in 2000, when the Ministry of Defense disbanded its UFO intelligence unit. In between, flying saucers played on deep fears of the Communist threat during the Cold War, and exploded into popular culture in the 1960s. But why did flying saucers suddenly appear in England, and why did the government take so long to admit that something was going on? We track down eyewitnesses and reveal the incredible true story of an encounter in 1955 between Prince Philip's equerry and a mysterious "alien" called Mr. Janus. 9-10pm -- Decoding The Past - The Bible Code: Predicting Armageddon. Is there a prophetic, highly accurate code locked within the Bible that outlines past and future events? Does the Code contain hidden messages about people such as Napoleon, Einstein, and Hitler, and key world events like WWII, the Kennedy brothers' assassinations, and 9/11? More frightening are references to future events--including Earth's impending end. We take a balanced look through the eyes of Code supporters and critics and let viewers determine its accuracy in predicting the future. 10-11pm -- Weird U.S. - Weirdly Departed. Hosts Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran dig up some of the strangest tales from the grave as they try to figure out what happens after we die. The boys head to Key West to look for the gravesite of a poor dead woman who just couldn't rest in peace--due to one man's undying love for her corpse. All this leads our two Marks to a town of mediums in Florida, where the residents communicate with spirits of the dead. On this madcap tour of America, Mark and Mark trek the country in search of bizarre, unexplained, or just plain zany stories. So put away your textbooks and get ready for something a tad more titillating. ____________________________________________________ Tuesday, September 20, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - The Tool Bench: Power Tools. The history of civilization could easily be measured in terms of our ability to make, use, and improve tools--an activity that is at least 4-million years old! At the tip of our toolmaking timeline are power tools. We'll examine today's power tool industry, which is booming thanks to more powerful, lighter, and quieter cordless tools. 8-9pm -- Wild West Tech - Freak Shows ll. For over 100 years, the "freak show" was one of America's most popular and acceptable forms of entertainment. The whole family would venture out to these early museums to see "once in a lifetime" spectacles. Animal curiosities and strangely shaped vegetables quickly gave way to human serpents, savages, simian women, snake eaters, and even the supernatural. Sideshow denizens were the biggest, the smallest, and the strangest people ever to inhabit the West. But there was more! Cowboys and farmhands got a chance to see some freaky technologies, too, at these "cavalcades of perversion." Hosted by David Carradine. 9-10pm -- Shootout - WWII: The Pacific. The Pacific Ocean is a vast emptiness, where World War Two is fought on tiny specks of land. As the big battles unfold, soldiers come face- to-face at close quarters with their enemies. In this episode, we head right into the middle of a daring raid on the Makin Atoll; on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, a solo machine gunner is outnumbered; two dozen Marines face hundreds of Japanese on Peleliu; and a single rifleman holds off two companies in the Philippines. Sometimes they took minutes, at others they took hours. Join us as we examine these famous shootouts in history--from the perspectives of both sides of the fight. Meet the men with guns in their hands, thousands of miles from home, where the winners are the only ones left alive. 10-11pm -- Man, Moment, Machine - Wernher von Braun and the V2 Rocket. In 1942, Hitler demands a silent, deadly weapon that is capable of completely destroying London in a matter of days. At a top-secret facility, young physicist Wernher von Braun complies, creating the world's first supersonic rocket-powered delivery system. Armed with a warhead, von Braun's V2 rockets become Hitler's last hope and the world's first ballistic missile. The "V" stands for vengeance--and Hitler plans to rain down thousands of V2s every day on the Allies. Hitler believes his V2 arsenal will change the course of WWII. Join us as we explore history's fusion of man, moment, and machine--the life of von Braun, his incredible invention, Hitler's plan to destroy London, and with war's end imminent, von Braun's hidden treasure of technical documents and carefully planned surrender to the Americans. Hosted by former Navy "Top Gun" pilot Hunter Ellis. ____________________________________________________ Wednesday, September 21, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Hardware Stores. Join us for a nuts-and-bolts look at the history and evolution of those places that hold our world together. From the local blacksmith to Home Depot, it's the story of nails, screws, mollybolts, duct tape, and superglue. We visit one of the oldest hardware stores in America, Placerville True Value, and wander the aisles of the mega-giants. As we chronicle the rise of the hardware "Big Box" superstores, we also see how the mom-and-pop local hardware stores still manage to survive. 8-9pm -- Modern Marvels - Plumbing: The Arteries of Civilization. Each day, billions of gallons of water flow through cities into homes and back out again in a confusing mess of pipes, pumps, and fixtures. The history of plumbing is a tale crucial to our survival--supplying ourselves with fresh water and disposing of human waste. From ancient solutions to the future, we'll plumb plumbing's depths. 9-10pm -- Modern Marvels - Bathroom Tech. From tub to toilet to toothpaste, here's everything you ever wanted to know about the most used and least discussed room in the house. From the first home bathrooms in ancient India, Roman latrines, and bizarre Victorian-era bath contraptions, to modern luxurious master bathroom suites, we trace the history of bathing, showering, and oral hygiene. And we reveal the messy truth about what was used before toilet paper--brainchild of the Scott Brothers of Philadelphia--and why astronauts wear diapers. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - Sewers. A simple flush and it's forgotten. But haven't you secretly wondered where it all goes when we go? Join us as we explore this less-than-polite topic, and examine the network of underground pipes and tunnels that carries human waste and excess storm water away. From ancient Rome's pristine sewage-conveying systems, through the disease-spreading, out-the-window system of Europe in the Middle Ages, and into the progressive sanitation engineering of the 19th and 20th centuries, we go with the flow of sewage history. And we sift through the flotsam and jetsam of our cities' sewer systems and delve into the sewers of Paris, Boston, and Los Angeles to study waste management's evolution. We meet a sewer diver (and his robotic counterpart) who inspects and ensures the efficient operation of the conduits; decipher the myths about "treasures" and creatures found in the murky depths; and find out exactly where it goes, how it gets there, and how we've learned to use it to our benefit. ____________________________________________________ Thursday, September 22, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Race Cars. Today, race cars tear up the tracks at 300 mph. Computers and space-age composite materials are as much as part of racing as the drivers. They're fast, they're thrilling, and they've gone high-tech. We'll review the history of the innovations that led to today's technological wonders. 8-10pm -- Time Machine - On June 6, 1944, Allied aerial photo reconnaissance flew 25 sorties along the Normandy beaches to record hour-by-hour progress of D-Day. Recently rediscovered and included in our 2-hour special, the photographs had only been seen by a handful of people. Now, for the first time in 60 years, the images reveal history in the making. Using revolutionary computer software to bring the aerial photos alive, we fly along the D-Day beaches. Features firsthand accounts from US, UK, and German veterans. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - 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 US an unbeatable advantage in combat. Using archive film and color reenactments, we reveal the top-secret "black" world of stealth--the F117 Nighthawk. ____________________________________________________ Friday, September 23, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Oil. From the first well in Pennsylvania to the gushing Spindletop and modern supertankers, the story of oil is the story of civilization as we know it. We'll take a look at the ingenious and outrageous men who risked everything for "black gold" and unimaginable wealth. 8-9pm -- UFO Files - UFO Hot Spots. For those who study the UFO phenomenon, "UFO Hot Spots" are places around the globe known for a long history of UFO sightings and reports. From Brazil to Mexico, from Washington State to Florida, multiple witnesses, including air traffic controllers and even military personnel, confirm that something unexplained is repeatedly happening in the night sky. Tales of alien abductions, bizarre and chilling photographs of UFOs, and hours of videotape all abound as we search for UFO Hot Spots. 9-10pm -- Decoding The Past - Bible Code II: Apocalypse and Beyond. As we delve further into the provocative theory that a cryptogram exists in the Bible outlining past and future events, we learn how the Code works from supporters and examine supposed examples of precise messages. And we hear from critics who present compelling arguments that the Code is merely a statistical anomaly. We uncover how military and intelligence organizations interact with the Code, and compare it with other sources of biblical prophecy. 10-10:30pm -- Mail Call - episode to be announced. At ease, Private! R. Lee Ermey is your commanding officer in this weekly series that answers viewers' questions about military methods and technology with practical demonstrations by military experts. Viewers go on the frontlines, to foreign lands, and into basic training as Lee demonstrates the hows and whys behind weaponry, military hardware, vehicles, and jargon. It's a glimpse of military life and history that civilians rarely see. 10:30-11pm -- Mail Call - #80. Navy beach masters are known as the traffic cops of the beach and host R. Lee Ermey travels to Coronado Naval Base to find out how they get the job done and checks out their gear, including the new LARC, a floating tow truck used for search and rescue. Next, Lee travels to the Defense Language Institute in Monterrey, California, where military personnel learn how to speak Afghani, Korean, Arabic, and other languages in a flash. In this installment of "GI Jargon", the Gunny explains origins of the word "hooch". And we get a tour of the Gunny's new digs--a state-of-the-art Eureka MPTGS Type 3 tent with internal arch configuration. Then, he takes us back to the end of WWII and the raid at Cabanatuan. Not a lot of people know about it, but this raid by Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and Filipino guerrillas saved the lives of more than 500 POWs in the Philippines. Then, Lee demonstrates the Arisaka rifle, the bolt-action rifle used by the Japanese Imperial Army. ____________________________________________________ Saturday, September 24, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - German Small Arms of WWII. An evaluation of the evolution of German "small arms" from the end of WWI, when the defeated nation was denied the right to rearm by the Treaty of Versailles, to the end of WWII, after Hitler had again supplied the country with the means to wage war. See how Lugers, P-38s, and Mausers wrote an agonizing chapter in the gun's history. 8-9pm -- The SS - Power Struggle. The incarnation of terror and executor of mass genocide, the SS, like no other Nazi organization, embodied the murderous mania of the "master race". In a 6-part story of unbridled madness and inconceivable crimes, we watch the Schutzstaffel (Defense Squadron), an insignificant guard corps, transform into an omnipotent evil empire. It began with a night of murder--June 30, 1934, Night of the Long Knives, when SS commandos, on Hitler's orders, executed leaders of the Nazi Storm Troopers, the SA. 9-10pm -- 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. 10-11pm -- 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. ____________________________________________________ Sunday, September 25, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Mummy: The Inside Story - In an incredible investigation that uncovers the inside story of how the British Museum in London resurrected an Egyptian mummy in cyberspace, we begin in the museum basement and end where no one has gone before. Egyptologist John Taylor and a team of virtual reality experts from computer giant SGI transformed the mummified body of Nesperennub--an ancient Egyptian priest--into the world's first virtual mummy. From a set of 1500 CAT scans, they created a 3-D model of the mummy that could be "unwrapped" in the computer. The stunning stereoscopic images reveal Nesperennub's body in amazing clarity--and exactly like the embalmers left it in 800 BC! By going under the wraps of Nesperennub, we journey into the life and times of this ancient Egyptian. I want my Mummy 8-9pm -- Hitler's End - Legends, lies, and half-truths for a long time have surrounded Hitler's last days in his bunker beneath Berlin's Reich Chancellery. What exactly happened in the days leading up to his suicide on April 30, 1945? Why did the dictator protract the end for so long? Was he still capable of making decisions? A Russian secret service dossier discovered in Moscow sheds new light on events in the bunker. Contemporary witnesses such as Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge, officers Ulrich de Maiziere and Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, together with renowned historians and Hitler researchers Ian Kershaw and Joachim Fest, analyze events in the bunker from April 20 to 30--from Hitler's last birthday to suicide. Many explosive revelations are scrutinized, for example the claim by Hitler's chief pilot Hans Baur that Eva Braun was pregnant at war's end. Utilizing 3-D tours through the bunker, library discoveries, and unknown statements, a shocking picture of Hitler's last days emerges. 9-10pm -- Betrayal: The Battle for Warsaw - This is a story told by eyewitnesses, the insurgent soldiers and citizens of Warsaw. On August 1, 1944, one of the most desperate and tragic battles in modern warfare occurred. Waged by an ill-equipped but heroic insurgent army against the mighty German war machine, the bloody 63-day battle ultimately led to the total destruction of Warsaw, Poland's ancient capital city and to the death of over 250,000 Polish civilians and soldiers. It was a battle that could have changed world history. If the Poles had won, they and the whole of Eastern Europe might have escaped Soviet domination for the next 45 years. Yet, even as the fighting raged in the heart of their beloved city, the Poles were callously betrayed--not by their enemies, but by their allies... 10-11:20pm -- Band of Brothers - Bastogne. In the dead of winter, in the forest outside of Bastogne, Belgium, Easy Company struggles to hold the line alone, while fending off frostbite and hunger. An overwhelmed Medic Eugene Roe (Shane Taylor), on edge and close to combat exhaustion, finds friendship with a Belgian nurse (Lucie Jeanne). Easy spends a miserable Christmas in the trenches, but is buoyed after hearing news that General McAuliffe met the German Army's demand for surrender with the defiant answer: "Nuts!" ____________________________________________________ Monday, September 26, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Bulletproof. How do you stop a speeding bullet? From body armor to armored cars and trucks, we review the history of the race between the bullet and a successful way to stop it. It's not exactly easy to design material that can catch gunfire traveling up to 3,000 feet per second. We'll look at little-known advances like bulletproof layering hidden in walls, futuristic smart materials that "remember" how to stop a bullet, and a system that deploys a shield within milliseconds when it detects an oncoming round. 8-9pm -- UFO Files - The Day after Roswell. Delve into the aftermath and repercussions of the 1947 Roswell incident, when many believe an alien spacecraft crashed in New Mexico. Based on The Day after Roswell by Lt. Col. Philip J. Corso and William Birnes, we explore if technologies like the laser, fiber optics, the integrated circuit, super-strong fibers, and night vision were developed with the aid of aliens. Career officer Corso claims his first alien encounter came on July 6, `47, while on late-night security rounds at Ft. Riley, Kansas, where he saw bodies of EBEs (extraterrestrial biological entities) inside shipping crates. In 1961, as Chief of Foreign Technology in the Army's department of Research and Development, his job included analyzing alien technology from Roswell, then introducing it into America's technological mainstream--thus, reverse-engineering alien artifacts. And we talk to many scientists involved at the time, who credit hard work, not alien contact, with these technological advances. 9-10pm -- Decoding The Past - Resurrection. Did Jesus rise from the dead? The stories of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ inspire faith and fuel controversy to this day. But what do we know about what really happened on that first Easter more than 2,000 years ago, a day that changed the course of history? Elizabeth Vargas takes viewers on an extraordinary journey into the heart of the debate where it all began in Jerusalem in search of the truth about the story that is at the core of the Christian faith ... the Resurrection. 10-11pm -- Weird U.S. - History or Hoax? Based on the best-selling book, this deliciously demented tour of offbeat American history scours the country in search of the bizarre, unexplained, and really weird stories that never made it into schoolbooks. In this episode, hosts Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran examine if history books are correct when they claim that President Warren Harding died of a heart attack. Was it really foul play? Did the CIA actually spend millions of taxpayer dollars in the 1970s and '80s on psychic research? Did Aaron Burr try to set up his own country in the American Southwest? Sometimes there are stories from history that sound so outrageous they can't be true...but are. Some stories are said to be truth, but are out and out lies. Our two Marks investigate some of the strangest stories they've ever heard, and realize just because something is weird doesn't mean it isn't true. Mark and Mark want to find out: When it comes to history, how do you separate fact from fiction? ____________________________________________________ Tuesday, September 27, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Nuclear Tech. Nuclear research ranges from well-known applications, such as bombs and reactors, to little-known uses in medicine, food preparation, and radiation detection. It's also spawned ancillary technologies to store nuclear waste and clean up accidents. Despite the risk of use and abuse for destructive purposes, many scientists remain optimistic about what's next for the atom. In an explosive hour, we explore the atom in war and peace, and the latest in nuclear power generation, safety, and security. 8-9pm -- Wild West Tech - The Unexplained. Lights in the sky, strange sounds in the woods, vicious attacks that couldn't be explained away.... The Wild West was overflowing with unexplained happenings. Some people even said the skies were filled with UFO's! How did technology help to craft the legends that have scared people for generations? And could technology finally help put some of these enduring myths to rest, once and for all? Join host David Carradine as he enters the Wild West Tech Zone! 9-10pm -- Shootout - Swat Team Shootouts. SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams leap into the middle of some of the most dangerous situations around. Follow them as they plan to rescue dozens of hostages held at gunpoint in a bar. Track their strategy as they get ready to lay siege to an electronics store held captive by four armed men. Learn how they confront a disgruntled employee who threatens to kill a former co-worker. Interviews with former hostages and the SWAT officers who saved them guide viewers minute-by-minute through real crises. The tactics and technology used by the experts are detailed and dramatized, taking those watching along for the ride whether the ending is happy--or not. 10-11pm -- Man, Moment, Machine - Thomas Edison and the Electric Chair. Explores the history-making intersection between a dynamic leader, a significant moment in time and an important technology. Hosted by former Navy Top Gun fighter pilot Hunter Ellis, we go on location to illustrate these historic triads--walking in the shoes of the man, reliving the moment and operating the machine that came together to make history. Top Gun MonsterVision host segments ____________________________________________________ Wednesday, September 28, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Deadliest Weapons. In this fiery hour, we profile five of man's deadliest weapons, focusing on the inventors, battles, and dark technology behind their lethality. We begin with the deadliest bomb ever created, the Tsar Bomba--a 50-megaton nuclear bomb with a yield thousands of times greater than the one dropped on Hiroshima. During WWI, technological advances in weaponry led to the deaths of over 8-million, and one of the deadliest killers was the machine gun. In WWII, the use of incendiary bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people. Another deadly invention of WWII was the proximity fuse, or VT fuse, that allowed artillery to detonate within a predetermined range of an enemy target. Finally, we examine VX nerve gas, thought by many to be the deadliest chemical agent ever created and suspected to have been used by Saddam Hussein with devastating results. We'll visit Edgewood Chemical BioCenter, which plays a large role in protection and detection for our troops in Iraq. 8-9pm -- Modern Marvels - World's Biggest Machines 4. From a giant machine press that stamps out an entire car body to a 125-ton chainsaw that cuts through the world's hardest rock; from a huge telescope that glimpses the ends of the known universe to the world's largest rock crusher. Join us for a workout of the world's largest machines, and take a long look through the lens of the world's biggest optical telescope, the Keck Observatory, atop 13,800-foot Mauna Kea in Hawaii. 9-10pm -- Modern Marvels - More of the World's Biggest Machines. On land, in the air, or on the sea--we examine some of the biggest machines ever built, including: the Antonov AN-225, the world's biggest aircraft; the GE 90-115B jet engine; the Sikorsky CH-53E helicopter; the Union Pacific's biggest steam locomotive, the "Big Boy" 4000 and GE's AC 6000; the Discoverer Enterprise, the world's largest oil-drilling ship; the RB 293 bucket-wheel mine excavator; and the LED Viva Vision, the world's largest printing screen, which stretches 4-blocks long in Las Vegas. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - World's Biggest Machines 3. Giant robots on the factory floor and in outer space. A floating fortress that's home to 6,000 military personnel, which is almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall. And a diesel engine with 108,000 horsepower. (You read that right.) These giants must be seen to be believed! In this episode, we travel over land and sea to find these and more of the biggest, baddest, most audacious feats of engineering in the world. ____________________________________________________ Thursday, September 29, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Nuclear Subs. The most priceless jewels in the arsenals of a handful of countries, some nuclear submarines carry more firepower than all the bombs dropped in history. Since the 1950s, these lethal steel sharks have been a cornerstone of American defense policy. The Cold War launched an underwater race for supremacy with the Soviet Union. The result: engineering miracles, which roam 70% of the earth's surface, providing deterrence to enemies, intelligence about adversaries, and an abiding sense of dread. 8-10pm -- Engineering Disasters - Engineering Disasters. Throughout history, the builders and engineers who paved our way out of the caves and into the modern world have also caused some of our worst disasters. What happens when their calculations prove wrong and it all comes tumbling down? From Hammurabi's days, when the first building laws were instituted, to today's potential nuclear or chemical disasters that can spell death for thousands, we'll take a harrowing 2-hour tour through some of history's greatest engineering mistakes. 10-11pm -- Modern Marvels - Dangerous Cargo. Toxic traffic is everywhere! An average of 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials hit our highways and railways daily. From Wild West wooden crates filled with explosives to HAZMAT containers of nuclear waste, we shadow dangerous cargo. We ride shotgun on a hazardous material shipment that's tracked by satellites; hunt down the hush-hush "ghost fleet"--trucks carrying classified government materials; and board a Con-Air flight moving another kind of nasty stuff--dangerous felons! ____________________________________________________ Friday, September 30, 2005 ____________________________________________________ 7-8pm -- Modern Marvels - Sub Zero. Come in from the cold while we explore some of Earth's most frigid places and examine how man copes with sub-zero climates. With the advance of technology, our boundaries have expanded--from the North and South Poles, to the depths beneath the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, to the Moon, Mars, and outward to Saturn. Enter these forbidding territories, guided by a special breed of experts as we inspect the new US South Pole Station, try on the latest Polartec fashions with anti-microbial fibers, ride on the newest snowmobiles and Sno-Cats, sail through glacial waters on ice-breaking ships, and fly on an LC-130 transport plane. And we'll see what NASA has on the planning board for deep-space exploration, including a beach-ball robot explorer, and learn from scientists studying fish in the waters off Antarctica to understand glycoproteins, which may keep frozen tissue healthy longer for transplantation. 8-9pm -- Modern Marvels - Torture Devices. For more than 3,000 years, emperors and generals, dictators and police, criminals, clerics, and even medical doctors have created and used a vast array of torture devices--everything from the ancient Greeks' Brazen Bull, which slowly barbecued the victim, to the elaborate mechanical apparatuses of the Spanish Inquisition. A medical doctor who specializes in victims of torture reveals how the human body responds to their use--from the earliest excruciating contrivances to the more modern. 9-10pm -- Caligula: Reign of Madness - Caligula ruled the Roman Empire fewer than four years, and was only 28 when assassinated by officers of his guard in 41 AD. His reign was a legendary frenzy of lunacy, murder, and lust. Between executions, he staged spectacular orgies, made love to his sister, and declared himself a living god. Join us for a look at this devoted son, murderer, pervert, and loving father whose anguished life was far more bizarre than the myth that surrounds him. 10-10:30pm -- Mail Call - # 81. At ease, Private! R. Lee Ermey is your commanding officer in this weekly series that answers viewers' questions about military methods and technology with practical demonstrations by military experts. Viewers go on the frontlines, to foreign lands, and into basic training as Lee demonstrates the hows and whys behind weaponry, military hardware, vehicles, and jargon. It's a glimpse of military life and history that civilians rarely see. 10:30-11pm -- Mail Call - Cobra Attack Helicopter/Sidewinder Missile/C-54 Skymaster/Mps/Flintlock Pistol: #39. What puts the "super" in the Marines' attack helicopter, the AH-1W Super Cobra? As long as we're talking snakes, why are there so many AIM (Air Intercept Missile) Sidewinders? Why do many consider the C-54 Skymaster transport plane the true hero of the Berlin Airlift and the first Air Force One plane? What kind of training and gear are supplied to our military police? How accurate were the old Flintlock Pistols? Shot on location, R. Lee Ermey answers viewers' questions on military technology.
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 on the History Channel, some episodes narrated by Keith Carradine
Previous History Channel primetime listings:
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January 2005
See if your favorite person, TV series or
motion picture is available on video:
You might also check out A&E Prime Time listings for this month
Official HistoryChannel.com Homepage
Find out more about any topic any time, including this day in history (your choice of decade), with our Best Search in History: www.HistoryChannel.com
* Congressman Gary Condit (D), who reportedly told police he'd had an affair with Levy, is no longer considered to be a suspect in the case. Condit lost his bid for re-election in the Democratic Primary of 2002.
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"What's the difference between a Nazi and a dog? A Nazi raises his arm" - Victor Borge
