2010

S1.E1 ∙ 101 Gadgets That Changed the World

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

The history of the gadget is both the history of invention and the history of men's lives. What alpha male doesn't remember when they achieved mastery of the iPhone, the Swiss Army Knife, the Walkman, the condom? And while gadgets act as milestones in our personal narratives, what goes unnoticed is that gadgets can also change the course of history.

6.9 /10

S1.E48 ∙ The Real Face of Jesus

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

In May 2010, the Shroud of Turin will be put on public display for the first time in ten years. The Real Face of Jesus? documents a team of graphic artists as it uses cutting-edge 3D software to bring this holy relic, which many believe Jesus Christ was buried in, to life unveiling the most accurate image of Jesus Christ ever seen.

7.8 /10

S1.E50 ∙ How the States Got Their Shapes

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Every shape on the map tells a story about our past. Why does Oklahoma have a panhandle? Because of shifting borders for slavery. Why does Missouri have a boot? Because of a massive earthquake. HISTORY goes beyond the observable in How the States Got Their Shapes to reveal America's unique geography, political and social history.

8.4 /10

S1.E100 ∙ The Real Robin Hood

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

The Real Robin Hood probes the fascinating history behind the man and the myths of this legendary hero. Coinciding with the 5/14/10 Universal release of the film Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, director Ridley Scott also produces this dynamic two-hour television special.

8 /10

S1.E101 ∙ Who Really Discovered America?

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Did other explorers beat Columbus to our shores? New evidence suggests that America may have been discovered -- and rediscovered -- by Asian, Celtic, and Polynesian tribes, among others. Dramatic recreations augment the story of these amazing journeys.

8 /10

S1.E102 ∙ 10 Ways to Kill Bin Laden

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

This is the inside story of the 10 ways the US government has tried to capture or kill the most wanted man in history--Osama bin Laden. Some of the planners and military personnel involved in the hunt tell their stories, many for the first time.

0 /10

S1.E103 ∙ Afraid of the Dark

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Go back to a time before the invention of artificial light and experience a world petrified in the pitch of darkness...when fear ruled the night. Throughout the ages, real and imagined terror existed in the absence of light, and nighttime was anything but relaxing between the brutal bandits and horrors of the devil, werewolves and vampires.

8.5 /10

S1.E104 ∙ Most Extreme Airports

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

A strip of land fought over for centuries by England and Spain creates a nightmare of historic proportion for airline pilots. Gibraltar Airport's powerful winds and short runway --complete with ground traffic -- make it one of the world's most treacherous.

7.2 /10

S1.E106 ∙ Jefferson

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Thomas Jefferson is the most researched, most written about, most referenced, and most quoted of our Founding Fathers. And yet, somehow, he remains the most stubbornly inscrutable. Embrace and celebrate the third president's complicated life and legacy in the two-hour HISTORY documentary, Jefferson.

8.2 /10

S1.E112 ∙ The President's Book of Secrets

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Moments after the President of the United States is sworn into office he gains access to "The Nuclear Football," a briefcase that contains the most volatile top-secret information in the world--America's nuclear launch codes.

6.6 /10

S1.E114 ∙ Third Reich: Third Fall

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

How did the Germans experience the Allied victory in WWII? Rarely-and never-before-seen amateur films recount the catastrophic downfall of the Third Reich through the eyes of the people who lived it: the Germans themselves.

7.6 /10

S1.E115 ∙ Prophets of Doom

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Today's world has troubles unique to its time in history, from the global financial crisis to technological meltdowns to full-scale, computerized global war. HISTORY profiles three men "modern prophets" from different disciplines and with different theories who all believe America is on the decline, and will ultimately meet its end.

7.3 /10

S1.E116 ∙ 10.0 Megaquake

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Scientists offer insight into how and where a 10.0 megaquake could strike. This two-hour History special explores one of the most deadly and perplexing mysteries that surrounds planet earth: huge megaquakes.

8 /10

S1.E117 ∙ Bigfoot: The Definitive Guide

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

A team of top scientists come together with one goal: to create the definitive guide to Bigfoot. Does the creature exist? And if it does where is it? And how can it survive without being detected?

8 /10

S1.E118 ∙ Reagan

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

As we approach what would have been President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday in 2011, some say the totality of the man is still eclipsed by the myth. Some call him a hero, and others an empty suit, one thing is for certain - President Reagan made history. But what made him?

6.3 /10

S1.E119 ∙ It's Good to Be President

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

We Americans like to think we know our President. We followed him during the campaign, invited him into our living rooms during countless televised appearances and even learned about his cholesterol count after each annual physical at Bethesda.

6.6 /10

S1.E120 ∙ Journey to the Center of the Earth

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Civilization's final frontier may not be the furthest reaches of space, but the inner world underground. So far, the deepest humans have ventured is just a 500th of the way to the Earth's core. Using CGI, live action, and archives viewers will explore awesome natural wonders, bizarre life forms, and triumphs of human engineering -- all while traveling 5,000 miles to the center of the Earth.

0 /10

S1.E121 ∙ Secret Access: The Vatican

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

What happens inside the Vatican continues to compel billions of people and change history -- but few get to see it.

7.3 /10

S1.E122 ∙ Weird Warfare

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Throughout history, mankind's ingenuity has pursued better ways to kill enemies and win wars. But hidden by our more famous inventions lie some highly unusual, sometimes unbelievable efforts. This special reveals the most absurd, ridiculous and radical examples of warfare ever recorded.

6.7 /10

S1.E123 ∙ The Lost Kennedy Home Movies

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Gathered from archives and attics and now seen for the first time, these extremely-rare home movies tell the story of the children of Joseph and Rose Kennedy, as they grew up in the 1930s and 40s through November 1963, and include scenes of the last weekend Jack and Jackie Kennedy spent with Caroline and John, Jr., just two weeks before Dallas.

7.4 /10

S1.E124 ∙ Jesus: The Lost 40 Days

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

According to the Bible, Jesus Christ spent 40 days on Earth after his resurrection that first Easter Sunday. Yet the New Testament devotes only a few paragraphs to this pivotal time period. What did Jesus do and say during those incredible 40 days, and can his words then contain his most important teachings now?

5.4 /10

S1.E125 ∙ Custer's Last Man: I Survived Little Big Horn

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

New evidence is highlighted that there may have been a lone survivor of the iconic Battle of Little Big Horn whose account of 'Custer's Last Stand' changes our view of that historical day. Who was the female Cheyenne warrior who struck Custer's fatal blow? Why did he leave his ultimate weapons, three Gatlin guns, on the boat that took him West?

7 /10

S1.E126 ∙ Gettysburg

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, this epic two-hour special, executive produced by Tony Scott and Ridley Scott, replaces romanticized views of the past with raw, immersive and emotional stories of the soldiers who fought the war an event that changed the fate of our nation.

7.2 /10

S1.E127 ∙ Lee & Grant

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Produced by Civil War historian Winston Groom, Lee and Grant is a personal look at the war's two iconic leaders, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, revealing the bold choices and almost godlike power that defined these two men, who both turned the tide of the war and changed American history.

7.9 /10

S1.E129 ∙ Meat America

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Jamie Stachowski, the maestro of meat, lifts the lid on the American melting pot to see what's cooking. Beef, Pork and Chicken, the meats Jamie calls the "Usual Suspects" are definitely in the mix, but these animals weren't even on the continent before Columbus discovered the New World.

0 /10

S1.E130 ∙ You Don't Know Dixie

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

The idea that history is written by the victors is perhaps nowhere more true than in the aftermath of the American Civil War. The Union's defeat of the Confederacy brought the southern states back into the American fold, but in many ways, the two regions would remain divided, the North inheriting the credit for its impact on history.

8.6 /10

S1.E131 ∙ Secret Access: UFOs on the Record

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Some believe the earliest documentation of alien visitation to Earth exists in prehistoric cave paintings and petroglyphs, where drawings of strange humanoid figures feature distinctively non-human attributes and anatomy, including helmets and other accoutrements too advanced to be from the ancient world.

0 /10

S1.E132 ∙ Targeting Bin Laden

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

HISTORY's global television event tells the inside story of the operation to hunt and kill Osama bin Laden. From decision-making in the White House to the attack on the compound in Abbottabad, How We Got Bin Laden brings the most compelling story in recent history to life for the first time.

7 /10

S1.E133 ∙ 9/11: The Days After

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

HISTORY chronicles the days, weeks and decade after the worst terrorist attack in our history. Rarely seen and unexpected archival material from around the world is combined with natural sound to capture the themes and threads that continue to define life after 9/11.

8.2 /10

S1.E134 ∙ Voices from Inside the Towers

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

On September 11, 2001, American Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Within minutes, a deluge of phone calls flooded the outside world. With new access to the voice recordings left by victims and survivors, this two-hour special provides a moving account of what was happening inside the towers that awful day.

7.6 /10

S1.E135 ∙ Making the 9/11 Memorial

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

The only structure at Ground Zero that will be completed by the tenth anniversary of the attacks is the National September 11 Memorial, a modern marvel that pays tribute to the thousands who lost their lives on 9/11. Led by architect Michael Arad and contractor Chris Powers, this special tour documents history in the making.

0 /10

S1.E136 ∙ Scammed

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Get inside the world of cons, as Paul Wilson, the self-described 'world's greatest con ma, exposes the complicated schemes and straightforward hustles which have plagued unsuspecting people throughout history, showing how many of these scams survived - and evolved to be brutally effective with the help of modern technology.

0 /10

S1.E137 ∙ The Stoned Ages

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

From the early cave dwellers who first stumbled upon psychedelic mushrooms to the over 6000-year-old tradition of opium cultivation in the East to a modern pharmaceutical industry with over 24,000 drugs on the market, drugs have played a role in our lives since well before recorded human history.

7.2 /10

S1.E140 ∙ Zombies: A Living History

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Most people believe zombies are a recent phenomenon that grew out of comic books, movies and TV. The truth is very different. This two-hour special explores the real story of zombies beginning at the dawn of civilization and continuing right through to today. The first written reference to zombies can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, mankind's oldest work of literature.

6.5 /10

S1.E141 ∙ Engineering Evil

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Two years ago, a German family cleaning their attic discovered the original blueprints to one of history's most gruesome constructions - Auschwitz. The diagrams, never before seen on television, illustrate in painstaking detail the methods behind the madness of the Holocaust.

7.4 /10

S1.E142 ∙ Pirate Island

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Haven, graveyard, legend and lore. History was made and lies buried on Pirate Island - the coral ringed Isle Saint Marie off the coast of Madagascar that sheltered the world's most ruthless 18th century pirates. This real Treasure Island was home for pirates like Captain Kidd, who continue to capture our modern day imagination, and sailed from this very real place in history.

0 /10

S1.E143 ∙ Pearl Harbor: 24 Hours After

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Discover the untold story of the events that occurred immediately after President Roosevelt received the call that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. New evidence from the FDR Library reveals the true panic that gripped the White House and shook the nation.

8 /10

S1.E144 ∙ Proving God

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

For centuries, science and faith have been polarized on some of the most fundamental questions in the universe, sometimes with deadly consequences. But as mankind seeks to answer the ultimate question--whether God exists--religion and science have joined in an unlikely alliance. Can new scientific discoveries and digital age technology reveal tangible proof of God?

5.9 /10

S1.E145 ∙ America's Book of Secrets: The Monuments

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

In America, behind the public facade of nine of our most famed institutions and landmark structures, there is another world that is hidden from view. The special pierces the veil of secrecy which conceals forbidden histories and fascinating insider information from the public.

7 /10

S1.E147 ∙ Secret Access: Superpower

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

From breakthrough technologies to never before seen weapons and defense systems, Secret Access: Superpower is an all-access pass to America's military might, featuring the most modern weapons taking on the age old challenges of terrorism, war, bomb threats, close combat, the deepest missions of sea and death-defying airborne fights.

0 /10

S1.E151 ∙ The Godfather Legacy

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

This gripping story of an immigrant family has held us captive for 40 years. The Godfather remains one of cinema's most iconic films, and the Corleone family continues its influence on culture and HISTORY.

7.5 /10

S1.E152 ∙ Jesse James Blacksmith

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Jesse James returns in Jesse James Blacksmith on HISTORY to tackle the only discipline he hasn't yet mastered - how to forge metal. Jesse travels to Israel, where 73-year-old world- renowned blacksmith Uri Hofi has agreed to mentor him.

0 /10

S1.E153 ∙ How Playboy Changed the World

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

From the boardroom to the bedroom, HISTORY hops into the Playboy realm offering viewers a tantalizing glimpse of 20th-century America's sexual reformation through the pages of this 50+-year-old empire while discovering How Playboy Changed the World.

0 /10

S1.E154 ∙ Caligula: 1400 Days of Terror

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

It only takes one person to make a difference and fewer than four years to wreak carnal havoc on the Roman Empire. Through Caligula: 1400 Days of Terror, HISTORY explores the orgies, incest and murderous acts of the 28-year-old reigning lunatic's life.

6.8 /10

S1.E155 ∙ How the Earth Made Man

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

It is mystery 4.5 billion years in the making: how has our planet transformed, and why? New clues are being discovered not in volcanoes or canyons, but inside each of us. From a case of hiccups to the sensation of deja vu to how we throw a football.

8.1 /10

S1.E156 ∙ Lost Magic Decoded

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Master illusionist Steve Cohen tracks down, decodes, and resurrects some of the most thrilling and terrifying magic effects ever witnessed. Magic has a secret history, and it takes an insider like Cohen to gain access to the ancient incantations.

0 /10

S1.E157 ∙ What's the Earth Worth

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Forged over 4.6 billion years, the Earth is stacked with valuable riches, from timber to cattle to gold. Together, these resources have built our greatest civilizations.

0 /10

S1.E158 ∙ Superstorm 2012: Hell and High Water

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Hurricane Sandy was one of the most devastating super storms to hit our shores, claiming over 160 lives and causing billions of dollars in damage. This special examines what happened when Sandy hit and how it happened.

0 /10

S1.E159 ∙ WWII from Space

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

This spectacular two-hour special delivers the tipping points of World War II as you ve never seen them before. The key editorial feature of the program is an all-seeing CGI eye; bringing a new visual approach to the biggest conflict of all time.

8.2 /10

S1.E160 ∙ 2012 the End Is Now

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

Brad Meltzer connects the dots between ancient doomsday prophecy, modern science, and human behavior to decode the real threats to humanity when an extinction event strikes.

0 /10