national Arts Festival Banner

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

HISTORY® REVEALED



The drama and investigations behind some of history’s most fascinating stories and iconic decades comes to the small screen when A+E Network’s HISTORY® channel on DStv 186 unveils a special slot called HISTORY Reveals, in January from Monday to Friday at 19h20 and on Sundays at 19h30.

From great escapes, to Europe’s secret army fighting against the scourge of Nazism in the 1940s, to some of the fiercest warriors who helped shape the world, HISTORY® unpacks each of these (historic) moments Monday through to Friday.

January 17 sees the premiere of Ancient Top 10. The smart, fun countdown details how ancient technology worked. With contributors including Bettany Hughes (Britain’s Secret Treasures, BBC) and Andy Torbet (Coast, BBC),  the programme counts down and delves into surprising and fascinating top ten entries from the ancient world.

Warriors, which launched on the channel in December, can now be viewed on Wednesdays. Warriors delves deep into the warrior mindset, the rites of passage, the initiations, the rituals - to reveal what makes them rise above the rest of humankind to lead, to fight, and in some cases, to die. From the Maori to medieval knights, from William Wallace to Genghis Khan, from weapons to pre-battle rituals to initiations, the Warriors host, Terry Schappert, will immerse himself in the culture of one of the most famous fighters in world history, including a trip to Africa to learn about the rise of the Zulu nation. He studies their unique battle tactics and culture. He also re-enacts one of Britain's most humiliating losses at the Battle of Isandlwana.

HISTORY® then delves into the revelatory phenomenon of Combat Trains every Thursday this January. These trains were vital in wartimes. They were used not just to ferry troops but also served as mobile hospitals and were even being used as weapons.

The Friday reveal is the fascinating series Hunting Hitler S2 which premieres in March. As a precursor the channel re-flights the first season of this series on January 27 in the Friday time slot. The first season sees CIA veteran Bob Baer utilizing FBI files declassified in 2014, and assembling a team to review the leads contained therein to consider the reported 1945 death of Adolph Hitler, the WWII Führer of Nazi Germany, and conduct a feasibility study on whether he escaped Germany, faked his death, and migrated to South America.

Season 2 reveals Bob being joined by UN premier investigator Dr John Cencich, to embark on the ultimate manhunt for the Fuhrer and deploy a team of dozens of experts, historians, and military man-hunters, armed with the most cutting edge technology to uncover the truth. Whether it be photographic evidence in a small town in Argentina, or a secretive Nazi cult in the mountains of Chile, the team will stop at nothing to attempt to answer these questions that have lingered for over 70 years. Did Hitler survive?

On Sundays HISTORY® will showcase featured documentaries, starting with the Great Escape series El Chapo. The two hour documentary delves into the life of killer, drug smuggler, folk hero, and Houdini of jailhouse escapes, the legendary Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman. It reveals an unprecedented look at the man behind the myth and how his international drug cartel impacts the United States. 

The next in the series of Great Escape is DB Cooper: Case Closed?, where the story of DB Cooper, unfolds. On November 24 1971, an unidentified man (later found out to be DB Cooper) hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft in the airspace between Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, extorted $200,000 in ransom then parachuted to an uncertain fate. Despite an extensive manhunt and lengthy FBI investigation, the perpetrator was never located or identified. The case, which occurred over 45 years ago, remains the only unsolved air piracy in American aviation history.

February 19 will then focus on America's Greatest Prison Breaks where this two-hour special features a blow-by-blow account of the breakout of two convicts from Clinton Correctional Prison in upstate New York, and also takes a look at some of the most amazing prison escapes in American history.

This culminates in the documentary President Obama: In His Own Words, premiering on February 26 at 19h30. The two-hour special features President Barack Obama reflecting on his presidency and the legacy that he hopes to leave behind. The interview will cover everything from the Affordable Care Act (‘Obamacare’) to the hunt  for Osama Bin Laden, and will feature Obama’s thoughts on where the country was when he was elected, where it is now, and where he sees it going under his successor’s command.

Riveting, historic and revealing, catch it all on HISTORY®, only on DStv Channel 186.