December 15, 2000

January 2001 Monthly Highlights

MON., JAN. 1, 9:30 PM (ET) / 6:30 PM (PT)
GREAT CANADIAN RIVERS: Stikine River, B.C. – SERIES PREMIERE
From Good Earth Productions, the producers of Great Canadian Parks, comes this new series on Canada’s foremost rivers. Acclaimed Canadian actor Tom Jackson (North of 60) is the narrator.
In the series premiere, explore the Stikine River, which traverses the spectacular wilderness of northwestern British Columbia. Its headwaters are in the vast Spatsizi Plateau, known for its concentrations of wildlife, including the regionally unique Osborne caribou herd. The River then winds through the infamous, volcanically formed “Grand Canyon of the Stikine” and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Wrangell, Alaska.
The Stikine watershed has remained wild, in spite of flashes of human activity. It was part of a heavily trafficked route to the Klondike, and the tiny community of Telegraph Creek was so named because of an early, abandoned effort to build a trans-Pacific telegraph line.

TUES., JAN. 2, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
EXHIBIT ‘A’: Nine Lives (30 mins)
A woman goes missing in Summerside, PEI. The blood inside her abandoned car tells a terrible story. DNA confirms the blood splattered on a man's jacket matches that of the missing woman. The jacket is also covered in white cat hairs. When the woman's body is found, her estranged common-law husband is charged. Forensic history is made when geneticist and cat expert Dr. Stephen O'Brien matches Snowball's DNA to the hairs on the jacket.

WED., JAN. 3, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
THE SEX FILES: Myths (30 mins)
Do blondes really have more fun? According to a recent British study, yes. Women with blonde hair are more social, and they are perceived to be more fun than brunettes or redheads. Are teens having more sex than they used to? Pregnancy rates are down in the U.S., but teens everywhere are having more sex than ever. Researchers are also linking adolescent sexual activity to other behaviours, such as alcohol, smoking, delinquency and drug use.
Science has debunked many of the most commonly accepted sexual myths. Meet Masters and Johnson, the first sex researchers to uncover the truth about female sexual response. The research of Masters and Johnson helped reverse attitudes toward women and their sex lives.

THURS., JAN. 4, 8 PM (ET) / 10 PM (PT)
WILD DISCOVERY: Olivia Williams Saves Endangered Bear; etc. (60 mins)
The sun bear is the smallest bear in the world and one of the most endangered. Join actress Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense) and a group of dedicated North American biologists on the trip of a lifetime. They attempt to persuade the Malaysian government to allow several sun bears to be transported to zoos in the United States. See where the bears live, how they used to be sold as pets, and how biologists hope to try to save the remarkable animals. NOTE: This episode was produced by Discovery Channel Canada’s own Exploration Production Inc.

THURS., JAN. 4, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
FINAL FRONTIER: 2000 and Beyond (60 mins) – SERIES PREMIERE
Explore the infinite expanse of space in this breathtaking new series.
Begin your cosmic journey by examining the production and impact of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Travel back nearly 40 years in time to learn the story of this five-year production, from Arthur C. Clarke's original short story to Stanley Kubrick's post-release recuts. The filmmaker’s vision of 2001 will be compared – from a scientific and technological viewpoint – to the actual 2001 we are about to experience.

FRI., JAN. 5, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
EXPEDITION DISCOVERY: Devil’s Island (60 mins) – SEASON PREMIERE
Devil's Island was one of the most feared places on Earth, a colony of the damned. This hostile and forbidding country was the final judgment site for tens of thousands of criminals and was so severe that it broke the spirit of even the toughest convict. Today, the world has almost forgotten about the tiny colony of French Guyana, but from 1852 to 1947 it was a hell on Earth where more than 70,000 prisoners were condemned to serve harsh sentences in a land of no escape.
Some of the convicts in this bizarre prison colony on the edge of the Amazon rainforest have become extraordinary legends. “Devil's Island” follows their twisted tales of prison life, anguish and escape. These are dramatic accounts of one of humankind's darkest chapters, but also stirring chronicles of the triumph of the human spirit.

SAT., JAN. 6, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
INTO THE UNKNOWN: Beastly Tales (60 mins)
Examine the skeleton of John Merrick, the Elephant Man, which is now on display in a London hospital. Meet Ed Leedskalnin, a jilted lover who built by hand a huge coral castle in his sweetheart’s memory. And admire a successful Florida Volkswagen specialist who dedicated his life to rescuing and healing injured or sick sea turtles, aided by fully equipped operating rooms and a special turtle ambulance.

SUN., JAN. 7, 8 PM (ET) / 9 PM (PT)
HIGH-SPEED IMPACTS / EXPLOSIVE SITUATIONS (2 x 60 mins)
Explore the rise of a scientific field where the experiments are earth-shattering and the stakes are life and death. High Speed Impacts penetrates the secret world of crash testing for a look at how the vast financial resources of the U.S. government and the Big Three auto manufacturers have fuelled thousands of experiments best described as “apocalyptic”. The data culled from these elaborately staged cataclysms has helped us learn how things break – be they inanimate objects or human bodies – and what we can do to protect precious cargo from harm. Today, researchers are trying to find ways to make every impact, from bullet strikes to plane crashes, survivable.
Next, examine the science behind explosions and meet the eccentric community that creates them, from nuclear weapons designers to Hollywood special effects artists. Explosive Situations reveals how big blasts are created, the damage they can inflict and the steps that potential terrorist targets, such as embassies, are taking to make their buildings “bomb proof”. Archival footage includes large-scale tests shot on 35mm and 70mm film at secretive government laboratories that few civilians have ever seen.

MON., JAN. 8, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
FRONTIERS OF CONSTRUCTION: Heavy Traffic (60 mins) – SEASON PREMIERE
Construction would be impossible without trucks. They are the lifeline of any construction site, bringing building materials in and taking waste out. Take an in-depth look at these workhorses of the construction industry. They come in all shapes, sizes and functions – from dump trucks, crane trucks, container and flat-bed trucks, gravel and concrete trucks, to 18-wheelers, some so large they arrive under escort. The world's largest truck, fully loaded, weighs 1-1/2 times more than a jumbo jet and is equivalent in area to a three-storey house.
Increasingly, trucks have become very specialized and extremely sophisticated. Freightliner, a world leader in the development of new truck technology, says there's more computer technology in a dump truck than in the first lunar module. Visit Freightliner's test facilities for a look at the latest in electronic sensors, warning systems and onboard computers.

TUES., JAN. 9, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
EXHIBIT ‘A’: Point Blank (30 mins)
Disguised bandits kill a Brinks guard in Oshawa, Ontario, during a robbery. The police find a fake bomb in the abandoned getaway car. It is a major forensics clue in tracking the gang. The bandits are charged, but the prosecution needs to find the murder weapon. Just days before the trial, investigators get a break, putting them knee-deep in swampy water, searching for the weapon.

TUES., JAN. 9, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
THE WORLD’S GREATEST MYSTERIES: Nefertiti – Egypt’s Mysterious Queen (60 mins)
Archaeologist Nicholas Reeves is on a quest to make what may be the greatest archaeological discovery of the past century. He believes there is one last tomb waiting to be discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings – and, more important, he is certain of where it is. Reeves has spent years uncovering clues hidden in the treasures of Tutankhamen, clues that until now have been mysteriously overlooked.
This exceptional, visually stunning program explains his dramatic new theories and follows him as he unravels the final mystery – the whereabouts of the tomb of Nefertiti, a woman often called the most beautiful of ancient times and the stepmother of the young King Tut.

WED., JAN. 10, 8 PM (ET) / 10 PM (PT)
WILD DISCOVERY: Ten Million Wildcats (60 mins)
Australia may be home to some of the world's most extraordinary animals, but this native wildlife is in danger of disappearing forever. One animal, however, is thriving – the domesticated cat turned wild. Since their introduction to Australia hundreds of years ago, millions of feral cats now live in the bushland, killing as many as 3.8 billion native animals each year.
Witness the amazing survival skills that have enabled these cats to multiply in one of the world's most inhospitable territories, and follow the race to save one particular little creature, the mala, from extinction. This thought-provoking film challenges your perceptions of the humble cat and confronts you with the perilous state of Australia's unique wildlife.

THURS., JAN. 11, 8:30 PM (ET) / 10:30 PM (PT)
INSECTIA: Insects from the End of the World (30 mins) – SEASON PREMIERE
With Georges Brossard as your guide, Insectia returns as part of Wild Discovery’s Thursday-night line-up.
Where is the end of the world? Immediately you think of a region far from where you live, but that's not the only answer. What about an island that has been cut off from the rest of the world for millions of years? A land that time forgot, like Madagascar. Discover the strange beauty of this relatively unknown biosphere, home to species of birds, mammals, plants and insects unique to the island. See spectacular moths, millipedes that turn into marbles at the drop of a hat, 25-centimetre-long stick insects, hissing cockroaches and prehistoric beetles. Madagascar is a true laboratory of evolution and the home of insects that defy description, each a missing link of entomology.

FRI., JAN. 12, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
DISCOVERY’S CANADA: Dance of the Sea Otter (60 mins)
Kyuquot, British Columbia, on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, is a small sleepy fishing village with a winter population of seven. Ten years ago, it was a vibrant commercial outport, but the collapse of the salmon fishery changed all that, emptying the harbour of trawlers and forcing the community to find new alternatives to traditional life. Kyuquot is well known in biological circles as the place where the sea otter was re-introduced in the wild in the early 1970s after a century of extinction. "Dance of the Sea Otter" is the paradoxical story of an ancient animal living in a modern world. The sea otter’s deft aquatic acrobatics are truly befitting of nature's “prima ballerina”. Now, however, the sea otter shares the stage with another species living on a knife-edge, and which dances to another tune.

SAT., JAN. 13, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
INTO THE UNKNOWN: Castles, Tombs and Leonardo (60 mins)
In this intriguing trio of true tales, you’ll discover that Castle Frankenstein really exists and one of its 17th-century occupants did try to tamper with nature and create life. You’ll also find out that Austrian emperor Maximilian built a tomb fit for an emperor, but that he was never buried there.
And did you know that Leonardo da Vinci's home in France contains models of his inventions, based on his original designs and using materials of the time?

PREDATORS WEEK
Prepare for PREDATORS WEEK (January 14-19), where you’ll see everything from sharks, crocodiles and torpedo rays to mountain lions, lizards and bears as they go about their day-to-day existence of seeking sustenance and trying to stay alive the best way they know how: by preying on weaker animals.

SUN., JAN. 14, 8 PM (ET) / 9 PM (PT)
PART 1 OF 8: NOWHERE TO HIDE (60 mins)
There’s absolutely no way to hide from certain predators. If you're alive, something, somewhere will find you. Hammerhead sharks use their heads like metal detectors, locating buried fish by the minute electrical fields they generate. Great grey owls are wired for sound, with parabolic reflector faces specially designed to hear lemmings rustling under a blanket of snow. Star-nosed moles, probably the most bizarre-looking predators of all, have the greatest sense of touch in the animal kingdom. For them, “murder in the dark” is a way of life. Some shrimps even have transparent bodies to fool predators, but they're still no match for cuttlefish. Their extraordinary eyes see through the cloak of invisibility by using polarized light.

SUN., JAN. 14, 9 PM (ET) / 10 PM (PT)
PART 2 OF 8: SKILLS TO SURVIVE (60 mins)
Get to know the “James Bonds” of predators. For them, there's no such thing as mission impossible. An octopus carries a hidden cache of devastating power tools. As nature's equivalent of “Alien”, the octopus harpoons its prey with an extending hydraulic jaw. In the desert, corolla spiders build beautiful but deadly quartz minefields. And torpedo rays blast prey with electric stun guns.

SUN., JAN. 14, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
PART 3 OF 8: NATURAL BORN KILLERS (60 mins)
Breathtaking images from a miniature camera onboard a golden eagle show how it twists through the skies and hurtles across the ground to dispatch its quarry with extraordinary speed. The great white shark's most dangerous attack behaviour, where it powers vertically up from the bottom, often breaching the ocean surface, is deconstructed and explained. So too is the explosive strategy of the Nile crocodile. But predators don't always have it their own way. One slip, one slight mistake, and the predator's edge can be lost through injury, which is something prey can exploit.

MON., JAN. 15, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
PART 4 OF 8: MOUNTAIN LION – AMERICAN HUNTER (60 mins)
What’s the most successful large predator in the Western Hemisphere? You may be surprised to learn that it’s the mountain lion. Watch this veritable killing machine make incredible leaps and jumps, demonstrating its keen sense of smell and hearing, and see how its five-centimetre-long incisors tear and rend meat.

TUES., JAN. 16, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
PART 5 OF 8: JURASSIC SHARK (60 mins)
Ancestors of turtles, lizards, and crocodiles may have walked alongside the Tyrannosaurus rex. While dinosaurs became extinct 60 million years ago, their relatives may be living among us today.

TUES., JAN. 16, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
THE WORLD’S GREATEST MYSTERIES: Beyond Pompeii: Secrets of the Buried City (60 mins)
Hundreds of Greek scrolls, providing new insight into the late Roman age and the evolution of Hellenistic thought, have been recovered from the library at Herculaneum, destroyed in 79 AD when Vesuvius erupted.

PREDATORS WEEK (cont’d.)

WED., JAN. 17, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
PART 6 OF 8: HARPY EAGLE – SPIRIT OF THE CEIBA TREE (60 mins)
An encore presentation…The heaviest and most powerful eagle in the world, often weighing more than 7.5 kilograms, the harpy is a major predator of Central and South America, snatching capuchin monkeys from high in the forest canopy. It nests 60 metres up in the top of Kamuku, silk cotton trees revered by the local people and often spared when those around them are felled. Neil Rettig ventures deep into the rainforest to film the mighty birds and their neighbours living and hunting in an environment rich in Amerindian mythology.

THURS., JAN. 18, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
PART 7 OF 8: THE BROTHERHOOD (60 mins)
Deep in the heart of South Africa's savannah roams the Selala pride. It occupies a territory between the Sand and Manyaleti Rivers. The pride consists of two large males, somewhat past their prime, and four females with a number of offspring. "The Brotherhood" is a compelling story of this pride of lions, its heritage and what has happened to it and its environment over the past eight decades with the ever-increasing encroachment of humankind.

FRI., JAN. 19, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
PART 8 OF 8: FOOTSTEPS OF A BEAR (60 mins)
Kodiak Island, a lush emerald isle in the northern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Alaska, is home to the largest land predator. Familiarize yourself with Kodiak bears and observe how they and the 15,000 residents of the island are learning to co-exist in ways that will continue to ensure each other's place on the island.

SAT., JAN. 20, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
INTO THE UNKNOWN: Ghosts, Aliens and Emperors (60 mins)
A valuable ancient chalice holding the heart of priest John Styles was missing for 300 years, until a ghost told a modern-day pastor where to find it. Also tonight, witness thousands of UFO buffs make a pilgrimage to the Little A'Le'Inn near the infamous Area 51 in the Nevada desert to talk about conspiracy theory and crashed saucers. And get the lowdown on America's only self-proclaimed emperor, who issued his own currency and was beloved by all his loyal subjects in his San Francisco empire.

SUN., JAN. 21, 8 PM (ET) / 9 PM (PT)
BUILDING THE IMPOSSIBLE: THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD (2 x 60 mins)
Can you name the Seven Wonders? It’s probably more difficult than reciting the names of “The Seven Dwarfs” of fairy-tale fame. The Seven Wonders of the World are the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos of Alexandria. Of the seven, only the Great Pyramid exists today.
Using information from ancient sources, modern investigations of the remains, and computer animation, this engrossing production provides a comprehensive examination of each marvel. It also probes the mysteries of the cities and civilizations to which they belonged.

MON., JAN. 22, 9:30 PM (ET) / 6:30 PM (PT)
GREAT CANADIAN RIVERS: The Coppermine (30 mins)
From its headwaters at Lac de Gras, the Coppermine River flows north to its mouth at the Coronation Gulf of the Arctic Ocean, at the community of Kuglugtuk. The river snakes through a great variety of landscapes: dense spruce forest, stark Arctic tundra, low-lying mountain ranges and rolling hills of the barren lands. The river valley provides a home for musk ox and caribou.
The history of the Coppermine is fascinating and diverse. Legendary Europeans Samuel Hearne and John Franklin travelled through the region, using the river as a route to the Arctic coast. The Coppermine has provided sustenance and transportation for the Inuit for millennia.

MON., JAN. 22, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
FRONTIERS OF CONSTRUCTION: Extreme Curves (60 mins)
Computers are revolutionizing the way architects design buildings, allowing them seemingly to defy old engineering principles. Frank Gehry has done more to push the envelope of mainstream architecture than any other architect alive. His designs are described as wildly eccentric, outrageous and totally original. His titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain, is the most acclaimed building in the world. Its fantastical shapes were made possible by the same computer software used to design jet airplanes.
Gehry is the first architect to use CATIA, a three-dimensional computer program. CATIA allows a sculptural form to be digitized into a 3D electronic model. Structural engineers then use this computer model to design building systems and the fabrication of building elements. This technology promises to dramatically change the form of the 21st-century building.

TUES., JAN. 23, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
EXHIBIT ‘A’: The Two Mr. Smiths (30 mins)
Firefighters find two dead bodies on a burning boat in Sydney Harbour, Vancouver Island. Another boat has been broken into. The assailants may have drunk beer from the discarded cans on both boats. A forensic ID unit matches the cans through a serial code on the lid. Whoever broke into the second boat also killed the couple on the burning boat.

TUES., JAN. 23, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
THE WORLD’S GREATEST MYSTERIES: Atlantis Uncovered (60 mins)
What if the origins of human civilization lie at the bottom of the ocean? The legend of Atlantis tells of an advanced and sophisticated kingdom that perished in a flood 12,000 years ago. Could it be that Atlantis was the first civilization to develop pyramids, timekeeping and astronomy, and brought them to the Egyptians and Mayans?
Conflicting arguments for and against the existence of Atlantis have created an uproar among archaeologists. If Atlantis really existed, the whole of human history would need to be rewritten. In "Atlantis Uncovered", take a look at what we know and ponder the unanswered questions to the biggest archaeological mystery ever.

WED., JAN. 24, 9 PM (ET) / 11 PM (PT)
DEADLY FORCE: Dangerous Waters (60 mins)
Watch the slow, painful devastation of the land from the great Mississippi River Valley flood of 1993. Witness the swift destruction of flash floods. Listen to firsthand accounts of the terror of tidal waves from those who were there. And feel the fear of the people who have been caught in the nightmare of a blizzard but who were rescued in the nick of time.

THURS., JAN. 25, 10 PM (ET) / 7 PM (PT)
FINAL FRONTIER: Spacewalkers (60 mins)
A spacewalk, known at NASA as EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity), is much riskier than climbing Mount Everest, bungee jumping or helicopter skiing. Spacewalkers sometimes resemble beautiful ballet dancers floating with grace, and sometimes dentists poking small mirrors into dark recesses.
Get the lowdown on these high-wire wizards, whose excellent athletic abilities are right up there with their superb intellectual powers.

FRI., JAN. 26, 8 PM (ET) / 10 PM (PT)
WILD DISCOVERY: Meerkats – A Kalahari Saga (60 mins)
Forced to protect their den from predators, the meerkat, an endearing den dweller in the Kalahari, must adapt to a harsh climate and ever-changing food supplies in order to survive.

SAT., JAN. 27, 8 PM (ET) / 10 PM (PT)
WORKING ANIMALS: Killer Whale Ambassadors (30 mins) – SERIES PREMIERE
This new 13-part series showcases the amazing contribution that animals make to the welfare of humanity.
Today's marine park killer whales are part entertainer, part educator and part public relations expert. From the world's first performing whale to today's successful breeding programs, see how whales live, learn and teach us about themselves. And discover why killer whales are the species of whale best suited for this job.

SUN., JAN. 28, 8 PM (ET) / 9 PM (PT)
SUPERNATURE (3 x 60 mins)
An encore presentation… Who needs the Super Bowl today when we’ve got the sensational Supernature? Take a unique look at the strange powers of animals — from their ability to communicate over thousands of miles, to the varying perceptions of time and space across species, to the use of electric signals by sharks and other creatures.

DINOSAUR WEEK
Discovery Channel brings long-extinct dinosaurs back to life February 5-9. The re-creations are so life-like, you’d almost swear dinosaurs still exist.

MON., JAN. 29 – WED., JAN. 31, 8 PM (ET) / 10 PM (PT)
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS (3 x 60 mins)
An encore presentation… Prepare to be transported to another world as these ancient reptiles, along with the insects, plants, climate and geography of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, come alive like never before.
In this prodigious production, runningover three consecutive evenings, Discovery Channel’s second-highest-rated program to date, live-action material is married with Jurassic Park-quality computer animation, animatronic models and prosthetic devices. The story of the dinosaurs as they lived, mated, bred, fought, migrated and died is vividly illustrated. The film was shot on location around the world in untouched regions. The live-action background of New Caledonia, for instance, doubles for the ancient landscape of France.

DINOSAUR WEEK (cont’d.)

THURS., FEB. 1, 8 PM (ET) / 10 PM (PT)
BEYOND T-REX (60 mins) – NEW PROGRAM
Sixty years ago, palaeontologist Roland T. Bird believed the prints he found in a Texas riverbed signified that greatest dinosaur find of the century: a vicious clash between two giant beasts of the Mesozoic era. Bird set out to reconstruct their life-and-death encounter from the footprints alone. But fellow scientists said it couldn't be done. Bird died in 1978, his theory still unproven.
Now, with the aid of computer technology, an unlikely pair of dinosaur detectives is taking a fresh look at the evidence. Jim Farlow is a professor at Indiana-Purdue University. His partner, Dave Thomas, is not an academic; he's a sculptor who specializes in crafting scientifically accurate, life-size reproductions of just one kind of animal: the dinosaur.

FRI., FEB. 2, 8 PM (ET) / 10 PM (PT)
DINOSAUR ATTACK (60 mins)
An encore presentation…Discover many new facts about dinosaur locomotion, bio-mechanics, metabolism, even dinosaur vision. Computers apparently can tell us much about the way dinosaurs hunted. But can computers really bring to life the ferocity and terror of a dinosaur attack?

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