Discovery Channel Documentaries
Season 2001
TV-G
Documentaries that have been produced by the Discovery Channel.
Where to Watch Season 2001
24 Episodes
- When Dinosaurs Roamed America
E1When Dinosaurs Roamed AmericaLate Triassic Segment (220 Million Years Ago) The program starts in the Late Triassic, near modern-day New York City. The narrator explains how the Permian mass extinction led to new forms of life, including, eventually, the dinosaurs. The camera tracks a Coelophysis through the woods. The program decipts Coelophysis as preying mainly on small animals, such as insects and Icarosaurus. It encounters other, larger non-dinosaurs such as Rutiodon, Traversodon, and Desmatosuchus. Nevertheless, the quick Coelophysis is a very successful inhabitant of this world. Early Jurassic Segment (190 Million Years Ago) The program moves on to the Early Jurassic of Pennsylvania, showing a pack of Syntarsus. These dinosaurs, closely related to Coelophysis, are hunting for the primitive herbivorous dinosaur Anchisaurus, only to be driven away by a Dilophosaurus, which kills and eats the Anchisaurus. Late Jurassic Segment (150 Million Years Ago) The show skips to the Late Jurassic, where a pterosaur soars while a Ceratosaurus chases a Dryosaurus and its two young. The Ceratosaurus catches one of the juveniles, while the other Dryosaurus escape to the cover of a herd of Camarasaurus, feeding on the sauropods' conifer tree scraps that fall to the ground. The Ceratosaurus disturbs a Stegosaurus and gets whipped by its tail. Two Stegosaurus eventually mate. As the rainy season comes, a herd of Apatosaurus arrive, followed by a hungry Allosaurus. The Allosaurus cannot get past the Apatosaurus's whipping tails, but it manages to catch and eat the Ceratosaurus, still pursuing the Dryosaurus. Later, as the Apatosaurus leave the area, one Apatosaurus stumbles. Disabled, it is an easy meal for a small group of Allosaurus. Middle Cretaceous Segment (90 Million Years Ago) The program then shows a New Mexico forest of the Middle Cretaceous. Some coelurosaurs scamper through the forest, among frilled and feathered dinosaurs. One lone dromaeosaur [3] tries to attack a Nothronychus - Valley Of The T-RexE4
Valley Of The T-RexJoin paleontologist Jack Horner on a journey into the arid badlands of Montana where more T. rex skeletons have been uncovered than any other place on earth. Follow Horner – who found five T. rex dinosaurs here in a single summer – as he scrutinizes the T. rex's arms, large olfactory lobes, tiny eye sockets and unique teeth, to gain insight into whether T. rex was a ferocious predator or an opportunistic scavenger. For example, Horner surmises that the T. rex's stumpy arms wouldn't allow T. rex to scoop up prey, indicating he may have come along after the kill. Among Jack Horner's finds is the oldest T. rex ever found. At 68 million years, it's 3 million years older than any other specimen challenging the beliefs of when T. rex roamed the Earth. Also, see a 90% complete never before seen juvenile tyrannosaur called Daspletasaurus – an earlier large meat-eating cousin of T. rex. Visit dig sites, labs and museums, and witness brilliant computer animation that visualizes how these creatures lived and died. Plus, see new evidence that could allow scientists to reach ever further back in time. - Mysteries of the Alaskan MummiesE11
Mysteries of the Alaskan MummiesHalfway around the world from Egypt, hundreds of mummies have been found in the Aleutian Islands of the Alaskan coast, preserved in much the same way as Egyptian mummies but in a harsher climate. These mummies, curled in the fetal position, are yielding their mysteries to science. They bear mute testimony to a sophisticated 9000-year-old Unangan culture that once thrived in one of the most inhospitable places on earth. The program presents a comprehensive look at the mysterious remains, their remote island home and the scientists who have braved the harsh Aleutian climate to chart the fate of the ancient Unangan people. - The Hindenburg Disaster - Probable Cause
E13The Hindenburg Disaster - Probable CauseThe Hindenburg Disaster: Probable Cause When the Hindenburg took to the skies in 1936, it was the largest flying machine in history. It was created when aeronautical engineering was a “new” science and the stresses involved in flight were not as well known as today. The cause of the Hindenburg’s tragic demise in only 34 seconds is still not clear. The documentary recruits specialist investigators to re-examine the airship disaster and look at modern airship technology for examples of where technology has advanced since the tragedy. Using blueprints held by the United States Navy and historical Civil Aeronautics Board charts that follow the Hindenburg’s route; the program re-creates the Hindenburg’s last journey and its ten successful voyages prior to the disaster - Best Kept Secrets of Mysterious SocietiesE14
Best Kept Secrets of Mysterious SocietiesNow on Best Kept Secrets: a glimpse inside America's most dangerous and mysterious secret societies. What secrets are locked inside the Tomb of Skull and Bones? And who belongs to this prestigious and private fraternity? Answer: some of the most powerful people on the planet. Next, Earth First. They call themselves peaceful environmentalists. But are they putting innocent lives in danger? Plus the Secrets of the Ku Klux Klan revealed. From the Klan's secret handshake, to the hidden meaning of the KKK symbol. We take you inside the most feared secret society in America. Next, this mild-mannered professor is the voice of The National Alliance, but is he also the inspiration behind the Oklahoma City bombing? Last, what's in a rave? Youth, music, all-night parties and drug abuse? These stories and more on Best Kept Secrets. - The Hidden History of EgyptE15
The Hidden History of EgyptWhat did the Egyptians do when they weren't building pyramids, and just what are hieroglyphics about? Terry Jones - of Monty Python fame - learns that Egyptian women were on equal footing with men in all aspects of society, including wages and property ownership. Paper, papyrus, originated in Egypt, allowing for the development of the sciences, art and literature. These discoveries establish how attached to life the ancient Egyptians were and discards the supposition that because of their elaborate tombs, they were more focused on death and the afterlife. On this subject, and about this documentary in general, Jones said: "I'm not interested in this stuff; these are just the funeral arrangements of a megalomaniac who lived three and a half thousand years ago before they thought of cryogenic freezers. I want to know how ordinary people lived in ancient Egypt." And so the previously un-heralded life of the craftsmen, traders and laymen of ancient Egypt is explored in The Hidden History of Egypt. - Pyramids: The Ultimate GuideE16
Pyramids: The Ultimate GuideThese are some of the world's greatest monuments. They combine colossal mass with precision engineering. For over 4,000 years they were unsurpassed, yet they were built by peasant societies with only simple tools. And the Egyptians weren't alone. From China to the Americas, pyramids were the crowning achievements of other civilizations around the world. While searches for treasure have always brought thieves and bounty hunters to the pyramids, the challenge for today's explorers is to reveal the amazing stories of the people who built them. - Skeletons of Roman AshkelonE17
Skeletons of Roman AshkelonOn the shores of Israel's Mediterranean coast lay Ashkelon, a seaport since 3,500BC. It became one of the most important cities of the ancient world. The Romans conquered Ashkelon in 37BC and stayed for four centuries. Archaeologists have excavated here and the most surprising finding was a pit with numerous skeletons of newborn babies, thrown into the sewers beneath a Roman bathhouse. The investigations carried out are essential to unravel a mystery that has remained hidden for long. This program investigates a murder-mystery nearly two thousand years old. - Giants: Mystery and the Myth
E18Giants: Mystery and the MythThis unique special looks at the whole phenomenon of giants from the earliest beginnings of civilization to the present. Also features interviews of Zecharia Sitchin, author of The Cosmic Code which talks about the content of the Sumerian Tablets. According to a scientist’s experiment on fish in a biodome with double the atmospheric pressure and a few other conditions, the fish grow to an unbelievable size which is proof that Earth had the right conditions back then to support the idea of Giants ever existing. - Haunted Desert: Archaeology and the Dead Sea ScrollsE19
Haunted Desert: Archaeology and the Dead Sea ScrollsEver since they were discovered in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have proved to be one of the most important finds ever, informing man-kind of their origins and, since they contain a 2000-year-old incarnation of the Bible, charting religious and sociological history. Learn how archaeologists found them and how the entire world reacted to their discovery, and watch a reenactment that purports to trace just how the documents ended up where they did. - The Secret History of HackingE21
The Secret History of HackingThe Secret History of Hacking is a documentary film that focuses on phreaking, computer hacking and social engineering occurring from the 1970s through to the 1990s. Archive footage concerning the subject matter and (computer generated) graphical imagery specifically created for the film are voiced over with narrative audio commentary, intermixed with commentary from people who in one way or another have been closely involved in these matters. The film starts by reviewing the concept and the early days of phreaking, featuring anecdotes of phreaking experiences (often involving the use of a blue box) recounted by John Draper and Denny Teresi. By way of commentary from Steve Wozniak, the film progresses from phreaking to computer hobbyist hacking (including anecdotal experiences of the Homebrew Computer Club) on to computer security hacking, noting differences between the latter 2 forms of hacking in the process. The featured computer security hacking and social engineering stories and anecdotes predominately concern experiences involving Kevin Mitnick. The film also deals with how society's (and notably law enforcement's) fear of hacking has increased over time due to media attention of hacking (by way of the film WarGames as well as journalistic reporting on actual hackers) combined with society's further increase in adoption of and subsequent reliance on computing and communication networks. John Draper, Steve Wozniak and Kevin Mitnick are prominently featured while the film additionally features comments from or else archive footage concerning Denny Teresi, Joybubbles, Mike Gorman, Ron Rosenbaum, Steven Levy, Paul Loser, Lee Felsenstein, Jim Warren, John Markoff, Jay Foster, FBI Special Agent Ken McGuire, Jonathan Littman, Michael Strickland and others. - Best Kept Secrets of the MilitaryE23
Best Kept Secrets of the MilitaryHere find confidential stories from the top secret files of the Pentagon: A nuclear bomb is lost off the East Coast! Could it suddenly wipe out an entire city? This bomb is still capable of a nuclear explosion, and it has never been recovered. Plus... earth shattering sky quakes rattle Los Angeles. Are they being caused by a top secret spy plane? We examine supersonic aircraft operating whose existence is not being acknowledged by the authorities. And, the government's classified doomsday plan revealed: The politicians will be safe, but what about your family? There are highly elaborate plans for the uppermost levels of the government, of course, and for you? You're on your own. Plus, new secret weapons for the twenty-first century soldier... Can technology outweigh paying top-dollar to the world's most lucrative industry? - Atlantis - The Lost Continent
E24Atlantis - The Lost ContinentAtlantis is a mirage, the fascinating myth of the lost Golden Age, a fatal attraction along centuries. Its story, handed on by Solone, one of the seven wise men of Greece, and told for the first time by Plato, fascinated people like Christophe Columbus, Napoleon and even Hitler, enchanted by the myth of an extremely progressive civilization, swept away by a flood at the dawn of history. The research for Atlantis is an enthusiastic travel across oceans and continents and ten thousand years of history. From the hidden valleys in looking for a magic, enchanting world. A marvelous adventure in the wake of tenaciously and restless was the research for its priceless treasure. A journey to look for the truth behind the legend that still goes on today to seek, in the deepest oceans Atlantis ruins, waiting to be awaken by a brave adventurer.
