10x31 - Dangerous Cargo

June 25, 2003

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!

10x32 - Gunslingers

June 26, 2003

10x33 - More Engineering Disasters

July 2, 2003

10x34 - Engineering Disasters 4

July 2, 2003

Engineering disasters can result in personal tragedy, national humiliation, and economic ruin. But buried within their wreckage lie lessons that point the way to a safer future. The fire at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Hotel, the collapse of Seattle’s Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge, the car that spurred creation of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and the flaw that grounded the first commercial jet are among the engineering disasters that led to improvements in design and safety.

10x35 - Nature Tech: Tsunamis

July 8, 2003

Among the most mysterious disasters, tsunamis–Japanese for “harbor waves”–claimed over 50,000 lives in the 20th century! Generated by offshore earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides, these giant water walls result from large-scale displacement of seabed sediment. Rolling rapidly over the ocean floor, a tsunami rises to rapturous heights when it hits land. Scientists in Japan, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and California show the latest technology used to predict these killer waves.

10x36 - Logging Tech

July 9, 2003

When Paul Bunyan cried "Timber!", he never foresaw today's cutting-edge, controversial industry that feeds a ravenous, lumber-crazy world–a world striving to protect nature while devouring it. Come into the woods to see how he-men and hi-tech combine forces to topple 4-billion trees annually; journey to 19th-century America, when lumberjacks cut a legend as large as the timber they felled; and travel with a tree from stump to sawmill and learn its non-wood uses–from aspirin to film to toothpaste!

10x37 - Breaking the Sound Barrier

July 16, 2003

For decades, the sound barrier loomed as an impenetrable wall against manned flight that buffeted planes with shock waves as they approached the speed of sound. Scientists thought the barrier couldn’t be breached–until the development of jet technology and rocket fuel at the end of WWII. This is the dramatic story, told through the eyes of many who were there, of the work leading up to October 10, 1947, when 24-year-old test pilot Chuck Yeager smashed through the sound barrier in a Bell EM XS-1 /EM aircraft.

10x38 - Car Crashes

July 23, 2003

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.

10x39 - Sandhogs

July 23, 2003

Sandhogs work hundreds of feet down, where it is dark, damp, and dangerous, challenging nature’s awesome forces to drive tunnels through solid rock and sinking mud. They drill and blast, bore, mine, and muck. The painstaking process continues for days and yards, months and miles. Tragically, many sandhogs have been killed or injured in the process, but ultimately theirs is a story of triumph and survival. Join us as we review their impressive achievements and history.

10x40 - Convertibles

July 24, 2003

Topless, unobstructed–the convertible completely transforms the driving experience and unlike any other car, sets the driver free. During this face-paced hour, experts highlight the history of the world’s most dynamic car design and the essential quality that makes it so unique. From the very first convertible design in 1915 to modern-day marvels of retractable hardtops, we peer under the hoods to see why the convertible remains the car that everybody wants, but only a few are bold enough to own.

10x41 - Loading Docks

July 30, 2003

Each day ships, trains, trucks, and planes haul supplies that keep store shelves full and factories moving. At every stop there’s a loading dock–an interface where shipping and storage hook up. You may not think much about a loading dock, but to the transportation industry it’s the very heart of their business. From ancient times to tomorrow’s lights-out facility, where computers and machines will store, sort, retrieve, and load stock without human interaction, we deliver the goods on loading docks.

10x42 - Terror Tech: Military

August 5, 2003

The chance of enemy confrontation by sea, tank, or air battle is small, but terrorist networks operating in the shadows will likely challenge the U.S again. Instead of waiting to react, the military’s new mission is to detect, deter, and defend America from terrorist attack. We examine cutting-edge technology that leads the fight in this new battle landscape, including Smart Bombs, Tactical Ballistic-Missile Systems, GPS-driven technology, Electro-Optical Systems, and the pilotless drone Predator.

10x43 - Nature Tech: Tornadoes

August 5, 2003

How does technology grasp nature’s most violent, chaotic storm? For half a century, U.S. meteorologists have been building a countrywide system of Doppler Radar, widespread automated data-gathering stations, geostationary satellites, and sophisticated computers to track and study tornadoes. Even with this massive scientific effort, forecasters can only begin to understand why tornadoes form and how to predict them. We’ll look at cutting-edge systems that attempt to measure the unmeasurable.

10x44 - Military Movers

August 6, 2003

The challenge: Move millions of soldiers and tons of cargo halfway around the world and into the thick of action. How? Use the biggest ships, the widest planes, and the strongest trucks. Today, military planners move men and equipment further and faster than ever. The United States Transportation Command, answering to the Department of Defense, runs military transport like an efficient private shipping and travel agency. From the Civil War to US Transcom, we track the development of military logistics.

10x45 - Police Guns

August 7, 2003

10x46 - Terror Tech: Defending the Highrise

August 12, 2003

10x47 - Bullets

August 13, 2003

From "safe" bullets that stop hijackers but leave aircraft unscathed to bullets that chain-saw through steel and "smart" bullets computer-programmed to hit a target, this explosive hour examines the evolution of bullets from origin in the 1300s–stones and round lead balls shot from iron and bamboo tubes. Lead balls ruled until 1841 when a conical-shaped bullet changed ammo forever. We learn how to construct a modern cartridge, and at pistol and rifle ranges view demonstrations of modern firepower.

10x48 - Aircraft Carrier

August 15, 2003

From the earliest experiments in WWI to the technological wonders that ruled the sea and sky of the Middle East, George C. Scott chronicles the history of one of today’s most versatile and powerful vessels afloat.

10x49 - The Gunboats of Vietnam

August 18, 2003

It takes brave sailors to steer their gunboats into waters where larger ships cannot go. In this historic documentary, relive the dramatic rescue of General MacArthur by a squadron of PT boats in WWII.

10x50 - Metal

August 19, 2003

They constitute the very essence of the modern world; the cadence of our progress sounds in the measured ring of the blacksmith’s hammer. From soaring skyscrapers and sturdy bridges to jet planes and rockets, metals play a key role. Our journey begins before the Bronze Age and takes us into the shiny future when new metal structures–engineered at a molecular level to be stronger, lighter, and cheaper–shape human progress, as they have since man first thrust copper into a fire and forged a tool.

10x51 - Landmines

August 21, 2003

A major battlefield weapon since the American Civil War and the stuff of nightmares ever since, the civilian toll from landmines remains immense. Inflicted by an enemy that can’t be seen, landmines are littered throughout 64 countries, making life a game of Russian roulette for two-thirds of the world’s poorest nations. Featuring an interview with Jerry White, co-founder of Landmine Survivor’s Network, who lost a leg due to a landmine in Israel.

10x52 - Space Shuttle Columbia

August 26, 2003

Combination rocket, spacecraft, and airplane, the space shuttle is the most complex vehicle ever built. Long before it ever flew, the shuttle was nearly scuttled due to political pressures, technological challenges, and cost overruns. The program not only overcame these challenges, but opened space to an international community of scientists, explorers, and dreamers. This is the story of the Columbia, the first shuttle to fly outer space, from inception to tragic demise in January 2003.

10x53 - Overseas Highway

September 3, 2003

A spectacular roadway nearly 120 miles long, the Overseas Highway links mainland Florida with the Florida Keys, and contains 51 bridges, including the Seven-Mile Bridge. A boat was the only mode of travel from Miami to Key West until oil tycoon Henry Flagler completed his railroad line in 1912. After a 1935 hurricane destroyed 40 miles of track, the scenic highway was built using Flagler’s bridges. A -million refurbishment that ended in 1982 resulted in today’s remarkable Overseas Highway.

10x54 - Terror Tech: Civilian

September 8, 2003

Witness the construction of a terrorist-proof safe room. Discover how your windows might someday act as biological weapons detectors. Learn how scientists are protecting the food you eat and water you drink. In the biggest technological push since the space race, inventors are creating cutting-edge devices, gadgets, and gizmos to keep you and your family–and even your pets–safe. Find out what technology can do to protect you, and how you can use technology to protect yourself.

10x55 - Machu Picchu

September 24, 2003

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.

10x56 - The PT Boats

September 24, 2003

Pound for pound, the small wooden Patrol Torpedo Boats of WWII were among the most powerful warships of all time. Daring PT vets recall why their speed and maneuverability were too much for giant, steel-hulled targets.

10x57 - The Battleships

September 24, 2003

General quarters! You’re going into battle aboard the century’s deadliest warships–the Dreadnought, Bismarck, Missouri, Yamato. Follow the 1916 Battle of Jutland, decisive World War II clashes in the Pacific, plus Persian Gulf War action.

10x58 - Early Machine Guns

September 26, 2003

The story of the birth and development of rapid fire weapons from the 14th century until the end of WWI–where on one terrible day the machine gun was responsible for mowing down nearly 60,000 men

10x59 - Smart Bombs

September 30, 2003

Precision-guided munitions, smart bombs were the media buzz of the first Gulf War and a major military and political driving force of the second. But their apparent sudden celebrity is deceptive. The history of smart bombs goes back to World War I and includes an ingenious, if eccentric, group of inventions and a cast of characters that boasts a Kennedy and a president of General Motors. Join us for the underground history of smart bombs, and a glimpse into the future of precision weapons.

10x60 - Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

October 15, 2003

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!

10x61 - Inviting Disaster 1: Three Mile Island

October 21, 2003

They make our lives more comfortable, more rewarding, and more secure. They are the magical machines that have brought us to the edge of the new frontier of limitless possibilities. But it is a hinterland filled with dangers and demons of our own creation. Based on the popular book Inviting Disaster by James Chiles, in this episode we explore the nuclear nightmares of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

10x62 - The Luftwaffe

October 22, 2003

What if the Nazis had held out and the war in Europe lasted until 1946? We’ll review the remarkable aircraft that Germany had in development at war’s end, such as manned supersonic aircraft, manned V-2s, 100-ton intercontinental bombers, stealth bombers, and a fighter designed to shoot down B-29s at high altitude.

10x63 - Panzers

October 22, 2003

The story of a revolutionary breed of tank, a weapon whose speed and power would dominate European battlefields with a new kind of battle, the stunning Blitzkrieg–”lightning war”.

10x64 - U-Boats

October 25, 2003

They dominated the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to the eastern coast of the U.S. They struck against Allied shipping with near impunity, holding England in a stranglehold for the first years of WWII–until sonar was developed. Now the hunters became the hunted. Meet German commanders and crewmen who survived service in “Iron Coffins”.

10x65 - Inviting Disaster 2: The Kursk

October 28, 2003

The amazing machines of human invention most often do our bidding with uncomplaining proficiency. But when they go wrong, they exact a terrible wage. In August 2000, the Russian submarine EM Kursk /EM glided through the depths of the Arctic Sea. But the demands of the Cold War had planted the seeds of disaster in this great ship–118 men would pay with their lives. Their deaths would bring about an enormous step forward in Russia’s evolving democracy. Based on James Chiles’s book EM Inviting Disaster /EM .

10x66 - FBI's Crime Lab

October 29, 2003

To spearhead its fight against crime and terrorism in the 21st century, the FBI is relying on its million-plus building, the new Crime Lab at Quantico. Here, nearly 700 highly trained scientists and technicians utilize cutting-edge forensic technology to unearth identities of perpetrators. We review the lab’s history, from humble start in a lounge in 1932 to today’s state-of-the-art complex, and see how 9/11 and the FBI’s new mandate to fight international terrorism changed the lab forever.

10x67 - Inviting Disaster 3: Challenger and Columbia

November 4, 2003

No program better symbolizes human mastery of machines than does the space shuttle. But the breakups of EM Challenger /EM and EM Columbia revealed the program is tragically flawed. Based on the James Chiles’s book EM Inviting Disaster , we look at the 1930 crash of the EM R-101 /EM , a dirigible which, much like Challenger, was rushed into flight and met with disaster, and the EM Hindenburg /EM , whose 1937 explosion ended dreams of commercial flights for an entire industry. Will the shuttle program go the way of the dirigible?

10x68 - Inviting Disaster 4, Building Failures

November 4, 2003

Based on the popular book, this episode explores historical building collapses–from ancient pyramids to the Cathedral at Beauvais to Kansas City’s Hyatt Regency–and demonstrates that clear warning signs often existed, but were ignored. We also examine the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York. Author Jim Chiles believes that designers and engineers must better prepare for all potential disasters–by understanding existing risks, they can prepare for the unknown, like terrorism.

10x69 - Shipyards

November 5, 2003

Shipyards are waterside construction sites where the extraordinary takes shape and where some of the largest tools built by humans help create the biggest machines on earth. But shipyards and ships of today bear little resemblance to those of antiquity. From ancient days to the 18th-century Industrial Revolution to the epic effort performed at Pearl Harbor, we examine the shipyard, and look to its future. Will the craftsmanship and practical knowledge of how to build ships disappear in the 21st century?

10x70 - Guns of the Sky

November 7, 2003

Hop into the cockpit for a daring century-long ride through the history of aircraft weaponry–from the very first handgun fired from a biplane. Features interviews with Chuck Yeager, Korean War ace Major Frederick Blesse, and pilots from Desert Storm and Kosovo, and historic footage of “Red Flag” exercises, when German pilots flew Soviet MiGs.

10x71 - Extreme Trucks

November 12, 2003

Hop into the cab for the ride of your life as we examine extreme trucks, including: a jet truck that can travel 300 mph; the Baltimore Technical Assistance Response Unit's mobile command truck; a garbage truck with an articulated arm; a concrete pumper truck with telescoping boom and pumping mechanism; and a 4-wheel-drive truck that can convert from mower to street sweeper to backhoe to snow blower in mere minutes. Learn how SWAT, bomb squad, HAZMAT, and crime scene specialty trucks are built.

10x72 - Guns of Infamy

November 17, 2003

10x73 - ET Tech

November 25, 2003

In 2003, with Mars closer to Earth than it had been in 60,000 years, scientists launched three life-seeking planetary landers. If the long journeys prove successful, all should be hard at work on the Red Planet's surface by January 2004. NASA's EM Spirit /EM and EM Opportunity /EM and the European Space Agency's EM Beagle 2 /EM represent the pinnacle in the history of the search for extraterrestrial life. Leading scientists, who believe life may exist beyond Earth, explain skepticism about ETs having visited Earth.

10x74 - Million Dollar Cars

November 26, 2003

There is very little that collectors, historians and auctioneers agree about, but they do agree that a few passionate visionaries created a small number of automobiles that have ascended into the stratosphere of desire. This is their story. The top historical cars in the world all represent the ultimate attainment for the elite buyer. These cars are usually fast, always good looking, well built and rare. Like fine paintings or a Rodin Sculpture they are sought after by the well-heeled and discriminating.

10x75 - The Technology of Lewis and Clark

April 28, 2003

Explore the technology and survival techniques used by the men of Lewis and Clark on their landmark journey to the Pacific. From their 15-ton supply ship to the 193 pounds of dehydrated soup they carried to Lewis’s prototype airgun and experimental iron boat, take a close-up look at the guns and gear behind this combination of 19th century high-tech and pioneering grit. Filmed on location along the Lewis and Clark Trail, the program features an interview with William Clark’s great-great-great grandson.

10x76 - B-52: Stratofortress

November 28, 2003

For nearly half a century, one bomber has dominated the skies. With a maximum speed of 650 m.p.h., a range of over 8,000 miles, and ability to drop a massive 70,000 pounds of bombs, it’s the most lethal bomber in the world. This is the dramatic story of the race to produce the first intercontinental jet bomber and the success of the B-52–from the Cold War to its use in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan. The B-52′s projected combat life is until 2045–no other bomber comes close to this record.

10x77 - Extreme Sports Gadgets

December 2, 2003

10x78 - Rolls Royce

December 2, 2003

The world’s most famous brand, Rolls Royce, is owned by the same company that makes Bentley, a luxury leader once known for its prowess on the track. Their stories combine all that inspires envy in mere mortals; wealth, glamour, speed, sex, scandal and political intrigue.

10x79 - Tailgating

December 3, 2003

At stadiums nationwide, thousands of football fans come together to show team spirit, eat incredible food, and join the community of tailgating. We journey around the U.S. to legendary tailgating colleges like Penn State, the University of Miami, and Louisiana State University, and visit the home-team parking lots of the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, and Philadelphia Eagles. We taste the food, revel with spectators, and reveal the evolution of tailgating–from horse and buggy to tricked-out RV.

10x80 - Wheel Estate

December 3, 2003

Land Yachts, Portable Palaces, Corrugated Condos–whatever the name, travel trailers and RVs have become an American icon–the 20th century’s covered wagon. Hit the road as we travel with recreational vehicles–from early versions built on the back of Model-T Fords, to roadside towns known as Hoovervilles during the Depression and WWII “trailer towns” set up for workers near munitions plants or aircraft factories, to modern RVs that resemble mansions on wheels and can cost nearly a million dollars!

10x82 - Technology of Kitty Hawk

December 17, 2003

Two brainy bicycle makers…a remote North Carolina moonscape…and an impossible dream. On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright took wing at Kitty Hawk and flew–as none before had–unraveling a complex problem that had defied history’s most inventive minds, from Leonard da Vinci to Edison. How did these high-school dropouts from Dayton, Ohio do it? Experts at the controls of full-scale replicas explain how they worked–or didn’t–and historians recount the brothers’ heated arguments.

10x83 - Egyptian Pyramids

December 18, 2003

Constructed as tombs for the ancient pharaohs, over 100 pyramids remain in Egypt. Built during a span of well over 1,000 years, they stand as cultural and engineering marvels of staggering proportions. But many things about these monuments, including the exact methods used to construct them, remain tantalizingly obscure. Travel back in time as we investigate their evolution–from the earlier mastaba to the Step Pyramid, Bent Pyramid, and of course, the magnificent necropolis at Giza.

10x84 - The Berlin Wall

December 19, 2003

During the Cold War, the Berlin Wall stood as a forbidding barrier in an embattled world. Erected in August 1961, the Wall system stretched 103 miles through and around Berlin, locking in 1.3-million people. 261 died trying to get over, under, around, and through it. We review the daunting devices within the Death Strip–one of the deadliest obstacle courses ever–and the ingenious ways people ran it. When the Wall fell with a thud in 1989, its pieces became souvenirs or were recycled for new roads.

10x85 - Toys

December 23, 2003

All aboard the nostalgia express as we take a trip through the past to enjoy toys of our youth–the ones we can't forget and those that some of use never gave up! This is the real toy story! We take a look at five categories of boys' toys and see what relationship they have had on the development of young minds; talk with collectors of antique and specialty toys; and visit companies that make electric trains, Matchbox Cars, GI Joe action figures, and LEGO Bricks, among others.

10x86 - Engineering Disasters 5

December 30, 2003

Examines some of the most notorious engineering failures of recent years and asks what went wrong and what we learned from them. We take viewers to the southern coast of Louisiana, where a misplaced oil rig caused an entire lake to be sucked into an underground salt mine; review the 1972 Buffalo Creek dam disaster; revisit the Exxon Valdez oil spill; see how radio and TV antenna towers collapse with alarming regularity; and look at the collision of two California icons–freeways and earthquakes!