Budiey
HISTORY – Astro channel 555
Sunday Special Programs on HISTORY
In October, HISTORY (Astro channel 555) will be presenting you with interesting documentaries on significant incidents in the history for three consecutive Sundays, starting on 3 October at 8pm.
True Story of Hannibal
Premieres Sunday 8pm, 3 October 2010
Synopsis:
One of history’s greatest military leaders, at age nine Hannibal accompanied his father Hamilcar Barca on the Carthaginian expedition to conquer Spain. Before embarking, the boy vowed eternal hatred for Rome, his people’s bitter rival. Twenty years later, in 218 BC, he left New Carthage (now Cartagena, Spain) to wage war on “The Eternal City” with an army of about 40,000, including cavalry and elephants.
After crossing the Pyrénées and Rhône River, he traversed the Alps while beset by snowstorms, landslides, and hostile mountain tribes. This 2-hour special brings to life the story of the Carthaginian general who struck fear in all Roman hearts and wreaked havoc with his masterful military tactics, bringing the mighty Roman Republic to the brink of ruin. Archaeologists, historians, and military experts guide us through ancient Carthage and give insight into his military strategy up to defeat at Zama in 203 BC.
Hunt for the Samurai Sub
Premieres Sunday 8pm, 10 October 2010
Synopsis:
In ‘Hunt for the Samurai Subs,’ a team of deep-sea explorers travels to depths of nearly 3,000 feet in deep submergence vehicles to uncover evidence of a top secret Japanese plan to dominate WWII. For almost a decade, these explorers from the Hawaii Undersea Research Lab have searched the coast of the Hawaiian Islands for the wrecks of secret Japanese submarines — the fastest and the largest subs of World War II.
Captured as war prizes in 1945, the US Navy brought the subs back to Hawaii for study, but sunk them in 1946 to avoid sharing the technology with Soviet Russia. Now, armed with new information about the location of these mysterious war machines, these explorers may finally locate the remaining undiscovered wrecks of Japan’s super subs.
Oil Spill: The Exxon Valdez Disaster
Premieres Sunday 8pm, 17 October 2010
Synopsis:
Just after midnight on Good Friday, 1989, the giant super tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound to create one of the biggest man-made ecological disasters of the 20th century.
Eleven million gallons of crude oil gushed from the stricken tanker into the pristine waters of the Sound, killing whales, thousands of sea otters and millions of fish and birds. The spill had a catastrophic effect on local communities, wiping out their herring fishery and severely depleting the Alaskan salmon industry for years to come.
The captain of the Exxon Valdez had been drinking that day, but that was just the beginning of the calamity. The aftermath led to bitter disputes over the mis-managed clear-up operation. Law suits brought on behalf of 32,000 local victims lasted nearly twenty years, as Exxon fought the $5 billion damages awarded against them all the way to the US Supreme Court.
Twenty years on, Oil Spill: The Exxon Valdez Disaster retraces the catalogue of errors that led to the disaster and investigates the legacy of the spill and the lasting environmental damage to Prince William Sound. This powerful and haunting documentary features interviews with crew members aboard the super tanker on the fateful night, Exxon executives and Alaskan politicians in the eye of the storm, and with the local fishermen and activists who had prophetically warned of disaster – now leading the fight for justice.
This program is available in Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin subtitles.
