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Smithsonian Channel Documentaries

Specials 2014 - 2021
TV-PG

  • Smithsonian Channel
  • 1h
  • 3h (3 episodes)
  • United States
  • Documentary
The content of these documentaries are inspired by the Smithsonian Institution’s museums, research facilities and magazines – and feature original non-fiction programming that cover a wide range of historical, scientific and cultural subjects.

23 episodes

Elephants live a privileged life in the wild, surrounded by a strong family unit and threatened by very few predators. However, in areas where they live side by side with humans, it's a much different story. We track land's biggest mammal around the globe to see how they cope in our modern world, and how man impacts their lives in both negative and positive ways. From the giant bulls of the African bushveld to the timber elephants of Asia, we follow these gentle giants and the dedicated men and women helping them to change with the times.

Do you talk to your plants? Think of the stories they could tell if only they could talk back. The seemingly peaceful world of plants is actually a battlefield and a constant struggle for survival. See how some predatory plants use trapdoors and enticing, beautiful flowers to trap their prey, while others shrivel up or emit odors to fend off their enemy. Experts uncover the most fascinating secrets of the world of plants-roots and all.

From the desk on which Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence to Dorothy's ruby slippers, the National Museum of American History houses many of America's greatest treasures and icons. Learn the stories of how they came to be a part of the museum's collection, and meet the people who have restored some of these treasures.

The torch has been lit, and the battle for Winter Games supremacy is on. Join us as we determine who the world's greatest winter athletes truly are, pitting gold medal champions against animals from all icy corners of the earth. May the best man or reindeer or emperor penguin or sockeye salmon win.

Special 5 Animals Aloft

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From the first passenger-carrying balloon to the space race, animals have been aviation pioneers. Discover their incredible war stories, barnstorming adventures, and out-of-this-world experiences, told through restored archival footage and rare photographs.

The cheetah excels at acceleration, gathering speeds of over 60 MPH in just a few strides. It runs down high-speed prey faster than any mammal on Earth, but its quickness comes at a cost. For one mother raising three cubs, the stakes are especially high. Her lack of stamina results in many failed attempts to capture prey, and as a single parent, hunting means leaving her cubs unattended and vulnerable to other predators of the Serengeti. The race for survival is on. The cheetah has the speed, but does she have the endurance to make

Meet Gunner, a Cheetah born into the grassland killing fields of Botswana, home to Africa's fiercest predators. He's also the runt of the litter, more interested in playing tag than hunting. Gunner's two brothers often protect him, but when they're tragically killed, he's forced to grow up. But he better learn quickly—another coalition of cheetahs has plans to take over Gunner’s territory at all costs. If this runt has any hopes of surviving, he’s going to have to do it alone.

Attila the Hun wore its image on his helmet. The South Korean Air Force has adopted its brazen hatchlings as its mascot. The Goshawk is a national treasure that reigns over the mountains of Korea. Speeding through woodlands, its four-foot wingspan, long tail, razor-sharp talons and extraordinary eyesight allows it to ambush its prey with precision. But the Goshawk will be tested as a hunter, struggling to survive a harsh winter, and as a parent watching over its vulnerable hatchlings, which will live or die by their ability to hunt.

With talons bigger than a grizzly bear's and the sharpest eye and beak in nature, the harpy eagle rules the canopy of the unspoiled South American rainforest. But little is known about this powerful raptor, specifically its mating and rearing habits. That's because finding them in the dense and often treacherous Amazon requires great experience, endurance, patience and courage. Join wildlife experts Rainer Bergomaz and Yung Sandy as they leave civilization behind and brave perilous rapids and poisonous reptiles on their hunt for the harpy.

Special 11 Kingfisher

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Along the Chitose River in Hokkaido, Japan, lives a bird that the world knows little about. The kingfisher, a small, mysterious bird, is a high-precision hunter that plucks tiny fish out of the river at breakneck speeds. Photographing them requires great equipment, great patience, and often, great luck. Wildlife photographer Tadashi Shimada observes three species of kingfishers over the course of a year, tracking their hunting, courting and rearing skills. He takes us underwater and into their cave-like nests to show these flying jewels as they've never been seen before.

Millions of American Bison once roamed the Great Plains of North America. The imposing mammal reigned supreme over the grassland before they were hunted to the edge of extinction. Now protected, their very existence relies on their instinct and ability to weather the ravages of the prairie's extreme seasonal shifts. Spend a year where the buffalo roam. Witness their seasonal battle for survival alongside the Great Plain's neighboring residents: prairie dogs, burrowing owls, camel crickets and many other grassland dwellers.

April 4, 1968. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is gunned down on the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. It was all caught on film, tape and audio. So why have we seen so little of it? The well-known photograph of Dr. King's aides pointing toward the direction of the gunfire is iconic, but tells only part of the story. For the first time, a remarkable collection of recently rediscovered footage has been chronologically reassembled. The resulting documentary allows us to revisit the tumultuous events surrounding one of the most shocking assassinations in America and relive history through the voices of the era.

Embark on a remarkable journey from the drought-ravaged farms of Australia, to the heart of the Middle East, to the mountains of Tajikistan, as charismatic Australian scientist Dr. Ken Street-a real life version of Indiana Jones-and his team of "gene detectives" hunt for plant genes that will help our food withstand the impact of twenty-first century global warming.

Special 15 Skin Deep

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Skin color both unites and divides us. For centuries, it has been used as a marker of race, but groundbreaking research is changing the way we see ourselves, and each other. Join anthropologist Nina Jablonski and scientists around the world as they uncover the intricate relationship between our pigment and our environment. We reveal how the world's sepia rainbow of skin color is an adaptation to the sun's UV rays and our diet. Exposing the fact, that in a time of mass migration, we must address the mismatches between our color and our new surroundings.

Look beyond the Hope Diamond and Lincoln's stove top hat, and you'll discover that, along with beautiful and celebrated treasures, the Smithsonian Institution also houses items that are bizarre, revolting, and downright weird. Take a fun and informative look at ten wondrous and unusual artifacts, from the Soap Man (a man mummified in soap) to a million-year-old sample of giant sloth dung!

Deep beneath the surface of the South Seas, divers risk their lives each year to pursue a miraculous gem. The industry of pearl farming in Northern Australia is as miraculous as it is mysterious. We explore the well-guarded and delicate process of harvesting and cultivating the giant oyster, as divers, scientists, and technicians work tirelessly to produce nature's gift to humankind.

In the history of aviation, there were some ideas that didn't quite...fly. From the bizarre vertical "Pogo" plane to the disastrous Goblin, nicknamed the "Flying Egg," we take an in-depth probe of some magnificent men and their not so magnificent flying machines.

Special 19 Zambezi

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Raging rapids, unforgiving sandbanks, and marauding hippos are just a few of the challenges an international team of philanthropists face as they travel the entire length of Africa's Zambezi River. Riding fast, inflatable boats, the team meets communities devastated by malaria, and health workers struggling to cope. The team's mission was to change lives, but by the end of the two-month expedition, team members discover their own lives have been profoundly affected.

Smithsonian Channel explores one of the great aviation mysteries of our time MALAYSIA 370: THE PLANE THAT VANISHED. At a time when speculation is rife, the special dives deep into the detail of the Boeing 777, the technologies involved in the search, and aviation procedures that may be transformed in The Aftermath of this disaster.

2021-01-07T02:00:00Z

Special 23 Unknown

Special 23 Unknown

  • 2021-01-07T02:00:00Z1h
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