Press release from National Geographic Channel
From the location of the fabled city of Atlantis to the futuristic hi-tech body armour that will one day give soldiers super strength and speed, National Geographic Channel is set to feature five straight nights chock full of thought provoking premiere documentaries in the launch of its first Curiosity Week.
Curiosity Week tackles fascinating subjects as diverse as fringe science, mythical and legendary creatures, ancient x-files, futuristic technologies and modern mysteries. It will be headed up with a one hour documentary giving viewers a taste of the enthralling subjects to come. Jabba’s Curious World premieres Sunday July 24 at 8:30pm. Driven by a quest for truth, broadcaster, performer and actor Jabba opens up a whole new chapter on the kind of stories you might have heard rumours about but never known for sure if they are fact or fiction.
Said Jabba of his hosting duties: “Curiosity Week is set to sate Australians’ insatiable appetite for exciting, mind-blowing revelations. My job is to whet your appetite and give your brain food for thought. Trust me, it’s gonna taste great AND be good for you.”
Featuring three hours of shows about subjects that have long piqued people’s curiosity every night from 7:30pm AEST & NZST Monday July 25 to Friday July 29, Curiosity Week tackles some of the world’s biggest mysteries. What really went on inside the secret military base commonly thought to house downed alien spacecraft, better known as Area 51? Was Atlantis a real city located on the Mediterranean? What is the abominable snowman and why does his legend persist? These are questions, among many, that National Geographic Channel intends to answer.
Two new series are also set to offer viewers sneak peeks prior to their official debut on National Geographic Channel in August. The investigative series Beast Man, seen Tuesday at 8:30pm, follows biologist and explorer Pat Spain as he travels to some of the most remote places on Earth to uncover the truth behind legends of bizarre monsters. Meanwhile, experts rediscover century old skills to reconstruct parts that were once built by hand and under obsolete conditions for the biggest, most luxurious ship the world had ever seen in Rebuilding The Titanic, seen Wednesday at 9:30pm.
More detailed information is available for each Curiosity Week premiere at natgeotv.com.au, for which the line-up includes:
Sunday
Jabba’s Curious World
Sunday July 24 at 8:30pm AEST & NZST – World Premiere
Australian rumours and mysteries abound that blur the line between truth and urban myth. Get to the bottom of them as well as some of the topics covered elsewhere in the week, in the most curious hour of television you’ve ever seen.
Monday
Area 51’s Secrets
Monday July 25 at 7:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
For the first time, after years of silence, Area 51 insiders spill their secrets and reveal what's really been going on inside the most secretive place on Earth.
Finding Atlantis
Monday July 25 at 8:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
Columbus sought Atlantis and discovered the Americas. The British investigated the Azores and the Nazis combed the coast of Norway in search of its secrets. But has Atlantis been found at long last?
UFO UK
Monday July 25 at 9:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
From Winston Churchill's top secret UFO memos, to the strange case of the Welsh Roswell, lift the lid on decades of previously top secret, and very British UFO encounters.
Tuesday
Ancient X-Files: Secrets Of The Dark Arts
Tuesday July 26 at 7:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
Uncover a long lost manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton that reveals his quest for the Philosopher’s Stone and enter a world of intrigue, mystery and religion in search of the lost Ark of the Covenant.
Beast Man: Mongolian Death Worm
Tuesday July 26 at 8:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere [New Series Sneak Peek]
Said to spray acid, send out electric shocks and explode when threatened, mythical beast expert Pat Spain searches the inhospitable Gobi Desert for evidence of the freakish Mongolian death worm.
Hunt For The Abominable Snowman
Tuesday July 26 at 9:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
Half man, half ape, the yeti is said to roam only the most remote Himalayan peaks, where people rarely venture. Separate fact from fiction in search of hard evidence to confirm the legend is real.
Wednesday
Ancient X-Files: The Holy Grail
Wednesday July 28 at 7:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
Could a chalice, guarded by a brotherhood of knights in Spain be the legendary Holy Grail? And does the Minotaur’s labyrinth still exist beneath Crete, complete with an altar for ritual sacrifice?
Hitler’s Lost Battleship
Wednesday July 27 at 8:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
Ambushed in WWII by British cruisers off South America, Hitler's prized "pocket battleship" and high-tech wonder, the Admiral Graf Spee, was blown up by its captain. Unravel the riddle of its demise.
Rebuilding Titanic: Raising The Bow
Wednesday July 27 at 9:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere [New Series Sneak Peek]
Working with traditional methods used a century ago, a team sets about reproducing the Titanic, gaining extraordinary insight into the lives of the people who built and worked on this famous ship.
Thursday
Ancient X-Files: The Blood Of Christ
Thursday July 27 at 7:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
Forget the Shroud of Turin. Can Jesus’ DNA be found on a simple funerary cloth in Spain? And decipher the symbols on the Phaistos Disk, an ancient object that has baffled code-breakers since WWI.
Templars: The Last Stand
Thursday July 28 at 8:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
The Templars were considered the Pope’s private army, protecting Jerusalem and its holy icons until their mysterious, abrupt end. Could a 12th century castle siege reveal clues to their sudden demise?
Catacombs Of Palermo
Thursday July 28 at 9:30pm AEST & NZST – Aus/NZ Premiere
Experts move to rescue the world’s greatest accumulation of mummies, endangered by humidity and showing signs of decay, including the world’s best preserved corpse: a two-year old girl from 1920.
Friday
Stonehenge Decoded
Friday July 29 at 7:30pm AEST & NZST
Unearth surprising new evidence that supports one archaeologist’s ground-breaking theory that this ancient monument stood at the centre of one the world’s largest prehistoric religious complexes.
Great Escape: The Untold Story
Friday July 29 at 8:30pm AEST & NZST
Uncover the ambitious but tragic story of the Great Escape as never before seen. When 76 men escape from a POW camp in WWII, only 3 make it home. Hitler secretly has 50 of them killed in cold blood.
Naked Science: Pyramids
Friday July 29 at 9:30pm AEST & NZST
Magnificent, awe-inspiring and mysterious, the Great Pyramid of Egypt has fascinated humankind for thousands of years. Examine how and why it was built, along with its surrounding myths and legends.