National Geographic Highlights – April 2020

WICKED TUNA S9
Mondays at 20:00 from 6 April (ends 29 June)

Three new Captains arrive in Gloucester with one goal — to defeat the local fleet. But they have their work cut out for them challenging the battle-proven Gloucester captains. Five-time champion Captain Dave Carraro of FV-Tuna.com feels the pressure as he fights to win another title, and the Gloucester captains and crews rally with and against him for bragging rights to their turf. In a fast-paced season, the brawl for bluefin comes down to the final fish, and a stunning finish for the season’s victor.

The new boats on Wicked Tuna (left to right) Fat Tuna, Kraken, and Wasabi. (PFTV)

INSIDE THE AMERICAN MOB (COMPILATIONS)
Thursdays at 21:00 from 9 April (ends 30 April)

New York City is the home to what we think of as the American Mob. The original series of INSIDE THE AMERICAN MOB focused on the five families in New York and Philadelphia. But the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Luchese families weren’t the only families who set up shop in the United States. Italian organized crime families extended their reach across the country into Chicago, New England and Kansas City.

This series will highlight the life of these extended families by using the stories told in the original series as the foundation to how American Mobs faced similar challenges as they stretched their influence across the country. New interviews will tell the story of how the American Mob sunk its claws into the politics and industries of Chicago, New England and Kansas City – and how each faced the same challenges as their New York City counterparts.

REENACTMENT: New York, NY, USA: A Mob member on the street.(Photo Credit: National Geographic Channels/ David Smoler)

SCIENCE OF STUPID S8
Fridays at 29:00 from 10 April

Science of Stupid, series 8. Dallas Campbell hosts the show that combines serious science with some of the craziest, most spectacular user-generated clips ever recorded. In each programme we show 40 to 50 clips of misadventure: ordinary folk making extraordinary mistakes and paying the price. We analyse the science behind the mishaps, with the help of bespoke animation and super slow-motion cinematography.

Woman on trapeze. (National Geographic)

LAWLESS ISLAND S2
Mondays at 19:00 from 13 April (ends 15 June)

The volatile climate of Southeast Alaska challenges Port Protection’s residents who live on the edge of society. Gary battles father time while securing needed resources. Curly pushes through in the wake of a tragic loss. Mary faces her fears to survive in extreme conditions. Sam fights to preserve the only lifestyle he’s ever known. Squibb looks to improve upon his surroundings. And Stuart deals with past injuries as he battles the elements.

PORT PROTECTION, ALASKA- Mary goes fishing. (Photo Credit: National Geographic Channels/ Jesse Phinney)

CONTINUING SHOWS

BRAIN GAMES
Fridays at 19:00, from 14 February 2020 (ends 3 April)

National Geographic has reimagined BRAIN GAMES and added a Hollywood twist to the classic mind-bending format. Hosted by Keegan-Michael Key (“Friends From College,” “Toy Story 4,” “Lion King”), world-famous mentalist Lior Surchard, and field correspondent and science communicator Cara Santa Maria, this new season of BRAIN GAMES challenges some of the world’s biggest celebrities to realize their special brain power through fun and highly entertaining interactive games, illusions and social experiments that will reveal the “why” behind the “wow.” The in-studio audience and the viewers at home can play along, comparing their mental abilities against those of the A-listers. Join in the fun as BRAIN GAMES reveals the incredible science of what makes our brains tick!

Ted Danson on the set of the new Brain Games with host Keegan-Michael Key.(National Geographic/Eric McCandless)

APOCALYPSE: WAR OF THE WORLDS
Tuesdays at 21:00, from 10 March 2020 (ends 14 April)

Summer 1945. Leaving the atrocities of war behind, the Allies wholeheartedly celebrate a return to peace. But behind the scenes of global reconstruction, a more drawn-out, insidious confrontation is in the making. Soon, an “iron curtain” will come down, dividing the Communist Eastern bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union, and the West, behind the United States. This is the Cold War, the War of Worlds. In a frantic arms race, the United States have invented the worst threat possible – the nuclear bomb. During the course of fifty years, the great heads of state, Stalin, Khrushchev, Mao, and Kennedy, face each other off in a precarious balance of terror. In Indochina, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, they wage war on each other through other peoples. Nonetheless, it is still the same war between East and West. The same leaders, the same terrified civilians, the same regions destroyed by bombs, the same rows of starving prisoners. Beyond those who are in power, all of mankind can, at any time, be plunged into the Apocalypse.

COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS
Wednesdays at 20:00, from 11 March (ends 10 June)
[Note – Hiatus on 22 April, returns 29 April]

In the vastness of time and the immensity of space, the number of worlds to explore and stories to tell are infinite. This boldest COSMOS yet is a thrilling, hope-filled voyage of exploration to lost worlds and worlds yet to come. You’ll meet the searchers whose courage rivals any hero of myth. And it will carry you deep into the future and through that hole in the curtain of reality.

Our sun is born, endowing worlds to come with precious minerals, diamonds and green olivine. COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS premieres March 9, 2020 on National Geographic. (Cosmos Studios)

TO CATCH A SMUGGLER
Thursdays at 10:00, from 12 March (ends 30 April)

124 million people enter the U.S.A. through this country’s airports each year. It’s a nonstop human tidal wave and hid amongst them are an endless stream of contraband and ill intentions. Defending the borders are the vigilant men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, whose agencies make up a three-tiered defense of America’s airports. Using every tool available to them, DHS will stop at nothing to catch a smuggler.

JFK Airport, Jamaica, NY: CBP Officer Chris Elias extracts a substance from one package to see if it tests positive for cocaine. (Photo Credit: National Geographic Television)

CAR SOS S8
Tuesdays at 20:00 from 17 March (ends 19 May)

Making motoring dreams come true for an eighth season, award-winning Car SOS is back, and this time it’s bigger and better than ever. Everyone’s favourite petrol heads Fuzz Townshend and Tim Shaw continue their mission to seek out classic cars with deserving owners. Using all their guile and restoration knowledge, their aim is to sneak away clapped out classics without their owners knowing, then in a blizzard of grease and grime and hard graft, get the much-loved motors back where they deserve to be, on the road. In this series, the boys take on their biggest challenges ever. Chronic rust, hard to find parts and broken engines test the boys to their limits. Cars ranging across eight decades from a vintage tourer to a 1990s Japanese supercar, from an iconic German sports coupe to a very rare British rally winner, and, for their lucky owners, the surprise they will never forget. There will be tears, there will be laughter on this automotive rollercoaster and one thing is guaranteed – there will be some very beautiful cars.

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND – The Car SOS team of Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend reveal the finished Singer 9 Le Mans to the Pigg Family at Duxford Imperial War Museum.

(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Jon Scorer)

BACK TO THE TITANIC
Monday 6 April at 19:00

Mission Titanic documents the first manned dives to Titanic in nearly 15 years. A team of experts use a specially equipped sub to capture the first ever 4k footage of the ship to analyse its rate of decay. They build the most accurate model of the wreck in existence to shed new light on Titanic’s iconic stories. They verify a previously unidentified part of the wreck and leave an experimental platform on the seafloor to predict Titanic’s future.

JANE GOODALL: THE HOPE
Wednesday 22 April at 18:00 (Earth Day)

JANE GOODALL – THE HOPE begins where the documentary JANE (2017) left off. Dr, Jane Goodall arrived at a 1986 conference as a scientist and-after learning the extent of the threat facing chimpanzees-left as an activist. The film begins with this critical transformation and follows Jane through three decades of advocacy work. Jane knew she must take action to protect chimps and other animals living in the wild, to improve the well-being of chimps in captivity and to inspire a young generation of change makers for this vital work to continue. In a moment in which the environmental crisis can seem overwhelming, Jane has made it her mission to encourage us all that solutions are within reach. Our cameras capture Jane as she travels over 300 days a year, meeting with everyone from schoolchildren in Zanzibar to Silicon Valley tech giants to Prince Harry, using wisdom, heart and humor to spread a message of hope and show that every individual has the potential be a catalyst and create lasting change. As the 60th anniversary of her arrival to the chimpanzee kingdom in Gombe approaches, she spends time with her family in Tanzania and returns to her wild Eden, reflecting on all the efforts being made to safeguard its future and create a sustainable future for the Earth.

JANE GOODALL: THE HOPE celebrates her work and explores the ways in which her passion for wildlife has changed the world for the better. This new perspective illustrates the obstacles that Goodall faced throughout her career, and shows how, with a dedicated team and unshakable drive, she overcame them and succeeded in becoming one of the most important names in wildlife conservation. (photo credit: National Geographic/David Guttenfelder)

A DAY ON MARS
Wednesday 3 April at 21:00

An epic journey revealing the real Mars, as you’ve never seen it before. Using data from orbiters and rovers to build accurate views of the red planet and uncover its secrets. On a single circuit of Mars from dawn to dusk, encounter monster volcanos, ancient lakes, alien ice-worlds and spacecraft crash sites. Explore humanity’s Martian obsession, join the relentless search for life there, and hunt for a human home on the red planet’s surface.

OKAVANGO RIVER OF DREAMS: DIVINE JOURNEYS
Wednesday 22 April at 20:00

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb