The Real Robin Hood
History HD
Wednesday 12 October, 18.00
Robin was a bushy-tailed fox in Disney's version, who disguised himself as a stork to win an archery contest. In the children's series Maid Marian And Her Merry Men penned by Blackadder star Tony Robinson, he was a toffee-nosed tailor from Kensington who insisted his Merry Men wore green "to co-ordinate with the trees". Kevin Costner's version of Nottingham's hero spoke with an American accent, and in the BBC's most recent version of 12th-century events in Sherwood, a younger Robin and his band of brothers drew swords and battled the sheriff wearing hoodies. Since his first appearance in a silent flick in 1908, there have been over 50 film and TV versions of the heroic outlaw. The latest was played by Russell Crowe in Sir Ridley Scott's blockbuster Robin Hood. Scott believes his depiction of the archer and swordsman is the closest to reality yet. But what makes him think Robin Hood didn't wear green tights and a jaunty feathered cap? With the help of historians, Academy Award® winner Crowe and the Gladiator and Blade Runner director Scott explore a rich folklore and popular culture. Separating the myth, TV and Hollywood fiction from the truth, they reveal the real Hood, and discuss how their film stays as true as possible to the original ‘Prince of Thieves'.
Alone in the Wild
Starts Wednesday 5 October, 21.00
Discovery HD
Eight well known personalities, as you've never seen them before, in some of the most remote and treacherous wilderness on the planet, have to survive Alone in the Wild. In this band new premiere to Discovery, the six-part series Alone in the Wild sees Freddie Flintoff, Jason Gardiner, Joe Pasquale, Chris Ryan, Donal MacIntyre, Aron Ralston, Amy Williams and Tanya Streeter surviving in some of the planet's most perilous and remote locations. Left completely alone at a totally remote location, with just a handheld camera to film their struggle, they must find water, food and shelter, and battle against the elements and local wildlife. Forced to confront their innermost fears, will they survive Alone in the Wild?
Seconds From Disaster
Nat Geo HD
Monday 10 October, 21.00
During the night of 2 December 1984, around 900,000 people in Bhopal, India, woke up choking as fluid filled their lungs. Just a few days later, over 3,000 were dead. A valve had broken in the Union Carbide Pesticide Plant three miles away, sending a dense cloud of toxic gas into the city. Panic spread throughout Bhopal, as suffocating victims with swollen eyes and frothing mouths desperately tried to escape the lethal fog. Since that fateful night, more than 15,000 are reported to have died from the effects of the methyl isocyanate. Around 600,000 more continue to suffer from the long-term effects of the leak and the ground water and soil surrounding the city is still said to be contaminated. Seconds From Disaster takes a tense look at the build-up to the catastrophe, the chaos and carnage it caused and its immediate aftermath and legacy. Could the deaths have been avoided? And who was responsible? National Geographic Channel investigates.
Serial Killer: Jeffrey Dahmer
Crime & Investigation Network
Sunday 9 October, 21.00
Serial killers do not come much more gruesome than Jeffrey Dahmer. Over a 13-year period, he murdered at least 17 men and boys - fulfilling violent fantasies which involved sodomy, cannibalism and necrophilia. When he was eventually arrested in 1991, police found several corpses stored in acid-filled vats at his house, three severed heads in his refrigerator and human skulls in his closet. The Crime & Investigation Network traces the life story of the withdrawn young man who deceived his parents, his victims and the police for over a decade. From a teenage obsession with roadkill to an unrestrained killing spree, Crime & Investigation Network outlines the life and deeds of the man whose murders shocked the world.
