Reno, Nevada, to Colfax, California
Led by his late 19th-century Appleton's guidebook, Michael Portillo sets off on a 1,000-mile American adventure to discover how the railroad conquered the wild landscapes of the West and transformed Californiainto America's wealthiest region, one which has
revolutionised the world.
Beginning in the Silver State of Nevada, Michael takes to the skies over the dramatic Sierra Nevada mountain range. At Lake Tahoe, he hears of the first white explorer, dubbed 'The Pathfinder', who learnt the lay of the foreboding land and paved the way for the first settlers to arrive. Travelling on the historic Virginia and Truckee heritage line, Michael heads for the vast deposits of silver and gold ore that built Virginia City, once dubbed the richest place on earth. At Chollar Mine he explores the short-lived mining boom and meets a pistol packin' preacher when he swings by the Silver Queen saloon.
Crossing the border into the Golden State of California, he ascends the 7,000ft granite cliffs to the Donner Pass where ambitious plans to plough a rail route through the rugged terrain were made a reality by Chinese labourers, at huge human cost. In the spirit of Western horsemanship, Michael ends this leg in Colfax and gets in the saddle for a spot of cowboy dressage.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller
Armed with National Geographic's trademark inside access, Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller takes viewers on a journey inside the most dangerous black markets on the planet. Each investigation in the eight-part series embeds with Peabody and duPont Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller as she explores the complex and often violent inner workings of a smuggling network. While she dives deeper and deeper into these underworlds, Mariana reveals - with characteristic boldness and empathy - that the people operating these trafficking rings are often a lot more like us than we realize.
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! is a classic game show -- with a twist. The answers are given first, and the contestants supply the questions. Three contestants, including the previous show's champion, compete in six categories and in three rounds (with each round's "answers" being worth more prize money).
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live features a diverse lineup of guests that include celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human-interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band.
Family Law
Set in Vancouver, Canada, Family Law follows lawyer and recovering alcoholic Abigail 'Abby' Bianchi struggling to put her career and family back together after hitting rock bottom. As a condition of her probation, Abby is forced to work at her estranged father's firm, Svensson and Associates, and practice in family law for the first time while forging new relationships with the half-brother and half-sister whom she's never met. The result is a dysfunctional family law firm operating to help other families with their own dysfunctions.
Alien: Earth
When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's greatest threat. As members of the crash recovery crew search for survivors among the wreckage of a mysterious crashed space vessel, they encounter mysterious predatory life forms more terrifying than they could have ever imagined. With this new threat unlocked, the search crew must fight for survival and what they choose to do with this discovery could change planet Earth as they know it.