Escape from Alcatraz
Alcatraz was the world's most impregnable prison: insurmountable walls, one guard for every three prisoners, a gun gallery at the end of every cell block, frequent inmate counts, constant search lights and the freezing waters of San Francisco Bay. But three prisoners believed they could achieve the impossible.
The brains behind the escape bid was Frank Lee Morris, known to have a very impressive IQ (played in the movie by Clint Eastwood). From the moment he arrived in Alcrataz, he began plotting his escape. Two and a half years later, three prisoners removed the grids in the rear of their cells, carefully replacing them with papier-mâché replicas. After many manoeuvres the men scaled a 15-foot fence, and hurried down to the island shore where they inflated rafts and life vests and ventured out into the Bay waters.
Back at the cell house, during the routine morning count, a guard probed his club into one of the inmates' cells, and the dummy head rolled off the bed and onto the floor. The alarm was raised. But despite the authorities' strenuous efforts to track them down, none of the escapees have ever been found. For years the FBI continued to try to find them, but to no avail. So did the men escape?
Bits of raft, life preservers and wooden paddles were later found in the bay.
In this episode of The True Story, we use remnants of the raft, and the knowledge of what materials were available to the prisoners at the time to recreate their escape. Placing three men on board who would have been the same weight as the escapes, will the raft survive the choppy waters? Will the men make it ashore? Or will they have to admit defeat and be picked up by the support boat?
Amongst various key interviewees, we speak with a fellow inmate, Darwin Coon, who was in Alcatraz during the time of the escape and helped provide the materials for it. We also speak to the wardens who were foiled by the escape and the FBI agents who tried to tack down the prisoners.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch
There are some places on earth where the land just seems different, and Blind Frog Ranch in eastern Utah is one of those places. Locals say the land is cursed. That it's trying to hold on to something. From Aztec treasure to caverns of gold and silver to lost Mormon mines, legends surround Duane Ollinger's 160-acre ranch in Utah's Uintah Basin. But Duane isn't concerned with the lore. After discovering a system of seven underground caves that run through his property, he is singularly focused on finding what's hidden in them - no matter what the cost.
Twisted Metal
Twisted Metal is about a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a trigger-happy car thief, he faces savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.
Mountain Men
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live your life off the grid? Have you wished you could shed the complications of modern society and live in the wilderness, using only the things nature has provided? Meet Eustace Conway, Tom Oar and Marty Meierotto of the new History series Mountain Men, three men who have devoted their lives to survival in its simplest form. But how simple is it really for the Mountain Men?
From the rugged Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to the seven-month-long winters on the Yaak River in Montana to the frigid northern range of Alaska, the country is full of some very unforgiving terrain. Watch as these men face off against mudslides, falling trees, ravaging weather and even hungry animals, to make sure they obtain the food and supplies they will need to make it through the brutal winter months ahead.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
In Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, 15 questions need to be answered by the contestants to win the 1 million dollar prize.
MasterChef
Three celebrated food experts put the latest group of contestants through a series of challenging elimination rounds and turn one home cook into a culinary master.