Discovery Channel Archives - Page 24 of 28

Planet Green being rebranded Destination America starting May 28

April 4, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

I had recently been wondering about the change in programming Planet Green has undergone, and what that meant for the future of the network. It had seemed to stray from its original mission of programming about ecological matters to become a catchall lifestyle channel, airing reruns of shows about ghosts, UFOs and other things very far removed from its “Green” title. A dead giveaway that it was no longer the “Green” network was when it was one of only two networks in the Discovery family that did not simulcast the series premiere of Frozen Planet last month, which would have […]

Teaser for 25th anniversary celebration of Discovery’s Shark Week (video)

March 30, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

This morning, Discovery Channel released this teaser video for the 25th anniversary installment of Shark Week, which will air in mid-August. Seven new specials will include a look at the full impact that the movie Jaws had on sharks — and on Peter Benchley, the original book’s author; a re-creation of the prehistoric shark Megalodon, which was the size of a Greyhound bus; the true story about how two men survived in shark-infested waters for 47 days; a look at the “Great White Highway” off the coast of California; and a countdown of the 25 best moments in the history […]

“Jesse James: Outlaw Garage” extended preview (video)

March 29, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Here’s a peek at an upcoming Discovery Channel special, Jesse James: Outlaw Garage, which premieres April 9 at 10pm ET/PT. It follows former Monster Garage host Jesse James in his new life after he left California in the wake of his tabloid scandals and well-publicized divorce from Sandra Bullock, and moved back to Austin, Texas. With the help of some of the world’s top car customizers, James has partnered up with the Austin Speed Shop. But James is unsure if his crew at the Shop is able to handle the workload expected of a world-class operation. So he challenges them […]

“Deadliest Catch” returns for a new season with its 100th episode (video)

March 28, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

The Season 8 premiere of Discovery Channel’s hit, Emmy-winning reality series Deadliest Catch, debuting April 10 at 9pm ET/PT, will be the show’s 100th episode. Captains Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand (F/V Time Bandit), Captain Sig Hansen (F/V Northwestern), Captain Keith Colburn (F/V Wizard), Captain “Wild Bill” Wichrowski (F/V Kodiak) and returning newer captains Scott Campbell Jr. (F/V Seabrooke) and Elliott Neese (F/V Ramblin’ Rose) again take to the icy Bering Sea to fish for Alaskan king crab. This season, the crews have their fishing quota slashed by almost half, which brings home a cold economic reality. With the change in […]

“Frozen Planet” preview: “Summer” (video)

March 22, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Here are some preview clips of “Summer,” the next episode of Discovery Channel’s Frozen Planet, premiering this Sunday, March 25, at 8pm ET/PT. In the first one, an epic clash between two massive male seals over a female threatens to crush a little seal pup standing near the fray. In the second one, caribou also fight for ladies, with an older caribou showing who’s boss by fending off a series of younger bulls who dare to try and cramp his style with a certain female. RELATED: “PLANET EARTH” FILMMAKERS IMPRESS AGAIN WITH “FROZEN PLANET”

Discovery goes for “Unchained Reaction”

March 16, 2012 StayTuned Staff

MythBusters fans, be aware that Discovery Channel is moving your series to Sundays starting March 25. But also be aware that this Sunday, March 18 at 10pm ET/PT, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman premiere their new series, Unchained Reaction, that draws on the mechanical physics skills for which they’ve become so famous. The six-part competition series pits numerous teams against each other in a contest to build the most elaborate chain-reaction contraption. Not just a bunch of dominoes, mind you — the Unchained Reaction teams are given identical sets of tools and materials, and a specific theme. And from the […]

Discovery adds underwater view to its hit “Penguin Cam”

March 15, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Since its launch about two weeks ago, Discovery Channel’s Penguin Cam — created as a promotion for the network’s upcoming series Frozen Planet, which premieres this Sunday — has become an online hit. The Cam is set up at SeaWorld in San Diego, where it captures the action of a lovable array of more than 300 penguins representing five species (king, emperor, Adélie, gentoo and macaroni) hopping, running, eating, scratching and sometimes coming right up to gaze into the camera and stare into your very soul (or maybe not). The site has garnered over 30 million page views (including myself […]

Preppers movement, underground shelters focus of “Doomsday Bunkers” on Discovery

March 7, 2012 Barb Oates

Fueled by devastating news headlines that range from nuclear disasters to the failing economy, shooting sprees, suicide bombers and/or horrific weather, a growing group of Americans are taking their worst fears and are planning for it. They are known as preppers, and they are preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. Discovery Channel casts light on their world by exploring the advanced and secretive underground bunkers they are installing in Doomsday Bunkers. The three-episode series premieres tonight (March 7) at 10pm ET/PT and will air March 14 and 21. The series follows Scott Bales, owner of Deep Earth […]

“Planet Earth” filmmakers impress again with Discovery Channel’s “Frozen Planet”

February 28, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

As I post this article from my office in Wisconsin, it’s a cloudy, late February day, with temperatures in the low 30s and a chance for a cold rain later today. Certainly not the most pleasant of conditions, but also hardly worth complaining about after seeing what the Arctic and Antarctic creatures chronicled in Discovery Channel’s new series Frozen Planet endure on a daily basis. The seven-part Frozen Planet, premiering March 18 and narrated by Alec Baldwin, is another coproduction with the BBC, from the same filmmakers who brought us the astounding Planet Earth a few years back. This time, […]

Exclusive footage from Costa Concordia disaster part of new Discovery Channel documentary

February 14, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Discovery Channel will be airing exclusive footage of Capt. Francesco Schettino and his crew from inside the Costa Concordia bridge assessing what to do next as passengers fight for survival — taken during the Jan. 13 incident in which the Italian cruise ship ran aground and began to sink — in the world-premiere special Cruise Ship Disaster: Inside the Concordia, premiering on the network this Sunday, Feb. 19, at 10pm ET/PT. In the footage, Schettino is shown speaking by phone on the bridge, illuminated only by emergency lights after the power failed. He seems oblivious to the escalating emergency and […]