Season 1

2008 · 8 episodes

Episodes

1Indiana Jones: The True StoryDocumentary from award-winning director David Hickman exploring how the story of Indiana Jones was inspired by the real exploits of Roy Chapman Andrews - an American explorer and naturalist. Andrews was best known for a series of perilous expeditions to the Far East that resulted in a number of important discoveries - much like the star of Spielberg's famous movie series.
2James Bond: The True StoryA documentary chronciled the life of James Bond creator Ian Fleming and what led him to create his famous spy.
3Escape from Alcatraz: The True StoryHistorical documentary examining a remarkable escape attempt from Alcatraz prison. In June 1962, three inmates successfully broke out of the jail and took to the waters of San Francisco Bay in a makeshift raft, never to be seen again.
4Al Capone and the Untouchables: The True StoryUsing interviews, exclusive footage and dramatic reconstructions, this documentary explores the true story of how a small group of law enforcers led by Eliot Ness brought down notorious Mafia boss Al Capone in 1930s Chicago.
5Amityville Horror: The True StoryThis episode revisits the 1974 DeFeo family murders and the events that inspired the Amityville Horror legend, examining the facts behind one of America's most famous paranormal stories.
6The Hunt For Red October: The True StoryIn November 1975, Soviet political officer Valery Sablin led a mutiny aboard the frigate *Storozhevoy*, an event that later inspired Tom Clancy's *The Hunt for Red October*. Unlike the fictional story, Sablin did not want to defect to the West. Instead, he hoped to spark a new communist revolution against the corruption of the Soviet elite. Outraged by officials enriching themselves while ordinary citizens lived in poverty, he imprisoned the captain and tried to persuade the ship's officers to support his plan to sail to Leningrad and inspire a nationwide uprising. The officers were divided: some joined him, while others, including Lt. Boris Gindin, believed the mission was doomed. Those who opposed the mutiny were locked away, setting in motion a dramatic crisis that nearly escalated into an international conflict.
7The Bourne IdentityThis documentary explores the real CIA history that inspired the Jason Bourne films. Robert Ludlum based Bourne on secret CIA mind-control and assassination programs, including unethical brainwashing experiments on psychiatric patients. The novels also drew on Ludlum's CIA contacts and real-life figures such as Carlos the Jackal. For *The Bourne Identity*, director Doug Liman replaced the original villain with Operation Treadstone, a fictional CIA black-ops unit inspired by the Iran-Contra affair, in which CIA operatives secretly conducted illegal missions in Nicaragua. Liman, whose father led the Iran-Contra investigation, used his firsthand insight into espionage to shape the story. Bourne's combat, driving, and survival skills were also designed to reflect the abilities of real elite intelligence operatives.
8Silence of the LambsSilence of the Lambs tells the story of a young ambitious FBI profiler Clarice Starling as she pursues the serial killer Buffalo Bill with the help of convicted psychopath Hannibal Lecter. While researching the book on which the film was based, author Thomas Harris spent days with the FBI’s pioneering Behavioural Science Unit, questioning criminal profilers and immersed in the case-files of serial killers. Now, we reveal the movie’s real-life inspirations: serial killer Ted Bundy who, like psychiatrist Lecter, evaded capture with his charming, young lawyer persona; Ed Gein, whose sickening crimes echo the movie exploits of Buffalo Bill; and a young female FBI agent who helped Harris create Agent Starling. We also explore how Silence of the Lambs revolutionised the make-up of the profession, inspiring many women to become profilers, and reveal chilling footage of one such female entrant interviewing Gary Ridgway, considered America’s most prolific serial killer.