Episode 1
Aired Jan 3, 1996
Space Shuttle
Considered by many to be the most astounding machine ever built, this reusable spaceship is the apex of flight technology; the challenges and the critical issues that led to NASA's decision to create an "airplane" to navigate space.
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Episode 2
Aired Jan 6, 1996
Las Vegas
Rising from a stretch of desert with nothing but remoteness to recommend it, Las Vegas became a glittering wonderland for dreamers; a look at the forces that made Las Vegas a place unlike any on earth.
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Episode 3
Aired Jan 7, 1996
The TVA: Tennessee Valley Authority
During the depths of the Depression, it was FDR's greatest triumph: a massive public works project that took a 40,000 square mile, disaster-prone river basin, and turned it into a model of industrial progress.
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Episode 4
Aired Jan 14, 1996
Silver Mines
How the Comstock Lode, discovered near Virginia City, proved to be a scientific laboratory from which vast improvements in mining technology and safety were pioneered, including innovations in drilling, ventilation, drainage, and ore processing.
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Episode 5
Aired Jan 19, 1996
Subway: Empire Beneath the Streets
Meet the riders, a towerman, a revenue agent collecting the day's cash from token booths, a string quartet of amateur musicians who perform at the stations, and others who make the subway one of the most fascinating public spaces.
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Episode 6
Aired Jan 27, 1996
Grand Coulee Dam
The world's largest concrete dam, and the largest concrete structure in the world, lies on the Columbia River in the State of Washington; built in 1931, it is also one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world.
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Episode 7
Aired Feb 3, 1996
Golden Gate Bridge
More than 50 years after its construction, the Golden Gate remains one of the world's great engineering marvels. It took 25-million man-hours and 80,000 miles of cable to complete; the cost in human life proved even greater.
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Episode 8
Aired Feb 4, 1996
Oil
From the first well in Pennsylvania to the gushing Spindletop and modern supertankers, the story of oil is the story of civilization as we know it; a look at the ingenious and outrageous men who risked a lot for "black gold" and unimaginable wealth.
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Episode 8
Aired Feb 4, 1996
Transcontinental Railroad
During the 19th century, transcontinental railroads link California to the East.
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Episode 9
Aired Feb 4, 1996
The Railroads That Tamed the West
In one of the greatest building achievements in history, East and West were joined by a thin ribbon of steel and wood.
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Episode 10
Aired Feb 11, 1996
Mount Rushmore
Under the supervision of sculptor Gutzon Borglum, miners and quarrymen carve the faces of four U.S. presidents into the Black Hills of South Dakota, paying tribute to the first 150 years of American history.
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Episode 11
Aired Feb 18, 1996
Ocean Liners
With technological advances, our ancient struggle against the sea has turned into a luxurious holiday; a peek at the elegant life on these floating resorts.
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Episode 12
Aired Feb 25, 1996
The Panama Canal
The construction of the 51-mile canal that took ten years to build and employed over 40,000 workers, 6,000 of whom died of yellow fever, malaria, and other horrors; an earlier, nine-year attempt by the French ended in failure and cost 20,000 lives.
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Episode 13
Aired Feb 29, 1996
The Peoples
Stories of those who believed in dreams and defied the commonplace with their extraordinary creations; covering some of the world's architectural and engineering structures, scientific inventions, and social wonders.
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Episode 13
Aired Mar 9, 1996
Gothic Cathedrals
Built of stone and glass, persistence and prayer, gothic cathedrals are an epiphany of imagination and an articulation of joy; featured are such masterpieces as Chartres, Notre Dame and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
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Episode 14
Aired Mar 10, 1996
Eiffel Tower
It was meant to be a temporary exhibit, a demonstration of French engineering acumen at the Paris World's Fair; but to Parisians, the tower, designed by the brash, young Gustave Eiffel, came to stand for much more.
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Episode 15
Aired Mar 24, 1996
Empire State Building
During the Depression the Empire State Building is completed four months ahead of schedule.
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Episode 16
Aired Mar 31, 1996
The Dream Machines: Sports Cars
An examination of the Britain's MG, Triumph, Morgan, and Jaguar; Italy's Ferrari; Germany's Porsche and BMW; America's Corvette; and Japan's Miata.
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Episode 17
Aired Apr 6, 1996
The Dream Machines: Dream Cars
In the 1950s and 60s, major automakers ordered hand-built prototype fantasy machines in an effort to lure the masses to staged traveling shows, Motoramas.
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Episode 18
Aired Apr 14, 1996
Domed Stadiums
The domed structure is one of the earliest forms of shelter; from African mud huts to frozen igloos to holy shrines and cathedrals; engineers have enlarged and transformed the ancient concept to build some of the world's most spectacular structures.
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Episode 19
Aired Apr 27, 1996
Tunnels
Tunnels, whether underwater, blasted through solid rock or negotiating the shifting strata of the Earth's unstable crust, represent a remarkable feat of engineering.
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Episode 20
Aired Jun 16, 1996
America's Highways
The story of the construction of America's national highway system, from its beginnings in 1912, which it was conceived by auto and headlight tycoons, to its completion in 1984, when the last stoplight was removed and buried.
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Episode 21
Aired Jun 30, 1996
Brooklyn Bridge
Built with the pioneering use of steel-wire support cables, the Brooklyn Bridge became an instant symbol of American pride; rare photographs and behind-the-scenes stories recall the politics, the struggles, and the tragedies that made it possible.
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Episode 22
Aired Sep 8, 1996
The Phonograph
The history of one of Thomas Edison's first inventions, the phonograph; rare photographs and recordings document Edison's race against Alexander Graham Bell.
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Episode 23
Aired Sep 8, 1996
The Electric Light
Thomas Edison announces plans for the central lighting of New York before an electrical system exists or electric light is invented.
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Episode 24
Aired Sep 8, 1996
The Motion Picture
The complete story of the feuds, the mistakes, ingenuity, and successes that made movies possible and kept Edison at the front of the inventor pack; rare early films from the Edison Studios.
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Episode 25
Aired Sep 15, 1996
The Telephone
The intense competition, the romance, the success and disappointment that led to the miracle of long distance communication.
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Episode 26
Aired Oct 20, 1996
Television: Window to the World
An exploration of the world's most popular entertainment, from the boy genius who invented it to the RCA "General" who made it a reality.
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Episode 27
Aired Nov 24, 1996
The Computer
In our century, the computer has evolved from a crude punch-card tabulating machine into a lightning-fast worldwide information grid.
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Episode 28
Aired Dec 15, 1996
The Camera
The history of photography beginning as early as the eleventh century; the advancements by Niepce and Daguerre in the 19th century and William Henry Fox and George Eastman in the 20th century.
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Episode 29
Aired Feb 16, 1997
Stealth Technology
The F-117 Stealth Fighter that led the pack for the Allies in the Gulf War and virtually decimated Baghdad; how the technology allows it to approach its target without being detected by radar, and a look at the B-2 Stealth Bomber.
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Episode 30
Aired Mar 23, 1997
Size Matters: Pyramids - Majesty and Mystery
Standing majestically for centuries, the world's great pyramids have long inspired and mystified scholars; leading experts and historians explore the engineering genius that created some of the largest structures on the planet.
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Episode 31
Aired Apr 13, 1997
Roller Coasters: The Search for the Ultimate Thrill Ride
Since the turn of the 20th century, designers have competed to build them faster, taller, and steeper; as technology pushes the envelope with flips, weightlessness, and more g-force than a jet, they have to calculate how much can the human body take.
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Episode 32
Aired Jun 8, 1997
Observatories: Stonehenge to the Space Telescopes
From Stonehenge to the Hubbell Telescope, mankind has always been a race of stargazers; unforgettable film footage and expert accounts reveal the facts of astronomy's most mind-boggling discoveries.
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Episode 33
Aired Jun 22, 1997
The Great Wall of China
Winding 6,000 kilometers through undulating mountains, it is said to be visible with the naked eye from the moon; historians, engineers, and scientists explore one of the wonders of the ancient world.
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