Groundbreaking Expeditions, Insight And Discoveries: National Geographic Channel Launches First Annual Expedition Week

Seven Premiere Nights Led by Today's Intrepid Explorers -- From a Radical New Theory on the Pyramid at Giza, to Discovering the Pristine Shipwreck of Captain Kidd, to the First High-Definition Footage Direct From the Moon

"Everyone is an explorer.  How could you possibly live your life looking at a door and not go open it?"  -- Dr. Robert Ballard, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence

EXPEDITION WEEK Premieres November 16 - 23, 2008

For more than a century, the National Geographic Society has expanded our understanding of the world with major expeditions and groundbreaking discoveries.  Now, this legacy of exploration continues in National Geographic Channel's (NGC) first annual EXPEDITION WEEK.  Embark on seven straight nights of venturesome missions, from the ancient pyramids to the ocean depths, from lost cities to outer space, with the latest generation of intrepid explorers.

Starting Sunday, November 16, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, EXPEDITION WEEK offers answers to questions that have challenged us for ages.  Premieres include Unlocking the Great Pyramid, Direct from the Moon, Shipwreck! Captain Kidd, The Real George Washington, Lost Cities of the Amazon, Egypt Unwrapped and a bonus premiere with Herod's Lost Tomb.  Throughout each expedition, witness the dauntless passion of today's top adventurers, scientists and real-life treasure seekers.

First, we tackle a millenniums-old mystery using nothing but blueprints of the Great Pyramid at Giza and a computer -- finding that the answer to Unlocking the Great Pyramid might be inside.  Then marvel at high-definition video of the moon's surface beamed directly back from just above the moon by the Japanese lunar orbiter Kaguya in Direct From the Moon.  Then, back on earth, the discovery of an untouched shipwreck laden with artifacts could validate the legend in Shipwreck! Captain Kidd.

Continuing EXPEDITION WEEK, a team of archaeologists uncover the forgotten remains of our first president's childhood home, offering new insight into The Real George Washington.  Journey up the Amazon with scientists who believe they have found evidence of an immense civilization rivaling any other ancient metropolis in Lost Cities of the Amazon.  Head from the Amazon to the Nile -- gear up to solve some of the most enduring, centuries-old enigmas in the lives of ancient Egyptian rulers and artifacts with three episodes of Egypt Unwrapped.

Concluding our weeklong event, explore a lost burial site that could be one of the most important archaeological discoveries since the Dead Sea Scrolls in this added eighth-night bonus premiere of Herod's Lost Tomb.

At National Geographic Channel, it's all in a week's worth of work.

EXPEDITION WEEK premieres include:

Unlocking the Great Pyramid
Sunday, November 16, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
When ancient architects completed construction on the Great Pyramid at Giza, they left behind the greatest riddle of the engineering world -- how did builders lift limestone blocks weighing an average of two and a half tons, 480 feet up onto the top of the pyramid?  For centuries, adventurers and Egyptologists have crawled through almost every passageway and chamber of the Great Pyramid, measuring and collecting data in an attempt to determine how it was built.  But nearly every theory has had a flaw.  For the first time, a revolutionary theory argues that the answer may be inside the pyramid.  Architect Jean-Pierre Houdin has devoted his life to solving this mystery by creating blueprints of the Great Pyramid, using cutting-edge 3-D software.  But how could an architect who has never even been to Egypt come up with such an explanation?  We join Houdin and renowned Egyptologist Bob Brier as they travel to Giza to put Houdin's theory to the test and, in the process, they discover an intriguing chamber high up in the pyramid, which could confirm the theory, in Unlocking the Great Pyramid.

Direct From the Moon
Monday, November 17, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin enthralled the nation when they became the first men to land on the moon.  Nearly 40 years later, lunar exploration has returned to the headlines as scientists are uncovering a treasure trove of information from the moon about the birth of our solar system.  Now, high-definition video of the moon's surface is being beamed directly back from just above the moon, unveiling the astonishing lunar terrain in spectacular detail thanks to Kaguya, a Japanese lunar orbiter launched in September 2007.  Custom-built to map the lunar surface and measure the moon's magnetic and gravitational fields, Kaguya will also allow scientists to perform pioneering analysis, setting the groundwork for future missions to the moon and a prolonged lunar base.  We also hear directly from Aldrin as he watches breathtaking images of the moon's craters, haunting plains and an actual "full Earth-rise." Then, NASA scientists discuss the challenges involved and innovations under way for establishing a lunar outpost.  Direct from the Moon features images so powerful, some scientists claim they will inspire the next generation of lunar exploration.

Shipwreck! Captain Kidd
Tuesday, November 18, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Almost everyone has heard about the notorious adventures of the 17th century privateer Captain William Kidd, who captured the Quedagh Merchant ship loaded with valuables from the East Indies.  But Kidd then secretly abandoned the ship when he found out he was a wanted man.  The location of the Quedagh Merchant followed Kidd to the grave when he was sentenced to death for piracy and murder -- his body left to hang over the River Thames for two years as a warning to would-be pirates.  Resting in crystal-clear Caribbean seawater for more than 300 years, the Quedagh Merchant has eluded archaeologists -- until now.  The ship was recently discovered just 70 feet off the coast of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic, with no signs of looting -- an extremely rare find in the Americas.  We join a team of top-notch underwater archaeologists as they perform a meticulous study of the ship.  Using the data collected, we re-create the ship in all its glory with vivid CGI.  Pitting the historical record against the actual archaeological evidence, Shipwreck! Captain Kidd conclusively proves that this in indeed the Quedagh Merchant.  

The Real George Washington
Wednesday, November 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Founding father, commander of the Continental Army and America's first president -- George Washington's face is as familiar as the dollar bill.  Today, archaeologists, scientists and historians are applying innovative forensic techniques to reveal the man behind the myth.  We join a team, funded by the National Geographic Society, that has discovered the ruins of George Washington's childhood home -- its exact location a mystery until now.  As they comb the site, they unearth two cellars and a collection of incredible artifacts to help set the record straight on his fabled youth.  Then, despite Washington's dignified image, we learn he engaged in the dirty business of espionage.  During the American Revolution, he habitually used secret codes, invisible ink and misinformation to deceive the British.  We also unearth reminders of his intimate relationship with slavery at his Mount Vernon estate and executive mansion.  Finally, watch forensic investigators re-create Washington's face -- not as painters and sculptors have romanticized him, but as The Real George Washington.
 
Lost Cities of the Amazon
Thursday, November 20, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Over the centuries, explorers have traded tales of a lost civilization that once thrived amid the dense Amazonian rainforest.  Scientists dismissed the legends as exaggerations, believing the rainforest could not sustain such a huge population.  Now, a new generation of scientific explorers armed with 21st century technology have uncovered remarkable evidence that could reinvent our understanding of the Amazon and the indigenous peoples who lived there.  Re-examine 16th century Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana's search for this "lost civilization" of ancient Indians.  More like Los Angeles than New York City, the Amazonian matrix of settlements was spread out rather than condensed in a vertical orientation.  Using CGI and dramatic re-creations, we reimagine the banks of the Amazon 500 years ago, teeming with inhabitants living in the Lost Cities of the Amazon.

Egypt Unwrapped: Alexander the Great's Lost Tomb
Friday, November 21, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Alexander the Great is one of history's greatest warrior kings, and he was the leader of the most powerful nation in the ancient world.  Although Macedonian by birth, he would die a pharaoh of Egypt, and his legacy would shape the Egyptian empire for the next 300 years.  The location of his tomb has eluded archaeologists for more than 2,000 years.  It is a hunt characterized by speculation, controversy and political wrangling.  Now, for the first time, we join a new generation of experts using innovative research and thinking to retrace this pharaoh's journey through Egypt, in search of Alexander the Great's Lost Tomb.

Egypt Unwrapped: Mystery of the Screaming Man
Friday, November 21, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
More than a century ago, an unmarked coffin was found lying in a cave with some of the greatest pharaohs in Egyptian history.  The contents were shocking -- a roughly 3,000-year-old mummy, his face locked in an eternal scream, and little sign of a normal ancient Egyptian burial.  What caused this man's haunting expression?  Why wasn't he mummified according to custom?  And what secrets can he reveal about the Egyptian attitude toward the afterlife?  We explore the theories of his death and also look at whether he could have been an important military man or a disgraced royal prince who committed suicide.  Using cutting-edge medical science, including a modern CT scanner and unprecedented access, we'll work with a facial anthropologist to re-create the face of this mummy as we attempt to solve the mystery of The Screaming Man.

Egypt Unwrapped: The Scorpion King
Sunday, November 23, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Hollywood's version of the "The Scorpion King" depicts the action-packed rise of a desert warrior.  But is there any truth to the fictional blockbuster?  For nearly a hundred years, historians have been searching for the answer, trying to unravel the mystery of the real ancient ruler.  Now, from fragments of evidence, experts are building a picture of a ruler 5,000 years ago whose achievements laid the foundations for history's most enduring civilization.  Join archaeologists and scholars as they journey to Egypt to investigate the real Scorpion King.  Learn how this king likely united the upper and lower kingdoms of ancient Egypt, organized his kingdom with the world's earliest phonetic writing system and began a new style of burial that may have inspired the complex tombs and pyramids of the pharaohs, in Egypt Unwrapped: The Scorpion King.

Herod's Lost Tomb
Sunday, November 23, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Herod the Great is one of the Old Testament's worst villains, best known for ordering the massacre of all male children in Bethlehem under 2 years old.  Although few scholars believe the story is true, Herod's bloody reputation has obscured the fact that he was also one of the greatest architectural masterminds in world history.  The fortresses, temples and cities he commissioned were so audacious, they continue to astound contemporary architects and engineers.  But despite a plethora of structures built in his name, one riddle has remained unsolved for decades -- where was his own tomb?  We join archaeologist Ehud Netzer, who has searched for Herod's tomb for three decades, aided by support from National Geographic, as he and his team peel back thousands of years obliterated under the sands in a crusade for clues.  Finally, the eureka moment Dr. Netzer has long been waiting for: Herod's Lost Tomb.  If confirmed, it could be one of the most important discoveries since the Dead Sea Scrolls. Dr. Netzer's work will also be featured in the December cover story of National Geographic magazine, on newsstands November 25, 2008.