The Real Story

The biggest movie and TV franchise of all time, Star Trek spawned more than 700 TV episodes and twelve films. Creator Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future helped inspire today's scientists to develop the first scientific principles of teleportation, the creation of artificial intelligence, androids, and more. Now, scientists, series producers, the first Trekkies, and Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, provide new insights into a show that inspired audiences everywhere to create a better world.

In the fourth film in the "Die Hard" franchise, New York cop John McClane takes on a sophisticated cyber-criminal mastermind who shuts down the USA remotely via the Internet. It's a story that is chillingly topical. THE REAL STORY shows how a similar cyber-attack could be a real possibility. Featuring interviews with real-life cyber-criminals, FBI investigators and computer specialists, the program uncovers the shadowy world of hacking on a scale that could shutdown entire countries. Meet the government officials and former hackers who are tasked with ensuring it never does.

THE REAL STORY examines the soldiers and events behind Oliver Stone's Academy Award-winning movie, which opened the world's eyes to the horrors of the Vietnam conflict. With exclusive interviews with Stone and actor Willem Dafoe, the program features exclusive recordings from the fierce firefight that inspired the movie's climactic battle, and speaks to former Vietnam veterans about the portrayal of actual events. THE REAL STORY also explores how much of the movie was based on Stone's own experiences as a rookie soldier serving in Vietnam and reveals the identities of the soldiers who fought alongside him during the conflict. The program recreates one of the most memorable scenes in movie history to learn whether a person could survive an assault and reach a helicopter evacuation zone, as depicted in "Platoon."

The REAL STORY investigates Ron Howard's controversial 2003 box office hit and reveals that it was based on more real organizations and events than previously thought. "The Da Vinci Code" film follows Harvard professor Robert Langdon's attempt to solve a series of puzzles and codes left behind by the great Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci, to find the true nature and final resting place of the Holy Grail. THE REAL STORY meets with leading theologians, da Vinci experts, art restorers and Coptic scholars to examine the film's assertions. Did Jesus have a sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene? Does da Vinci's The Last Supper painting contain intentional coded references to Mary Magdalene? Is the film's cryptex a real da Vinci invention? What is the truth behind da Vinci's mirror writing? THE REAL STORY explores these questions and travels to the ancient Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland to analyze the function of the cryptic messages and hidden chambers that exist there.

Slasher movie "Scream," which portrays a brutal serial killer who terrorizes an entire town, has spawned one of the most commercially successful horror franchises in movie history. THE REAL STORY reveals that the facts are far more terrifying than Hollywood fiction. Over a week in the summer of 1990, 36-year-old masked serial killer Danny Harold Rolling stalked, tortured and murdered five young students in Gainesville, Florida. The "Gainesville Ripper" serial killings sparked mass panic, a student exodus and the largest manhunt in Florida's history. THE REAL STORY explores the impact Rolling's shocking killing spree had on the university town, from the media frenzy to the mass paranoia that swept across the small community, and follows the trials and tribulations of the year-long investigation to track down the murderer. Viewers will hear from firsthand witnesses, homicide investigators and scientists how the forensic team finally pieced together the murderer's methodology, and learn the trail of evidence that finally led police to unmask the killer.