Bin Laden's Hard Drive
Channel: National Geographic Channel (DStv 181 / StarSat 220)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Documentary
On 2 May, 2011, almost a decade after masterminding the brazen September 11 terrorist attack that would bring down New York's Twin Towers, Osama bin Laden was tracked to a well-fortified safe house in Pakistan and killed.
Now, almost a decade later, National Geographic and New York Times best-selling author and CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen present a groundbreaking look at the al-Qa'ida founder's personal life through an in-depth examination of newly declassified hard drives taken from the compound.
With insights from CIA profilers, criminal psychologists, religious scholars, battle-tested military experts as well as men who personally knew Bin Laden, the special sifts through the trove of personal moments and the extremist content he created to piece together the story of the multifaceted man behind the headlines.
Nearly 470,000 digital files. 250 gigabytes of data. Over 100 USB drives, DVDs and CDs. Five computers. And multiple cell phones.
Piecing together every shred of evidence from these items taken from the Abbottabad compound where bin Laden was killed, Bin Laden's Hard Drive scrutinises the al-Qa'ida founder's layered personal psychology, his relationship with his family, the lens through which he viewed faith and religion, as well as his nihilistic legacy of violence and destruction.
The special offers a roadmap into the mind of a mass murderer that offers increasing twists and contradictions the deeper it goes.
Bergen leads a team of experts in the search for meaning in each letter and home video, leaving no item unturned in a quest for answers.
He sits down in London with Abdullah Anas — a former mujahideen and one of Osama bin Laden's closest friends in the '80s, who traveled with him to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet forces — to unpack his thoughts on Bin Laden's evolution.
He also speaks with Abdel Bari Atwan, a journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of Al Quds Al Arabi, who offers unique insights as one of the only reporters to spend two days in person with Bin Laden.
Lessons from the Edge
Channel: SABC3
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Documentary, Adventure, Sport
Lessons from the Edge is a film documenting Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel's epic adventures traversing the Great Himalaya Trail in 2018.
The film captures the intricate stories within Ryan and Ryno's successful 25-day, 1,500km fastest known time on the Great Himalaya Trail.
The film sees Sandes and Griesel cut across heavily snow-covered mountains and experience incredibly extreme weather conditions.
They suffered frost-bitten fingers, serious tummy bugs, breathing difficulties and a few near death experiences.
A constant on the route, however, was the incredibly welcoming spirit of the Nepalese people who truly embody the spirit of Namaste, and welcomed the both of them into their homes.
9/11: Inside Air Force One
Channel: HISTORY (DStv 186)
TX Time: 20h15
Genre: Documentary, Special, History
This documentary tells the story of 9/11 from a unique vantage point: inside Air Force One on its nine-hour journey from Florida, across the country, and finally home to Washington D.C.
Featuring interviews with President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Chief of Staff Andy Card, the pilot of Air Force One, Secret Service agents, as well as intelligence and military aides on board.
Witness the tragic day through the eyes of the nation's leaders and members of the civilian and military chain of command, as well as recent footage captured aboard Air Force One.
The documentary also reveals an astonishing and untapped resource - the formerly top-secret and recently declassified transcript of the conversation among the nation's military and civilian high command that took place that day, known as the Air Threat Conference Call.
As no other record possibly could, this document shows the real-time struggles of the country's leaders to make sense of the scale of the attack, to formulate a coherent response, and to keep the President safe from harm.
Tin Soldiers
Channel: Real Time (DStv 155)
TX Time: 14h15
Genre: Documentary, Sport
Tin Soldiers is a fascinating film perspective into the world of amputees, people who have spina bifida, paralysis, and cerebral palsy all participating in adaptive sports.
This documentary features double amputee Zach Ruhl; a professional cross-fit coach and soon to be Paralympic powerlifter, WCMX rider Quinn Waitley; three-year-old adaptive athlete Abel Rose; three-time Paralympic gold medalist Alana Nichols; the first American female to win gold at both a summer and winter Games, and many more.
This film aims to inspire people to make a change in their life through the power of commitment and sport.
To feel better psychically and mentally is a key to feeling better emotionally, which begins to resolve the hardest challenge people with these conditions face; overcoming depression.
This film is about believing in yourself through adapting.
American Idol 18
Channel: Vuzu (DStv 116)
TX Time: 17h00
Genre: Reality Competition, Music
Returning this season to discover the next singing sensation are music industry legends and all-star judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, as well as Ryan Seacrest as host.
Multimedia personality Bobby Bones will return to his role as in-house mentor.
In the premiere episode, embark on a nation-wide journey across Savannah, Georgia; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles, California; and Sunriver, Oregon, where the show's judge auditions will surprise with never-before-seen twists.
Those auditioning for the coveted ticket to Hollywood include a subway performer from Harlem who gives one of the most emotional auditions in "Idol" history.
There's also a garbage collector with no experience who heads to the streets of Savannah, alongside host Ryan Seacrest, to warm up for his audition.
Then there's a hopeless romantic who encounters her own fairy tale twist during her audition as she sings from the heart.
Dynamo: Beyond Belief
Channel: Discovery Family (DStv 136 / StarSat 222)
TX Time: 15h10
Genre: Documentary Series, Docu-Reality
Beyond Belief is a three-part magic special that combines jaw-dropping magic with the story of Dynamo's road to recovery after the career-threatening onslaught of chronic arthritis.
Throughout the three episodes, stunning moments of magic are intertwined with Dynamo's brutally honest back story narrative.
The series slowly reveals Dynamo's journey from the start of his illness, through to the height of his hospitalisation, where he created over 200 new magic ideas sketched from his hospital bed, and finally to his return to health.
From the neon lights of Tokyo to the Day of the Dead festival in San Miguel De Allende, Dynamo visits extraordinary and dramatic places all over the world.
He performs a spine-tingling encounter with a Geisha in one of Tokyo's royal tea rooms, makes vodka shots turn to ice in the heart of Moscow's underworld and embarks on a daring adventure in one of Mexico's notorious Barrios.