Dynasties
Channel: SABC3
TX Time: 18h30
Genre: Wildlife, Nature, Documentary Series
Presented by Sir David Attenborough, Dynasties follows the true stories of five of the world's most celebrated, yet endangered, animals.
Five extraordinary animals, each in a heroic struggle against rivals and against the forces of nature, fighting for their own survival and for the future of their dynasties.
The first episode is a "Making Of..." special in which we discover the stories behind each episode as we hear direct from the filmmakers.
The five following episodes are as follows:
Chimpanzee
Enter a world of dynastic power struggles and family treachery...
In Senegal, West Africa, live a group of chimpanzees led by an alpha male named David. He has already been alpha for three years - a time when leaders here are usually overthrown.
To make matters worse, David has no allies - no-one to help him defend his leadership.
As the dry season sets in, the group are forced closer together to survive. But David is now surrounded by rivals who all want his crown and are prepared to kill him for it.
David faces brutal battles, has his world engulfed in flames and has to pull off an extraordinary act of deception.
In a story of power and politics, can David overcome the threats to his leadership and hold on to the alpha position long enough to sire a possible future heir to his throne?
Emperor
A colony of emperor penguins gather in Atka Bay, on the coast of Antarctica, after three months of feeding at sea.
They arrive as the water freezes over and all the other Antarctic animals have left the continent for the relative safety of the sea.
The penguins have come here to raise the next generation in their emperor's dynasty.
But to do so they will have to work together to keep themselves and their chicks alive through the coming winter - the coldest and cruellest on Earth.
Lion
This episode features one of the most famous lion prides in Africa - the Marsh Pride of Kenya's Masai Mara.
As the story begins, the Marsh Pride is in a unique situation in their history. They have been abandoned by all of the adult males who - until now - defended the pride.
Just two adult females are left to feed and protect their eight youngsters.
The future of the whole family rests entirely on the shoulders of these two mothers, Charm and her cousin Sienna.
They need to raise their cubs to adulthood if this great dynasty is to continue.
They and their cubs will face the great perils of the African savannah, including raging herds of buffalo, rival lion prides, the constant menace of marauding hyena and, in a fateful turn of events, a clash with humanity.
An extraordinary story of leadership against all odds.
Painted Wolf
This episode features a painted wolf named Tait, matriarch of one of the last great families of this endangered animal.
She has ruled her dynasty for many years on the banks of Zambezi river in Zimbabwe, keeping the peace within her sprawling family.
But tensions are rising as Tait is growing old and her power is waning.
One of her daughters, Blacktip, lives close by. Her own pack is growing fast and they are running out of space.
She urgently needs to get more territory so that her pack can catch enough food.
But she has a problem: she is hemmed in on one side by human lands and there is only one way she can go to get what she needs - her own mother's lands.
Painted wolves thrive through cooperation. It is what had made this dynasty so strong for so long. A family feud could bring it to its knees.
Tiger
This episode features a tigress named Raj Bhera who lives in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in India and holds the perfect tiger territory, with dense jungle, spring-fed ponds and rich grasslands teeming with prey.
And now, she has four tiny newborn cubs to care for. They are the future of her dynasty. But the idyllic world that she inhabits is changing.
Rival tigers, seeking their own territory, are encroaching on her hunting lands. One in particular, her adult daughter Solo, is challenging Raj Bhera in the heart of her territory.
The powerful tigress must fight to retain control of these hunting grounds while continuing to feed and protect her growing cubs.
Solo's persistence puts pressure on the whole family, until Raj Bhera makes a decision that could end both her life and her dynasty forever.
Battle of Britain 80: Allies in the Air
Channel: HISTORY (DStv 186)
TX Time: 20h15
Genre: Documentary, History
The makers of That's All Brother and Plane Resurrection draw on their vast experience and archive to commemorate the combatants and aircraft on both sides of the seminal aerial battle of WWII.
Features exclusive access to the fighting aircraft, including the rare, modern 4K footage and technical details of the Axis aircraft involved.
Renowned aviation author and historian Ian McLachlan reveals some of the forgotten stories of that fateful period, including the role played by the women of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
Also, the overseas pilots air to air footage all combine in this anniversary piece to tell the story of "The Few".
Jeffrey Dahmer: Mind of a Monster
Channel: Investigation Discovery (DStv 171 / StarSat 223)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: True Crime, Documentary
From the transcripts of audio recordings tp the police interviews after Dahmer's arrest, this two-hour special is chillingly narrated by the words of Dahmer himself.
His twisted confession reveals new insights into what led Jeffrey Dahmer – known as the Milwaukee Cannibal - to rape, kill and dismember 17 young men between 1978 and 1991.
In a heart-wrenching interview, his father, Lionel Dahmer, further details his attempts to get his son the help he so desperately needed.
Home video footage from Dahmer's childhood offers an intimate look into his relatively normal upbringing, putting Dahmer as an outlier of a typical serial killer's psyche, and shining a disturbing yet tragic revelation about his motives.
Other notable interviews throughout the special include: Ronald Flowers, one of Dahmer's victims who somehow avoided being murdered; and Dr. Park Deitz, a forensic psychiatrist who spent considerable time with Dahmer.
There is also an exclusive, never-before-seen interview with Nicole Childress, a witness who tried in vain to save one of Dahmer's victims and lives with the guilt of that night forever.
Battle of Britain: The Race for the Radar
Channel: HISTORY (DStv 186)
TX Time: 21h05
Genre: Documentary, History
Documentary revealing the inside story of the development of Britain's coastal radar network, which did so much to detect and thwart the Luftwaffe's bombing raids on Britain.
On the brink of war, the Graf Zeppelin crossed the North Sea on a daring spy mission.
Luftwaffe wireless experts had come to probe the mysterious towers that had appeared around the British coastline.
Fighter Command reeled in horror as they plotted the airship's progress from Essex to the north of Scotland.
Surely the Germans must have discovered all the secrets of Britain's just completed radar defence system?
A year later the Battle of Britain was won with the crucial advantage radar gave the RAF. So why had the Germans not destroyed British radar before the battle?
The answer came after a chance encounter long after the war. The Zeppelin spies had made the greatest intelligence blunder of the war.