Outstanding lineup of new programming on National Geographic Channel

Naica, Chihuahua, MEXICO: Cavers exploring Naica's Los Crystales cave where more than a hundred giant crystals have grown. (Photo Credit: © Speleoresearch & Films/ Oscar Necoechea)

During the month of October, the National Geographic Channel provides several excellent television choices for the entire family, starting with the launch of the series, Making History, followed by the new season premier of Dog Whisperer, and then an extraordinary two-hour special, Into the Lost Crystal Caves.

Making History, which debuts on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 9 PM ET/PT is a definitive ‘how to’ for building meticulous historical reenactments that utilize the latest advances in digital technology, extensive research and the expertise of a team of seasoned graphic-designers, to give you an inside look into the techniques for re-creating some of the most crucial events and figures in the history of mankind.

In this week’s first episode of Making History, we are given a behind-the-scenes look at one of humanity’s most hated dictators, Hitler, and are provided pivotal moments in his life, everything from his infamous speech hailing 150,000 soldiers at the Nuremburg rally, to what might have been on Hitler’s mind moments before his death.

Making History then continues during the month with episodes about Nostradamus on Tuesday, October 12, Stonehenge on Tuesday, October 19, and Gangsters on Tuesday, October 26, all at 9 PM ET/PT.

The video below, “Making Plague Victims,” is excerpted from the Nostradamus episode and shows the design team’s magic in re-creating a plague pit from the 1500’s, using lots of ingenuity, on a tiny production budget and with a handful of actors. The results are amazing.



Later this week, a National Geographic audience family-favorite, as season seven of Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan debuts.

The series kicks off with Millan being joined by comedian and television personality, Howie Mandel and his wife Terry, as they deal with their chomping Chihuahua, “Lola,” and her very aggressive behavior.

The Dog Whisperer: Lola and Bebe & Sadie airs Friday, October 8, 2010, at 8 PM ET/PT.

Then, on Sunday, October 10, 2010, the National Geographic Channel presents a high-definition special at its best, Into the Lost Crystal Caves.

Billed as possibly, “one of the greatest natural marvels ever found,” the Lost Crystal Caves of Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico are hidden 1,000 feet beneath the earth’s surface. They are about the size of a football field, as high as a two-story building and contain gigantic razor sharp gypsum formations never before seen by man.

You’ll journey with a group of international scientists below the surface of the earth, where temperatures hover at a life-threatening 113 degrees with 90 percent humidity, and see first-hand this “devastatingly beautiful hell-on- earth.”

Into the Lost Crystal Caves airs Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 8 PM ET/PT.

Below, a video excerpt from Into the Lost Crystal Caves: “Exploring a Deadly Cave” – See the exceptional measures it takes to explore and film in the cave’s hostile environment.