On February 4, 1974, 19-year-old Patty Hearst, heir to the Hearst media fortune, was kidnapped from her apartment and her fiance’ was severely beaten. What happens over the next 19 months has the world captivated as she is held captive. Tonight at 9p, Smithsonian Channel tells her story after finding The Lost Tapes.
Many of us have heard about her kidnapping, but we do not know most of the details. The Lost Tapes documents her kidnapping only with archival news footage and the audio tapes she made during her time of being held by the Symbionese Liberation Army. They tell the story as it actually happened.
As I said, she was taken on February 4, 1974 and her parents begged for her return. Days would go by before they would hear from her kidnappers. Eventually, they heard from her and them when they sent a recording she made to a local Berkley radio station. She said she was OK and asked her parents to do what they asked. They did not ask for money, instead they wanted them to feed those families in need with $70 worth of food every week for a month. Costing them millions of dollars. When the distribution day came, things did do go as planned. That is when the Hearts heard from their daughter again saying how disappointed she was in the cheap food her family handed out.
Then there was radio silence for months. Her family was left wondering if she was alive or dead. They would get confirmation she was alive when they held up a bank and she was one of the robbers. At that point, she became a wanted woman because it seemed like she was turned by her abductors.
The SLA disappeared and would reappear a few months later, this time to hold up a sporting good store. Heart was one of the three people that was there day, but she got away with her captures. The three were in such a hurry that they left their getaway van there. This was the police’s first clue to where she was. The next day they surrounded the house and they were attacked by the SLA. One woman escaped the house before it went up in flames killing everyone inside. One of the bodies was not initially identified and people thought it might be Hearst, and as we know it was not.
She released another audio tape, eulogizing her friends who were killed. Infuriating most people who heard it. Just when it seemed like they would never find her, they did. She was forced to stand trial for her crimes and this time her parents were by her side.
She also did an interview and she explained what happened. Was it enough to save her?
Anyone who has heard just the name Patty Hearst will be taken in by tonight’s episode of The Lost Tapes. There is so much more to the story than a socialite who was kidnapped and eventually sympathizes with her kidnappers. A story that will hold you captive from the beginning of the episode until the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hSChMjlLNc
Ever since I was a little girl, I have been obsessed with all things the Titanic. When I heard that Smithsonian Channel was airing a documentary tonight at 8p containing New Evidence what might’ve sunk the unsinkable ship, I just had to watch it.
We know that on May 31, 1911, she hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage and then she sunk. Something that puzzled people for over 100 years. Recently, new photos that have not been seen before emerged in an auction and they shed a whole new light of what might’ve happened that fateful day.
The Titanic suffered several delays, and the White Star Line was insistent that it finally take off. Only problem she had a coal fire butning inside of her that just couldn’t be put out. The infrastructure was weakening and no one knew it. Not even after it was too late. It is something we are just realizing now thanks to some photos that sat on top of a closet for a century.
Why are first learning about this now? That is something else this intriguing documentary uncovered. Titanic: The New Evidence is a must watch for anyone who has ever been interested in what really happened on that day over 105 years ago.
Whether you are a sports fan or not, you know that there are some iconic items from every game. Some are so iconic that even you know what they are. We know what happened to them on that day, but where are they today. Tonight at 9p on Smithsonian Channel the Sports Detective will locate some of them and find out what actually happened to them since the day they were made famous.
On tonight’s season premiere, they look into the American flag that was draped over Jim Craig after the Miracle on Ice game back in 1980. Sports Reporter Lauren Gardner and former FBI Agent and current Private Investigator will talk the man who draped it on the hockey player. He claims he kept it for over a decade and then gave it to who he felt was the rightful owner, Jim Craig. But then there were reports that Jim Craig gave the flag to a player on the opposing team. What really happened to the flag? The answer is finally answered by Jim Craig and it is really interesting how it all went down.
In the coming weeks, they look into what happened to Jim Brown’s Championship ring, that the football player says was stolen, and the ball from the Immaculate Reception. They will look at file footage and articles, talk to police and even Brown’s lawyers. Will they be able to come to a conclusion on what happened to that ring?
They also look at what happened to Dale Earnhardt’s first car and Secretariat’s saddle cloth from his Kentucky Derby win. Where is Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series ball and a baseball bat that was used by Lou Gehrig? What happened to the ball that Wilt Chamberlin scored his 100th point in one game on March 2, 1962. Finally, they talk to Muhammad Ali about his Gold Medal from the 1960 Olympics.
Today, these items go for millions of dollars, but are they real thing? The Sports Detectives will try to determine that and as they do you will learn what really happened in game changing sports moment that we still talk about today. I am not a sports fan, but I felt like one watching this series.
Tonight at 8p on Freeform, Recovery Road picks up where it left off last week. Trish (Kyla Pratt) is in tears because her mother took her daughter and she doesn’t know where they went. Trish called the police and now they are asking her questions to assist with the search. She is inconsolable until Maddie (Jessica Sula) comes up with a solution. Now Trish is opening up to the police officers, but there is something very important she is leaving out. Something so shocking, you will be speechless. So much so, you will not want to wait a week to find out what happens next.
BTW that isn’t the only shocking moment in tonight’s episode that turns out to be a major game changer. So don’t miss a single second of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTgsikAMyh0
Also at 8p, but on the Smithsonian Channel the new series Major League Legends takes the bat. Each week, they will feature episodes dedicated to baseball greats that everyone knows. Tonight’s episode gives us the backstory of Hank Aaron. He is known as the first African-American to play professional baseball, but how much more do you know about him? With this show you will learn his story and what he went through from his mouth, archived news footage and his fans. It is a history our kids should know about and more importantly we should know about.
Next week, they will feature Babe Ruth, then Ted Williams and finally Lou Gehrig. We know their names, we know their stats, now let’s get to know them.
Major League Legends scores a home run whether you are a fan of the sport or not. If love the game, then this is a must watch and record. If not, you will still say this show came out swinging.
Also debuting tonight, but at 10p on Discovery is Rockin’ Roadsters. When you think of ZZ Top, you think of their music, their beards and their cars. This show is about the latter. Billy Gibbons loves his hot rods and he recruits Jimmy Shine to make his dream cars come true. What does he want to do with it? You will be surprised to find out what this Rocker’s desires are for it.
Together Gibbons and Shine will go looking for an automobile they can customize. Then when they find it, it is up to Shine to Shine. You will watch him convert a piece of junk into the hottest hot rod you’ve ever seen. This show has legs and they know how to use them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1sZqzY8G90
Also at 10p but on NBC, Blindspot is finally back. The episode picks up where it left off and we learn a little more about Jane (Jaimie Alexander) as she learns about herself. But there is only so much we will find out because life goes on and she has to go back to work. Together, they will investigate a case that you can tell was inspired by a story from two years ago that captivated the world. It is interesting take on it and you wonder if that could’ve happened. Got you curious right? Then watch it!
If you are like me, you love when a tough mystery is finally solved. The Missing Evidence attempts to do just that tonight and every Sunday at 9p for the next 6 weeks on Smithsonian Channel.
Tonight the 6 part docuseries takes on Jack the Ripper and Swedish journalist Christer Holmgren might have finally figured out who the mysterious serial killer is from a newspaper article. When a name shows up as witness by one of the bodies, he might not have been a witness but the murderer. The more Holmgren looks into that person, the more evidence points to him being Jack the Ripper. It only took 127 years, but after tonight’s well structured episode, one of the most infamous murderers might have finally been caught. Tune in to see if you believe that this man is the man that has eluded some of the best detectives for over a century.
Then once you are intrigued as I am with The Missing Evidence, check out the upcoming episode that try to solve other unsolved mysteries like The Nevada Triangle, Big Foot, The Day Marilyn Monroe Dies and The Loch Ness Monster, Sundays at 9p.
