NAKED CITIES EXPOSE INCREDIBLE ENGINEERING SECRETS IN SCIENCE CHANNEL’S STRIP THE CITY
The Return of STRIP THE CITY,
Jan 29 at 10:00 PM –
#StripTheCity @ScienceChannel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQeO5HxJ4-g
(Silver Spring, Md.) – Beneath the crowded sidewalks and bustling streets, every city holds a secret. This January, Science Channel peels back the layers of eight major cities to unveil the hidden technology that protect us from the onslaught of nature’s most terrifying threats. Stunning CGI animation undresses each city – shedding concrete, brick, glass and stone – to reveal science’s best defense against the elements. The all-new season of STRIP THE CITY premieres January 29th at 10:00PM (ET/PT) with stops in New York, Chicago, Venice, Tokyo, New Orleans, Paris, Los Angeles, and Machu Picchu.
“Strip The City introduces us to the hidden worlds that lay beneath our feet and inspire incredible curiosity” said Debbie Adler Myers, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Science Channel. “These are worlds of unprecedented wonder, complexity and turbulence. The science behind keeping them running is simply mind blowing.”
In the premiere episode, Science Channel turns its focus towards the Big Apple, in an attempt to understand what keeps New York one of the most powerful metropolises on the globe. We’ll pluck the taxis off the streets, pull off layers of New York’s busy Subway system and break down skyscraping buildings to reveal NYC’s greatest engineering feats that keep the city running. Subsequent episode address other engineering questions about our great cities including: How can Tokyo survive sitting on some of the most seismically active rock on the planet? How did the ancient Inca’s build a city high in the Andes without modern technology? And how does Venice stay afloat among rapidly sinking bedrock?
FULL EPISODE ORDER
Episode 1: SUPERSTORM CITY – NEW YORK
Premieres January 29th at 10:00 PM
New York City sits on one the world’s largest natural harbours, but this asset is also its greatest danger. It makes the city vulnerable to deadly superstorms from the Atlantic. So how does New York fight back and survive these deadly forces? Stunning CGI animation peels back the stone off the Grand Central Station and the steel off the Verrazano Bridge to reveal their inner workings. Leading engineers and geologists reveal how the new One World Trade Centre will remain standing whatever the weather, as its deeply rooted into super strong bedrock. Also we’ll see how they’re also designing ingenious techniques to stop the next superstorm flooding New York’s bustling Subway System using giant inflatable plugs.
Episode 2: HEATWAVE CITY – CHICAGO
Premieres February 5th at 10:00 PM
Chicago is a city of intense temperatures. This sprawling metropolis sits on a flat landscape carved out by ancient glaciers – but these plains also create deadly heat waves. As summer temperatures rocket to an atonishing 110 degrees, the buildings come close to meltdown. How do the city’s skyscrapers survive this extreme environment? Stunning CGI animation strips the glass and concrete off the famous Willis building and peels back O’Hare airport’s runways …revealing their inner workings. The city’s leading engineers and geologists reveal the secrets inside Chicago’s skyscaper that heatproof them, protect the city’s bridges and rail tracks from melting and keep residents alive in the searing heat.
Episode 3: SINKING CITY – VENICE
Premieres February 12th at 10:00 PM
Sitting in a lagoon on the edge of the Adriatic Sea, Venice is made up of 118 islands, connected by over 400 bridges. More than 16 million visitors are drawn to this Italian destination each year – but the city is under siege. With rising sea level it is gradually sinking and parts of the city flood 250 times every year. How did Venice come to thrive in such an inhospitable place – and how will it survive today? This film looks beneath the city’s skin to discover the engineering wonders that allowed the city to grow. Stunning CGI animation peels bricks and stone from its historic buildings and drains its waterways. The city’s leading engineers and geologists reveal the secrets that keep Saint Mark’s bell tower from toppling. We join a team of divers on the first underwater inspection of the 400 year old Rialto Bridge and explore how Venice’s new flood barriers are being built.
Episode 4: MEGAQUAKE CITY – TOKYO
Premieres February 19th at 10:00 PM
Tokyo is under attack from the Earth’s most devastating forces with the threat of tsunamis from the East, mega-quakes emanating from miles below and an active volcano – Mount Fuji – to the West. How does the city’s buildings and infrastructure survive the onslaught of a destructive mega-quake? This episode explores the geology that shaped the city’s past and challenges its future, from the active volcano looming in the West to the fault lines that threaten tsunamis and the next mega-quake.
Episode 5: HURRICANE CITY – NEW ORLEANS
Premieres February 26th at 10:00 PM
New Orleans is standing on the edge of disaster. Built along the banks of the mighty Mississippi this vibrant city of culture and jazz is completely surrounded by water. Loosing land fast to the Gulf of Mexico, sitting on unstable silty mud, it is also directly in the firing line of hurricanes every year. How do the city’s buildings and infrastructure survive the onslaught of these deadly forces? This film takes apart a hurricane, looks beneath the city’s great superdome to see how it can survive 1000 mph winds, we reveal how its skyscrapers stop themselves sinking and how there is now a plan to build the biggest network of pump stations in the world, which will prevent the city flooding, however big the hurricane.
Episode 6: CAVERN CITY – PARIS
Premieres March 5th at 10:00 PM
Beneath the streets of Paris lies a parallel universe – a maze of tunnels and ancient quarries stretching for over 180 miles. These quarries provide the building blocks for the city, but now they threaten it with collapse.
The film strips away Paris’s most famous icons to reveal their secret inner workings and the ingenious technology that allowed engineers to build the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Sacre Couer. We peel back the boulevards to reveal the threat that lies just 60 feet below ground. We descend into the city’s caverns to meet the engineers and geologists working to prop up the streets above and join the team constructing a brand new metro line in the city’s already crowded underground world. CGI animation strips away the Eiffel Tower’s and exposes its foundations that drop just 17 feet below the surface. We join the team building Paris’s newest skyscraper to see how this same ‘light touch’ design is helping them transform the city’s skyline
Episode 7: EARTHQUAKE CITY – LOS ANGELES
Premieres March 12th at 10:00 PM
Los Angeles is standing on the brink of a catastrophic earthquake as this entertainment capital of the world sits on one of the world’s most infamous earthquake hotspots – the San Andreas Fault. How does the city’s buildings and infrastructure survive the onslaught of a destructive earthquake? The city’s leading surveyors and geologists reveal the secrets that keep LA’s skyscrapers standing, protect its roads and aqueducts and prepare its residents for ‘the Big One’. The film explores the geology that shaped the city’s past and challenges its future, from the oil reserves that attracted the first settlers to the fault line where a massive earthquake is long overdue.
Episode 8: ANCIENT CITY – MACHU PICCHU
Premieres March 19th at 10:00 PM
Perched on slopes 11,000 feet up in the Andes, Machu Picchu was home to over 1000 people. Built as a royal retreat for the emperor it took a thousand stonemasons almost a hundred years to complete. Constantly under threat from earthquakes, landslides and floods how did this ancient city survive for over 400 years? This film strips it temples, buildings and terraces to reveal their secret inner workings and the ingenious techniques that allowed the city to be built without modern tools in one of the most inhospitable regions on earth. The engineers and archaeologists who know this place best reveal how the Inca’s quake proofed their walls with precision cut granite blocks and built a sophisticated canal system which fed its residents water all year round. Stunning CGI animation peels back it terraces and reveals the stonework that made Inca roads one of the most advanced highway systems in the ancient world.
About Science Channel
Science Channel, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), is home for the thought provocateur, the individual who is unafraid to ask the killer questions of “how” and “why not.” The network is a playground for those with audacious intellects and features programming willing to go beyond imagination to explore the unknown. Guided by curiosity, Science Channel looks for innovation in mysterious new worlds as well as in its own backyard. Science Channel and the Science Channel HD simulcast reach nearly 80 million U.S. households. The network also features high-traffic online and social media destinations, including ScienceChannel.com, facebook.com/Science Channel and twitter.com/Science Channel.
