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Frontline Season 5 Episodes
Season 5 Episode Guide
20 Episodes 1987 - 1987
Episode 1
The Real Stuff
Tue, Jan 27, 1987
One year after Challenger disaster, Frontline examined all-too-human side of space program as seen.
Episode 2
The Earthquake Is Coming
Tue, Feb 3, 1987
Frontline examines startling implications of what will happen when big earthquake hits California.
Episode 3
Stopping Drugs, Part 1
Tue, Feb 10, 1987
A two-part special examining efforts to stamp out drugs. Part 1 examines personal struggles of addicts trying to kick habit and effectiveness of drug treatment programs.
Episode 4
Stopping Drugs, Part 2
Tue, Feb 17, 1987
A two-part special examining efforts to stamp out drugs. Part 2 journeys into America's schools to find out if drugs are really a major problem and if anti-drug efforts are working.
Episode 5
The Nazi Connection
Tue, Feb 24, 1987
German rocket scientists developed the V-2 ballistic missile, perhaps Nazi Germany's most feared weapon. The V-2 was built by slave labor, and thousands of prisoners died making them. Other Nazi scientists performed deadly aviation-related medical experiments on concentration-camp inmates. As World War II ended, those scientists' aerospace knowledge became highly coveted by the Allies, but their Nazi party and SS connections prevented them from being offered visas. In this documentary program, BBC reporter Tom Bower reveals that incriminating evidence was removed from their war records as part of "Project Paperclip", allowing them to be brought to the United States in violation of American law and morality. Several of the Germans, including Wernher von Braun and Arthur Rudolph, became key figures in the American space program and gave the United States as much as a 20-year lead in the race to the moon.
Episode 6
Desperately Seeking Baby
Tue, Mar 3, 1987
Two million American couples desperately want babies and can't have them. They are turning to private adoption deals brokered by lawyers and counselors.
Episode 7
Street Cop
Tue, Mar 31, 1987
Frontline takes a gritty look at street cops. In Boston's busiest, most violent police district.
Episode 8
The Secret File
Tue, Apr 14, 198757 mins
How could an ordinary citizen be considered a national security risk? Penn Kimball.
Episode 9
War on Nicaragua
Tue, Apr 21, 1987
As Iran-contra scandal was still unfolding, Frontline correspondent William Greider revealed how US began supporting contras in Nicaragua and why our involvement there continues.
Episode 10
The Bombing of West Philly
Tue, May 5, 1987
'I could hear bullets all around me, hitting all around house. I was forced back by gunfire,' says Ramona Africa.
Episode 11
In Search of the Marcos Millions
Tue, May 26, 1987
The day Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos fled Philippines in 1986, they left with $8.9 million in jewelry, cash, and bonds.
Episode 12
Israel: The Price of Victory
Tue, Jun 2, 1987
The Six Day War was a decisive victory for Israel. But many Israelis feel something has gone wrong.
Episode 13
Death of a Porn Queen
Mon, Jun 8, 198757 mins
A young woman from Minnesota moves to Hollywood in search of a dream and gets caught up in a world of X-rated movies and drugs.
Episode 14
Keeping the Faith
Tue, Jun 16, 1987
The black church was once soul of its community. It was a rallying point and a force for change.
Episode 15
The Politics of Greed
Tue, Jun 23, 1987
As corruption scandals rock New York City, careers of dozens of high officials are being destroyed.
Episode 16
Apartheid Part 1: 1652-1948
Mon, Dec 14, 1987
Many white South Africans claim entire country is theirs by right. No black man.
Episode 17
Apartheid Part 2: 1948-1963
Mon, Dec 14, 1987
Part 2 details new policy which included classifying all South Africans by race, removing blacks from cities.
Episode 18
Apartheid Part 3: 1963-1977
Tue, Dec 15, 1987
'Independent homelands' for blacks was centerpiece of Prime Minister Hendrick Verwoerd's vision of apartheid.
Episode 19
Apartheid Part 4: 1978-1986
Tue, Dec 15, 1987
When PW Botha became prime minister of South Africa two years after Soweto uprising in 1976.
Episode 20
Apartheid Part 5: 1987
Wed, Dec 16, 1987
Part 5 looks at an unprecedented meeting in struggle for South Africa's future. Two years.