1 ship. 5,000 stories

Funding for the series provided by:

Corporate fundingprovided by:

Presenting station:

CARRIER GUIDE_final_ 3-28-08 3/28/08 4:41 PM

CARRIER, a 10-part series filmed aboard the USS Nimitz,is a character-driven immersion in the high-stakes world ofa nuclear aircraft carrier. The filmmakers embedded aboardand were given unprecedented access to the Nimitz:24 stories high and three football fields long, carrying85 military aircraft andmore than 5,000 Navy personnel, with an average age of 19. The program follows a core group of film participants, from theelite fighter pilots to thejunior enlisted, as they navigate personal conflicts around theirjobs, families, faith, patriotism, love, the rites of passage and the war on terror.Filmed in high-definitionvideo during a six-monthdeployment to thePersian Gulf, CARRIER takes a raw and personal look atthe Navy’s role in this controversial war.

1 Ship. 5,000 Stories.

Experience CARRIER Online:Check out pbs.org/carrier for a unique look at life on anaircraft carrier. The site picks up where the documentaryleaves off with more stories and behind-the-scenes information, including video clips, an interactive tour of the ship, photographs, producer diaries and more. Youcan also build content on the site by uploading your ownstories of life at sea.

Want more? Get on board the CARRIER Facebook fanpage for the latest info and for preview clips. Just searchFacebook for “PBS CARRIER” and join the “Official PBSCARRIER” fan page — learn more about the participants,share stories and tell friends! You can also see CARRIERclips on our YouTube Channel at youtube.com/pbs.

Home Video:CARRIER will be available on DVD through PBS HomeVideo on shopPBS.com after the broadcast premiere andavailable in retail stores on May 6, 2008.

CARRIER GUIDE_final_ 3-28-08 3/28/08 4:41 PM Page 3

All HandsSunday, April 27, 2008, 9:00 p.m. ET

On a bright May morning, 5,000 sailors and Marines bid farewell to their loved ones before the mammoth

USS Nimitz pulls out of Coronado,California, and sets a course forHawaii and beyond. Among themen and women who live and workon board are an airman whodescribes the ship as a small town;a pilot who considers the ship a powerful instrument of diplomacy; a sailor who questions “why we’refighting to defend someone else’sfreedom when we barely have ourown”; a cook who dishes out

15,000 meals a day; and an airman who has just learnedthat his girlfriend is pregnant.

Controlled ChaosSunday, April 27, 2008, 10:00 p.m. ET

The men and women of the USS Nimitz live beneath the runway of a major airport. They sleep on the roof of a nuclear power plant. It’sa perilous environment. Theironly bulwark against dangerand chaos is to bond withtheir units on board the ship.The “Shooters,” who launchthe jets, have a “Circle ofTrust”; the Ordies (ordnancepersonnel) pride themselveson being a “mafia”; the F-18squadrons — the Black Aces, the Hoboes and the Marine Red Devils — are tight fraternities.


Super SecretsMonday, April 28, 2008, 9:00 p.m. ET

The ship’s location and itinerary are classified. Details ofhow the nuclear reactor works are top secret. Many aspectsof life on a nuclear aircraft carrier are hush-hush. Dating and

sex aboard ship are strictly forbidden,but according to one sailor, with5,000 people on board, relationshipsare “inevitable,” resulting in a “don’task, don’t tell” policy that applies torelationships as well as sexual orientation. When the Nimitz pullsinto Hong Kong for a four-day portcall, a scandal dramatically altersthe lives of two sailors. As the shipdeparts, the crew learns their itinerary has changed. The captainannounces that they are heading forKorea, but the crew can’t share thisinformation with their families backhome … because it’s a secret.

Squared AwayMonday, April 28, 2008, 10:00 p.m. ET

Mentoring and camaraderie are whathold the ship together. But life ondeployment is stressful for everyoneaboard, and there can be considerablefriction between enlisted personnel and

their superiors.Port calls allowsailors to blow offsteam, but theydon’t relieve all the pressure. In Guam,a young sailor coming to terms with hisupbringing can’t play by the rules andis forced out of the Navy. From Guam,

the Nimitz sails through the Straits of Malacca, pastSingapore to Kuala Lumpur, the last liberty call before thelong haul to the Persian Gulf.


Groundhog DayTuesday, April 29, 2008, 10:00 p.m. ET

After two months in the Gulf, one day starts to becomeindistinguishable from the next. The airwing still hasn’tdropped a single bomb, which is frustrating for everyoneon board. The only relief comes from a port call inBahrain, where some sailors relax by the pool, whileothers visit a mosque and learn about Muslim culture.The Princeton, oneof the escort shipsin the Nimitz strikegroup, loses aman overboard; an intense searchto find the lostsailor ensues.

Show of ForceTuesday, April 29, 2008, 9:00 p.m. ET

The mission really kicks off when the Nimitz arrives in theGulf. The conditions are extreme: flight deck personnelendure temperatures hovering around 120 degrees, while

the pilots undertake gruelingsix-hour missions overIraq. The F-18s are mountedwith infrared cameras,enabling them to serve asthe “eyes in the sky” tosupport the troops on theground. Some of the pilots

are frustrated that they’re not dropping bombs because, asthey describe it, that’s what they’ve been trained to do. Theaircraft carrier’s role and effectiveness in this particular warare questioned. Meanwhile, the strike group searches forterrorists on small dhows and intercepts cargo ships tosearch for weapons and bomb-making materials.


Rites of PassageWednesday, April 30, 2008, 9:00 p.m. ET

The last day in the Gulf is the last chance to drop bombsbefore the Nimitz heads home. The jets take off, laden withordnance, and return hours later, still carrying the samebombs. As the Nimitz crosses the equator, the entire shiptakes part in the Crossing the Line Ceremony, an ancientmaritime ritual. In the middle of flight operations, a storm

arises in the SouthIndian Ocean. The deck pitches violently, turning thealready dangeroustask of landing on the carrier into a nail-biting, heart-pounding drama.

True BelieversWednesday, April 30, 2008, 10:00 p.m. ET

This episode explores themany expressions of faithonboard the USS Nimitz:faith in self, faith in one’s shipmates, faith in the mission of the ship and thepresident’s call to arms. The major religious groups on board are Catholic andProtestant, but there also is a coven of Wiccans, as well as a Pentecostal group whosenewest member is challengedby the duality of his beliefs and the temptations of libertyas the ship drops anchor inPerth, Australia.


Get Home-itisThursday, May 1, 2008, 9:00 p.m. ET

A six-month absence places a heavy burden on relation-ships. The Navy holds seminars to counsel sailors on whatto expect when they return home — and how to make the

transition smooth. The“Tiger Cruise” ritual allowssailors to invite their familymembers aboard for thelast leg of the deployment.

Full CircleThursday, May 1, 2008, 10:00 p.m. ET

As the Nimitz makes its final transitfrom Hawaii to California, the sailorsand Marines on board prepare toreturn to their homes and families.For those still on board, the “TigerCruise” provides a buffer, but there’sno such transition for those who flyhome early from Hawaii. As theNimitz returns to her home port ofSan Diego, sailors and Marines reflect on the deployment and take stock of what they’veachieved. Was the mission accomplished? There are tearful,joyful reunions at the pier.


Credits:An Icon Productions and Carrier Project Production

Directed by MARO CHERMAYEFF; Executive Producers MEL GIBSON, BRUCE DAVEY, NANCY COTTON, MITCHELL BLOCK, and MAROCHERMAYEFF; Producers DEBORAH DICKSON and JEFF DUPRE; Producers in the field MATTHEW AKERS, MICHELLE SMAWLEY, PAMELA YATES; Created by MARO CHERMAYEFF and MITCHELLBLOCK; Editors PAMELA SCOTT ARNOLD, JAY KEUPER, MAEVEO’BOYLE, HOWARD SHARP and E. DONNA SHEPHERD;Cinematographers AXEL BAUMANN, ULLI BONNEKAMP, MARK BRICE,ROBERT HANNA and WOLFGANG HELD; Original Music ComposerEDWARD BILOUS; Original Music Producer GREG KALEMBER;Executive Music Producer TRACY MCKNIGHT

Executive producers for WETA: Dalton Delan and David S. Thompson

All photos courtesy of the CARRIER Project, Inc.


1 ship. 5,000 stories

Documents