Marauding Pirates Return to ETV’s Airwaves

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Marauding Pirates Return to ETV's Airwaves on Thanksgiving Night in "Carolina Stories: Pirates of the Carolinas"

Airs on Nov. 22, the 289th Anniversary of Blackbeard's Death

For Immediate Release
October 24, 2007

Columbia, SC...Good citizens, beware: On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 22 at 9 p.m., when your guard is down--caused by an

overdose of turkey and football--they will come. Put down that third slice of pie and brace yourself for the onslaught. For the pirates who once wreaked havoc on our shores are returning to ETV's airwaves, and they are coming for you.

"Carolina Stories: Pirates of the Carolinas," digs up the true tales of treachery and villainy that occurred off the coasts of North and South Carolina during the Golden Age of Piracy. The hour-long documentary airs on the 289th anniversary of the death of the most infamous marauder of them all, Blackbeard.

The program features the exploits of real sea bandits who roamed the streets of Charleston in the 18th century, including Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet, "Calico" Jack Rackham, and even female pirates such as Mary Read and Charleston's own Anne Bonny.

ETV's Emmy-nominated producer Bruce Mayer has spent over a year working on this, his latest film, with an eye towards authenticity and atmosphere. From a sunrise duel-to-the-death between Read and an unwitting male pirate to Bonny's less-than-tearful-goodbye to her former lover, Rackham--as he walked to the hangman's noose, re-enactors bring to life the actual accounts of these, and many other buccaneers.

Additionally, Mayer transports viewers back in time through his elaborate set designs, which transformed 21st century-Sumter and Huntington Beach into the back alleys and taverns of colonial Charleston and the prisons of Port Royal, Jamaica.

Of course, Blackbeard looms large in this production just as he did some 300 years ago, when he made the coastal harbors along the Carolinas his personal playground. Many of his exploits are uncovered in "Carolina Stories: Pirates of the Carolinas," including:

A weeklong blockade of Charleston, enforced by four ships and over 400 men--but it wasn't money Blackbeard was after (hint: it was another type of metal he and his crew found precious)

The purposeful sinking of his flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, in the spring of 1718 in what is now Beaufort Inlet, NC. In 1996, a shipwreck believed to be the QAR was discovered in the Inlet, but what evidence is there to support the claim? To find out, Mayer interviewed David Moore with the NC Maritime Museum, who has made numerous dives to the wreck

Beaufort Inlet would also be the site of Blackbeard's last stand. Legend has it that he withstood a barrage of bullet and stab wounds before his head was finally lopped off. For the next four years, the head hung from a pole in Hampton Bay, VA as a warning to other pirates

Then there's the Unholy Grail, the mythical wine goblet fashioned from Blackbeard's skull, plated in silver and inscribed with the words "Deth to Spotswoode." Modern-day treasure hunter John Walker uncovers the cup's origins and chronicles his quest for it. Still on the trail, Walker began his search in Charleston in 1990

Carolina Stories is a weekly series created by ETV producers that spotlights the people, events and interests of South Carolinians. The series, which airs Thursdays at 9 p.m., has been nominated for multiple Emmys, and has garnered two CINE Golden Eagle Awards and a Telly Award.

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.