Many adventure tales involve searching for buried or lost treasure. In the 1980s, such a story came true. A ship that had sunk in the deep ocean over 100 years before was discovered with more gold than had ever been found in a wreck. While finding the ship was difficult, recovering the gold also required innovation and invention. However, the story did not end once the gold is brought to the surface and onto the shore. The discoverer and his investors face additional hurdles to collecting their rewards and the finder of the gold ends up pursued in a giant manhunt to recover some of the missing gold. National Geographic presents this incredible story in Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal.
What Is Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal ?
Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal is based on the New York Times bestseller Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. It tells the true story of maverick scientist Tommy Thompson and his resourceful team who stunned the world in 1989 by recovering three tons of gold from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean from the famous 1857 shipwreck S.S. Central America. The three-part series follows the 30-year story of adventure, deception and personal turmoil that takes Tommy from a celebrated explorer to an infamous fugitive and, ultimately, to the inside of a prison cell. With exclusive access to over 600 hours of archival footage and thousands of slides, prints, photos and newspaper clippings on the original exploration mission – many of which have never been seen before. The series is a cautionary tale of obsession and its devastating consequences.
Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal is produced by BBC Studios for National Geographic. The series is executive produced by Alexander Leith, directed by Sam Benstead and Georgia Braham is series producer. Gary Kinder is consulting executive producer and Chris Kugelman
executive produces for National Geographic.
The series premieres on National Geographic TV on Wednesday, August 21st with the first two episodes, and begins streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the following day. Let’s take a look at the three episodes in this series.
“Impossible Riches”
A maverick scientist assembles a renegade team of experts to attempt the seemingly impossible: salvaging a gold-laden shipwreck from the deep ocean. Watch how they use science and algorithms to first determine a search area and then follow them as they use sonar to scan hundreds of square miles of ocean to locate the correct shipwreck over the course of a few years.
“Follow the Money”
Tommy’s discovery makes him an American hero. Now that he has found the gold, he had to find a way to retrieve it from thousands of feet below the ocean. However, once he gets the gold back to shore, his fortunes change as lawyers lay claim to the newfound gold.
(Recovery Limited Partnership Liquidating Trust)
“The Manhunt”
The hero explorer has become the criminal. Tommy Thompson is on the run, and his health is deteriorating. U.S. marshals are determined to track him down and locate 500 missing gold coins.
Why You Should See Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal
I had the opportunity to preview the three episodes of Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal in advance and found them quite interesting. I remember learning about this discovery while I was in high school and was fascinated with the marine engineering. This was about the same time that the RMS Titanic was discovered so there was a lot of hype about finding sunken ships deep in the ocean. The series combines original video footage from the time period along with reenactments as well as modern interviews with some of the people involved in the story. Each of the three episodes keep the viewer engaged as it goes from a treasure hunt to a true crime story. I enjoyed not only the story, but the first hand account from the various people involved including members of the crew who helped discover the wreck and retrieve the gold, the investors who financed the endeavor, and even the law enforcement who took part in bring the explorer turned criminal to justice. I have been impressed by every National Geographic’s production I have watched and Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal is no exception. I recommend watching this series not only for the adventure and suspense, but also for the exploration of human nature.
Be sure to watch Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal when it premieres Wednesday, August 21st on National Geographic and begins streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the following day. Here is a trailer to enjoy in the meantime.
