In this two-hour special, NOVA dramatizes two extraordinary sagas in the quest for the Northwest Passage.

In this two-hour special, NOVA dramatizes two extraordinary sagas in the quest for the Northwest Passage, the legendary Arctic sea route between the Atlantic and the Pacific that was the prize objective of merchants and adventurers for centuries. The first hour provides new details about the Franklin expedition, whose fate was one of the great mysteries of the 19th century. In the second hour, NOVA dramatizes the successful expedition of innovative explorer Roald Amundsen, a 29-year-old Norwegian who turned to the native Inuit to learn their ancient skills of Arctic survival.