Frontline: Season 5
Season 5 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Frontline Season 4.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 5 Progress Shield
The Real Stuff
Jan 27, 1987
One year after the Challenger disaster, Frontline examined the all-too-human side of the space program as seen through the eyes of the astronauts and engineers responsible for maki
The Earthquake Is Coming
Feb 3, 1987
Frontline examines the startling implications of what will happen when the big earthquake hits California, detailing the awesome effects as systems rupture and the entire nation's
Stopping Drugs (1)
Feb 10, 1987
A two-part special examining efforts to stamp out drugs. Part 1 examines the personal struggles of addicts trying to kick the habit and the effectiveness of drug treatment programs
Stopping Drugs (2)
Feb 17, 1987
A two-part special examining efforts to stamp out drugs. Part 1 examines the personal struggles of addicts trying to kick the habit and the effectiveness of drug treatment programs
The Nazi Connection
Feb 24, 1987
German scientists were responsible for putting the first American on the moon. Now, 15 years later, government investigators are asking whether some of them were also responsible f
Desperately Seeking Baby
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. Sometimes they get a new ba
Street Cop
Mar 31, 1987
Frontline takes a gritty look at street cops. In Boston’s busiest, most violent police district, they confront the never-ending calls for help and the never-ending chase after drug
The Secret File
Apr 14, 1987
How could an ordinary citizen be considered a national security risk? Penn Kimball, a university professor, former New York Times editor, Rhodes scholar, and Eagle Scout, was stunn
War on Nicaragua
Apr 21, 1987
As the Iran-contra scandal was still unfolding, Frontline correspondent William Greider revealed how the US began supporting the contras in Nicaragua and why our involvement there
The Bombing of West Philly
May 5, 1987
‘I could hear the bullets all around me, hitting all around the house. I was forced back by gunfire,’ says Ramona Africa, the only adult survivor of MOVE, a small, violent, urban c
In Search of the Marcos Millions
May 26, 1987
The day Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos fled the Philippines in 1986, they left with $8.9 million in jewelry, cash, and bonds. But the Philippine government claims they took much more,
Israel: the Price of Victory
Jun 2, 1987
The Six Day War was a decisive victory for Israel. But many Israelis feel that something has gone wrong. On the war’s twentieth anniversary, Frontline finds a nation struggling wit
Death of a Porn Queen
Jun 9, 1987
She was from Minnesota. Young, pretty, and fresh. She went to Hollywood in search of a dream and found herself in X-rated movies, on drugs, and estranged from her family and friend
Keeping the Faith
Jun 16, 1987
The black church was once the soul of its community. It was a rallying point and a force for change. Now, as the black middle class grows and the church evolves, correspondent Roge
The Politics of Greed
Jun 23, 1987
As corruption scandals rock New York City, the careers of dozens of high officials are being destroyed. Frontline takes an inside look at the seamy side of urban politics and asks