Why I hate the Hisory Channel.

Sandra Craft · July 29, 2012, 05:35:14 PM

Quote from: Guardian85 on July 28, 2012, 10:03:08 PM
I assume they didn't actually have a proper japanese swordsmith on the show, as they would probably have been chased out at sword point....

Which, ironically, would have made the show worth watching.

cgmccall · July 30, 2012, 01:27:02 AM

The history channel is a wonderful (horrible) example of failing to balance teaching and entertainment. Teachers know that they have to force kids to endure boring truths, and knock down a few stupid fantasies. Entertainers are held to no such educational standard, and if the kids want mindless entertainment, the get it.

Same goes for religion--no eduactional standard.

history_geek · July 30, 2012, 03:14:37 AM

Personally I still watch the HC for two programs: American Pickers and Pawn Stars. For what they are, they are rather entertaining and actaully keep to the channels actual name. For the most part.

Quote from: Ali on July 29, 2012, 03:25:41 PM
Quote from: history_geek
"Yo mama was so stupid, she had to ask the aliens on how to forge metal and make a blade!"

This is going in my signature.

Yay!

Thanks.

And the talk of pyramids "inspired" me to make another (for all you masochistic out there... :p )

"Yo mama was so stupid, she had to ask E.T to tell her how to make pyramids, and still managed to f*ck up a few hundred times all along the damn Nile!"

I actually can't remember how many "proto"-pyramids there are doting the banks of the Nile and its surrounding deserts, but I think there were quite a few....

jumbojak · July 30, 2012, 06:18:57 AM

It's the advertising that's the problem. And what's worse, public television in the US, one of the few places where programing can be selected based purely on its educational merits, could well have to seek advertisers as a source of funding for their operations. Imagine the Ancient Aliens taking the place of a thoroughly researched, balanced documentary of Thomas Paine, or Chief Sitting Bull, or Dr. Martin Luther King, or Malcolm X.

xSilverPhinx · July 30, 2012, 07:19:12 AM

OMFSM

I actually tried sitting through a few minutes of the first episode. I just couldn't.

markmcdaniel · July 30, 2012, 05:37:48 PM

Quote from: jumbojak on July 30, 2012, 06:18:57 AM
It's the advertising that's the problem. And what's worse, public television in the US, one of the few places where programing can be selected based purely on its educational merits, could well have to seek advertisers as a source of funding for their operations. Imagine the Ancient Aliens taking the place of a thoroughly researched, balanced documentary of Thomas Paine, or Chief Sitting Bull, or Dr. Martin Luther King, or Malcolm X.

Frankly it might get even worse. Imagine Nova reduced to shows on UFOS and Christian science, Nature having only shows on the Loch Ness Monster, And Masterpiece Theater doing the latest clone of whatever was popular three years ago. I can hardly wait.

xSilverPhinx · July 30, 2012, 09:11:06 PM

Quote from: markmcdaniel on July 30, 2012, 05:37:48 PM
Quote from: jumbojak on July 30, 2012, 06:18:57 AM
It's the advertising that's the problem. And what's worse, public television in the US, one of the few places where programing can be selected based purely on its educational merits, could well have to seek advertisers as a source of funding for their operations. Imagine the Ancient Aliens taking the place of a thoroughly researched, balanced documentary of Thomas Paine, or Chief Sitting Bull, or Dr. Martin Luther King, or Malcolm X.

Frankly it might get even worse. Imagine Nova reduced to shows on UFOS and Christian science, Nature having only shows on the Loch Ness Monster, And Masterpiece Theater doing the latest clone of whatever was popular three years ago. I can hardly wait.

If that ever happened I would cancel my subscription, buy the film 'Idiocracy' and watch it over and over and over again till my ears bleed and my eyes pop out. Or at least feel that way.

jumbojak · July 30, 2012, 11:14:50 PM

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on July 30, 2012, 09:11:06 PM
Quote from: markmcdaniel on July 30, 2012, 05:37:48 PM
Quote from: jumbojak on July 30, 2012, 06:18:57 AM
It's the advertising that's the problem. And what's worse, public television in the US, one of the few places where programing can be selected based purely on its educational merits, could well have to seek advertisers as a source of funding for their operations. Imagine the Ancient Aliens taking the place of a thoroughly researched, balanced documentary of Thomas Paine, or Chief Sitting Bull, or Dr. Martin Luther King, or Malcolm X.

Frankly it might get even worse. Imagine Nova reduced to shows on UFOS and Christian science, Nature having only shows on the Loch Ness Monster, And Masterpiece Theater doing the latest clone of whatever was popular three years ago. I can hardly wait.

If that ever happened I would cancel my subscription, buy the film 'Idiocracy' and watch it over and over and over again till my ears bleed and my eyes pop out. Or at least feel that way.

The problem here is that there's no subscription to cancel. It's the public stations and the public network that would become just like cable. In rural areas where there is no internet access, or at least no high speed access, people will have no other options.

That is the point of public television, to provide informational programming that is not totally dependent on its ability to sell ads. Sure the programs need viewers, but they aren't required in nearly enough numbers to overly popularize these stations with cable channel garbage.

If Big Bird gets ads I'm afraid for the future of the entire system.

Beachdragon · August 02, 2012, 08:26:04 PM

The other day, History Channel advertised Ancient Aliens in regard to supernaturally charged weapons through history. I was all excited as I thought it would be a kind of mythology about these weapons. I love to hear that kind of stuff. Like the mystical story of Excalibur. HOWEVER, much to my dismay, it was all some BS about proving that Aliens provided these weapons. And they were serious about it!

I watched 2 mintues and then kicked it off my DVR.

It really makes my blood boil that there are people out there who believe that humanity couldn't possibly be smart enough to come up with Pyramids and other amazing discoveries and objects without extraterrestrial intervention. Criminey, give the human race some credit!

fester30 · August 02, 2012, 09:07:27 PM

There are people who also believe we didn't land on the moon. There are people in this forum that believe, despite lack of any actual evidence, that someone other than Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK. There are people in this world that believe aliens visited this planet in this 14 billion year old universe 14 TRILLION years ago. Doesn't surprise me at all that there are people who believe in wild ideas in the face of evidence to the contrary. In many of these cases, when presented with overwhelming evidence disproving their claims, or when called out on lack of evidence supporting their claims, they will simply say it's because the government is covering it up. The only part of all this that irks me is that the HISTORY channel has thrown away their integrity as a presenter of history in favor of improved ratings. Reminds me of when MTV stopped showing music videos in favor of reality TV.

jumbojak · August 05, 2012, 04:48:02 AM

Add Proving God to the list of History Channel stupidity. They claim to be approaching the God hypothesis from a scientific perspective. Their idea of scientific proof of God is to LOOK FOR THE ARK OF THE COVENANT! And they found a physicist ( I think ) to say the Higgs would be proof of God were it discovered. The program was made in 2011. Morons...

fester30 · August 05, 2012, 10:31:07 AM

Quote from: jumbojak on August 05, 2012, 04:48:02 AM
Add Proving God to the list of History Channel stupidity. They claim to be approaching the God hypothesis from a scientific perspective. Their idea of scientific proof of God is to LOOK FOR THE ARK OF THE COVENANT! And they found a physicist ( I think ) to say the Higgs would be proof of God were it discovered. The program was made in 2011. Morons...

Biblical accounts show the Ark of the Covenant (AOC) to be a very powerful device. The presence of God was in the AOC, and his power was projected through it at the enemies. A human couldn't touch it without being instantly killed because of how powerful God is. Some scientists have tried to reproduce the effects of the AOC by building one and testing different ideas like static electricity build up and such. I just figure the stories are hooey since they were passed along so much before they were written down.

Believer scientists figure if they find the AOC, they will be able to show reproducable measurements of its powers, thereby proving God's presence, thereby proving God scientifically. The AOC was likely plundered for its materials during one of the times the temple was destroyed.

Genericguy · August 07, 2012, 08:07:50 AM

Right now, I'm watching a show on the discovery channel about mermaids that "existed" one million years ago. To top it off, the music is a Sigur Ros knock off!

Edit: I guess they are alive still.

xSilverPhinx · August 07, 2012, 09:34:28 AM

Quote from: Genericguy on August 07, 2012, 08:07:50 AM
Right now, I'm watching a show on the discovery channel about mermaids that "existed" one million years ago.

Why do you do this to yourself?

Genericguy · August 07, 2012, 06:51:58 PM

Wow! This was apparently taken on a old flip phone. The zoom is incredible!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqleRxEDwrg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

News:

Why I hate the Hisory Channel.