WTF is up with the History Channel?

[Reaver]

Is it just me or have the execs at the History Channel gone completely insane? Has anyone seen the crap they're putting on? Monster Quest? Axemen? Ancient Aliens? What the hell does any of this have to do with world history? Whatever happened to the cool documentaries about actual historic events? Thanks in advance for your comments and opines.

 

[Devor]

I dunno. I think a lot of these channels are going about it wrong.

I'd like to see a single channel that's devoted to news, history, science, economics and more on a practical level. I know it can be done. But instead they pick a narrow subject and have too many hours to fill, it erodes standards, random garbage starts to succeed and they go with it, completely oblivious to their deteriorating brand image and the longer-term consequences of having built up the wrong audience, the fickle-fad audience, that will destroy their brand and ditch them like a forum troll.

 

[The Blue Lotus]

Well my hubby is a big fan of the ancient aliens shows, me I prefer the Egyptian mummies but to each their own.

Lets face it, history for the most part is kinda dull. They had to bring more viewers in somehow... or close their doors. In the age of DVR and On Demand I think it's ok. If I miss something I wanted to see I can see it later OD or I can DVR it and watch it when ever I get around to it.

There is one show that is kinda silly but, I still like it because it does try to explore differing theories "Decoded". Have you seen that one?

 

[Sheilawisz]

Hello Reaver!! I quite agree- History was one of my fav channels years ago, but it has been getting weirder as years pass and now sometimes it does not feel like history anymore =(

I prefer to watch Discovery, Animal Planet and National Geographic!!

Maybe History Channel is trying to be funnier to compete better with the other channels, and I still like watching it- especially because it was thanks to them that I first heard about Joan daughter of King Edward III of England, and I felt such a fascination and devotion for that Princess that I have already completed two Fantasy novels about her =)

 

[Reaver]

Exactly, Devor. I too, often pray to the TV gods for such a channel. I mean, a prime example of what you're referring to is A&E.

Storage Wars, Shipping Wars, Storage Wars Texas? Is the next logical step Storage shipping wars in Texas?

 

[Xanados]

Ancient Aliens. I laughed.

 

[Reaver]

Hello Reaver!! I quite agree- History was one of my fav channels years ago, but it has been getting weirder as years pass and now sometimes it does not feel like history anymore =(

I prefer to watch Discovery, Animal Planet and National Geographic!!

Maybe History Channel is trying to be funnier to compete better with the other channels, and I still like watching it- especially because it was thanks to them that I first heard about Joan daughter of King Edward III of England, and I felt such a fascination and devotion for that Princess that I have already completed two Fantasy novels about her =)

Oh no! Ninja'd by Sheila!:biggrin: Don't get me wrong, I still watch the History Channel, but only those shows that have to do with actual history. I really like Animal Planet (except for "Finding Bigfoot") and NatGeo is very cool. I was really enjoying History International(now called H2), but even that is going the same way as its sister channel. Oh well...

 

[Graham Irwin]

History Channel was great for a while, a long time ago.

Then it became the Hitlery Channel. Whole lotta Nazis goin' on.

Then that became History Military Channel. All WW2 all the time.

Then History Channel became Crystal-Skull Science Fiction History Channel.

Conspiracy theories, ancient aliens, monster... Great stuff for the imagination, but... History? I don't think so.

Well, it's the history of weird stuff. So now it's the History of Esoteric Human Thought Channel

That all being said, I love that sort of stuff, as fantasy in its own right

 

[Codey Amprim]

Ancient Aliens. I laughed.

Did you see the South Park episode that ripped on that? HILARIOUS.

 

[Reaver]

Then it became the Hitlery Channel. Whole lotta Nazis goin' on.

Heh...Hitlery Channel. Awesome. You rock dude.

:insertevillaughhere

 

[Arcturus]

It seems like the History Channel created a supernova of Hitlers, thus ruining TV forever. (Cue overdramatic crying) After the hype over 2012, everybody was suddenly interested in aliens. Somehow this translated to shows that have little to nothing to do with history in general. Instead, they make roundabout ways of making something seem historic without trying to put in the effort of actually doing so. For example, they have a lot of shows about American Pickers and Pawn Stars--a show about a giant garage sale where people are getting ripped off left and right. Apparently old stuff = history. Add in a few "customers" who bring in stupid stuff to sell, people who know obscure facts about out-of-print coins and guns and we've got a tv show.

After that, it seems like A&E followed suit, creating a show called Storage Wars, which is another show where people fight over a space with a lot of junk, which is apparently interesting to some people. I think there is a show called Hard Core Pawn on TruTV...ugh. I can't believe I know this crap exists.

After that, I noticed the amount of shows involving ghosts. Biography and the Travel Channel really play up the ghosts in their shows by having people running around with "EDP" readings and celebrities claiming that they had seen ghosts, which obviously means that they exist.

I suppose I am just bitter because my mom loves all of these shows for some mysterious reason and I'm forced to listen to this crap whenever I'm in the same room as her. And I also have to listen to the arguments these shows cause with the rest of my family. I seriously miss the old History Channel. The best show I remember is one where they talked about an alcohol cloud somewhere in space. Somehow this is less interesting than the fact that some people speculate that the moon is actually an alien spaceship. I can't even...my brain hurts now.

 

[Reaver]

Did you see the South Park episode that ripped on that? HILARIOUS.

Narrator: You're watching The History Channel, where the truth is history.

Cartman: Dude, see? I told you. Who needs to read a bunch of stupid books when we've got History Channel?

Narrator: We know the first Thanksgiving was in the fall of 1621, but new evidence suggests that the first exchanging of food between the Pilgrims and Native Americans may have been visited by aliens! [dramatic flashes of darkness as the alien is shown up close, then a picture of a fetus, and then...]

 

[Reaver]

It seems like the History Channel created a supernova of Hitlers, thus ruining TV forever. (Cue overdramatic crying) After the hype over 2012, everybody was suddenly interested in aliens. Somehow this translated to shows that have little to nothing to do with history in general. Instead, they make roundabout ways of making something seem historic without trying to put in the effort of actually doing so.

:I_agree:

For example, they have a lot of shows about American Pickers and Pawn Stars--a show about a giant garage sale where people are getting ripped off left and right. Apparently old stuff = history. Add in a few "customers" who bring in stupid stuff to sell, people who know obscure facts about out-of-print coins and guns and we've got a tv show.

Exactly. These guys are making more money than Croesus and every time I hear someone say how cool it is and that they want to go to Vegas to check the place out, I die a little inside.

After that, it seems like A&E followed suit, creating a show called Storage Wars, which is another show where people fight over a space with a lot of junk, which is apparently interesting to some people. I think there is a show called Hard Core Pawn on TruTV...ugh. I can't believe I know this crap exists.

Don't beat yourself up over knowing that it exists. It's all panem et circenses. And we're all overexposed. There's no where in the modern US where you can't hear a TV in the background blaring this tripe.

After that, I noticed the amount of shows involving ghosts. Biography and the Travel Channel really play up the ghosts in their shows by having people running around with "EDP" readings and celebrities claiming that they had seen ghosts, which obviously means that they exist.

This stuff is hilarious to watch though. Ever see the South Park "Dead Celebrities" episode?


Announcer: On this episode of Ghost Hunters: a little boy in Colorado appears to be haunted by celebrities. Now the Ghost Hunter team will roll out and get to the bottom of it. It's the gayest show in the f***ing world. Ghost Hunters!

Jason: Alright, tell us what we got, Kris.

Kris: We're going to Colorado to investigate celebrity paranorm-

Jason: Wait, what? What was that? What was that??

Grant: I heard it too. It was like a, like a ...*pop*

Jason: Is there a ghost here?

I suppose I am just bitter because my mom loves all of these shows for some mysterious reason and I'm forced to listen to this crap whenever I'm in the same room as her. And I also have to listen to the arguments these shows cause with the rest of my family. I seriously miss the old History Channel. The best show I remember is one where they talked about an alcohol cloud somewhere in space. Somehow this is less interesting than the fact that some people speculate that the moon is actually an alien spaceship. I can't even...my brain hurts now.

I wouldn't say that you're bitter...just more grounded than the vast majority of people in this world. That's all. Some people think that the moon is an alien spaceship, huh? Well, let's not even begin to discuss what Scientologists believe. That will really make your brain do flip-flops.

 

[Konjurer]

LOL! Thanks Reaver! The Ghost Hunter stuff really made my day!

 

[Arcturus]

South Park really hit the nail on the head with the Dead Celebrities episode. The same goes for the Scientologists. They didn't even have to exaggerate with those episodes because that's pretty much how it is. But somehow they gave Ghost Adventure competitions. There is actually a show that judges people on how much evidence they get of ghosts. And no, they don't win any money. They just get the opportunity to run around in a dark room with cameras. How exciting.

Hilariously enough, I tried to force my mom to watch the Dead Celebrities episode to demonstrate how stupid it really is. She couldn't stand five minutes into the show, so my point wasn't made.

And the moon spaceship theory is actually a thing among ancient alien theorists. Apparently the moon is a spaceship because a satelite crashed into the moon and caused "a loud ringing". Yeesh. I don't even know what is worse--the fact that some people don't believe that we went to the moon or the people who think that the moon is a giant spaceship controlled by a bunch of aliens who watch over us as our creators, occassionally intervening when someone gets lost in the forest, anally probe them, sometimes disguise themselves as humans, make crop circles, anally probe them again, and then refuse to appear to mainstream society because of reasons.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

South Park really hit the nail on the head with the Dead Celebrities episode. The same goes for the Scientologists. They didn't even have to exaggerate with those episodes because that's pretty much how it is. But somehow they gave Ghost Adventure competitions. There is actually a show that judges people on how much evidence they get of ghosts. And no, they don't win any money. They just get the opportunity to run around in a dark room with cameras. How exciting.

Hilariously enough, I tried to force my mom to watch the Dead Celebrities episode to demonstrate how stupid it really is. She couldn't stand five minutes into the show, so my point wasn't made.

And the moon spaceship theory is actually a thing among ancient alien theorists. Apparently the moon is a spaceship because a satelite crashed into the moon and caused "a loud ringing". Yeesh. I don't even know what is worse--the fact that some people don't believe that we went to the moon or the people who think that the moon is a giant spaceship controlled by a bunch of aliens who watch over us as our creators, occassionally intervening when someone gets lost in the forest, anally probe them, sometimes disguise themselves as humans, make crop circles, anally probe them again, and then refuse to appear to mainstream society because of reasons.

ಠ_ಠ

(10chars)

 

[sashamerideth]

THe Centauri channel? (Babylon 5 reference) I have only seen the memes floating around, and some general reactions,enough to keep me off the channel.