I wish there was a channel on television that ran documentaries and things related to history.
With programs like , , & , it seems that the History Channel has gone the way of M.T.V.
R.I.P.
I agree.
|
AGREED!!!
Since when does Ice Road Deadliest Hairest Catch Swamp Logging Biker Truckers have ANYTHING to do with History.
There used to be shows like Warriors with Terry Schaffert, and shows about WWII, and the ACW, and Doing Da Vinci. All of these shows had something to do with history, but the stuff they do now sure doesn't.
Yup History goes MTV
Sadly one has to buy the extra, extra premium channels to get History II which I hear does have these shows.
Discovery seems to be the same as History
|
Lets be honest here. The history channel was never about history. Sure they had tons of shows about WWII, but that was about the only time frame. most of those shows were in fact about Hitler, not WWII exactly. Combine that with Ancient Aliens, where is the History. One show on the old west does not count!!
Just wish we had the Smithsonian channel here.
is recent. Pretty much all of those sorts of shows (aliens, monsters, etc.) are.
Believe it or not, the History channel did in fact broadcast more than WWI/Hitler documentaries. I was particularly fond of and .
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Seems like this is the pattern for a lot of channels. Science Channel is showing Firefly now. Not that I don't love Firefly, but...it's the Science Channel. There's already a channel for Sci-Fi.
The alien stuff bugs me more than the reality shows, oddly. There's also an increasingly large number of biblical themed shows on History as well.
|
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I actually wouldn't mind shows involving the bible if a) they included it in historical context (ala talking about David, Solomon and the Temple Mount) and b) did the same with other faiths.
Likewise, I seem to recall a show that would show a historical movie and then discuss how it compared to real events. That I enjoyed.
I thought Firefly would be a perfect vehicle for that kind of show. Show an episode, then talk about terraforming. Show an episode and talk about possible ways of artifical gravity, etc. You could also get into linguistics, cultural evolution, etc.
Now to compliment Science CHannel, I do enjoy Head Rush. Sure it's mostly Mythbusters edits but a) no commericals b) Kari does do real science in her bits and c) it's perfectly timed for the young heads of mush to enjoy when they get home from school.
I thought Firefly would be a perfect vehicle for that kind of show. Show an episode, then talk about terraforming. Show an episode and talk about possible ways of artifical gravity, etc. You could also get into linguistics, cultural evolution, etc.
See, now that's an excellent idea. Like what Michio Kaku did in "Sci-Fi Science." Perhaps you should sell them a pitch.
Now to compliment Science CHannel, I do enjoy Head Rush. Sure it's mostly Mythbusters edits but a) no commericals b) Kari does do real science in her bits and c) it's perfectly timed for the young heads of mush to enjoy when they get home from school.
I still enjoy Science Channel, I just see airing Firefly as a bit of a deviation from their regular programming and a possible harbinger of further changes like History channel has done.
And, while we're at it... What's up with Discovery and A&E as well? Swamp Loggers??? Swamp People?? Americain Hoggers?? Lady Hoggers?? Americain Swamp People that Hog Logs and Fish with Their Hands (or whatever)???
Sheesh...
Ultradan
|
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
@Ultradan
What's up is 'lightning in a bottle'. Deadliest Catch is/was incredibly popular. It's a vicarious thrill to see them risking their lives like that. Some people even like to think "I can do that." (I can't and likely never could). But nothing lasts forever (The CM isn't going out for King Crab season, Phil's dead, Edgar's semi-retired, etc.)*, and network execs know that. All those shows are attempts to catch Lightning in a bottle again, and get that surprise hit.
I like Pawn Stars because of the trivia history aspect, same thing for American Restoration. Seeing the rebuild process is facintaing to me. And less boring than 'How it's Made' (which I also watch) Likewise, I like Top Shot for the marksmanship, even with modern weapons. Do they belong on History? Maybe not. But putting Swamp Loggers on a 'culture channel' wouldn't fly.
*
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Now to compliment Science CHannel, I do enjoy Head Rush. Sure it's mostly Mythbusters edits but a) no commericals b) Kari does do real science in her bits and c) it's perfectly timed for the young heads of mush to enjoy when they get home from school.
It has Kari, what more needs to be said?
I'm almost glad I don't have cable or satellite. All these shows about loudmouthed, tattooed, a@@holes repoing, logging, trucking, biking, fishing, crabbing, swamping, pawning....I dunno. Some folks obviously like them, or they wouldn't be on. But isn't one enough? It seems they're on every channel now.
Makes me appreciate my music collection more.
I like Pawn Stars...
Of all the programs they currently run, is the only one I watch. It's not the greatest, but it's not bad.
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php
That's awesome. Also, linkified.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
And, while we're at it... What's up with Discovery and A&E as well? Swamp Loggers??? Swamp People?? Americain Hoggers?? Lady Hoggers?? Americain Swamp People that Hog Logs and Fish with Their Hands (or whatever)???
Sheesh...
Ultradan
Amen. A&E stands for "Arts and Entertainment" and yet nothing on that channel entertains me any more, nor would I call any of it art...
It's the free market at work! After all, learning stuff is hard.
History channel now has a channel called H2 (formerly History International) Which shows the older documentaries and other shows that HC used to show. Guess it's their answer, kind of like MTV2.
PHD Comic
~laughter~ Good one!
It happens. When a channel is based on reruns, eventually you are going to run out of steam. Most history channel stuff is quite expensive to produce, i might add.
|
There's already a channel for Sci-Fi.
I hope you don't mean Siffy (SyFy), that channel that used to show Science Fiction but has degraded into a means to present stale soap opera drama spoon fed by barely literate roid-induced child-men in spandex and baby oil.
-I almost pine for the days of Megasharktopocalypse vs. Tyranotranny starring that washed up pop-star from the 80's and the former sitcom child star who heroically overcame heroine to restart their career on fodder for the lastest MST3k... oh wait... they cancelled that too.
It seems every network devolves into durp-entertainment given enough time.
It seems every network devolves into durp-entertainment given enough time.
I think some start that way.
Watching as I type this. I think the History Channel should be renamed the "What If?" Channel
The History Channel has to adapt to keep viewers. They did so many shows on WWII in their early years that people were calling them the Hilter Channel.
History start adapting with shows like Modern Marvels and American Eats. The newer "reality" shows are the latest version. Some are just better at relating to history than others.
Ok, some don't relate at all. I really hate Ancient Aliens, though it has been as good source from game ideas.
On the other hand, I do like Swamp People. I am from Louisiana, so the show actually touches on some of our local heritage. Besides, my wife's relatives know some of the some of the people on the show.
The History Channel has to adapt to keep viewers. They did so many shows on WWII in their early years that people were calling them the Hilter Channel.
History start adapting with shows like Modern Marvels and American Eats. The newer "reality" shows are the latest version. Some are just better at relating to history than others.
Ok, some don't relate at all. I really hate Ancient Aliens, though it has been as good source from game ideas.
On the other hand, I do like Swamp People. I am from Louisiana, so the show actually touches on some of our local heritage. Besides, my wife's relatives know some of the some of the people on the show.
that's cool. I like swamp people too, and the majority of history channel shows that challenge stereotypes.
Director of Brand Strategy
|
When I worked at the A&E/History Channel on-air library in 2003, there was a big push going on to change THC from the Nazi/WWII channel to something that could more reasonably compete with Discovery Channel, which was crushing THC in ratings with these sorts of scientific and socio-anthropological reality shows. It was around that time that A&E stopped airing arts entertainment programming in favor of shows like Dog the Bounty Hunter and such.
PBS is my go-to network for the sort of programming both used to show now.
I have to watch the Military Channel to get my WWI on. Apparently, THC only thought there was one world war.
And I demand more pirates!
I have to watch the Military Channel to get my WWI on. Apparently, THC only thought there was one world war.
And I demand more pirates!
I miss the Hitler Network, though I don't miss the endless stream of what amounted to slightly dramatized readings of the Bible with a breathless narrator and blipverts of scholars carefully cut off before they say something that someone in the audience might object to.
Back in the mid-90s we didn't get History in my small town, but I was always eager to see it when we traveled. They had all kinds of great docs about castles and the like, undoubtedly bought on the cheap from the BBC or something. And Hitler, of course.