Here is the challenge:
List something worthwhile, and I am not talking MST3K good (which is about all I see the channel as), that the history channel put out in regards to history. Bonus points if they didn’t try to sensationalize the topic.
Nazi America: A Secret History didn’t seem too sensationalist to me.
Sounds almost as likely to succeed as a “Find a MSM article blaming the correct people for the financial crisis” challenge.
Modern Marvels often covers the history of the particular “marvel” being featured that episode. Some of it is quite interesting.
If you’re looking for the most unsensationalized programming I guess stuff like “How It’s Made” is your best bet. [:P]
How It’s Made is like porn for free market capitalist economists.
If only they’d talk about the financial aspect (and organizational/regulatory/strategic), and it would be my nr 1 recommendation for everyone to learn about economics and the real world.
What’s MST3K?
General recommendation: don’t use an abbreviation if potentially some of your audience doesn’t know what it means.
I used to love watching that show till I replaced my television in my room with a bookshelf. Such virtue…
Sorry, MST3K: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000
And in regards to “How it’s made” , while a decent show, I think that is on discovery channel (or TLC).
Pawn Stars, while repetitive and contrived, is a decent enough look into the dynamics of barter and marginal utility [:P]
Excellent.
That might be true when discussing something personally, face to face, but on the Internet? Where it takes less time to Google what an abbreviation or word means than to ask on a forum about it? You can’t be serious.
I thought the show about the JFK assassination was very good, with plenty of detail,and not sensational [or only mildly so], but then again, I’m just a “tinfoil-hat wearing conspiracy nut” who believes that 911 was an inside job, complete with fake news broadcasts showing faked plane images hitting fake building images- all constructed via simple computer software - so what do I know ?.
Of course, the History Channels own shows on 911 that I’ve seen were complete bunk [supporting the official fairy tale] - so there you go- the JFK show was just a [welcome] “once in a blue moon” exception to the rule, it would appear.
I believe it the JFK show was made in the UK, and raised a lot of “hackles” over here, to say the least. The History Cahannel hade to issue an apology if I recall . Juicy stuff indeed . [:)]
Correction?
After thinking some more about this, I’m starting to suspect that the JFK conspiracy documentary might have been aired on the Discovery Channel, not the History Channel- but I’m not exactly sure .
You mean UFO Hunters doesn’t strike you as a fact-driven quality TV? [:P]
But honestly there are one or two good programs on the History Channel. The Universe is good. So is Mysteries of the Bible when they show it. I also occasionally like Modern Marvels (the one on whiskey was especially enjoyable).
Still, I have to agree with you on the noted drop in quality over the past 10-15 years. Did anyone else see that special they did on the Financial Crisis of 2008? Good god, I consider my economic views pretty mainstream, but that thing was such a tirade against the “failures of the market” I could barely finish it. I was watching it with some people and we had to routinely pause it to sanity check each other to make sure the program sounded as crazy to the rest of us.
History channel has really gone downhill. Now they have shows on UFO’s, aliens, ghosts & Hitler. It use to be just Hitler. I guess they expanded their boundaries to include conspiratorial history.
“Mysteries of the Bible” was decent, it is also 13 yrs old. They also did “russia land of the tsars” way back when, which wasn’t too bad. I think the problem is you can actually see the most steretypical executive type of programing that people make fun of. It seems they refuse to do any actual history past a middle school level, and they will only talk about a narrow spectrum of topics. I seem to recall them having more decent documentaries “back in the day”
And, I am not talking about history from a “free market” type perspective. Anything, Marxist, mainstream, whatever will do. I just know I don’t like to hear the “comming attractions” guy’s voice every scene trying to keep me in suspense.
Pawn Stars = American entrepreneur. I love it.
They have Shadow Force, which show a bunch of mercenary working around Africa.
Sounds like a ripoff of Far Cry 2.