Tonight’s episode of Modern Marvels focused on video games. I have to say that it was one of the slopiest and poorly researched documentary shows I have ever seen. They obviously new nothing about the subject. Here’s an example: The narrator is discussing how video games were so important during the 80’s that the post office has issued a video game stamp for it’s 80’s series, all the while showing a clip of “Ready 2 Rumble” for the Dreamcast. Another example, the narration disusses how the Playstation 2 will revolutionize the video game’s role in home entertainment while the clips being shown cut to a Sega Dreamcast and it’s peripherals. Yet ANOTHER example: they discuss Ultima Online while displaying screenshots from the Ultima 3D adventure game, NOT UO!!! Still another example: Narration on how the average age of today’s gamer is in the mid-twenties, while showing said age group of hipsters playing an ATARI 2600!!! In addition to these transgressions, the episode meandered all over the place, shifting almost randomly from subject to subject.
Sorry to bitch aimlessly about this, but I went to the HistoryChannel.com to find a place to vent my frustration, but alas there was none, and I just HAD to get this off my chest (yes, I have no life).