Okay, we all know that The Discovery Channel isn’t exactly PBS. More often than not, its shows on science and technology are sadly lacking.
But as I type, TDC is showing a program called “A Haunting in Georgia” that recounts a “real-life haunting”. So far, it’s established that:
past events leave a psychic imprint on locations
scientists have no explanation for supposedly supernatural phenomena
ghosts affect the ionization of the air
parapsychologists are genuine scientists
What are they thinking?! This ignorant pap is being broadcast straight into the homes of countless slackjawed polloi – have they no consideration for the damage they’re doing? AAURGH!
Now they’re bringing in “professional” mediums to evaluate the family’s daughter for psychic ability.
And since they’re professionals, they must know what they’re talking about, right?
May the curse of Mary Mallone and her nine blind orphan children pursue the employees of The Discovery Channel so far over the hills and seas that God Almighty couldn’t find them with a radio telescope.
IMHO, The “Learning” Channel – or as they call it more accurately, TLC – has a special place in hell for broadcasting a between-shows “factoid” announcing that “A duck’s quack doesn’t echo!”
I viewed this with my own two eyes maybe a month ago. Cecil’s answerhas been up for ages. Sigh.
Good thing you didn’t watch the show about possessed children. Yes, it’s stupid-- but they still have great shows. When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth, Mythbusters, and those forensic shows-- I think Discovery does The New Detective and the FBI Files.
Isn’t it TLC that runs In Search of. . … Now that’s stupidity captured on celluloid.
Actually, this is the Discovery Channel (they’re both owned by the same company, though). I saw this one, too, and I found it ironic, since they also run an ad for Mythbusters which features a pose of one of the men holding a duck up to a microphone (to show that they’ll go out of their way to debunk myths-such as the duck echo thing.)
Discovery has repeatedly proven they are not above pandering for audience – though TLC is their usual channel for the really heavy pander. Specially with the religious/supernatural stuff.
About 2 weeks ago they had a show about the Oracle at Delphi – regarding research that supposedly proves the phenomenon was indeed due to a leak of some gases from a subsurface spring that has since stopped the emanations. But about a week before the show they changed the title from Delphi: Mystery Revealed to: “High” Priestess (get it? the Priestess was “High”. How clever) (BTW if anyone saw it that was my friend and onetime romantic interest Leanna as the Priestess)
I suppose part of the problem may be a dearth of documentary material, or the perception that good, solid documentaries do not really motivate the audience (unless it’s something lurid, like crime and scandal, or something gee-whiz-bang like CG dinosaurs).
Well it just goes to show that Television, by and large, is a bit like cigarette addiction - we know it’s bad for us, and occasionally we really, really enjoy it - but we just can’t help ourselves. We keep going back - time and time again.
Thank goodness for messageboards like the SDMB. It’s one of those places in life where I can safely expect some pretty intelligent and enlightening thought processes to be hovering around the joint. Not all threads are magnificent - obviously - but unlike shit television - at least you can trash a stupid thread if you feel the need.
I don’t watch the Discovery Channel or TLC anymore. I watch the Science Channel, which used to be called Discovery: Science, and the Discovery Times Channel. Regular Discovery is too soft.
I was a little surprised at this myself. And as others here have said, the History Channel seems to have stopped it’s "All Hitler, All the Time (or guns/weapons and wars) and to be concentrating on a more diverse menu.
Saw some great ones on “Utzi” (too lazy too look up spelling), not too long ago.
Not that I don’t find the “haunting” ones semi intriguing, I’ve caught a few moments of the “haunting in Georgia”, kinda reminds me of the old Bill Cosby joke about the people who are interviewed after the UFO sightings. But they don’t belong on the learning channel, or Discovery.
I have this vague recollection that when The Newt declared his Contract with America, the availability of cable programs like The Discover Channel and The History Channel was one of the reasons there was no need for PBS–the market place was filling the need for intelligent, authoritative, interesting programs on science, medicine and history. Three cheers for the invisible hand and the lowest common denominator.
The History Channel spews out some stupidity, too. I remember one of the little between-shows segments reiterated the apocryphal chestnut about “Ring Around the Rosie” being about the Plague.
And the Sci-Fi Channel runs crap like John Edward. All these specialty channels sounded great when I signed up for cable…
