# History Channel: Why so much woo-woo bullsh\*t? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2011, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995 "2011-02-03T06:31:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/21 "2011-02-03T17:52:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Perhaps it should be called “Glenn Beck’s History Channel”. They do the same sort of “Could the answer be that aliens did it?” bullshit that he does, hinting darkly at conspiracies and other nonsense that the ignorant buy into. I would watch the Glenn Beck Is History channel before I watched a history channel belonging to Glenn Beck. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/22 "2011-02-03T18:00:23Z")
History International still shows decent stuff. It shows what the History Channel used to show. I don’t think it’s in HD though, which bugs me. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/23 "2011-02-03T18:03:29Z")
I think my last straw was when they announced an upcoming show featuring Larry the Cable Guy. How much do we wanna bet that the stuff he features on his “only in America” show will be stuff that…er…didn’t originate in America? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/24 "2011-02-03T18:13:28Z")
I wouldn’t mind the “woo woo” stuff if they showed the history of WHY people believed it. Like where such beliefs got their origins, etc. A history of folklore. THAT would be interesting. Unfortunately, that’s all too rare. ☹ I did like when they showed the [Winchester Manshion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Mystery_House). I’ve always wanted to visit that place. It’s absolutely fascinating. “Russia: Land of the Tsars” was cool, and I liked the series on the ancient Greek myths. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/25 "2011-02-03T18:18:31Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > History Channel still has some decent stuff. I enjoy Modern Marvels, and the Universe. Generally anything that deals with contemporary things/events and avoids being speculative is good. Now, that’s ironic. The History Channel’s best stuff is contemporary stuff? 🙂 **Guin** : I live pretty near the Winchester Mystery House. It’s mostly a joke among locals here. But I don’t want to dash your dreams or anything, and it’s not like San Jose has a lot of site seeing you can do anyway. Lost of neat stuff in the surrounding areas, but not San Jose proper. ---
**Author:** ![beartato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@beartato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beartato)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/26 "2011-02-03T18:23:48Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I suspect it is simply cost-benefit. Those crappy “documentaries” are cheap to make (some taking heads and some ‘re-enactment’ footage) and there is a large audience for it. > > Real history documentaries are going to be more expensive. Imagine the cost of ‘re-enactment’ footage for (say) the Battle of Waterloo, vs. that for some blurry ghosts in a haunted house. > > OTOH, there are documentaries with existing film footage. That’s one reason for so much WW2 stuff. I have a question about this - I always assumed that you have to pay the dude who calls himself the World’s Greatest Nostradamus Expert a lot less than someone who is actually a leading expert in whatever field, like with a real degree and stuff. And that was why you see so many of the woowoo bullshit specials, along with the cost of re-enacting a battle compared to re-enacting some guy with a beard writing in a big book. So my question is, how much do the Actual Experts get paid to appear in, say, a National Geographic show about the ancient Greeks and their pottery, versus some looneytune who claims to be the world expert on poltergeists? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/27 "2011-02-03T18:34:36Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Now, that’s ironic. The History Channel’s best stuff is contemporary stuff? 🙂 > > **Guin** : I live pretty near the Winchester Mystery House. It’s mostly a joke among locals here. But I don’t want to dash your dreams or anything, and it’s not like San Jose has a lot of site seeing you can do anyway. Lost of neat stuff in the surrounding areas, but not San Jose proper. I don’t want to see it because I think it’s haunted or anything. I just want to see it because it’s a cool freaking house. It’s also gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/28 "2011-02-03T18:41:44Z")
I’ve got two things to say about the History Channel. Top. Gear. Now, I love Top Gear, even the US version, but on the _History Channel_? The fug … ??? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/29 "2011-02-03T18:46:32Z")
Don’t forget “Ice Road Truckers”. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/30 "2011-02-03T18:51:16Z")
> [@beartato](#): > > I have a question about this - I always assumed that you have to pay the dude who calls himself the World’s Greatest Nostradamus Expert a lot less… Do you actually have to pay them? Seriously…just interview them…no pay needed I would think. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/31 "2011-02-03T18:52:28Z")
> [@beartato](#): > > I have a question about this - I always assumed that you have to pay the dude who calls himself the World’s Greatest Nostradamus Expert a lot less than someone who is actually a leading expert in whatever field, like with a real degree and stuff. And that was why you see so many of the woowoo bullshit specials, along with the cost of re-enacting a battle compared to re-enacting some guy with a beard writing in a big book. So my question is, how much do the Actual Experts get paid to appear in, say, a National Geographic show about the ancient Greeks and their pottery, versus some looneytune who claims to be the world expert on poltergeists? That’s something I too have wondered about. Also, just what types of backgrounds these “experts” have. Are they people with serious academic credentials who work at universities and legitimate historical organizations? Or are they just folks whose “expertise” is derived mainly by virtue of having enough time and money to go looking for, say, the Loch Ness monster and self-publishing a book or two about it? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/32 "2011-02-03T18:58:03Z")
Every so often, I go through my DVR and schedule stuff I’ll want to watch on a bored Sunday afternoon. In doing this, I’ve come to realize that the History Channel does actually show one or two hours of programming that is actual history. . . it’s just on from about 8 am to 10 am on weekdays. So, I DVR those shows, but that’s all I ever watch anymore. ---
**Author:** ![beartato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@beartato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beartato)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/33 "2011-02-03T19:02:30Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > Do you actually have to pay them? Seriously…just interview them…no pay needed I would think. I kind of figured the crackpots need little to no pay, but what I’m more interested in is how much they pay the dude with a PhD who has spent a bunch of his life digging pottery out of the ground, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/34 "2011-02-03T19:19:26Z")
> [@beartato](#): > > I have a question about this - I always assumed that you have to pay the dude who calls himself the World’s Greatest Nostradamus Expert a lot less than someone who is actually a leading expert in whatever field, like with a real degree and stuff. And that was why you see so many of the woowoo bullshit specials, along with the cost of re-enacting a battle compared to re-enacting some guy with a beard writing in a big book. So my question is, how much do the Actual Experts get paid to appear in, say, a National Geographic show about the ancient Greeks and their pottery, versus some looneytune who claims to be the world expert on poltergeists? I dunno, but I suspect that the cost of paying the talking heads is a relatively minor consideration, unless they are actually somebody famous (and I don’t count a world expert in Mycenaen Pottery in that category 😉 ). A woo-woo bullshit artist who is famous, or at least notorious, probably costs more than a real academic who isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/35 "2011-02-03T19:47:39Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Now, that’s ironic. The History Channel’s best stuff is contemporary stuff? 🙂 > > **Guin** : I live pretty near the Winchester Mystery House. It’s mostly a joke among locals here. But I don’t want to dash your dreams or anything, and it’s not like San Jose has a lot of site seeing you can do anyway. Lost of neat stuff in the surrounding areas, but not San Jose proper. The [Rosicrucian Museum](http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/)is right down the road, for instance 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/36 "2011-02-03T20:11:54Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Don’t forget “Ice Road Truckers”. Which contributed to starting the whole mess. It spun off from a “Modern Marvels” episode about the history of truck driving in Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/37 "2011-02-04T02:21:03Z")
Hopefully “Network Decay” will ease up soon. Here’s why it may happen: The most decayed channels are on “basic” cable rather then on the digital “tier”. At one point, the analog tier was the only one and they offered a wide range of programming. As cable systems introduced digital tiers, they moved the specialized stuff to those and the formerly specialized channels on analog basic became the lowest common denominator tripe. As part of the move from analog to digital broadcasting, cable channels are being allowed to eliminate their analog channels in 2012. The bandwidth of a single analog cable channel can carry a dozen or more standard definition digital channels or four or more high definition digital channels. When 94 or so analog channels become another several hundred digital channels, it is possible that the main channel will be free to return to the original purpose. While “MTV” and “VH1” now have nothing to do with music, there are other pure music versions on the digital tier - MTV2, Pallidia , etc. I hate that this is happening, as it will spell the end of my wonderful ReplayTV and the automatic ability to skip channels. I guess I’ll have to buy an HD TiVo, or build a PC to time delay. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/38 "2011-02-04T02:40:36Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I don’t want to see it because I think it’s haunted or anything. I just want to see it because it’s a cool freaking house. It’s also gorgeous. Yeah, that was what I was talking about. It’s right next to one of the biggest movie cineplexes around. And I mean right next to, as in practically shares the same parking lot. And right at one of the busiest intersections around. It really is a joke. But if you like ultra ornate victoriania, then maybe it is for you. I’d rather visit [Filoli](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filoli) in Woodside, myself. Nicely set in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/39 "2011-02-04T04:10:50Z")
I used to like HC, but I agree with the channel decay they’ve become subject to. I do like Modern Marvels, but I think that’s about the most factualy accurate show they’ve got left. Templar Knights, Bigfoot stories, Decoded, Alien whatever the show is called…all I can’t believe the facts without checking cites. It’s just brain candy and maybe I can believe it theories if I had another cold drink in my hand. Other than that, the other reason I hate it is that they broadcast their channel about 10x greater volume than the regular channels. My TV volume doesn’t work right, so I have to leave it set at the same volume for every channel. And it BLASTS me every time it comes on, so I have to adjust. I don’t like to adjust. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995/40 "2011-02-04T13:46:14Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > As part of the move from analog to digital broadcasting, cable channels are being allowed to eliminate their analog channels in 2012. The bandwidth of a single analog cable channel can carry a dozen or more standard definition digital channels or four or more high definition digital channels. When 94 or so analog channels become another several hundred digital channels, it is possible that the main channel will be free to return to the original purpose. While “MTV” and “VH1” now have nothing to do with music, there are other pure music versions on the digital tier - MTV2, Pallidia, etc. I’d like to see that happen, but I think all we’re going to get is a new digital tier of the classic cable networks, paying extra for the “nichier” channels that are now only available on digital cable. In the end, it’ll be much like today, only analog set owners will need a box, and those with digital televisions might be ale to get rid of theirs if unencrypted QAM channels are actually used. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-why-so-much-woo-woo-bullsh-t/569995.md?page=3)