# Pompeii: Steaming Pile of Shit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 31, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538 "2005-01-31T04:22:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/1 "2005-01-31T04:22:35Z")
At my lovely wife’s insistence, I just sat through _Pompeii: The Last Day_ on the Discovery Channel. What a steaming pile of shit! The entire 2-hour show could have been easily compressed into about 20 minutes. They just kept repeating the same info over and over again. (For example, each time they mentioned the terms “pyroclastic flow” and “Plinian eruption,” it was like they were introducing the term for the first time as they went through yet another long, drawn-out explanation.) Not to mention repeating the same gratuitous details of peoples’ deaths over and over again: (e.g. "Their skin and brains vaporized as their heads exploded…) The last half-hour consisted of this woman “reporter” wandering around the area with a camera crew randomly interviewing such luminaries as the U.S. Navy base commander located nearby. But the worst part is all of the fucking commercials. There were more commercials than actual program. And the commercials were the same four fucking commercials, along with ads for the Discovery Channel, and ads for the stupid show that we were watching! The only thing this show had going for it was the special effects (that were repeated over and over again) and the portrayal of Roman life. Overall, a near-complete waste of an evening. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/2 "2005-01-31T04:32:54Z")
To each his own. I enjoyed the show. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/3 "2005-01-31T05:04:38Z")
**robby** must have been watching some show about Pompeii other than the one I saw this evening. It held my attention pretty well, and I already knew a lot about volcanoes, generally, and about the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius, in particular. I didn’t get the impression they were repeating anything “over and over again.” I suppose if you’re emotionally incapable of putting yourself in the shoes of the hapless inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and lack the imagination to grasp what it would have been like to have been there at the time, the show might have been less interesting. Let me guess - you’re probably tired of hearing about the Indian Ocean tsunami, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/4 "2005-01-31T06:45:51Z")
> [@Early Out](#): > > I suppose if you’re emotionally incapable of putting yourself in the shoes of the hapless inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and lack the imagination to grasp what it would have been like to have been there at the time, the show might have been less interesting. No, I just found it slow-moving, repetitious, and interrupted by commercials every 5 minutes. It was also needlessly gratuitous. Was it really necessary for the narrator to describe people’s deaths in gruesome detail (see above for an example), and then have the roving reporter repeat the description, word-for-word, again? It was also, IMHO, thin on the science, and thick on the CSI-type into-the-volcano special effects. Along with the thin science were scientific blunders such as describing the 400 deg C gases as being “4 times hotter than boiling water.” Did they have any real scientist review the script? As far as putting myself in the inhabitant’s shoes, I mostly had the same response as when I watch any other disaster movie: I find myself yelling at the people to quit standing around and RUN! > [@Early Out](#): > > Let me guess - you’re probably tired of hearing about the Indian Ocean tsunami, aren’t you? You’re probably right, because it’s obvious that the death of over 280,000 people within the last month is emotionally equivalent to the death of a few thousand people over 1,900 years ago. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/5 "2005-01-31T07:16:39Z")
Oh, and **Early Out** , please feel free to disagree with me regarding my opinion of the show, but keep your opinion of my supposed emotional incapability and lack of imagination to yourself. I find your insulting comments particularly egregious considering that one of my complaints in my OP was the needlessly gratuitous details of people’s deaths in the show. And concerning your insulting assumption regarding my feelings for the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, kindly go fuck yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/6 "2005-01-31T08:26:12Z")
> [@Early Out](#): > > I suppose if you’re emotionally incapable of putting yourself in the shoes of the hapless inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and lack the imagination to grasp what it would have been like to have been there at the time, the show might have been less interesting. I was looking forward to this program but I was a bit disappointed. There were far to many inturruptions and the last 30 minutes or so was a complete waste of time. I would have liked a better glimpse into the life of a Roman in Pompeii then the program provided. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/7 "2005-01-31T13:18:42Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Oh, and **Early Out** , please feel free to disagree with me regarding my opinion of the show, but keep your opinion of my supposed emotional incapability and lack of imagination to yourself. I find your insulting comments particularly egregious…[blah, blah, blah]. You posted your little rant in The Pit, so take your whining somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/8 "2005-01-31T13:25:23Z")
**Early Out** : He’s right, you acted like a schmuck and cast aspersions that were totally unwarranted. Simply because it’s the Pit doesn’t mean you get a total pass on all of your actions. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/9 "2005-01-31T13:30:07Z")
I thought it was decent enough. Not being a volcanologist, I learned a few things. I didn’t realize how light the first droppings of stone were and that they would float on water. My favorite part was when the gladiator found out the hard way that there were also a number of heavy rocks mixed in with the light pebbles. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/10 "2005-01-31T13:51:08Z")
I thought the show itself was pretty decent. But the OP has a point about the ads: they were not only too frequent but they were put in at inappropriate times, as though there was no thought to the editing process at all. Most of the time, “pause points” are built into the story line so the commercials don’t feel so forced. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > My favorite part was when the gladiator found out the hard way that there were also a number of heavy rocks mixed in with the light pebbles. “They’re just _pebbles_! You’re not afraid of some _pebbles_, are you?” **:BONK:** ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/11 "2005-01-31T13:56:26Z")
I watched about two minutes, wasn’t impressed, and changed the channel to Sports Accidents on TLC. Then I was caught in fascinated horror as race cars caught fire, people were gored, bungie jumpers landed on sharp rocks, and 85 (85!!!) people died in a race car crash. Oh, and the speed boat accidents were pretty bad, too. I spent the half hour I watched with my hand over my eyes, wincing. Still better than the Pompeii thing though. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/12 "2005-01-31T13:59:53Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > **Early Out** : He’s right, you acted like a schmuck and cast aspersions that were totally unwarranted. Simply because it’s the Pit doesn’t mean you get a total pass on all of your actions. Meh. If he’d wanted a polite discussion of the show’s merits, there’s Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/13 "2005-01-31T14:03:30Z")
Did they show slo-mo shots of sandaled feet running in panic? ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/14 "2005-01-31T14:03:47Z")
> [@Uvula Donor](#): > > I thought the show itself was pretty decent. But the OP has a point about the ads: they were not only too frequent but they were put in at inappropriate times, as though there was no thought to the editing process at all. > > Most of the time, “pause points” are built into the story line so the commercials don’t feel so forced. > > “They’re just _pebbles_! You’re not afraid of some _pebbles_, are you?” > > **:BONK:** My impression is that the Sky satellite service in the UK has an ‘advert switch’ which gets thrown every five minutes or whatever so that adverts are on the same time across all channels regardless of pause points. I’ve seen advert breaks in the middle of sentences, the middle of fights. Babylon 5 has adverts as soon as the opening credits finish. The only way I can watch Sky now is to record it on sky plus, let it run 20 minutes and then start watching it so I can skip the adverts. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/15 "2005-01-31T14:23:32Z")
**Pepper Mill** and I watched it, and liked iot for the most part. The aggravating bit was commercials _every five minutes_, as many have noted above. And it’s not an exagerration – the commercials really do come every five minutes. I realize that a show of that quality, with those effects, is expensive, but this is ludicrous. The computer-generated dinosaur shows don’t have that frequency of commercial. Furthermore, wwe were annoyed by thye repetition – there’s no need to repeat so many times. UI’ve noticed this on a lot of the Discovery-type channels on cable. It’s like the Training Sergeant approach to teaching : “First I tell them what I’m going to tell them; then I tell them; then I tell them what I told them.” Except that these shows tell you a few more times, for good measure. On the plus side, I liked the recreations and the computer-generatred effects. There was a lot of new material I hadn’t encountered before – evidently the study of volcanic behavior has made great strides since I last read about Pompeii. On the other hand, there were voids and errors. The amphitheater in the recreations looked _huge_ comparecd to its actual appearance (I’ve been there, and I’ve seen many pictures of it). If you argue that much of it is a wooden addition that didn’t survive, I’ll counter that we have contemporary wall paintings of it. They’re somewhat untrustworthy, but they very clearly show a lack of wooden superstructure. The amphitheater was pretty modest in size, not like the Roman Colosseum at all. They mention the pyroclastic surges at both cities and the rain of pumice at Pompeii, but it was my understanding that Herculaneum was buried under a river of mud (like the one we saw at Mt. St. Helen’s), and that Pompeiui was butied under a rain of ash, and that these gentle yet complete coverings are what preserved the city. Yet we saw nothing of these. In fact, I would have thought that a blast of truly superheated air (such as they showed) would have done a great deal of damage to fragile objects at the sites. Yet we have surviving reaims of wooden objects, wall paintings, and (I believe) even some food items. How is this possible? Last, they left out a huge amount (ubnless I missed it) – the earthquake that preceded the eruption by ten years, the closing of the amphitheater for several years due to rioting, details of the city that have been preserved, the way John Glenn, in the wake of his orbital flight, suggested using transparent plastic rather than plaster to reconstitute the bodies (so that bones, jewelry, etc. could be sen), the fact that more than half of the city remains unexcavated (and why). Still, pretty good show. I’d give it a B+, mainly because of the damned commercial interruptions and repetitions. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/16 "2005-01-31T17:52:52Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I thought it was decent enough. Not being a volcanologist, I learned a few things. I didn’t realize how light the first droppings of stone were and that they would float on water. My favorite part was when the gladiator found out the hard way that there were also a number of heavy rocks mixed in with the light pebbles. Reading this, I realize it’s the same show that was broadcasted in France and Germany last year. However, besides the lack of advertizing, I don’t remember any reporter explaining again what was previously said (let alone the interview of an US officer). Maybe the “packaging” of the documentary was different in the USA. I personnaly liked this show. I learned a number of things watching it. It was also followed by an interesting debate, if memory serves. So I would suspect it’s once again the packaging more than the documentary in itself that was defective. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/17 "2005-01-31T18:08:05Z")
> [@robby](#): > > The entire 2-hour show could have been easily compressed into about 20 minutes. They just kept repeating the same info over and over again. (For example, each time they mentioned the terms “pyroclastic flow” and “Plinian eruption,” it was like they were introducing the term for the first time as they went through yet another long, drawn-out explanation.) This type of “journalism” seems to be popping up more often. _Dateline_ is one of the worst offenders. After every commercial break, they seem to think it’s necessary to recap the entire story for those who have the attention span of a gnat. It’s the dumbing down of America. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/18 "2005-01-31T18:15:37Z")
> [@Early Out](#): > > I suppose if you’re emotionally incapable of putting yourself in the shoes of the hapless inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and lack the imagination to grasp what it would have been like to have been there at the time, the show might have been less interesting. > > Let me guess - you’re probably tired of hearing about the Indian Ocean tsunami, aren’t you? Jesus Christ. He didn’t like a TV show you liked. Get some fucking perspective, dick. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/19 "2005-01-31T18:51:09Z")
> [@Early Out](#): > > Meh. If he’d wanted a polite discussion of the show’s merits, there’s Cafe Society. So you suggest he’s an unfeeling bastard then just shrug it off as his fault? He said he didn’t like the show because of the way the material was presented. He never said “who cares about a bunch of ancient stiffs anyway.” Idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538/20 "2005-01-31T19:06:58Z")
> [@photopat](#): > > So you suggest he’s an unfeeling bastard then just shrug it off as his fault? I picked up a vibe from the OP that indicated that he wanted to be entertained, but didn’t want to be reminded about the rather ghastly deaths these poor people had to suffer, an objection he voiced not once, but twice. Maybe he’d have been happier if it had contained more dance numbers, I don’t know. Apparently, you didn’t get the same vibe. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompeii-steaming-pile-of-shit/287538.md?page=2)