# What happened, Nat Geo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** documentary-bio\ **Created:** [August 4, 2026, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-nat-geo/1032140 "2026-08-04T12:52:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-nat-geo/1032140/41 "2026-08-06T19:15:13Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > According to an IMDB “Factual Goofs” entry, it’s actually the August 1977 launch of Voyager 2 on a Titan IIIE launch vehicle. Hm, OK, that actually was a historically-significant launch. Though I doubt that anyone at the time realized just how historically significant it would be. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-nat-geo/1032140/42 "2026-08-06T19:31:27Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > and honestly, at that point I’d only watch them if I was doing something on my second screen. I know, I know, I eventually realized how dumb that was. My point exactly. The algorithm is very good at what it is designed for. But if/when enough people come to the same conclusion, things may change. Or at least I hope so. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-nat-geo/1032140/43 "2026-08-06T19:40:27Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > > [@steronz](#): > > > > and honestly, at that point I’d only watch them if I was doing something on my second screen. I know, I know, I eventually realized how dumb that was. > > My point exactly. But he wouldn’t have been multi-tasking if the product was good. Don’t get me wrong, I get it. I just think it’s sad. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-nat-geo/1032140/44 "2026-08-07T00:12:25Z")
I just saw that the 2023 _Connections_, along with Alie Ward’s _Quick Connections_ are on AppleTV, rather than some obscure documentary streamer where they first appeared. Something to watch while waiting for the next episode of _Ted Lasso_. > [@steronz](#): > > Fast forward a few weeks and they start advertising [Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/show/fa4f7c0e-2bce-4ceb-846f-f956076ff950). I love Pompeii, and the premise seemed interesting. But it was delivered in the same repetitive, inane manner and I didn’t even wait 30 minutes before turning it off. I saw (or rather was in the room while it was on) the second two parts of _Pompeii_ (on Hulu/Disney+) last night. Being overly repetitive was the least of its problems. For those who haven’t seen it, the show is Tom HIddleston talking with various people while they watch VHS tapes (complete with scan lines when they press pause) that were recorded in Pompeii and Herculaneum before and during the eruption of Vesuvius. Except they aren’t sitting in front of an old tube TV, they’re walking around in museums or Italy or wherever. The talks really came off as two people reading alternating lines from a script, not a conversation between an interested journalist and an enthusiastic expert. Even if the facts where accurate, it felt weird to me. I’m perfectly happy to have reenactments in my documentaries. They can be the difference between a boring lecture and captivating TV. This was more like some weird melodramatic plays where people debated dying at home or on the road. Then they’d press pause and Hiddleston would come on and say, “I hope Julie doesn’t die, I really don’t want Julie to die.” ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-nat-geo/1032140/45 "2026-08-07T01:56:11Z")
… as mentioned above! > [@What happened, Nat Geo?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-nat-geo/1032140/11): > > Check out the YouTube channel The Fall of Civilisations, where they cover so far 21 cultures including the Inca. Note that the channel has both the original audio-only episodes (labelled PODCAST) and the later-produced video versions with the same audio. Their depth, research and production values are unrivalled by anything else on YT, Nat Geo, or most especially the History channel! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-nat-geo/1032140.md?page=2)