America Unearthed - with Scott Wolter

[PB the Deplorable]

Is anyone else watching this?  It's a new show on H2 for the 2012-12 season.  Tonight they just had thir 11th episode.

Ian once had Scott Wolter on discussing the Kensingon Runestone, and his book about it called the Hooked X.  He was interesting and fairly persuasive establishing the Runestone as real and not a hoax - the 'hooked X' rune on the stone was an unknown rune symbol to any would be hoaxer 100 years ago when the stone was found in a Minnesota farmers field, and only recently has that particular rune been 'found' and determined to have been in use on one small island in the Baltic (the Island of Gotland) - thus showing the runstone to be a true artifact and not a hoax.

After that Scott Wolter became a known geologist-archaeologist looking into other possible evidence in stone carvings and stone works that Europeans and other explorers had come to the Americas before Columbus and the Vikings.  The show was so promising. 

But it's just been so boring and terrible.  He never quite seems to get to the bottom of anything (sort of like Linda Moultin Howe).  He has a need to throw in personal theories that have no support.  The jist of these hour-long shows could be edited down to about 8 minutes and not lose much.  There are obvious questions he doesn't explore, and dumb things he spends a lot of time on.  He leaves evidence and explanations out.  There is lower hanging fruit than some of the topics he has chosen to look into.  When he's doing a show on one thing, it often jumps to something else and leaves the original idea hanging.

At least someone is looking into this stuff.  I guess.

[Sardondi]

The Hitler History Channels are the painted whores of tv programming. At 3 a.m. after the bars close they might look pretty good, but when you actually get a good look at what's being offered you see they're shallow, ruined, pit-faced, diseased hags. They're selling to the young and those who don't know any better. (Hitler's UFO! The Bush Family vampire secrets!) Even though you know they're cheap and concocted faux history,  and they're dumbed down to the level of 5th-grader, they never deliver what they promise and they always disappoint.

[coaster]

Is there one show on the history channel worth watching anymore?

[PortlandDangler]

This show has one theme: THE TEMPLARS. That's the only thing Wolter seems interested in. The show is boring...and Wolter claimed to be a PHD in geology, which later he said it was not a true degree but pretty much a coffee cup given to him by a professor "friend". This is ancient aliens part deux.

You can go to JasonColavito.com he looked into Wolter's education status.

[PB the Deplorable]

The Hitler History Channels are the painted whores of tv programming...

Take something people like that provides entertainment with a bit of eduational value, after a time get rid of popular programming, attract poor hosts to present topics and shows no one is interested in and ruin the topics people would like to have discussed, add plenty of commercial time peddling dubious products.  Make no attempt to intervene as it spirals down, never to quite find bottom.

The Nooryzation of the History Channel thus complete.

[onan]

The Hitler History Channels are the painted whores of tv programming. At 3 a.m. after the bars close they might look pretty good, but when you actually get a good look at what's being offered you see they're shallow, ruined, pit-faced, diseased hags. They're selling to the young and those who don't know any better. (Hitler's UFO! The Bush Family vampire secrets!) Even though you know they're cheap and concocted faux history,  and they're dumbed down to the level of 5th-grader, they never deliver what they promise and they always disappoint.

Take something people like that provides entertainment with a bit of eduational value, after a time get rid of popular programming, attract poor hosts to present topics and shows no one is interested in and ruin the topics people would like to have discussed, add plenty of commercial time peddling dubious products.  Make no attempt to intervene as it spirals down, never to quite find bottom.

The Nooryzation of the History Channel thus complete.

Not that I really want to get into a debate here... but isn't this capitalism at work? more profit for less product.

[West of the Rockies]

Not that I really want to get into a debate here... but isn't this capitalism at work? more profit for less product.

Well, that's the downside to the system.  (Hence, we end up with Sarah Palin's Alaska.)  We want to be entertained, preferrably in short, sexy little 30-second soundbytes.  Don't know how many of you live in California, but I used to enjoy Huell Howser's California Gold.  Yeah, it was kind of folksy, but at least the viewer learned a little something about California history and geography. 

[McPhallus]

Not that I really want to get into a debate here... but isn't this capitalism at work? more profit for less product.

More like: appeal to the lowest common denominator (the masses are asses), and make more profit from the sheer numbers.  A true "history channel" would have a fraction of the viewers.  Think how many people watch C-Span Book Notes vs. any professional wrestling match.

[PB the Deplorable]

Not that I really want to get into a debate here... but isn't this capitalism at work? more profit for less product.

This is a monopoly (or a duopoly if satellite TV is considered) - capitalism would be choosing between multiple cable systems offering various packages and even choices of non-packaged individual channels. 

Your original point that it would still end up as crap anyway is probably valid...