"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Heh. One downside (of many) from the expansion of cable TV channels is sub-quality shows. That's why we see a lot of reality shows.
But one genre in particular has really gone downhill: documentaries. Some of those really suck, both in quality AND in execution. And they run as series, so you can watch the same crap quality week in, week out.
NGC produces a lot of these, as does THC. One of these was about an alien invasion (this one, I think).
I bring this up because I actually watched part of it -- on a road trip, late at night, and very bored.
Not so bored that I watched ALL of it, of course. But enough that I saw one segment where a ragtag band of guerrillas were huddled in the wilderness, listening to a radio broadcast from......Barack Obama. It was probably an actor, but a good enough job that I did whenever I hear his voice on TV: I changed channels.
Might explain the polling news. And where the average American voter gets their information: from crappy documentaries.
Formerly respectable TV channels (like History and Science and Discovery) are trending more and more to things like celebrity ghost stories and Bigfoot quests and prehistoric alien visits (where we obviously got all our technological advances). It's a sorry concession to the lowest common denominator in the quest for ratings. Should we blame TV or should we blame the public, or should we blame an educational system that hasn't got the stones to definitively debunk all that crap?
RebeccaH, we've been terribly disappointed in the evolution of History and Science and Discovery. They were the reason we had those channels and for it to be all bullshit all the time was just too much. Even the DIY channels had turned from good stuff to crap.
Oh, yeah, THAT was a scientific survey that has actual validity.
ReplyDeleteJust kidding.
Heh. One downside (of many) from the expansion of cable TV channels is sub-quality shows. That's why we see a lot of reality shows.
ReplyDeleteBut one genre in particular has really gone downhill: documentaries. Some of those really suck, both in quality AND in execution. And they run as series, so you can watch the same crap quality week in, week out.
NGC produces a lot of these, as does THC. One of these was about an alien invasion (this one, I think).
I bring this up because I actually watched part of it -- on a road trip, late at night, and very bored.
Not so bored that I watched ALL of it, of course. But enough that I saw one segment where a ragtag band of guerrillas were huddled in the wilderness, listening to a radio broadcast from......Barack Obama. It was probably an actor, but a good enough job that I did whenever I hear his voice on TV: I changed channels.
Might explain the polling news. And where the average American voter gets their information: from crappy documentaries.
Jeff: Sounds awful. And you're certainly right about all these "crockumentaries".
ReplyDeleteFormerly respectable TV channels (like History and Science and Discovery) are trending more and more to things like celebrity ghost stories and Bigfoot quests and prehistoric alien visits (where we obviously got all our technological advances). It's a sorry concession to the lowest common denominator in the quest for ratings. Should we blame TV or should we blame the public, or should we blame an educational system that hasn't got the stones to definitively debunk all that crap?
ReplyDeletePaco: I like "crockumentaries"! Consider it stolen.
ReplyDeleteRebecca: Blame all three. It's really sad.
RebeccaH, we've been terribly disappointed in the evolution of History and Science and Discovery. They were the reason we had those channels and for it to be all bullshit all the time was just too much. Even the DIY channels had turned from good stuff to crap.
ReplyDeleteWe cancelled.
I sometimes wonder if Obeyme is an alien, himself. That may be why people think he could handle the aliens.
ReplyDeleteBTW, in the WotW clip, did you notice the Mexican?
A case of illegal alien meets illegal alien?
Gee, who'd handle a cometary impact better?
ReplyDeleteAmongst other moronic questions...
R-man: Had the same thought about the Mexican (as you say, "great minds, etc.")
ReplyDeleteThat NG documentary was actually kind of fum. Featured SF writer John Ringo and Redneck Rocket Scientist Travis Taylor.
ReplyDelete