The History Channel

[Midnight Palace]

The History Channel recently ran a flurry of shows on Hitler, including one about his relatives that he tried to hide from public knowledge. Anyone catch those?

 

[cooncatbob]

Yes I caught those, very interesting that Hitler's relatives live in the US under different names. Did you catch the one where they add his voice to the silent film of him by reading his lips. Very strange to see the human side of a monster.
Bob.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

He's always on there.

So around these parts we refer to it as The Hitler Channel.

 

[Dan G]

Yes I caught those, very interesting that Hitler's relatives live in the US under different names. Did you catch the one where they add his voice to the silent film of him by reading his lips. Very strange to see the human side of a monster.
Bob.

I caught the lip reading one. That was pretty wild.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I caught the lip reading one. That was pretty wild.

So what was he saying? Just a lot of boring small talk like anybody else?

 

[Dan G]

So what was he saying? Just a lot of boring small talk like anybody else?

Yea pretty much. He was talking to Eva Braun really like any lover would. It was kind of weird...

 

[Spitfire]

Yea pretty much. He was talking to Eva Braun really like any lover would. It was kind of weird...

Surprise, surprise...what did you ecspect? A growling, bloddripping vampyre...
That is really the scarry thing about it - like it was shown so brilliant in "Der Untergang" - he did have feelings, he was an ordinary man - at least sometimes. When it suited him. And the situation.
Unfortunately the real monsters of this world does not come with horns and a tail. I admit life would be easier if they did. But they never do.

 

[Nick D]

So around these parts we refer to it as The Hitler Channel.

Wife: What are you watching?

Husband: The History channel.

Wife: Have you learned anything?

Husband: Yes. World War Two is the only thing that ever happened.



I watch the History channel occassionally for entertainment, but I take it all with a large grain of salt. I did see the Hitler programs mentioned though, and they were interesting.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I watch the History Channel a lot, but I find that most of what they show is dissappointingly dragged out - and only at about a 7th-grade level of complexity/detail. Most average PBS-produced documentaries are still vastly more intelligent than anything airing on the History Channel. And they aren't padded with those awful teaser-statement-before and unnecessary-recap-after bumpers around each commercial break.

And why do so many of their shows, after promising to explain some lost mystery, end with the inevitable "We may never know for certain how..." narration?!? It drives me nuts: if you KNOW, then say so - if you DON'T, then don't waste my time!

 

[dhermann1]

Wife: What are you watching?

Husband: The History channel.

Wife: Have you learned anything?

Husband: Yes. World War Two is the only thing that ever happened.

I watch the History channel occassionally for entertainment, but I take it all with a large grain of salt. I did see the Hitler programs mentioned though, and they were interesting.

lol
So true! But actually, only the parts of WWII that were glorious victories for the good old U S of A ever happened! All those other little sideshows, like Great Britain being all alone against Germany for almost 2 years (except for the Battle of Britain) and that little sideshow known as the Russian Front, and the millions of people who died in that tiny little war between Japan and China, none of that unimportant minor stuff ever happened!
It was mainly Guadalcanal and Midway, Normandy, and Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and that's really about all.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I watch the History Channel a lot, but I find that most of what they show is dissappointingly dragged out - and only at about a 7th-grade level of complexity/detail. Most average PBS-produced documentarires are still vastly more intelligent than anything airing on the History Channel. And they aren't padded with those awful teaser-statement-before and unnecessary-recap-after bumpers around each commercial break.

And why do so many of their shows, after promising to explain some lost mystery, end with the inevitable "We may never know for certain how..." narration?!? It drives me nuts: if you KNOW, then say so - if you DON'T, then don't waste my time!

As they say in the biz,..."That's Entertainment".

 

[Sweet Polly Purebred]

I watch the History Channel a lot, but I find that most of what they show is dissappointingly dragged out - and only at about a 7th-grade level of complexity/detail. Most average PBS-produced documentarires are still vastly more intelligent than anything airing on the History Channel. And they aren't padded with those awful teaser-statement-before and unnecessary-recap-after bumpers around each commercial break.

And why do so many of their shows, after promising to explain some lost mystery, end with the inevitable "We may never know for certain how..." narration?!? It drives me nuts: if you KNOW, then say so - if you DON'T, then don't waste my time!

:eusa_clap

I couldn't agree more.

 

[Elaina]

I watch a lot of History Channel International. It's what I tell my husband is "History Lite." I get enough that it's interesting, but if I want to have an intelligent discussion on it (since discussing it with the hubby is "History Discussion Lite"), I'll call one of the High School history teachers I never had (but am friends with.)

edited because I can't type, talk and work at the same time.

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Don't get me started...

tonight on the History Channel:

7-8pm "Was Jesus Gay?!?!" (part 3 of 10)
8-9pm "The Bible is So Full of B.S. that Even the Page Numbers Can't Be Trusted."
9-11pm "Sex Cults, Voodoo, and The Vatican." (a Times/Discovery Channel simulcast)
11-12pm "Like a Virgin: The 'Virgin' Mary and 1st century prostitution."

 

[Sweet Polly Purebred]

tonight on the History Channel:

7-8pm "Was Jesus Gay?!?!" (part 3 of 10)
8-9pm "The Bible is So Full of B.S. that Even the Page Numbers Can't Be Trusted."
9-11pm "Sex Cults, Voodoo, and The Vatican." (a Times/Discovery Channel simulcast)
11-12pm "'Like a Virgin': Mary and 1st century prostitution."

Hahahahahaha!

 

[Nick D]

tonight on the History Channel:

7-8pm "Was Jesus Gay?!?!" (part 3 of 10)
8-9pm "The Bible is So Full of B.S. that Even the Page Numbers Can't Be Trusted."
9-11pm "Sex Cults, Voodoo, and The Vatican." (a Times/Discovery Channel simulcast)
11-12pm "Like a Virgin: The 'Virgin' Mary and 1st century prostitution."

And UFOs, and current events, and futuristic what-ifs. :eusa_doh:

 

[Jay]

I love how with every popular new movie there's a History Channel tie-in. The Real Jesus Christ or The Real "Aviator":The Untold Story of Howard Hughes or something. Is that the only way non-history buffs will watch their channel?

 

[Senator Jack]

I tried to read his lips. I think at one point he said to Eva, 'Do we have a wire hanger? I stuffed up the toilet again.'

 

[Twitch]

Besides the emphasis on WW2- must create many programs on the era because they are popular- HC delves into a myriad of other eras and subjects. They are HEAVY into ancient civilizations and even modern aspects such as histories of fast food, unique-shaped architecture, engineering and more.

The 2 hour program on the Spartan holding action at Thermopylae against the Persians far exceeded the cinematic effort of "The 300" in detail, scope and drama.

The whole impetus of the HC is to elicit interest in non-mainstream subject matter that will stimulate couch potatoes to actually obtain written volumes on said subjects and perhaps research the internet for more detailed information.

If anyone devotes more than a cursory glance at HC they'll realize that many esoteric subjects are covered beyond the so-called 7th grade level. Certainly I was never aware of many of these aspects of history when I was in the 7th grade.

There have been many programs dealing with outside-the-known Anglo-American aspects of WW2. They've devled into the Soviet industries and the Russian perspective many times along with lesser-known Rumanian, Hungarian, Yugoslavic and other points of view of WW2.

As an interviewer and writer of air combat pilots' tales I can tell you categorically that a program such as Dogfights which uses CGI to illustrate a combat within a larger battle is beyond accurate. I've interviewed some of the same men about the same combat and found the illustrative computer visuals depict exactly what occurred.

For years I had researched the aspects of advanced weaponry developed by the major powers in WW2 and once wrote a book-length series of articles titled Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe. The History Channel took it farther and used superb CGI to illustrate the German, American and Japanese weapons and totally did justice to the thrust of what was going on at the time.

Documentaries should be sparks of a birth of knowledge quest for people to acquire more information on a subject that stimulates their imagination. No documentary can completely cover every aspect of its subject in the confines of broadcast airing time. It is up to the person that has hopefully been jogged into awareness of said subject to persue that quest for additional knowledge....or they can continue on to the lowest denominator with "reality" shows, Dancing with the Stars and American Idol rubbish.

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

I recall watching a documentary on the U-Boats, and in it they mentioned something about the only things being left from the U-47 is some medals (and they showed medals that were brought up from *other* U-Boats).

I think to myself, "U-47 is listed as missing in action. No one knows the location, and the 'approximate location' is in a very deep part of the North Atlantic. Why on earth say that these medals came from U-47 when no one knows where it is for one, and two if they did, it would probably be too deep to dive to it."

I just don't like that kind of misinformation being broadcast to the public. Nor am I fond of the way certain documentaries (and even authors) cast the U-Boat crews as 'hard core Nazis'...when I, and many others, darn well know better.

Prien