Comments on: You got your Syfy in my science

By: John Turnley

John Turnley — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:25:00 +0000

I saw it. It looked like the typical lame documentary you might see on Discovery or the History Channel. I didn’t believe it for a minute, but I thought they were trying to be serious. The big tip-off that it was a joke came at the end when they showed a shadowy merman attacking someone.

ocker3 wrote:
Perhaps the people who comissioned it don’t realise how low education standards have fallen in many western nations, the audience may not all realise it’s all a full-length joke

I tend to cut the public some slack and place more blame on AP. If viewers are used to real (more or less; usually less) documentaries on AP, then why shouldn’t they believe another one, even if it is pretty unbelievable?

The History Channel, AP, etc. are pretty worthless. For every legitimate program they have two or three bogus ones.

By: ocker3

ocker3 — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:16:00 +0000

Perhaps the people who comissioned it don’t realise how low education standards have fallen in many western nations, the audience may not all realise it’s all a full-length joke

By: bzishi

bzishi — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 05:02:00 +0000

No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.

Of course not. Until now!

By: efergus3

efergus3 — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 04:47:00 +0000

Well, well, well: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FEEJEE-FIJI-MERMAID-SIDESHOW-FREAK-GAFF-/320937810668?pt=Art_Sculpture&hash=item4ab9625aec
And: http://www.halloweenasylum.com/fiji_mermaid_prop.html

By: efergus3

efergus3 — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 04:01:00 +0000

Of course there are mermaids. The great P.T.Barnum put one from Fiji on display for years.

By: mothernatureseven

mothernatureseven — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 02:59:00 +0000

Americans are too busy being exceptional to study anything of real value.
The true “if it is on tv it must be true” society.

By: Deidzoeb

Deidzoeb — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 02:36:00 +0000

Can we get a statement from the US Geological Survey on the authenticity of ARACHNOQUAKE starring Edward Furlong and Tracey Gold?

By: forwardourmotto

forwardourmotto — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 02:22:00 +0000

“If you need me, I’ll be out back, drinking whiskey and taking aim at the television.”

That’s the best way to watch TV…

By: fearuncertaintydoubt

fearuncertaintydoubt — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 02:05:00 +0000

I saw this show on AP, there was nothing before, during, or after that I noticed to let the audience know it was a work of fiction. The style mimicked a typical documentary, the acting was good and it came across as real (except for the fantastic nature of the mermaid thing itself). And this on a channel that normally runs documentary programs, not fiction. After watching it, I looked it up because it seemed like there’s no way it could be true. Sure enough, it was complete fiction. This was very irresponsible to air. If it was on SyFy or another channel like that, it would be much better because you expect it to be just entertainment. I’ll never trust anything I see on AP again as fact.

By: penguinchris

penguinchris — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:58:00 +0000

There is still decent stuff on these channels, but yes, it’s increasingly rare. Discovery still has Mythbusters and that show has only gotten better and better. I don’t think they have anything else worth watching, it’s mostly reality garbage.

All of the science programming Discovery used to show is now on the Science Channel (which is still mostly good stuff, there are some worrying signs there too though).

As for History, again there’s a lot of reality crap but they do still show actual history documentaries, Modern Marvels, and other stuff (occasionally anyway). Their most popular show, Pawn Stars, is a sort of reality show but it’s actually usually quite interesting and worthwhile to watch because they bring in history experts and discuss the history of the things being bought and sold in detail. Easily half of the run time of that show is devoted to talking about the history.

I mean, other than Mythbusters I wouldn’t purposefully sit down to watch any of this stuff, but if I’m at my parents’ house (I wouldn’t ever pay for cable on my own) and there’s nothing else on, Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Modern Marvels, and much of the Science Channel stuff can be fun to have on in the background while I read the internet because sometimes really interesting stuff will come up. The only thing I particularly miss about having cable (or having a TV at all) is Turner Classic Movies.

By: MrScience

MrScience — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:46:00 +0000

I used to say that if I were to get cable, I’d only let the kids watch the History channel and Discovery. Glad to see it still isn’t worth it. And when I see what my dad watches on some of these ‘improve yourself by learning facts of the world around you’ channels, I just cringe.

By: Romeo Vitelli

Romeo Vitelli — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:35:00 +0000

Don’t know about mermaids but I know perfectly well that there’s such a thing as a merman. Here’s a Youtube link of one of them singing…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icr71H1nb3Q

By: Rev. Benjamin

Rev. Benjamin — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:12:00 +0000

TAKE IT BACK, NAOO!!!

By: satn

satn — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 20:43:00 +0000

I’m not saying it was aliens..

By: Christopher

Christopher — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 20:41:00 +0000

Having given us Pirahnaconda, Octoraptor, Sasquatchosaurus Rex, and the Jersey Shore Shark Attack I doubt SyFy would give us something as mundane as mermaids. I think such a “documentary” would be more likely a product of Lifetime, especially if it involved a man having an affair with a mermaid and his wife only finding out at the PTA meeting.