WTF has happened to respectable documentary channels?

[Deleted]

I don't just mean the History Channel's obsession with alien conspiracy theories! Last night I was watching Animal Planet and saw a program called Mountain Monsters. I thought it sounded interesting, perhaps a show about mountain predators. No! It was a show about some rednecks hunting a werewolf in America -_- I continued watching, perhaps it was a urban myth debunk show. No! The first BS moment was when they added fake SFX on a 'hunt'. The second BS moment was fake heat vision footage. Third BS moment was a hilarious shaky cam footage. Fourth BS moment was the werewolf been behind one of them. Fith BS moment was randomly finding cattle remains. Sixth BS moment, the trap to capture working only for it to escape and take the bait.

Now I dont mind mockumentaries for entertainment but c'mon Animal Planet is supposed to be factual wildlife shows, not made up shit for theatre

[Mermaid]

I don't even have regular cable anymore because I find 90 percent of it terrible. I only have netflix! There are some really good documentaries on there.

[Jonexe]

They don't exist anymore because the lay-person watching TV doesn't want to have to think. Most people don't enjoy something they have to pay full attention to, and they don't enjoy anything deemed "boring." Believe it or not, many people find subjects such as History and Science to be boring.

You can also blame the rise of "reality" television. It panders to the people described above. Because it brings in ratings, every channel possible will try to capture those audiences. Why? Because money.

[Deleted]

Yeah it's probably not the channels it's probably because the views and ratings are terrible when it's actually factual so the channels have to invent a load of BS to get viewers.

It's like those horrendous gossip magazines that girls buy which are full of 100% made up shit but they blindly buy them and the result is degenerates with "celebrity lifestyles" get rich from making up BS.

[Thelxi]

History Channel, Animal Planet and National Geographic are horrible nowadays. It's all very sensational bullshit. I used to love just watching a few hours of them, but now they disgust me.

[Redlokyldoreifanggore]

The ratings race happened. History, Discovery, Nat Geo all realised that they could get bigger amounts of viewers (and thus better revenue and ratings) if they went with stupid pseudo-reality TV BS guised as some form of actual documentation.

[Deleted]

Documentary channels were never intended for mass viewings. Thankfully plenty of respectable documentaries still exist but ughh these moronic shows that try to insult our intelligence by saying IT'S REAL need abolishing

[Zapolix]

When I'm on the hunt for quality documentaries (or even just general news broadcasts), I turn to PBS. They tend not to pander to sensationalism as much as other networks, and they're a free channel.

[Deleted]

I must admit and this isn't nation bashing but a lot (not all) of these guilty shows are American

[Saxtorph]

Sensationalism sells. If you want real documentaries I think you have to look to BBC.

[Deleted]

I have to say the OP gave me a hell of a laugh when he explained what the show was about xD, further more I think it's sad that the good shows are being replaced by shows like described by the OP.

[Deleted]

Seriously WTF

[Deleted]

It's sounds like a respectable (not fake) documentary about the life of people who make documentaries about hunting werewolfs. Humans are animals too.

[Deleted]

I actually find these shows fun to watch because they are so damn funny in how serious they are trying to be. I'd put it on par to fake-wrestling, fake as hell, but for many its fun to watch.

[Baladash]

Think of these "stupid" shows as Documentaries about the way people live their lives and not about whatever stupid subject they entertain.

Mountain Monsters = Documentary about how a bunch of like minded people spend their time looking for something that may or may not exist

People are interested in stories about regular relatable people, thats why we have the Duck Dynasty and Honey Boo Boo shows.

(edit: I realize that the Duck Dynasty gang and the Boo Boo family are a departure from "regular" but they are relatable to the majority... I feel sad actually typing that.)

[slime]

I agree, although I enjoy the alien shows on history channel - these channels used to be chock full of great, factual programming - now these weird shows.
But maybe it is the nature of any TV channel that gains popularity and wants to maintain it, remember when MTV played music?

[Wilian]

How are Duck Dynasty or Honey Boo boo regular ore relatable people?

Anyhow, reality show happened. It's cancer that ruined TV

[Toiran]

The History channel is regarded as a laughing stock these days to anyone with half a brain cell.

Shame really, it used to have some quality shows.

Thankfully Discovery still does some factual and interesting documentary's, whilst they too do bullshit sometimes, it's nowhere near on the scale of History or the ironic "Tru TV".

It's simple really, if it makes money, nothing else matters, no matter how low, how terrible, how illogical, if it makes money, it gets made, and continues until it sucks up every last drop. < That applies to just about everything, money talks, ethics and standards don't matter.

Why risk something innovative when the same old shit has zero risk and rakes in cash. < This applies to ALOT of games/studios, movies and tv too.

American Restoration WAS originally really interesting for something on History, they focused on the art and craft of restoring items, now, about 5% of the air time is about the restoration process, 95% of it is fake acting, drama and "family", it's awful, totally ruined. Pawn Stars and Storage Wars COULD of also been something good, but the exact same process happens.

The new truck program is even more ridiculous, but it's not as bad as Lizard Lick Towing or whatever the fuck that steaming pile of shit is.

[Deleted]

Documentary channels were never intended for mass viewings. Thankfully plenty of respectable documentaries still exist but ughh these moronic shows that try to insult our intelligence by saying IT'S REAL need abolishing

Yes but where money talks bullshit walks,...

They simply saw where the money is and went there, business as usual. Many people got bored with the previous format of shows where most of it was real and thus not so "juicy" as it is now. Producers go out of their way to make it dramatic when it really isn't.

[Deleted]

Mountain Monsters = Documentary about how a bunch of like minded people spend their time looking for something that may or may not exist

Id accept that if they didn't cheat and make shit up