Discovery's new boss says so no more mermaids, giant snakes

I know this has been a topic of discussion with relative intensity, and I certainly fall on the side of the fence that would like to see Discovery (Channel) return back to its educational roots and jetison its recent penchant for 'mockumentaries.'

I was glad to hear this:

The network has been doing well financially but has been criticized, particularly by the scientific community, for some specials that have stretched the boundaries of truth. Most recently, animal rights activists were angered by the "Eaten Alive" premise of an explorer who would be swallowed by a giant anaconda. The reality turned out to be far less dramatic.

Discovery's annual "Shark Week" the past two years have featured fanciful "documentaries" about megalodons. The network also aired a show, produced by sister channel Animal Planet, about mermaids and another about a supposed Russian yeti.

"Brands are all about trust," said Ross, who is replacing former network head Eileen O'Neill and her interim successor Marjorie Kaplan, in an interview Thursday. "You can expand the universe of what people think you are, but there's only so much elasticity. On Discovery, that's why I talk about authenticity. Authenticity is job No. 1, 2 and 3."

Fictional documentaries, no matter their entertainment value, no longer have their place, he said.

"It's not whether I'm a fan of it," he said. "I don't think it's actually right for Discovery Channel and it's something that I think has, in some ways, run its course."

Source

Here's to hoping that Mr. Ross holds true to his stated intentions.

Now, History (Channel), will you follow suit?

I read that as well and am happy to hear they will be getting back to real stuff.

Based off his first hire there I feel pretty confident he will stick to this.....die hard Discovery fans will definitely stick around.

One of his first hires at Discovery is designed to send a clear message. John Hoffman, a multiple Emmy Award-winner who spent many years in HBO's well-regarded documentary unit, was named Discovery's executive vice president of documentaries and specials. As an independent producer, Hoffman most recently did the project "Sleepless in America" for the National Geographic Channel.

excellent. They've been diluting their brand for a while now. that mermaid show was just about rock bottom for me.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

It's about time.

Maybe mermaids exist,I don't know,it just seems extremely lame to me as the topic of multiple shows.

UFO nuts (like myself) are prone to wearing tin foil.

I wonder what mermaid nuts wear/use.

originally posted by: SlapMonkey
I know this has been a topic of discussion with relative intensity, and I certainly fall on the side of the fence that would like to see Discovery (Channel) return back to its educational roots and jetison its recent penchant for 'mockumentaries.'

I was glad to hear this:

The network has been doing well financially but has been criticized, particularly by the scientific community, for some specials that have stretched the boundaries of truth. Most recently, animal rights activists were angered by the "Eaten Alive" premise of an explorer who would be swallowed by a giant anaconda. The reality turned out to be far less dramatic.

Discovery's annual "Shark Week" the past two years have featured fanciful "documentaries" about megalodons. The network also aired a show, produced by sister channel Animal Planet, about mermaids and another about a supposed Russian yeti.

"Brands are all about trust," said Ross, who is replacing former network head Eileen O'Neill and her interim successor Marjorie Kaplan, in an interview Thursday. "You can expand the universe of what people think you are, but there's only so much elasticity. On Discovery, that's why I talk about authenticity. Authenticity is job No. 1, 2 and 3."

Fictional documentaries, no matter their entertainment value, no longer have their place, he said.

"It's not whether I'm a fan of it," he said. "I don't think it's actually right for Discovery Channel and it's something that I think has, in some ways, run its course."

Source

Here's to hoping that Mr. Ross holds true to his stated intentions.

Now, History (Channel), will you follow suit?

I disagree with his opinion and think there probubally gonna have a drop in ratings and end doubling down on the crazy and up being worse then It was in the first place.


I think the ONLY problem with the mockumentaries, is that they did a REALLY bad job of letting people know it was fake. I really enjoyed both Mermaids: the body revealed and the Megaladon: the monster shark lives. But you had to go online to see it was fake, which is crazy. It should have been advertised as fiction.


So I bet ratings drop and they fire the new guy and hire the producer of anchient aliens . :p lol

Thank you Mr. Ross.

I was really tiring of their stuff lately.
You have to tape the show, then watch the credits to see the disclaimer that says it is a bunch of hooey so you can see if the show is worth watching.

Hopefully this guy cando the same with History channel,
I mean WTF does a bunch of pawnshop BS have to do with history??

originally posted by: FalcoFan
a reply to: SlapMonkey

It's about time.

Maybe mermaids exist,I don't know,it just seems extremely lame to me as the topic of multiple shows.

UFO nuts (like myself) are prone to wearing tin foil.

I wonder what mermaid nuts wear/use.

Goggles and/or scuba flippers! :p

a reply to: SlapMonkey

The bigfoot stuff is old for me.

There isn't (I would bet) a stretch of woods here in Tn. that doesn't have drunks wandering around at night.

The "Squatchin'" show just reminds me of that fact.

About time, now if the rest of the educational channels would follow Discoveries lead, Like the History channel. I have to laugh at some of the TV shows that are shown on the History channel, like Ax Men, Alaska this , and Alaska that, Alaska Alaska Alaska. Ahhhhh Enough about those frozen rednecks. LOL Get back to the good stuff, Shows that actually educate, I know it comes down to viewers and the number of people. but there comes a point.

a reply to: IkNOwSTuff

Please add the Sci-Fi channel because of "Sharknado."

My jaw stayed dropped for a month from the awe of seeing that kind of stupidity being made into a "movie."

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Discovery could fill their entire schedule with shows about the universe.(planets,stars,hubble shots,future space vehicle designs,etc.,etc.)

Kind of why I loved the channel during it's first few years.

Does this mean that Discovery Channel will stop showing reality tv shows on that channel? I really hope so. I'm not "discovering" anything when I watch that crap.

"Dumb and dumber" just became "dumb and maybe a little less dumber". The dumbing down of television on stations like Discovery, the History Channel, and even PBS in America, forsakes what those stations and that media set out to accomplish and share.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

That is good news.
I used to really enjoy The Discovery Channel, but then they started to do like everyone else and put out a bunch of crappy shows. Now if MTV would just do the same and go back to music videos....

*sigh*

Unfortunately....the education system has reduced most of the younger Americans to the lowest common denominator......the majority want this crap, and id say the majority of them probably believe it too........
One look at the ratings of the shows will tell you they are certainly popular.......barf

Good. I was really pissed of all these fake documentaries.

The mermaid one (on Animal Planet) had me going (but I was so confused cause alot things didn't add up), but right at the end when they said it was fake I just shut off my tv and...well...I haven't been watching much TV since.

I hope History Channel, Animal Planet, and Discovery Channel stop doing reality tv shows. Those are the main cancerous reasons why I stopped watching TV. I remember as a kid that right after I got home from school I turned on the tv and put either Discovery Ch, History Ch, or Animal planet. I really really really enjoyed watching those documentaries, ACTUAL documentary-like reality shows, and especially Crocodile Hunter (R.I.P in Peace Steave Irwin ).

I learned so much, but I feel like the new reality shows they show now have been robbing me of that gained knowledge >__

Im sorry but, being a snake breeder and having a profound love for snakes. (and legless lizards) watching that snake "eat" a human disgusted me. Thats discovery exploiting a animal and putting it through a unnecessary amount of stress. Also, i've had the great pleasure or being hands on with "large" snakes and they have got to be respected.

a reply to: Glassbender777

The reason you saw "Alaska Everything" was filming costs & the fact some show's screwed over different locations. Inuvik pretty much kicked them out during Ice Road Truckers.

originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff
Hopefully this guy cando the same with History channel,
I mean WTF does a bunch of pawnshop BS have to do with history??

If you don't think Pawn Stars teaches you some history, you haven't been paying attention. Same with American Pickers.

While I agree that some of the shows on History Channel are garbage, some actually teach people history in an entertaining way instead of showing endless WWII documentaries like they once did.

History and Discovery have to balance being educational with being watchable. If every show was strictly educational, the ratings would plummet.