“How Sex Changed the World” is H2′s New Gem of Programming

No, I’m not being sarcastic…

There is way too much sex on television nowadays, everyone knows that, so if our rather large, high-definition screens are going to be filled with skin, it might as well be for the sake of education. You all know my thoughts on the History Channel and sister-network H2, so you can imagine my initial reaction when I first heard the title for their latest new series, How Sex Changed the World. I was aghast, but I was also curious, because sex is the one thing we are all curious about, except for, well…aliens. In a way, it was about time that a show like this was made. There was a series or two back in the early 2000′s called The History of Sex, but it is rather dated now, and given all that has changed in our society by way of what is accepted more now than then, it was time for a revamp. This new series, though, is a total rejuvenation that takes the viewer all over history, to the different men and women who changed our world, simply by having sex or choosing to go against societal norms in that manner.

History Channel’s “Chasing Tail”: Are You Kidding Me?

UPDATE (4/1): The graphic for “Chasing Tail”. Just what I want to see on family-friendly television: a hunter dragging a deer carcass across someone’s front lawn.

The only thing more prevalent on television nowadays than sexual innuendo is stupidity, or in the case of the History Channel, irrelevance…or maybe both? Just when you thought the network may have been turning over a new leaf with scripted dramas such as The Bible and Vikings, and a powerful documentary series, The Men Who Built America, which I find myself wholeheartedly enjoying, the History Channel has gone back to its recent roots of trying to scrounge up the most ridiculous concept not even worthy of a time slot on TLC (remember when that actually used to stand for The Learning Channel?) and turn it into a regular series. If you thought Swamp People was bad, then you are just going to love Chasing Tail, which is, you guessed it, a show about deer hunting, that starts this April! But that would be too simple, wouldn’t it? To be more specific, it is about a group of “blue-collar” hunters in suburban Connecticut who are paid by the wealthy to kill the surplus of deer in the area who wander on to their property—the synopsis for the second episode has them shooting deer from the back deck of a mansion. The one thing this show has going for it, though, is that the “hunters” actually have all their teeth, and appear to be keeping their shirts on for the duration of the show, or at least as far as I could tell in the tiny preview I saw air a few days ago. Of course, my first thought was how is this history? But then I recollected their lineup of regular shows, which includes American Pickers, American Restoration, Ax Men, Big Rig Bounty Hunters, Counting Cars, Pawn Stars, Swamp People, Top Gear, and Ultimate Soldier Challenge, and I didn’t feel so lost.

Review: The First Episode of “Vikings”

If anything, I was hoping that History Channel’s Vikings would do a lot to demystify the fascinating culture from the north, one that has been relegated to mere stereotypes and caricatures over the years when looking at their portrayals. The Norsemen are often seen as one-dimensional figures, who have a bloodthirsty craving for violence, rape, and pillaging, with their interactions between each other bordering on unintelligible muttering. Based on what this network has put out in recent years, I was expecting exactly that, only with a couple of horned helmets thrown into the mix. So far, though, after the first episode, I am quite impressed and happy with the overall look and feel of this coming ten-part series, which could expand into future seasons. It is not perfect, as nothing ever is, and there are a few cringe moments, but I actually found myself enjoying the first episode, and am anxious for the rest of the series. Below are some highlights and what stood out to me the most:

Quick Blurb: A First Episode Review of “The Bible”

This is not as long as my usual reviews, but because I did not watch the entire episode, I can only comment on what I saw. I don’t like to do this, but I will not have the time to watch the entire first episode of The Bible this week, and I wanted to post something while it is still relevant. This may be a breath of fresh air for my readers, especially when it comes to History Channel productions, but I did not hate this opening episode at all. In fact, it actually was decent. There are still plenty of little nuggets to poke fun at, and a few cringe moments, but overall, it was a pleasing effort for those who take the Bible as the literal word of God, and those who just like it as a good story. Some highlights that caught my attention are below:

Tea and Scones at The Last Supper: History Channel’s “The Bible” Premiering in March

Just one little observation of the History Channel’s upcoming miniseries bonanza, The Bible, which will be premiering on March 3rd. Part of me says this network has learned their lesson after the immense success of Hatfields & McCoys, but the other part of me says this is still the History Channel, and is destined to make some kind of glorious mistake. No, we are not talking about the guy who portrayed General Barksdale in Gettysburg looking like an Elvis Presley impersonator, or even their obsession with that family of inbred, toothless hicks sailing around swamps in the middle of nowhere blasting alligator brains out with shotguns. We are talking about something that matters to a lot of people, and that is the treatment of the greatest story ever written, which is sacred to hundreds of millions of people around the world. Now, I am not going to pick apart the teaser or even the extended look trailer scene-by-scene, but something that caught my eyes and ears was the portrayal of Jesus and his apostles (aside from the guy playing Moses looking like the lead singer of a death metal band).

The Resignation of Benedict XVI and St. Malachy’s “Prophecy of Popes”

File this under paranormal (or abnormal). As you all know, I try to stay away from religion on here as much as humanly possible, but this is just too fascinating to pass up. I also wanted to beat the History Channel to this.

I must admit, I was as shocked as anyone when I heard that Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will resign in two weeks. Ironically enough, I first caught wind of it on a New York sports-talk radio show, and initially thought they were joking or I misheard them in the wee morning hours. After quickly switching to CNN to see if there was something to it, I was really quite perplexed. Sick or not, mentally incapable or not, the Pope is supposed to remain Pope until his death. That’s why there is only one of them at a time. Remember John Paul II, seriously ill and frail for years, yet he still hung on? Why? Because that was his duty. To work, serve, and pray until it was his time to go. Perhaps there is something fishy here? Two weeks notice for resigning from the Papacy (the first time in 600 years this has happened; Columbus had not even voyaged across the Atlantic to genocide the natives yet), the most widely recognized office in the world, and one of the most followed? To put that into perspective, I had to give two weeks notice for quitting my summer job when I was 16, and that was only pushing carts at a local farmer’s market. This leads me to believe that Pope Benny the Quitter is either much more sick than he is letting on, and is close to death, and has announced this so the College of Cardinals has a heads-up on the election, or that there is a scandal about to be revealed so groundbreaking, that he wanted to attempt to protect the church by stepping away from it. Odd as it is, for the sake of Catholics in the world, let us hope it is neither, and try to have some fun with this. [Insert explosive and destructive prophecy here.]

First Trailer for “Killing Lincoln” Released; Film Shows Promise

Ah, the wonders of Hollywood: Billy Campbell goes from playing a stubborn farmer diametrically opposed to Abraham Lincoln in the soon-to-be-released Copperhead, to portraying the president himself, in the upcoming television film, Killing Lincoln, airing on National Geographic next month, based on a book by Bill O’Reilly. This will serve as the network’s first ever scripted drama, while there will be some narration, provided by Tom Hanks. Though I have only seen the trailer, released yesterday, I must say that my hopes now are a little bit higher than they were when this project was first announced, mainly because the same producer (Ridley Scott) and director (Adrian Moat) gave us that brutally awful Gettysburg documentary for the History Channel last year. I shuddered to think at the same duo handling another portion of American history. However, after reading the script (which was current at the time I read it) several months ago, and because Nat-Geo is still reputable (at least more so than the other network), I will be willing to give this a shot, and them the benefit of the doubt.

A Proposal for a Food-Related TV Show I Would Love to See

We’ve reached that inevitable point in the middle of the summer months that dooms all bloggers. That is, the stretch of time where there is just nothing to write about. No movie or sports news—we are still waiting for a little bit of both. Because of that, I thought it was about time to finally set pen to paper on an idea I have had for a new television show, one that would combine history with the single item we can all find common ground on: food! There are an endless amount of documentaries on all time periods in history (though that number has been shrinking in recent years due to a mass-encroachment from mindless “reality”-based shows), but how many of them ever take the time to go into detail on the food consumed in whatever particular time period they are focusing on? The only one that comes to mind is one of my favorites, The Naked Archaeologist, hosted by Simcha Jacobovici, which I love for its simplistic, down-to-earth approach to archaeology, making it fun, interesting, and easy to learn for everyone. The reason why the show is titled as such is because he peels back the layers, so to speak, making the archaeology “naked”. Many times his shows will include little tidbits on food and lifestyles, which I always found fascinating. I think it is a topic that could do very well as a show of its own, because if there is one thing that can humanize a group of people who have been dead for hundreds or thousands of years, it would be details about, and demonstrations of how to cook the food they ate.

Interview with Emmy-Nominated Actor Bill Oberst Jr.

Most interviews are planned long in advance of when they are published, few are not. Normally, it’s the spontaneous ones that make for a more interesting back story, and this one here with Emmy-nominated actor Bill Oberst Jr. certainly fits the bill. A few days ago, I wrote an article giving my thoughts on when history gets turned into horror movies, given the highly anticipated Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and a newly released mock-up of that, Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies. It just so happens that Bill, who played Lincoln in the latter, read my article and told me that he enjoyed it. He also agreed with my statement of, “If you are going to mess with history, do it in a light that cannot be taken seriously; do not mask it in the form of a documentary or feature film and insult our intelligence.” He also added that it is not often he gets to step out of character, because he is so associated with horror movies, given the amount of them he has appeared in. As for all his work, he has eclipsed 70 films in total, all in the last five years, including nearly 20 that are in pre- or post-production even as we speak. I figured that if Bill could come out of character for a comment, maybe he would be willing to do an interview, so I asked him and he agreed, all this happening in the space of about an hour, due to a break in his busy shooting schedule.

Ridley & Tony Scott to Produce Documentary Based on Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Lincoln”

Well, look at that: three Lincoln-related posts in a row, though I hope this will be more accurate than Honest Abe hunting vampires and zombies…

This may not be “news”, but it just came to my attention, thanks to an actor I know who is auditioning for the part of Abraham Lincoln in this documentary project for National Geographic slated to air in 2013, and be produced by Ridley and Tony Scott. This special will be based on the best-selling book Killing Lincoln, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, which examines the events leading up to the president’s assassination and immediately following it. I was actually given this book as a gift last November by one of my students following the conclusion of a middle school-level twelve-week elective course on the Civil War I taught, and although I was very happy to receive such a gift, I just could not bring myself to read anything written by Bill O’Reilly, a personality which I do not care for. However, over time, I eventually skimmed through it, and I must admit, I enjoyed it.