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05-13-2004 03:51 PM

rtype
Ruler of Earth

Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Dallas, Nation of Texas
Posts: 1025

skepticism/debunking on tv

Aside from South Park and Penn & Teller, does anyone know of any other shows on TV that are dedicated to debunking conspiracy theories, legends, mysticism, myths, psuedoscience, supernatural, superstition and religion?

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05-13-2004 03:57 PM

ireland967
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Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Chicago
Posts: 512

There's a show called Fact or Fiction that presents four stories, and only one of them is true. The others are urban myths, legends, etc. Found it interesting once, then not so interesting on the 2nd watch.

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05-13-2004 04:01 PM

barrettd
Senior Member

Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 261

Mythbusters.

BD

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05-13-2004 04:03 PM

Blahblah2000
Member

Registered: Mar 2002
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 35

MythBusters on TLC. I just saw it for the first time over the weekend. They basically take a myth (such as cola being a good engine degreaser/cleaner/etc) and do a bunch of tests to see if the myth is real or not. Worth checking out.

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05-13-2004 04:07 PM

doom1701
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Registered: May 2001
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 5528

Mythbusters is loads of fun, especially for most "typical" guys--ones who like to read the Darwin awards, see big explosions, and watch building type shows like Monster Garage.

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05-13-2004 04:31 PM

dirtypacman
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Registered: Feb 2004
Location: MA
Posts: 2729

History Detective on PBS is a great show about myths and legends and gets down to the real truth.

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05-13-2004 04:33 PM

Video-Idiot
My bad, sorry.

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Posts: 276

Thanks for the SPs guys. I'll try 'em all.

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05-13-2004 04:46 PM

ced6
Member

Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Hollywood, CA
Posts: 172

quote:
Originally posted by doom1701
Mythbusters is loads of fun, especially for most "typical" guys--ones who like to read the Darwin awards, see big explosions, and watch building type shows like Monster Garage.

Hey, I like Mythbusters, am a girl, and have never blown anything up for the record

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05-13-2004 04:51 PM

Mr. Funny Pants
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Registered: Aug 2002
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Posts: 124

Unsolved History is another really good show. They are big on trying to recreate events as precisely as possible (Boston Massacre, Marilyn Monroe's death, JFK's assassination, etc.) and using science. They sometimes overstate their case a bit, but in general, they do a good job of smashing historical myths.

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05-13-2004 04:54 PM

rtype
Ruler of Earth

Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Dallas, Nation of Texas
Posts: 1025

quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Funny Pants
Unsolved History is another really good show. They are big on trying to recreate events as precisely as possible (Boston Massacre, Marilyn Monroe's death, JFK's assassination, etc.) and using science. They sometimes overstate their case a bit, but in general, they do a good job of smashing historical myths.

I think I may have seen an episode of this once. Did they have one that tried to prove who fired first using forensics and reenacting at the OK Coral?

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05-13-2004 05:18 PM

kleinman
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Registered: Oct 2003
Location: Cleveland, OH
Posts: 28

quote:
Originally posted by rtype
I think I may have seen an episode of this once. Did they have one that tried to prove who fired first using forensics and reenacting at the OK Coral?

Yeah, they did an episode on that. The series started out ok, but IMO it degenerated quickly. They started taking scant evidence and leaping to conclusions which they presented as fact. It got to the point where I couldn't watch it anymore, my wife kept getting mad at me yelling at the screen

On a side note, does anyone know if the narrator happens to be Lara Flynn Boyle? Sounds an awful lot like her, but she never showed up in the credits.

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05-13-2004 05:48 PM

Mr. Funny Pants
Member

Registered: Aug 2002
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Posts: 124

quote:
Originally posted by kleinman
Yeah, they did an episode on that. The series started out ok, but IMO it degenerated quickly. They started taking scant evidence and leaping to conclusions which they presented as fact. It got to the point where I couldn't watch it anymore, my wife kept getting mad at me yelling at the screen

On a side note, does anyone know if the narrator happens to be Lara Flynn Boyle? Sounds an awful lot like her, but she never showed up in the credits.

I agree about your first point, although I think it varies greatly show to show. The most recent one I saw was the JFK assassination, and it was very well done. But yeah, they will take a little piece of evidence and run wild with it sometimes.

I never thought about that narrator sounding like Lara Flynn Boyle, but now that I think about it, she does. I do know it's not her though, as I remember checking the credits to see who it was (I found her to be irritating).

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05-13-2004 05:58 PM

kleinman
Master Lurker

Registered: Oct 2003
Location: Cleveland, OH
Posts: 28

quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Funny Pants
(I found her to be irritating).

I agree with you 100% on that. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what, but something about the way she delivered the lines always bugged me - maybe she was just trying to be too dramatic.

For what it's worth, my wife still likes the show, I'm just not allowed to watch it with her anymore

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05-13-2004 06:24 PM

dirtypacman
Best in Class

Registered: Feb 2004
Location: MA
Posts: 2729

I read most of the thread past my last comment thinking you guys were talking about "Unsolved Mysteries" I was thinking to myself does Lara have that deep of a voice?

LOL

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05-13-2004 07:30 PM

classicsat
Astute User

Registered: Feb 2004
Location: Ontario Canada.
Posts: 2490

TLC sometimes has an urban legends program they use to highlight and prove/disprove urban legends, although with of a less scientific nature than Myth busters does.

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05-13-2004 07:49 PM

TimC
Senior Member

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Posts: 22

The narrator of Unsolved History is Stockard Channing.

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05-14-2004 02:03 PM

wmcbrine
Pink Member

Registered: Aug 2003
Location:
Posts: 716

Really bugs me when they do pseudoscience on the Discovery Channel(s).

For a while, they had short interstitial segments with a guy from the Skeptical Inquirer, IIRC, on the Science Channel. But I'm not sure that counts as a program. I dunno if it's still on.

Some debunking occurs on Scientific American Frontiers now and then. (The segment that comes to mind was one on chiropracty.)

BTW, South Park is mockery, not debunking.

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05-14-2004 03:06 PM

LooseWiring
TiVo Forum Special Member

Registered: Jan 2003
Location:
Posts: 1084

quote:
Originally posted by wmcbrine
BTW, South Park is mockery, not debunking.

I don't know. One episode they conclusively proved that John Edwards was a complete fake but also the Universe's Biggest Douche'.

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05-14-2004 04:14 PM

rtype
Ruler of Earth

Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Dallas, Nation of Texas
Posts: 1025

quote:
Originally posted by wmcbrine
BTW, South Park is mockery, not debunking.

These aren't mutually exclusive terms. Penn & Teller definitely falls under both as well. South Park does, at times, go out of their way to explain exactly what's going on--as they did with cold reading, for example.

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05-14-2004 04:44 PM

jlb.x
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Registered: Apr 2003
Location: Bethesda
Posts: 817

quote:
Mythbusters.

One of my new favorite shows.

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
I really wanted to see the taxi get flipped by the 737 jet blast -- even more so after they rigged it with remote steering. Stupid insurance companies.

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