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1 Skip Intro  Tue, Nov 20, 2012 7:58:44pm

I'm a little surprised that NatGeo didn't just spin off a garbage channel for a show like this, like the owners of CNN/TNT/TBS did with TruTV.

Maybe they're testing the waters to see how low their audience is willing to sink. Seeing how well junk shows have worked for A&E and The History Channel, I think they'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

2 freetoken  Tue, Nov 20, 2012 8:54:24pm

You do realize that NatGeo Channel is part owned by (**cough**) Rupert Murdoch?

3 freetoken  Tue, Nov 20, 2012 8:55:33pm

"Doomsday Preppers" sounds like a name of a band from 90's.

4 Jaerik  Tue, Nov 20, 2012 9:06:11pm

It's called "network decay," and it's pretty common across the industry.

It's just market forces. Reality TV costs next to nothing to make and are the highest rated / revenue-driving shows of the past decade. Niche programming inevitably bows to network pressure and drifts from its prime audience into lowest common denominator eyeball-grabbers.

Just about the best you can hope for is the channel to at least make a nod towards self-awareness by changing its name or tag line to indicate it's no longer about the original subject at hand.

5 Skip Intro  Tue, Nov 20, 2012 9:40:36pm

re: #2 freetoken

You do realize that NatGeo Channel is part owned by (**cough**) Rupert Murdoch?

Here's a link to a site showing who owned what on tv back in 2008. It's pretty depressing. Basically, six corporations own everything.

6 freetoken  Tue, Nov 20, 2012 10:19:57pm

re: #5 Skip Intro

Since then Comcast has bought the NBC/Universal unit from GE.

So now a major cable company owns one of the premier family of TV and cinema companies.

7 Destro  Tue, Nov 20, 2012 11:16:07pm

re: #5 Skip Intro

re: #6 freetoken

One of the worst things that ever happened in terms of deregulation was allowing corporations to own multiple media.

I notice it more for radio because there used to be this whole eco-system of radio networks and now its basically homogenized and talk radioed to death. In some cases the music format FM stations just simulcast their AM sister station's program.

8 Bulworth  Wed, Nov 21, 2012 6:53:25am
I don’t get why once reputable cable television channels devoted to education have become the national version of circus freak shows.

Yeah, it's pretty sad. Have seen numerous ads for this show but can't bring myself to watch it.

These shows are on cable channels so they get an income from subscribers so ratings should not be a factor but it seems greed knows no bounds.

That's what I would think too.

It's just market forces. Reality TV costs next to nothing to make and are the highest rated / revenue-driving shows of the past decade. Niche programming inevitably bows to network pressure and drifts from its prime audience into lowest common denominator eyeball-grabbers.

Ah. I guess that would be it.

I'm afraid this probably also answers the question as to why there basically isn't anything on regular TV anymore except X Factor, Voice, Idol, Dancing with, and similar shows. "Regular" TV shows have essentially now moved to premium channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz (Homeland, Boss, etc).

9 Destro  Wed, Nov 21, 2012 9:35:03am

re: #8 Bulworth

What makes me make a post about this is that this "show" is on a channel calling itself "The National Geographic Channel" and again, they exploit what seems like low intelligence or sick (mental in this case) people and kids for the show's amusement.

I literally saw 15 year old boys asked to pretend they were going out to survive in an abandoned building in practice for their doomsday and start a fire in the room that could have killed them.

That is fucking insane to me. I know they probably had supervision and a fire truck on standby (maybe) but you saw none of that on the screen .... and the were exploiting a kid with delusions. If the kid was for real and not trying to be on TV then they just made him famous in his small town of 107 people and reinforced this abnormal behavior and thinking on him because of that.

10 nines09  Wed, Nov 21, 2012 9:47:16am

Booger eating morons. I like how they grade them at the end. "Billy; You and your family are totally insane, which in the event of a nuclear war would be an asset, but we doubt any of you are intelligent enough to make it past day one. But you could always eat one another."

11 ThomasLite  Wed, Nov 21, 2012 10:53:54am

re: #9 Destro

What makes me make a post about this is that this "show" is on a channel calling itself "The National Geographic Channel" and again, they exploit what seems like low intelligence or sick (mental in this case) people and kids for the show's amusement.

I literally saw 15 year old boys asked to pretend they were going out to survive in an abandoned building in practice for their doomsday and start a fire in the room that could have killed them.

That is fucking insane to me. I know they probably had supervision and a fire truck on standby (maybe) but you saw none of that on the screen .... and the were exploiting a kid with delusions. If the kid was for real and not trying to be on TV then they just made him famous in his small town of 107 people and reinforced this abnormal behavior and thinking on him because of that.

*Not* actually the biggest issue.
There's going to be kids his age and under watching that, getting ideas etc.
Now I'm all for learning to play with fire a little (safely), learning to shoot (responsibly) etc but this is just going to encourage kids to risk their lives in the most stupid ways imaginable.
Of course they're free to publish as such as they wish - freedom of expression etc - but really, at least explain why it's a fethin' bad idea while making profit off of someone else's stupidity.
I must say it's a rather amusing program (for an episode or two per semester, no more) if you just want to see folks be breathtakingly stupid which, let's admit it, can be hilarious.

12 Destro  Wed, Nov 21, 2012 3:19:28pm

re: #11 ThomasLite

I must say it's a rather amusing program (for an episode or two per semester, no more) if you just want to see folks be breathtakingly stupid which, let's admit it, can be hilarious.

I watched every cringe inducing episode....

13 ThomasLite  Wed, Nov 21, 2012 4:15:27pm

re: #12 Destro

I must say it's a rather amusing program (for an episode or two per semester, no more) if you just want to see folks be breathtakingly stupid which, let's admit it, can be hilarious.

I watched every cringe inducing episode....

...Yeah, that's kind of the point, isn't it? Fun at a complete blitherin' idiot's expense. Still, I cringe at the thought of pretty much any American sitcom; taste is subjective, even when it comes to utter maroons :)

14 Destro  Wed, Nov 21, 2012 5:50:25pm

re: #13 ThomasLite

...Yeah, that's kind of the point, isn't it? Fun at a complete blitherin' idiot's expense. Still, I cringe at the thought of pretty much any American sitcom; taste is subjective, even when it comes to utter maroons :)

I don't mind the cringe but it's on a channel with a storied educational name behind it "The National Geographic Channel". The magazine is sold without ads to subscribers and that funded the expeditions they featured. Now it's just a freak show channel...for the ad money....

15 ThomasLite  Wed, Nov 21, 2012 6:00:39pm

re: #14 Destro

I don't mind the cringe but it's on a channel with a storied educational name behind it "The National Geographic Channel". The magazine is sold without ads to subscribers and that funded the expeditions they featured. Now it's just a freak show channel...for the ad money....

Has it been anything else for the last 10 or 15 years, though? I think I caught the tail end of actual education on discovery/natgeo when I was 10 or so (13 years ago) down here and the US usually 'leads' in such 'developments' by a few years (since all we see is imported US shows on those channels!). I think people have gotten more or less used to the UFO/Ghost hunters/WWII conspiracy shows by now - a bit of reality TV is actually better in that at least it doesn't peddle conspiracy theories and is up-front about being devoid of actual content.

...Yeah, I prefer to look at the silver lining :P

16 Destro  Wed, Nov 21, 2012 10:32:39pm

re: #15 ThomasLite

I think people have gotten more or less used to the UFO/Ghost hunters/WWII conspiracy shows by now

How do you know my DVR history?

17 ThomasLite  Thu, Nov 22, 2012 7:28:45am

re: #16 Destro

I think people have gotten more or less used to the UFO/Ghost hunters/WWII conspiracy shows by now

How do you know my DVR history?

Clairvoyance.

...They have a show about that too, you know ^^


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