I knew it--Discovery Channel really reveals itself

[catbyte]

I always suspected Discovery network's right wing leaning what with those whack job Duggars and Jon & Kate and all those pseudo-religious "documentaries" (History of the Anti-Christ, etc.) Now that they've paid that worthless piece of excrement Palin $1M PER EPISODE, I will never watch any Discovery network show again. Pity, because some of the programs were very good.

I'm angry about this, but mainly sad. I really hope this backfires on them --I know the Teabaggers are loud, but Sarah Shithead's approval rating is in the tank. What were they thinking? Good job, guys. Hire a rabid nature-hater to narrate a series about nature. Way dick move, people.

I'll stick to my REAL guilty pleasure: RuPaul's Drag Race! :hi:

Diane

Anishnabe in MI

[goldcanyonaz]

1. Well, they already employ Jesse James so what's another nut?

[hlthe2b]

2. Now would be a good time for a competing channel to produce

a really nice Alaska documentary series (without a nutcase involved) and highlight the fact.... I'd love to see more of Alaska, but I damned well would never watch a show with her on it.

[zappaman]

3. you can still watch Discovery Channel

just don't buy products from advertisers who sponsor.
if the program is terrible, it won't survive and will be cancelled.
and I have a feeling, it won't be on for long.

[YOY]

6. Why would one in the first place?

I mean their line up consists of "Little People Truckers with Unusual Diseases", "Sharks attacking Crab Fisherwomen who don't know they are pregnant", and "People who have unusual numbers of children fo rreligious purposes or other mental desease."

[Codeine]

9. But it also has Mythbusters.

That alone makes up for any amount of Clown Car Vaginas, Hillbilly Motorbikes, or Midget Mayhem.

[YOY]

14. Oh touche...I do like Jamie, Adam, Kari, Grant, and Tory...

They actually do discuss some interesting stuff.

Not to attack or anything but as someone who was at one point in time very close to a little person the word "midget" can be not too nice.

[Codeine]

25. You're right.

The show irritates me so much I use any tactic I can to belittle it, but that was not cool. :spank:

[YOY]

30. Well if you want to read into what personal information I just gave...

I'd think you'd take back the "vanila sex" comment you gave to me last week! :evilgrin:

[Codeine]

31. WHOOAAA!

I bow before you! I am not worthy!

pstpxpls! :hide:

[YOY]

33. pstpxpls?

Lost me. I'm sure at my expense...

[Codeine]

37. Sorry; internet slang for

"post pictures please", commonly used when someone has done something awesome or racy of a sexual nature -- a mark of geeky respect as it were.

[YOY]

40. If I had them...

:evilgrin:

In all honestly she was one cool little lady. I should have been a better person to her.

[Ian David]

21. It did. But between hiring Palin and advertising on Glenn Beck, I don't think it does anymore. n/t

[rbixby]

39. Clown car vagina!

Man, that's the funniest thing I've read all day!

[zappaman]

28. Yes, those are the only shows they program...

:sarcasm:
I think the new show LIFE is pretty amazing

[YOY]

34. Yes...pretty much every time I tune it.

n.t.

[YOY]

4. NatGeo...whooping their asses for years with real information.

Making you interested in things that are not shark attacks, fundies who have multiple births, diseased little people, or some other tripe.

I've seen better documentaries on Spike TV. Now THAT is sad...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

41. Except NatGeo is all Dog Whisperer now, isn't it?

That was another reason I didn't mind dropping cable, not with

NatGeo going all Dog Whisperer
BBC America going all reality shows (used to have excellent dramas and comedies)
History Channel going first all-Hitler, then all-occult (used to have real history)
Discovery going to pure crap (used to have science documentaries and really interesting travelogues that were NOT about Las Vegas)
Bravo going to celebrity poker and fashion (used to be all foreign films)
A&E going to true crime (used to be like a second PBS)

[Sebastian Doyle]

5. Isn't Discovery channel owned by the ultra-right wing propagandist Hearst Publishing?

I know they own several cable channels, including the "History" channel (which has become anything BUT historical in recent years)

[Codeine]

10. It's owned by a holding company

and a fellow named John C. Malone.

[panzerfaust]

11. Before it became the War Channel, the History channel was not bad

[DefenseLawyer]

16. When was that exactly?

I don't ever remember a time that it wasn't wall to wall Hitler, Nostradamus and the Anti-Christ. You know, the major historical categories.

[Lord Magus]

18. When was that?

I thought when the History Channel first started, it was 90% World War II.

[RaleighNCDUer]

27. That was only because of the wealth of free footage available to them.

Digging public domain stuff out of the archives was a really CHEAP way to make up a program.

Of course, it wasn't long before they started touting mythology and fantasy as 'history'.

[Codeine]

19. It's not even the War Channel now.

And more's the pity, as war docs are fairly interesting, and certainly qualify as "history". Now it's a nonstop menu of Nostradamus, Bible Code, Bigfoot, UFOs, and ghosts.

Maddening.

[Lord Magus]

20. Don't forget the reality TV crap.

Somehow "Ice Road Truckers" and "Axe Men" are history programming.

[Codeine]

22. Dude, I did my doctoral dissertation

on the historical impact of Swamp Loggers on mid-century southern political culture. ;)

[emulatorloo]

24. "Pawn Stars" and "American Pickers" are pretty entertaining and even educational

As there is some history discussed with the artifacts they come across. Beats a lot of the crap that is out there.

[Codeine]

26. The bald guy from Pawn Stars

is way more charismatic than he has any right to be.

[emulatorloo]

32. LOL - and his dad "The Old Man" is pretty damn compelling too.

[DefenseLawyer]

35. Pawn Stars is pretty entertaining

but I wish they would disclose just what kind of serious mob gambling debt has brought some of those guys to the store. Sometimes I feel bad for the ones that you know are just so desperate for cash that they take the $1000 bucks for the thing the guy just appraised for 10 grand.

[Lord Magus]

47. Obviously anybody who sells their stuff to a pawn shop...

...is desperate for cash. Because you always get way below market value. That's how pawn shops make money.

[DefenseLawyer]

51. Gee really?

I had no idea. What I said was, rather tongue in cheek, was I'd like to know why they needed the money, not that I didn't understand what a pawn shop was. Thanks for the lesson anyway.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

43. It was very good in the 1980s but has declined steadily since then

If you're young, you may not remember its glory days.

[Ian David]

7. Boycott the Discovery Channel Networks (Sign Petitions)

Boycott the Discovery Channel Networks (Sign Petitions)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x34022

[stuntcat]

17. thanks.

ty

[dkf]

8. She seems like someone who revels in chaos.

I think it will be a train wreck.

[tularetom]

12. Don't give up on it so fast - maybe it's a white trash reality show

Sort of a low(er) rent Ozzy Osborne, or Kardashians.

[county worker]

It use to be good

Bloodhound Gang - Discovery Channel Lyrics



You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel

[meegbear]

13. They're like TVLand ...

if someone's whoring a reality show, no matter how stupid or shitty, they'll buy it and rotate the fuck out of it.

[ecstatic]

15. Let's mess this up for her... Do we know the sponsors yet?

I admit I don't watch the discovery channel, but putting an ignorant clown like Palin on a channel that's supposed to be educational just seems very wrong. Add to that Palin's terroristic threats against the President and members of congress, it's simply not appropriate at all for her to be on TV.

[supernova]

23. My local PBS digital is far better

than Discovery.

My local PBS station has a digital feed offshoot called Explorer. I don't know if this is part of a nationwide thing or just them But it is fabulous!

Since letting go of Sat TV, I've loved the Explorer channel. All documentaries like Michael Wood (The Story of India, In Search of Myths and Heroes), travelogues, PBS cooking shows, The American Experience, nature docs, just people crawling all over this great big blue marble for adventure. It's like they read my mind for my fave kind of TV. I liked Mythbusters, but it's a small sacrifice.

I'll Keep Explorer, thank you.

http://www.unctv.org/uncex/index.html

[Echo In Light]

29. Secret NAZI Occult Hitler's Brain Was DEVOURED By Jim Jones Who is Now the Ruler of Neptune!

Ya kidding me...?! lol - total late night entertainment...it's like they grab a handful of various theories/beliefs and toss em in a tumbler. Shaken, not stirred ;)

[CBGLuthier]

36. Angry about this? Really?

Why?

What about this is worth getting angry about?

One more shitty TV show with a shitty unqualified host. I would rather she become a TV personality than stay in politics.

[earth mom]

38. I despise Palin and I can't wait to see her make a TOTAL ASS out of herself! ROFLMAO!

Now that's entertainment!

:rofl:

[SocialistLez]

42. So glad I don't have cable

The local channels are just fine.
I <3 PBS. I hate the Bill Moyers show will be leaving.

[fatbuckel]

44. News Flash...Television is not real.

[SoCalDem]

45. They returned MY call to them yesterday

A very nice young woman called me this morning and sort of commiserated with me about the Sarah-thing.. She did say that the actual show would not air ON discovery...but would show up on TLC.. I reminded her that once-upon-a-time TLC was synonymous with good taste & truly educational programming...with things like "Connections" & many other great scientific programs..

She had no solution, but the fact that she called me back , tells me that phone calls to them ARE making an impact.. Be sure and leave your number..

Networks are always looking for a way out, even as they put a new show on..so if the ratings suck or there is a controversy, they can bail on a venture.. Lets give them that reason..

[Lord Magus]

50. Yes, TLC used to be synonymous with good educational programming.

That was back when its name was an acronym for "The Learning Channel" rather than being three random meaningless letters. Now it's basically a cesspool of bad reality TV (even by reality TV standards).

[otohara]

46. Desperately Seeking Ratings

She will regret this move - greed will do her in - no privacy, Todd and the kids will hate it eventually.

[Sherman A1]

48. This is why the remote allows you to change channels or turn it off

it's pretty simple. There are too many choices out there to watch any particular program that you find uninteresting or distasteful. Those choices include, books, radio, podcasts, a long walk and of course the DU.....

[depakid]

49. If what the discovery and learning channel didn't show people that long ago

I'm not sure what would...

Their owners played audiences and for suckers and laughed at us for many years.

Part and parcel to media consolidation.