[quote]Ross explained patiently he’d made a very strong statement this morning as to the direction in which he’s taking Discovery Channel, naming HBO veteran John Hoffman as Executive Vice President of Documentaries and Specials. “This was not just a signal, it was a message that it’s very important to us, and to me, that when people are telling stories and they’re delivering information that it is true and can be entertaining as well, which is mandatory.”
Discovery is “more narrowly niched than it needs to be,” Ross said, and that he intends to return Discovery Channel to the “No. 1 brand for whole family and not just for the men in the family.”
Even beauty pageant questions, like “What is your dream project?” he kept on-point, responding he’s looking for programs that “impact people to do something,” hinting he thinks history programming is “underutilized,” and is looking at a couple of pieces of scripted programming along those lines. [B]His idea of an ideal Discovery show is one that “makes people care and do something about it.”[/B][/quote]
[quote]“I don’t believe you’ll see a person being eaten by a snake in my time – I can’t over-promise that, but that’s how I feel today,” Ross said, as TV critics resisted the urge to give him a standing ovation.[/quote]
[url]http://deadline.com/2015/01/discovery-channel-new-chief-rich-ross-fake-documentaries-tca-1201344279/[/url]
Taken from a tweet by Adam Savage so I trust it's legit.
About fucking time.
you mean no more distorted history lessons?
hooray!
rip [B]Ice Floe Studfuckers vs. Wild Wars[/B], my favorite show
I remember when History Channel actually had good historical content. Used to run that shit 24/7. Now its all bullshit aliens and pawning. I definetly agree history programming is underutilized. Maybe Discovery can fill the gap.
[QUOTE=Richoxen;46887081]I remember when History Channel actually had [B]hood[/B] historical content. Used to run that shit 24/7. Now its all bullshit aliens and pawning. I definetly agree history programming is underutilized. Maybe Discovery can fill the gap.[/QUOTE]
My favorite was the bio on Tupac.
Ah good, sounds like my favorite show Whale Wars will stay on since it makes me wanna get up and do something, like hunting whales to make those hippy-sods cry.
[sp]I would never hurt a whale in RL, but Sea Shepard makes the Japanese look like the reasonable people.[/sp]
Oh cool, maybe now they'll make something decent and let people stream their shows online, I'm pretty amazed at how hard it can be to find almost any discovery channel show online other than the Mythbusters.
Either way I'm still not getting cable so this won't likely affect me, but I just want to watch scientific documentaries on Netflix or something, I'm really surprised they don't have more shows online.
[QUOTE=Tudd;46887133]Ah good, sounds like my favorite show Whale Wars will stay on since it makes me wanna get up and do something, like hunting whales to make those hippy-sods cry.
[sp]I would never hurt a whale in RL, but Sea Shepard makes the Japanese look like the reasonable people.[/sp][/QUOTE]
Whale Wars is on Animal Planet
I do like Gold Rush, though.
Then again, all the channels ought to merge their shows together to form "The Alaskan Wilderness Channel".
Hopefully this means Moonshiners, and the horde of awful Alaska shows like Alaskan Bush Men and Ice Lake Rebels and shit will roll over and die.
[editline]8th January 2015[/editline]
[QUOTE=OvB;46887192]Whale Wars is on Animal Planet[/QUOTE]Animal Planet is a branch of the Discovery Network however.
[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;46887218]Hopefully this means Moonshiners, and the horde of awful Alaska shows like Alaskan Bush Men and Ice Lake Rebels and shit will roll over and die.
[editline]8th January 2015[/editline]
Animal Planet is a branch of the Discovery Network however.[/QUOTE]
Discovery has turned into shit with all of these scripted "reality" shows. The latest ad I saw was for a show called Fat n Furious. It's the same show that they have showed a thousand times about people building/restoring cars. But this time the difference is that they are all obese. Innovation right there!
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;46887205]I do like Gold Rush, though.
Then again, all the channels ought to merge their shows together to form "The Alaskan Wilderness Channel".[/QUOTE]Gold Rush isn't awful. The Hoffman Crew needs to disappear though, they're all so obnoxious. Parker actually has some damned sense even if he has a big head.
And Deadliest Catch is also pretty decent, they're actually pretty enjoyable to watch, especially when the show isn't focusing on the interpersonal crew drama, but the actual struggles of the crew.
educational/informational programming was the only thing on TV that used to hold my attention, if they manage to bring all that back thatd be amazing but im not holding my breath
[Quote]Discovery is “more narrowly niched than it needs to be,” Ross said, and that he intends to return Discovery Channel to the “No. 1 brand for whole family and not just for the men in the family.”[/quote]
I hope this doesn't mean dumbing it down even more.
I enjoy Deadliest Catch and Ax Men, but the Discovery network desperately needs better shows
[QUOTE=beanhead;46887271]I enjoy Deadliest Catch and Ax Men, but the Discovery network desperately needs better shows[/QUOTE]
More science! More shows like Mythbusters
[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;46887239]Gold Rush isn't awful. The Hoffman Crew needs to disappear though, they're all so obnoxious. Parker actually has some damned sense even if he has a big head.
And Deadliest Catch is also pretty decent, they're actually pretty enjoyable to watch, especially when the show isn't focusing on the interpersonal crew drama, but the actual struggles of the crew.[/QUOTE]
Deadliest Catch was really good when it debuted. It kept you on the edge of your seat without resorting to cheap jumpcuts and dramatic narration. Definitely used to be the best reality show on TV. I haven't seen any of the newer series, but I assume they've dropped in quality.
[QUOTE=zakedodead;46887266]I hope this doesn't mean dumbing it down even more.[/QUOTE]
I hope "narrowly niched" is his polite way of saying "most of our content sucks now". I watched daily planet a while ago and it's total shit now since the hosts were replaced, it's basically just the "what did we find on youtube today" show
Hopefully Shark Week will go back to more science based shark stuff than the "OMG MEGALODON LIVES"
[QUOTE=CommanderPT;46887230]Discovery has turned into shit with all of these scripted "reality" shows. The latest ad I saw was for a show called Fat n Furious. It's the same show that they have showed a thousand times about people building/restoring cars. But this time the difference is that they are all obese. Innovation right there![/QUOTE]With American Chopper in its death throes they wanted a mechanic show like it to catch that same crowd. So they found Gas Monkey Garage and started doing Fast and Loud. And if you watch the first season, you can tell they really wanted to try and get that same screaming match drama from American Chopper, but while they'd get heated on occasion, the staff clearly didn't have that kind of animosity and genuinely enjoyed working with each other, so they've put that on the back burner largely. Though they have done that stupid spinoff Misfit Garage with the guys that are gone from Gas Monkey trying to play that up, but even then the drama still isn't quite clicking in to place.
What has made Fast and Loud so popular is that the people are actually funny, the cars are really nice, and they're not painful to watch. They didn't have to scrape the wood at the bottom of the barrel to get something watchable because the people themselves were already entertaining, and their career was interesting. So that is why people keep watching. And if you look at an interview with the owner, Richard, he actually kinda regrets the decision just a little, talking about how they promised Discovery that they could find, buy, work on, and then sell a car in just two weeks for an episode. And now they have to do that constantly, pretty much all year round, and get little downtime with pretty strict deadlines.
Numerous other production companies saw this and thought they could track down the goofy, outrageous car shop and cash in at the same time, but they all pushed to be even crazier and more outrageous, or they were so dull, and all felt forced and lifeless. So those shows have just been dying off left and right.
How about good old Mythbusters before the build team left and they became more and more scripted?
[QUOTE=Stopper;46887305]Deadliest Catch was really good when it debuted. It kept you on the edge of your seat without resorting to cheap jumpcuts and dramatic narration. Definitely used to be the best reality show on TV. I haven't seen any of the newer series, but I assume they've dropped in quality.[/QUOTE]Actually not so much. They've got some frayed edges like the captain Elliot, whom all they can talk about with him is his array of relationship and drug troubles. And they like to see the Captains yell at the crews or the crewmembers fight, but the captains and crews are largely aware of this and you can tell they are actually restraining themselves some so that doesn't show as much. So you still get a lot of really good drama that just comes from the profession itself, and not interpersonal crap.
[editline]8th January 2015[/editline]
[QUOTE=garychencool;46887417]How about good old Mythbusters before the build team left and they became more and more scripted?[/QUOTE]The build team only left this past season, and the build team had the most scripted segments. Adam and Jamie tended to shy away from it, or to just play it for laughs. Really the only times they deviated too much were for specials like with Titanic or Breaking Bad. And the zombie one, but that one was clearly meant to be just for fun from start to finish.
Really the worst part is the editing which the Mythbusters themselves can't control. Trying to be too hip and over the top. I mean there was an episode a couple seasons ago about the metal ball rope chain things, and basically how they seem to lift up off the lip of a cup when a strand is pulling itself out. It was such a simple, relatively benign experiment. But the editors decided to do a stupid dubstep jumpcut montage at the end of the experiment showing random shots from the experiment. They literally had just shots of a ball chain falling out of a cup while dubstep blared and lensflare covered the shot. It was like the worst parody but played completely straight.
Fast and Loud is really good. It's very enjoyable I find with very minimal drama and really nice cars.
[QUOTE=chunkymonkey;46887464]Fast and Loud is really good. It's very enjoyable I find with very minimal drama and really nice cars.[/QUOTE]Yeah. Anyone who watches the show can tell production is always looking for any drama they can take advantage of, but by and large the staff don't let it get out of hand too often.
chasing classic cars is good
If Discovery can create something on par with say, Cosmos, where it's super educational and super enticing, then they'd be really set and could bring families back to the couch like they want to.
[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;46887218]
Animal Planet is a branch of the Discovery Network however.[/QUOTE]
But too bad he can't change animal planet. I can't wait for their new show redwood treehouse pool masters.
[QUOTE=Inspecter;46887570]But too bad he can't change animal planet. I can't wait for their new show redwood treehouse pool masters.[/QUOTE]
That tree house guy is the happiest man in the world.
[QUOTE=chunkymonkey;46887464]Fast and Loud is really good. It's very enjoyable I find with very minimal drama and really nice cars.[/QUOTE]
First season was great, they were realistic and down to earth.
Second season, ehh, a little bit more scripted, they started to constantly make money, and they were trying to bluff some things.
Third season+, just pure crap. Richard and Dennis this, Dick and Dennis that, Aaron doesn't even work on the cars. They fired Tom and his friend just because they were trying to be nice to visitors off camera. The entire show is completely scripted 100% now, and their cars are actually pretty bad if you see them in person.
I have 18 episodes recorded on my dvr, I doubt I'll ever bring myself to watch them.
I've switched over to The Car Chasers on CNBC. Totally different atmosphere. They are real people, down to earth, and likeable. Sure as the seasons go on, it gets a bit more scripted, but I still feel it is the realest car show out there.
I wish they'd show Smarter Every Day on Discovery.
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