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Reviews
Mysteries of the Unknown (2020)
Get a better prop department
An interesting selection of historical or quasi-historical episodes. However, every time I see the simulation of an event and US Civil War officers are wearing 20th century shoulder boards from the US Navy or WWII combatants are carrying muskets, I have to wonder just how small is the costuming budget for this show. And . . . Please get an actual paleontologist involved or at least somebody who knows the difference between a trilobite and a brachiopod.
Hoffman Family Gold (2022)
Same as it used to be . . .
We have a saying among folks involved with metals exploration in the US and Canada - "Don't be a Hoffman." It does look like Todd has learned that equipment needs preventitive maintenance to keep from breaking down at the worst time. Not sure the need for advance claim sampling has sunk in yet. Looking to forward to Jack telling everyone about his "forty years of experience telling everybody about his forty years of experience."
Expedition Unknown (2015)
Expedition "Unwarranted?"
Josh Gates goes to some interesting places and meets some interesting people but the hype and hyperbole that the show generates rarely produce anything of consequence. The one program were I actually saw Josh find something (a British silver shilling from the 1700s) seemed fake because the coin retrieved from the soil horizon showed no signs of tarnish.
All Creatures Great & Small (2020)
New and Disappointing
Watched original Harriot series and thoroughly enjoyed them. Lasted through two episodes of the new version and gave the rest a pass. I didn't think it was possible to make characters from Herriot's books unlikeable but the new series proves me wrong. The exceptions are the female actors - they act their parts without acting like they are acting.
A Discovery of Witches (2018)
Promising Season 1, but . . . a chinless vampire?
Diana Bishop - archetypal intelligent, attractive protagonist with a sense of humour. A plot with supernatural twists and turns. Special effects à la "Harry Potter for Adults." Everything promises worthy entertainment right up to Episodes 4-5 where intelligent Diana becomes a "fool for love" and the script takes on the air of a tawdry romance novel. I was tempted not to finish watching the second disk of the two-disk DVD set. Fortunately, the plot backs away from the soap-opera interludes and returns to twists and turns long enough to interest me in seeing Season 2. However, I found the Finnish witch Satu to be a significantly more interesting character than Diana. And . . . a vampire with no chin?? Bela Lugosi is spinning in his box of earth.
Ice Cold Gold (2013)
Can these guys "out-Hoffman" the Hoffmans?
Never saw this program before last night. Parallels to "Gold Rush" are obvious except that there actually is a trained explorationist involved. But, as personality differences started to dominate the program, I kept waiting for one of the characters to start telling the audience about "my 40 years experience telling people about my 40 years experience." Can they "out-Hoffman" the Hoffmans?