The History Channel

When I flipped through the schedule for the History Channel today, I noticed that many of the shows on that channel are now 2 hours long. Thus I had few options; the only shows on during a six hour period were "Monster Quest" (a show about monster legends, not terribly historical) "Modern Marvels," a show about Indiana Jones examining the facts and fictions of archaeology, and another archaeology show titled "Real Tomb Hunters." This was on at the time, and since none of the other options looked any better, this is what I decided to watch.

A common phrase in this show is "...just like the movies..." as it tells the stories of archaeologists who who risked their lives during digs. One story involved an archaeologist who was a spy for America during World War I, while searching for Mayan tombs in Mexico and Guatemala. Another story concerned another Mayan researcher who, with the help of the Guatemalan military, tracked down and arrested looters who stole a relic from his site. Other stories concerned firefights, hostage situations, and other harrowing events. The final story was that of John Pendlebury, a British Archaeologist and spy who was killed during the Battle of Crete.

It was this last segment concerning Mr. Pendlebury that caught my interest the most, because of the discussion about Nazi archaeology. This is the History Channel I remember from a few years ago, when every show seemed to be about the Third Reich. It also resembled a historical documentary more than the rest of the episode, which focused more on the heroism of the archaeologists and the cruelty of the looters and more closely resembled an episode of 20/20.

Over all, I found the episode far more interesting that I anticipated, but it struck me as far less academic than I wanted. The subtitle says it all: "Snakes, Curses, and Booby Traps." Obviously, the drama of archaeology is more interesting than the discoveries made at the dig, and while this may be true for the wider audience, it is an example of the focus of the History Channel shifting to more sensational topics.