Bigfoot Bounty |
This post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.
[©The Crypto Crew]
Tonight Spike TV's Bigfoot Bounty debuted and I wanted to take a little time to write a small review.
Please understand this review is not to put down or throw off on anyone on the show, I know and associate with several people that are on the show. I understand how editing works and how drama is built up for TV programs. With that said I feel some of the editing was purposely slanted to make some of the contestants look bad.
As the show started I thought I would write down my first few reactions about it. My very first over all reaction was how the use of profanity at the start gave the show a very unprofessional start. Then one has to remember this without a doubt was used in a effort to grab the target audience.
The second thing that really stood out to me is that several of the teams are non bigfoot believers and non researchers. It makes one question why they are even on the show, yeah they are hunters but that is a far cry from a bigfoot researcher. This became very obvious when one of the hunter teams had no idea what or how to look for bigfoot evidence.
An attention grabbing moment is when Justin Smeja tells about killing two bigfoots, he goes into some pretty graphic details. Most of the other contestants did not believe his tale at all and their stance was only strengthened when Smeja stated the DNA from his kills came back a "Feral Human DNA". One of the judges of the show, Dr. Todd Disotell, was quick to point out that there is no such thing as "feral human DNA" and that Feral is a behavior. It does not matter if you believe Smeja's story of not, but this appeared to be an attempt to embarrass him.
Another interesting moment happens when Dax Rushlow and Rictor Riolo have a very Finding bigfoot moment. Dax breaks out the Star Wars Light Saber and spins it around in the dark of night in an effort to bring bigfoot out. Matt Moneymaker would be proud.
One part of the show I found a little funny was when a team pulls tree moss from a tree thinking it was hair. I can only assume they had not seen this before or in their research area. The judges of course set them straight.
As the show progressed it became painful at times to listen to the expert judges. It was clear they have very little knowledge about the history and witness testimony about bigfoot. At one point they basically stated bigfoot would not kill and eat large animals, like Elk, because they do not have the digestive system to digest it. The thing is there are numerous witness accounts of bigfoot catching and killing deer and elk. In my opinion it is ok to develop theories based on witness testimony and after all bigfoot is thought to be a very close relative to humans and we all know humans eat meat. So to totally throw out the idea of bigfoot killing and eating large animals is a little premature.
At the end of this episode they showed previews of upcoming shows. It featured a lot of intense moments between teams. I know some of these very same people were friends or at least associated with each other before this show, it makes me wonder if they remained friends after the show was completed.
Overall the show was decent and held my interest pretty good but the chaotic pace and the competitive atmosphere is something that will be hard for me to accept. Then add in that the show appeared to make some people look foolish on purpose and it can be a hard pill to swallow for some people. After all I know some of these contestants and I don't want to see them made fun of or made to look foolish, especially by people who appear not to even believe in bigfoot.
On a side note several contestants came off as intelligent, in particular Mike Merchant.
As for Dean Cain - I liked him better as Superman..... but he does a pretty good job as host.
So which team will be the last team standing and provide the best evidence of bigfoot? I guess we'll have to watch it to find out.
Thanks
~Tom~
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Agree on all of this, especially the bleeped language at the start. My kid loves the bigfoot stuff, but I guess he won't be watching this show.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Kids are into bigfoot now more than ever. It can be a good hobby for them and could even help them be active.
DeleteWhen does the REAL bigfoot hunting show come out, Les Stroud's Searching for Sasquatch?
ReplyDeleteWasn't Les Stroud supposed to do something with Todd Standing? Wasn't Standing's stuff proven to have been a hoax?
DeleteI didn't watch it because I figured it would be another version of Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot" showing another group of "experts" lumbering around in the woods "hootin' & hollerin'' like they need some type of therapy.
ReplyDeleteThink it's hysterical that the so-called "serious" BF researchers are crazy mad and slamming this "TV SHOW". (It's entertainment people so calm down). Some are claiming they "didnt event watch it".....yeah, right.
ReplyDeleteIt does have bad editing and the format is very rushed but again, its entertainment. Going to continue watching for the sole purpose of watching that Justin guy continue to prove what a hick he is. (burp, scratch, kill something, insert another wad of chew) But then again, he just may be the clever one for keeping his name in the news.
I don't know if you, (anonymous 1/11/14 @ 10:03a.m.) are poking at me, (I posted that I didn't watch it), but I assure you that I am calm and I'm not a Bigfoot expert. I am a Bigfoot enthusiast, believer & witness, but not an expert. I too enjoy good entertainment, I just figured this show, like "Finding Bigfoot", wouldn't do it for me. Especially when I saw Justin Smeja was part of it. Thank you for your comment as it makes me smile.
DeleteThis unfortunately was as steeped in reality tv as it gets. This is "survivor" with honey boo boo capturing the flag and it seems a deliberate attempt to shame the genre of Bigfoot after their editing. It looks like there is no agenda for the producers to "find Bigfoot" but to show the low lights of a fringe and shame it to make a buck. It may be I am pigeon holing the show without giving it a chance, but it looks like an ambush of sorts to discredit the community. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think the producers take the show as seriously as I was hoping and have little imagination beyond a "Living with the Kardashians" spin off. No disrespect for the actual Sasquatch hunters on the show as you can clearly see their heart is in it and I have their back all the way, but I don't think they are giving you any chance to actually find anything, let alone a Bigfoot. I truly hope my brothers on this show turn the tables in the end and kick the snobs in the nads. It would be all the more the achievement since it seems in essence they are making you run a one legged sack race. Thanks for the article Tom.
ReplyDeleteG.A
Thanks and thanks to all who commented.
DeleteInteresting that Smeja said the DNA was "feral human DNA". A show recently featured Smeja and his story in an attempt to find bigfoot DNA. Analysis showed the hair to be from a black bear and they were unable to find to find the blood on his boot he claimed was from a bigfoot. Made him look like he's just been telling stories...
ReplyDeleteAfter catching the last fifteen mins this morning I was more impressed with the team that never brought anything to the judges than any of the others , but was not impressed with the show in the least .
ReplyDeleteHaving a personal close up encounter with one of these big guys I would be one that would say it would be very unwise to base all your evidence on a primate only bases . It was sure more human than primate in every way this ole boy could tell you .
KC
I can understand what you're talking about, (personal close up encounter.) I've been there, seen that & I can say in a positive voice that Sasquatch are not apes. Period. If researchers would look at the Sasquatch as if they believed that they (Sasquatch) were some form of "people," I think the researchers would be surprised at what they find. You can't study "people" when you are looking for "apes", so why not look for "people" instead?
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