History Channel's Cities Of The Underground in Ireland. (1 Viewer)

[Scientician 0.8]

I downloaded the episode last night that they did in Dublin. I'd never seen the show before but saw it advertised on the telly and noticed the Eirebuses in the clip. They go to Dowth, wander around the Poddle, go to Dunmore Cave in Kilkenny, St. Michan's in Dublin, and the basement of one of the buildings of St. James' Hospital. It's a peculiar mix of information and nonsense. There are various factual errors that I can't believe got through. He says BC instead of AD at one stage and he conflates events in Irish history hundreds or thousands of years apart. The fake drama of the show is really jarring, the crazy dramatic music apropos of fuck all really.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Oh yeah and they subtitle some of the Dubliners in it and the subtitles are wrong in parts.

 

[classic seanc]

So not very good then?

 

[therealjohnny]

Sounds good! Or at least it sounds like a good subject.

An Indian guy who works with my girlfriend is obsessed with Irish history and he can't get his head around our constant blurring between historic fact and legends.


He's always asking my girlfriend things like " So, Cuchullainn..was he real? Hes in the Irish history books ..what about the two cows"

He did the Leixlip historic trail and where they told him "this is where Fionn Mac Cool tasted the Salmon of Knowledge". He went "bollocks" (or the Indian equivalent).


He as a point though. When I was in primary school we were taught the stories of The Táin and the Children of Lir as historic fact. I remember the other kids laughing incredulously at me when I said there was no such thing as the Children of Lir.

It's a pain that never ends

 

[Moods For Mallards]

The History Channel is one of the worst channels on TV. It has little to no merit at all. Nazis this, Nazis that, those horrible US documentaries that are full of music and dramatisations and short on anything remotely interesting.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

The subject matter was worthy of a documentary, just not this one. The conflation is sloppy. He goes from talking about Work Houses for foundlings in the 1700s to talking about the Rising in 1916 in the same sentence. Considering it's called the History Channel this sort of shit is a travesty.

I know what you mean about being indoctrinated with myths and legends. I think its kinda cool though. I love the story of the guy who heard that the son of god had died and went bananas and his brain ball fell out and he dropped dead. The fact of the matter is that spoofing people, spinning yarns has been a pastime in this part of the world since the Dicketty Doo BC.

Most countries do it to a greater or lesser degree. Robin Hood, Paul Bunyan, Jesus Of Nazareth, Pocahontas, Hiyawatha, Joan Of Arc, King Arthur, the Norse chronicles, etc. They vary from having a distant kernel of truth to being largely factual but propagandised after the fact.

 

[Mitchum]

The History Channel is one of the worst channels on TV. It has little to no merit at all. Nazis this, Nazis that, those horrible US documentaries that are full of music and dramatisations and short on anything remotely interesting.

Yes, yes. The Hitler Channel as my Dad calles it.