Documentaries on Ancient History are dying out?

[gilius]

‎2005 = 118

2006 = 113

2007 = 106

2008 = 86

2009 = 63

2010 = 57

 

‎15/11/2010 23:34 419,201,024 2010 Ancient Egypt In 3d - 1. Main.avi

15/11/2010 18:02 260,915,200 2010 Ancient Egypt In 3d - 2. Extras.avi

13/11/2010 10:55 1,566,356,165 2010 Ancient Worlds s01e01.mkv

21/11/2010 16:41 1...,580,783,582 2010 Ancient Worlds s01e02.mkv

25/11/2010 08:00 1,561,749,852 2010 Ancient Worlds s01e03.mkv

02/12/2010 08:16 516,784,128 2010 Ancient Worlds s01e04.avi

20/12/2010 08:35 1,854,251,162 2010 Ancient.Worlds.4of6.Return.of.the.King.mkv

20/12/2010 12:15 1,856,093,325 2010 Ancient.Worlds.5of6.The.Republic.of.Virtue.mkv

21/12/2010 02:30 1,857,185,413 2010 Ancient.Worlds.6of6.City.of.Man.City.of.God.mkv

27/11/2010 12:04 510,175,232 2010 Atlantis - The Evidence A Timewatch Special.avi

03/12/2010 15:03 1,809,543,374 2010 BBC Delphi The Bellybutton of the Ancient World.mkv

03/12/2010 07:44 775,860,381 2010 BBC Gods and Monsters Homers Odyssey.mkv

03/12/2010 15:29 2,798,836,271 2010 BBC Greek Myths Tales of Travelling Heroes.mkv

16/11/2010 11:53 763,331,668 2010 BBC Michael Woods Story of England - 1of6 - Romans to Normans.avi

13/08/2010 05:57 244,097,024 2010 BBC.On Hannibal's Trail - S01E01.avi

21/12/2010 01:48 919,405,834 2010 BBC.On.Hannibals.Trail.2of6.Barca.Barca.Barca.mkv

21/12/2010 02:50 907,607,178 2010 BBC.On.Hannibals.Trail.3of6.Crossing.the.Rhone.mkv

20/12/2010 23:31 913,685,655 2010 BBC.On.Hannibals.Trail.4of6.Over.the.Alps.mkv

21/12/2010 01:55 912,460,343 2010 BBC.On.Hannibals.Trail.5of6.Hannibal.the.Great.mkv

20/12/2010 23:54 911,988,788 2010 BBC.On.Hannibals.Trail.6of6.Hannibal.at.the.Gates.mkv

20/12/2010 09:42 1,855,814,578 2010 BBC.Pompeii.Life.and.Death.in.a.Roman.Town.mkv

10/12/2010 07:23 782,258,176 2010 Bettany Hughes The Ancient Worlds 1 of 7 Alexandria The Greatest City.avi

10/12/2010 00:39 1,174,427,648 2010 Bettany Hughes The Ancient Worlds 2 of 7 Engineering Ancient Egypt.avi

10/12/2010 09:39 1,173,817,344 2010 Bettany Hughes The Ancient Worlds 4 of 7 Helen of Troy.avi

14/12/2010 12:06 1,565,044,736 2010 Bettany Hughes The Ancient Worlds 5 of 7 The Spartans.avi

10/12/2010 10:19 1,173,811,200 2010 Bettany Hughes The Ancient Worlds 6 of 7 Athens The Truth About Democracy.avi

08/01/2011 11:18 396,789,760 2010 Birth of Britain with Tony Robinson Ep3.avi

23/07/2010 20:23 410,765,312 2010 Bloody Foreigners Part 4 of 4 - Septimius Severus.avi

08/01/2011 17:33 489,684,992 2010 Digging for Britain - S01E01.avi

24/11/2010 22:53 1,544,422,818 2010 Digging for Britain s01e01 - The Romans.mkv

14/12/2010 09:06 735,076,352 2010 Gladiator Back From the Dead.avi

17/01/2010 22:51 760,593,254 2010 Great British Railway Journeys - s01e03.mkv

07/01/2011 22:19 490,041,344 2010 How to Get a Head in Sculpture.avi

11/12/2010 00:53 735,066,112 2010 National Geographic The Silver Pharaoh Mystery.avi

08/01/2011 17:02 489,748,480 2010 Secret Britain - S01E04.avi

22/01/2011 22:56 98,702,964 2010 Secrets Of The Aegean - Apocalypse (1 of 2).flv

22/01/2011 21:49 92,601,337 2010 Secrets Of The Aegean - Apocalypse (2 of 2).flv

19/12/2010 11:04 577,426,371 2010 Secrets Of The Dead s10 e01 - The Silver Pharaoh.avi

03/12/2010 23:28 576,952,991 2010 Secrets Of The Dead s10 e03 - Lost Ships Of Rome.avi

01/02/2010 21:56 517,892,096 2010 Seven Ages of Britain - Eps1.avi

19/12/2010 14:33 367,071,232 2010 Solving History With Olly Steeds s01 e01 Ark Of The Covenant.avi

21/01/2010 10:44 367,140,864 2010 Solving History With Olly Steeds s01 e02 Nazca Lines.avi

30/01/2010 18:50 366,301,184 2010 Solving History With Olly Steeds S01 e03 El Dorado.avi

08/01/2011 20:41 404,336,640 2010 The Bible A History - Episode 1.avi

08/01/2011 20:41 402,221,056 2010 The Bible A History - Episode 2.avi

08/01/2011 20:32 488,595,456 2010 The Bible A History - Episode 3.avi

08/01/2011 20:41 409,921,536 2010 The Bible A History - Episode 4.avi

08/01/2011 20:38 410,638,336 2010 The Bible A History - Episode 5.avi

08/01/2011 20:38 410,644,480 2010 The Bible A History - Episode 6.avi

08/01/2011 18:27 407,484,416 2010 The Bible A History - Episode 7.avi

14/05/2010 21:07 403,588,026 Time Team - 2010 - 03 - Piercebridge, County Durham (Bridge Over The River Tees).avi

24/11/2010 22:19 1,323,710,386 Time Team - 2010 - 06 - Cunetio, Mildenhall, Wiltshire (Potted History).mkv

08/01/2011 14:55 405,441,876 Time Team - 2010 - 11 - Litlington, Cambridgeshire (There's A Villa Here Somewhere).avi

Edited February 1, 2011 by gilius

[Ursus]

From where are these statistics? I''m afraid your data doesn't mean much without some sort of explanation as to how you are conducting your .. quantitative analysis.

Edited February 1, 2011 by Ursus

[gilius]

From where are these statistics? I''m afraid your data doesn't mean much without some sort of explanation as to how you are conducting your .. quantitative analysis.

I've been collecting documentaries on Ancient History since 2004 and have noticed they are being produced less and less each year even though they becoming more easier to acquire over the Internet. I would expect an increase each year, but it's actually going down. Perhaps number of viewers/ratings are going down for Ancient History and it's no longer profitable for smaller productions companies besides the big ones: Discovery, NG, BBC etc. I wonder how book publication compares?

[caesar novus]

Well, partly the obvious highlight stories are done and avail for repeats (such as on military channel). Also history broadcasts in general seem to be falling off - the history channel is now mostly reality shows, just as the travel channel is now mostly cooking shows. They start with high ideals, then especially with higher HiDef production costs they have to pander to the all too common denominator.

[Primus Pilus]

Why make expensive documentaries when you can put 15 people in a house for $50 each and watch them belittle eachother endlessly in between bouts of aggressive sexual tension?

 

Seriously though, the expense of documentary production (if they are a quality production of course) vs. low budget "reality" series production (yes, even on channels that have a traditional history focus - in the US market think American Pickers, Pawn Stars, etc.) means that there are fewer opportunities for the advertising dollars and fewer production companies with the appetite to pursue them.

 

They will be fewer for sure, but I honestly hope that the competition continues to improve quality and impact of the historical documentary.

[GhostOfClayton]

Why make expensive documentaries when you can put 15 people in a house for $50 each and watch them belittle eachother endlessly in between bouts of aggressive sexual tension?

 

Seriously though, the expense of documentary production (if they are a quality production of course) vs. low budget "reality" series production (yes, even on channels that have a traditional history focus - in the US market think American Pickers, Pawn Stars, etc.) means that there are fewer opportunities for the advertising dollars and fewer production companies with the appetite to pursue them.

 

They will be fewer for sure, but I honestly hope that the competition continues to improve quality and impact of the historical documentary.

 

What I did notice a few years ago was the rise of the 'lower budget' historical documentaries of the type you see on The History Channel, and what is currently being aired on Channel 5 ('Rome Unwrapped', previously seen as 'When Rome Ruled' on Nat Geographic). They are a departure from the previous historical documentaries (the BBC ones, say), in that very little money is spent on recreating scenes, props, etc. But they do seem keen to use good and appropriate 'experts', who tend to overlay the cheap/inaccurate sets/costumes with balanced and accurate historical commentary. Lets face it, a history Professor is significantly less expensive than a film set!

[Melvadius]

That said I do worry about at elast one of the conclusions in last nights Secret fo the Vanishing Sphinx

 

As with most TV programmes a definite single 'conclusion' was presented based on what was fairly limited or at least only loosely connected 'evidence'.

 

The basic geological 'evidence' seemed fairly convincing as far as weathering and reuse of material is concerned. However several times watching I felt that although their aims may have been admirable their methodology left much to be desired and could possibly be challenged by what was shown on TV. The worst feeling of 'nice theory shame about the evidence' came towards the end of the programme.

 

If the map and projections used were in any way accurate there was a noticable misalignment which, given how accurate the pyramids construction and alignment seem to have been, to me calls into question the 'experts' theory about who was responsible for the sphinx's construction and when it would been carried out.

 

I also worry about his tying the Egyptian 24 hour clock - the earliest of which known apparently date to around 1500BC to something built around 2500BC.

[GhostOfClayton]

That said I do worry about at elast one of the conclusions in last nights Secret fo the Vanishing Sphinx

 

Was that on The History Channel, Melvadius? (I'm hoping not, as I am either too tight to buy a Sky subscription, or have refused it for reasons of principle - even I don't know which).

[Melvadius]

No it was on Channel 5, these links may give more information :

 

Secrets of the Vanishing Sphinx

 

Apparently this programme is available on AOL video but I cannot open it from here so cannot confirm it's contents

[GhostOfClayton]

No it was on Channel 5

 

Aha . . . didn't spot that one, though it is available on Demand 5.

[Maladict]

noticed they are being produced less and less each year even though they becoming more easier to acquire over the Internet.

 

falkor, maybe you're answering the question yourself?

If you stop pirating them and buy them instead there will be more money to make new ones.

[gilius]

noticed they are being produced less and less each year even though they becoming more easier to acquire over the Internet.

 

falkor, maybe you're answering the question yourself?

If you stop pirating them and buy them instead there will be more money to make new ones.

Most are only shown on TV and then never seen again. Of the ones that are released on home video, I've purchased many and spent a considerable amount of money on the hobby. I've got hundreds of DVDs that I have backed up to AVI so that I can view them conveniently at leisure, but yes, some have come from the Internet or recorded from TV. At the end of the day it's educational.

 

A lot of docs produced in the States do seem a bit cheesy without much depth, but there are some really good ones that have inspired me to want to visit Germany and the forts of the Limes, such as Saalburg. Books don't often help you build up a good picture/overview like some good documentaries can (though there are many books and documentaries that are both good and bad). Rome: Engineering an Empire inspired me to go to Rome, and when I got there, most of the tour guides working at the Colosseum had no idea Nero's private lake was once there!