History Channel newest disaster

[Mark C. Yerger]

Just saw the latest TV abortion, a history of the Waffen-SS

I wonder what qualifies someone as an "expert" to speak or advise such junk ?

[pasoleati]

The way I see it is that a neutral and objective treatment of e.g. this subject is impossible on a TV documentary, especially if funded by a major American TV company.

[stonemint]

Terrible--I stopped watching after 10'.

Mark, slightly off topic--do you have a better resolution scan of this pic?

Weidinger on the left, and supposedly Hans Hauser in the middle at the Floridsdorf bridgehead. Do you know who the Obersturmfuhrer on the right is?

[blinky]

If you ever watch one episode of South Park watch the recent Thanksgiving/History Channel episode.....that pretty much sums up HC

[pimberg]

The officer on the right is Hanns Schulzer. Commander of II./DF. Refer to Mark's excellent German Cross in Gold series Volume 2 pages 208 - 212

[behblc]

In my experience the History Channel by and large does not tell one anything that one does not already know and often it tells you a lot less.
Good well made documentaries do leak out on to "Sky" but they are few and far between and most are made on little money and are not so well researched.

Mark what was the name of the "show" that you watched ?

( No doubt it will pop up in the UK in due course but in view of your comments I won't hold my breath waiting for it.)

Watching history on TV is fine but decently researched, well made and insightful "viewing" is really hard to come by.

A few weeks ago I happened on a "show" on "History Channel" which was about Bismarck or German capital ships , and what was really sad were the extracts from Ludovic Kennedy's excellent 1970's documentary made by BBC which had been "cut and pasted" in to make an average "show" appear better.
My own view was very simple - pay a few £ to BBC to allow you to show their now dated ( in terms of presentation and the then age of the late Ludo Kennedy), dated only in terms of the excellent narrative and thoughtful presentation.By way of contrast "Kennedy's "Battleship Bismarck ( as well as his excellent documentaries on "Scharnhorst" and Tirpitz" ) would provide vastly superior ready made product(s) which did not rely on computer graphics , rather bland uninspiring scripts often accompanied by poorly presented period film which is so typical of so many TV "shows".

Not all is "bad" but the target audience is often those who do not read or do not want to buy those things with pages in them ....you books the wordy things - if you want you history to be dull "TV" is the way to go.

And a quick word to BBC - who have produced and continue to produce some excellent history for TV , please do us a favour and put Ludo Kennedy's stuff on a Dvd and pop on to it as well your series "The Secret War" and that decent documentary you made in the 1970's on "Operation Charriot" to hear the officers and men who took part in the raid for that alone it would be well worth it, their understated quiet dignity made it so very very good.

( In terms of modern history on TV we have potentailly gained little and lost so very much).

[pasoleati]

So true, modern war docs are mostly badly done and what is more, ones produced today are far more politically correct and motivated than those made in the 1970s. Plus that all the "big" names of WW2 who were alive back then are long gone...

[behblc]

pasoleati

Plus that all the "big" names of WW2 who were alive back then are long gone...
Today 10:37 AM

Something which has made "The World at War" a quite timeless landmark event in television history.
Politically correct , history can only be understood within the context of it's time and that is the way it is present day thinking cannot change that , we may seek to understand it but we cannot change it nor should we seek to do so.

When the Waffen SS are discussed they are more often than not subject a stereotyped approach, warts and all is fine as long as it is objective and balanced.