Destroyed in Seconds.

Has anyone seen this new Discovery Channel show? Basically, it's caught-on-camera video clips of stuff getting absolutely ****ed up. It's sort of entertaining in a way, because you get to see devastating stuff caught on video. But as entertaining as it is, watching it just makes me feel sleazy. Like I'm watching people (REAL people) getting injured and killed for my own personal amusement. And the whole presentation of the show is trashy and exploitative. It sort of has a "Hard Copy" vibe going on, or at the very least feels like the kind of trashy drivel that you'd see on Fox (like, "When Animals Attack").

I don't know man. Discovery Channel has been going downhill lately, but this is sort of a new low. If they want to show stuff getting ****ed up, I think they should follow the example of the History Channel's "Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters" series. The History Channel show had stuff getting ****ed up too, but it didn't come off as sleazy. It actually came off as being educational. "Destroyed in Seconds", on the other hand, is like a long series of money shots. It's packed to the brim with stuff getting destroyed and then it's followed with a brief one sentence explanation of how it happened. Engineering Disasters, on the other hand, actually tells a story. It follows events prior to the disaster, follows the events leading up to the disaster, and actually tells a real story about how stuff went horribly wrong, why it went horribly wrong, and how it affected people.

Basically, Engineering Disasters is like a really good movie that just happens to have a scene of hardcore sex. But Destroyed in Seconds is like non-stop continuous flat-out pornography.

Anyway, has anyone here seen Destroyed in Seconds? It's actually entertaining as ****, but it's sleazy as hell and I think that Discovery Channel ought to give it the axe.

Is that the show where they film a bunch of a stuff with a high speed camera, or is this Discovery's version of something like World's Scariest Police Chases?gameguy6700

Basically the latter. Except that the stuff they show is often many times more awesome than sissy police chases. Like tonight, they showed an entire town getting demolished when a boat fire resulted in an explosion of ammonium nitrate.

And an entire town getting demolished when a fireworks factory housing 20 thousand tons of fireworks caught fire.

to continue the metaphor... Sometimes men just like to watch Porn. Screw the romance, screw the plot. We just want the money shot. That isnt always a bad thing. Sometimes i have a headache, and i dont want to think. I want to see gunshots, lasers, and/or explosions, regaurdless of context. That's why action flicks/popcorn movies (aka anything michael bay makes) are still very commercially successfull today.

I agree the discovery channel is now just a jackass channel. With shows like lets see people do dirty jobs. Or lets try to do ridiculus myths. Or lets do 6 seasons of fishermen at sea. Or my least favorite lets see bikers build slightly different bikes for 4 seasons. I stopped watching Discovery channel a long time ago. It went to mainstream. The only remanaining piece of the old channel its the name. I prefer the history channel, pbs or national geographic.illegalimigrant

Its one thing to insult random clip-filled shows like Destroyed in Seconds, but my good friend i take offence when you actually attack Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, and the worlds dirtiest jobs! Shows that make that channel! Plus, i enjoy all of the latenight science shows, particularly those handling either the prehistoric(read: Dinosaur) era, and anything involving space/astronomy, which are becoming more frequent on discovery. I also watch National Geo and history for the same reasons.

[QUOTE="illegalimigrant"]I agree the discovery channel is now just a jackass channel. With shows like lets see people do dirty jobs. Or lets try to do ridiculus myths. Or lets do 6 seasons of fishermen at sea. Or my least favorite lets see bikers build slightly different bikes for 4 seasons. I stopped watching Discovery channel a long time ago. It went to mainstream. The only remanaining piece of the old channel its the name. I prefer the history channel, pbs or national geographic.Tolwan

Its one thing to insult random clip-filled shows like Destroyed in Seconds, but my good friend i take offence when you actually attack Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, and the worlds dirtiest jobs! Shows that make that channel! Plus, i enjoy all of the latenight science shows, particularly those handling either the prehistoric(read: Dinosaur) era, and anything involving space/astronomy, which are becoming more frequent on discovery. I also watch National Geo and history for the same reasons.

My point is that before it did not have those shows. This channel was actually entertaining and educational. But now it seems more like a reality show. If you look at the main programs they are all reality shows. And when I say reality shows I mean follow some guys around and watch them do stuff. Where is the discovery channel that challenged your mind. History has taken that role for the network now.

[QUOTE="Tolwan"]

[QUOTE="illegalimigrant"]I agree the discovery channel is now just a jackass channel. With shows like lets see people do dirty jobs. Or lets try to do ridiculus myths. Or lets do 6 seasons of fishermen at sea. Or my least favorite lets see bikers build slightly different bikes for 4 seasons. I stopped watching Discovery channel a long time ago. It went to mainstream. The only remanaining piece of the old channel its the name. I prefer the history channel, pbs or national geographic.illegalimigrant

Its one thing to insult random clip-filled shows like Destroyed in Seconds, but my good friend i take offence when you actually attack Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, and the worlds dirtiest jobs! Shows that make that channel! Plus, i enjoy all of the latenight science shows, particularly those handling either the prehistoric(read: Dinosaur) era, and anything involving space/astronomy, which are becoming more frequent on discovery. I also watch National Geo and history for the same reasons.

My point is that before it did not have those shows. This channel was actually entertaining and educational. But now it seems more like a reality show. If you look at the main programs they are all reality shows. And when I say reality shows I mean follow some guys around and watch them do stuff. Where is the discovery channel that challenged your mind. History has taken that role for the network now.

Survivor Man is pretty awesome though.

[QUOTE="illegalimigrant"][QUOTE="Tolwan"]

[QUOTE="illegalimigrant"]I agree the discovery channel is now just a jackass channel. With shows like lets see people do dirty jobs. Or lets try to do ridiculus myths. Or lets do 6 seasons of fishermen at sea. Or my least favorite lets see bikers build slightly different bikes for 4 seasons. I stopped watching Discovery channel a long time ago. It went to mainstream. The only remanaining piece of the old channel its the name. I prefer the history channel, pbs or national geographic.gobo212

Its one thing to insult random clip-filled shows like Destroyed in Seconds, but my good friend i take offence when you actually attack Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, and the worlds dirtiest jobs! Shows that make that channel! Plus, i enjoy all of the latenight science shows, particularly those handling either the prehistoric(read: Dinosaur) era, and anything involving space/astronomy, which are becoming more frequent on discovery. I also watch National Geo and history for the same reasons.

My point is that before it did not have those shows. This channel was actually entertaining and educational. But now it seems more like a reality show. If you look at the main programs they are all reality shows. And when I say reality shows I mean follow some guys around and watch them do stuff. Where is the discovery channel that challenged your mind. History has taken that role for the network now.

Survivor Man is pretty awesome though.

Yea survior man is awsome. But I guess my gripe is that those shows should have their own channel. I consider most of them entertaining but as the name implies discovery should be about learning a the forefront of science. But I guess that was tranfered to the science channel. But yea dirty jobs is also entertaining. And myth is amusing.

I'd like to see them getting back into some more good old school style documentary style shows. I don't have much problem with the occasional silly fluff show like Dirty Jobs or Mythbusters. My problem is when one of those shows gets succesful and then they try to fill their entire schedule with that kind of ****. Sort of like how they now show Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch reruns ALL THE TIME. Seriously, turn on The Discovery Channel at any random moment, and there's a fairly good chance that you'll see a rerun of Deadliest Catch or Dirty Jobs.

Or like 10 years ago when Junkyard Wars was on the Discovery Channel. Yes, I admit that I occasionally watched a show about people building stupid **** out of garbage. But it was a dumbass show. I liked watching Junkyard Wars and then seeing some REAL educational programming following it. I didn't want to watch Junkyard Wars and then follow that with another show that copied Junkyard Wars' premise, and then follow that up with ANOTHER show that followed up on Junkyard Wars' premise. Enough already.

And then we had American Chopper and all the clone shows that appeared soon after that.

I'd really like to see Discovery Channel just start showing more old school style documentaries. Real educational unbiased documentaries about all sorts of ****. No gimmicks or flashy theatrics, just do shows that tell me why science is awesome. And if they don't have any documentaries to show, then make their own. Cancel 70-80% of the **** that they're funding now, and use that money to make their own documentaries that aren't trashy or exploitative.

Really, don't become Fox. If I wanted to watch the stuff on Fox, I'd be watching Fox. You're Discovery Channel. Enough with "Destroyed in Seconds". That **** might have value on some other channel, but Discovery Channel should set the bar higher than that. Enough with the clone shows. I like Mythbusters. That show is often stupid as hell, but it still has a certain charm. The reason I watch it despite knowing that it's stupid is BECAUSE OF ITS CHARM. You try to replicate that kind of **** inother shows, and it just looks dumb and pathetic. Smash Lab? Jesus Christ, are you kidding me?

A FEW of these fluff shows are acceptable. But don't get a succesful show and then make a dozen clones that suck ass. That just makes the entire channel ass.

And no more "How Stuff works". Hey, don't eliminate the show ENTIRELY. But that's taking the trashy "blowing **** up" sleaze way too far into the opposite extreme. They show "How Stuff Works" WAAAAAY too often. and that show is boring as hell. I understand that it's pure education. The problem is that it's pure education about stuff that no one really gives a **** about. Yes, it's a show about "how stuff is made". It's pure education and no entertainment. Keep that show on the air, just stop showing it so much. Does anyone REALLY care how pencils or hammers or toilet paper is made? Keep the show, just stop showing it four ****ing times a day. People watch that **** because they don't feel like changing the channel. I like the show, but there's only so much i can get out of watching random stuff go through an assembly line. If I cared THAT much, I'd get a job working on an assembly line.

I'd like to see them getting back into some more good old school style documentary style shows. I don't have much problem with the occasional silly fluff show like Dirty Jobs or Mythbusters. My problem is when one of those shows gets succesful and then they try to fill their entire schedule with that kind of ****. Sort of like how they now show Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch reruns ALL THE TIME. Seriously, turn on The Discovery Channel at any random moment, and there's a fairly good chance that you'll see a rerun of Deadliest Catch or Dirty Jobs.

Or like 10 years ago when Junkyard Wars was on the Discovery Channel. Yes, I admit that I occasionally watched a show about people building stupid **** out of garbage. But it was a dumbass show. I liked watching Junkyard Wars and then seeing some REAL educational programming following it. I didn't want to watch Junkyard Wars and then follow that with another show that copied Junkyard Wars' premise, and then follow that up with ANOTHER show that followed up on Junkyard Wars' premise. Enough already.

And then we had American Chopper and all the clone shows that appeared soon after that.

I'd really like to see Discovery Channel just start showing more old school style documentaries. Real educational unbiased documentaries about all sorts of ****. No gimmicks or flashy theatrics, just do shows that tell me why science is awesome. And if they don't have any documentaries to show, then make their own. Cancel 70-80% of the **** that they're funding now, and use that money to make their own documentaries that aren't trashy or exploitative.

Really, don't become Fox. If I wanted to watch the stuff on Fox, I'd be watching Fox. You're Discovery Channel. Enough with "Destroyed in Seconds". That **** might have value on some other channel, but Discovery Channel should set the bar higher than that. Enough with the clone shows. I like Mythbusters. That show is often stupid as hell, but it still has a certain charm. The reason I watch it despite knowing that it's stupid is BECAUSE OF ITS CHARM. You try to replicate that kind of **** inother shows, and it just looks dumb and pathetic. Smash Lab? Jesus Christ, are you kidding me?

A FEW of these fluff shows are acceptable. But don't get a succesful show and then make a dozen clones that suck ass. That just makes the entire channel ass.

And no more "How Stuff works". Hey, don't eliminate the show ENTIRELY. But that's taking the trashy "blowing **** up" sleaze way too far into the opposite extreme. They show "How Stuff Works" WAAAAAY too often. and that show is boring as hell. I understand that it's pure education. The problem is that it's pure education about stuff that no one really gives a **** about. Yes, it's a show about "how stuff is made". It's pure education and no entertainment. Keep that show on the air, just stop showing it so much. Does anyone REALLY care how pencils or hammers or toilet paper is made? Keep the show, just stop showing it four ****ing times a day. People watch that **** because they don't feel like changing the channel. I like the show, but there's only so much i can get out of watching random stuff go through an assembly line. If I cared THAT much, I'd get a job working on an assembly line.

MrGeezer

Agree with you. Maybe they should split it in two. The real discovery and guys discovering stuff. Since I think they have had too much succes with these shows on the whole there is no way they will go back to their old ways. Think about the wii. They have had too much success on a gamecube 1.5 why would they wanna do nintendo t-1000.

I'd like to see them getting back into some more good old school style documentary style shows. I don't have much problem with the occasional silly fluff show like Dirty Jobs or Mythbusters. My problem is when one of those shows gets succesful and then they try to fill their entire schedule with that kind of ****. Sort of like how they now show Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch reruns ALL THE TIME. Seriously, turn on The Discovery Channel at any random moment, and there's a fairly good chance that you'll see a rerun of Deadliest Catch or Dirty Jobs.

Or like 10 years ago when Junkyard Wars was on the Discovery Channel. Yes, I admit that I occasionally watched a show about people building stupid **** out of garbage. But it was a dumbass show. I liked watching Junkyard Wars and then seeing some REAL educational programming following it. I didn't want to watch Junkyard Wars and then follow that with another show that copied Junkyard Wars' premise, and then follow that up with ANOTHER show that followed up on Junkyard Wars' premise. Enough already.

And then we had American Chopper and all the clone shows that appeared soon after that.

I'd really like to see Discovery Channel just start showing more old school style documentaries. Real educational unbiased documentaries about all sorts of ****. No gimmicks or flashy theatrics, just do shows that tell me why science is awesome. And if they don't have any documentaries to show, then make their own. Cancel 70-80% of the **** that they're funding now, and use that money to make their own documentaries that aren't trashy or exploitative.

Really, don't become Fox. If I wanted to watch the stuff on Fox, I'd be watching Fox. You're Discovery Channel. Enough with "Destroyed in Seconds". That **** might have value on some other channel, but Discovery Channel should set the bar higher than that. Enough with the clone shows. I like Mythbusters. That show is often stupid as hell, but it still has a certain charm. The reason I watch it despite knowing that it's stupid is BECAUSE OF ITS CHARM. You try to replicate that kind of **** inother shows, and it just looks dumb and pathetic. Smash Lab? Jesus Christ, are you kidding me?

A FEW of these fluff shows are acceptable. But don't get a succesful show and then make a dozen clones that suck ass. That just makes the entire channel ass.

And no more "How Stuff works". Hey, don't eliminate the show ENTIRELY. But that's taking the trashy "blowing **** up" sleaze way too far into the opposite extreme. They show "How Stuff Works" WAAAAAY too often. and that show is boring as hell. I understand that it's pure education. The problem is that it's pure education about stuff that no one really gives a **** about. Yes, it's a show about "how stuff is made". It's pure education and no entertainment. Keep that show on the air, just stop showing it so much. Does anyone REALLY care how pencils or hammers or toilet paper is made? Keep the show, just stop showing it four ****ing times a day. People watch that **** because they don't feel like changing the channel. I like the show, but there's only so much i can get out of watching random stuff go through an assembly line. If I cared THAT much, I'd get a job working on an assembly line.

MrGeezer

Wow. I don't agree with you at all. I guess I'll break down your post on a show by show basis, in order of their appearance.


If there's one thing i've concluded from your rant, is that you have no ability to separate entertainment and education. Up until very recently, The Discovery Channel has been extremely good at picking out the shows that were able to successfully entertain and educate, and just about all of these shows are good examples of that ability.HardQuor

[QUOTE="HardQuor"]Wow. I don't agree with you at all. I guess I'll break down your post on a show by show basis, in order of their appearance.


If there's one thing i've concluded from your rant, is that you have no ability to separate entertainment and education. Up until very recently, The Discovery Channel has been extremely good at picking out the shows that were able to successfully entertain and educate, and just about all of these shows are good examples of that ability.NearTheEnd

As a longtime Discovery channel fan, I cant feel but agree with you in disappointment, Geezer. Although I couldn't help but watch in shock and amaze, i too instantly saw parallels with this show and Fox's When (insert noun)'s Attack/Go bad/whatever clip shows.

Funny thing is, i noticed more sleaze when i saw the premiere of that Time Warp show. If you've seen it, you can tell it's just a bunch of jerk offs with a high-speed camera, filming whatever they think might be cool. There's no educational benefit in watching half of these segments. I started to think to myself "what's going on here?" Discovery Channel used to be one of the highest quality and most respectable networks out there...

I'm starting to even see the sleazy qualities in shows i didn't mind. Take Man vs. Wild, for instance. Now I see that a huge part of the appeal is that Bear is constantly eating the most disgusting things, and Discovery loves to advertise that, just like fear factor and survivor. The same can be said about Dirty Jobs, but at least Dirty Jobs and Man vs. Wild have at least some educational merit.HardQuor