Discovery Channel

[[File:2019 Discovery logo.svg|right|thumb|225px|In case you haven't guessed, this is their logo.]]{{media}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with [[Discovery Institute]], a pseudoscientific organization.}}
From its inception in 1985 to about 2000, the '''Discovery Channel''' was a TV network with many interesting documentaries and other [[popular science]] educational programs. Then around the turn of the century, something snapped,<ref group=note>[[Y2K]]? Though an easier answer might be that they discovered that bullshit shows are easier to market.</ref> and since then there's been a significant increase in reality shows (which are okay, if you're into that) and programs promoting [[pseudoscience]]: mostly [[cryptozoology]], [[UFO]]s, [[pseudohistory]], and [[paranormal]] nonsense. The best that can be said about those programs is the complete absence of anything even closely resembling [[alternative medicine]] (which is probably for legal reasons, more than anything else). Discovery still makes and airs real documentaries — and even some programs with a [[skeptical]] point of view — but for the layperson, it's not always easy to distinguish between the real science programs and the pseudoscientific and [[Pseudoskepticism|pseudosceptical]] programs. 

There are also a few spin-off channels, most notably '''Animal Planet''' (since 1995), '''Science''' (since 1996), '''[[TLC]]''' (since 1972, take-over by Discovery in 1991), and some others.

It was founded by John Hendricks, who started the company in 1982 and launched the Discovery channel in 1985.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2013/12/29/john-hendricks-how-he-built-the-discovery-channel-from-scratch/?sh=7e2b93826a08 John Hendricks: How He Built The Discovery Channel From Scratch], Forbes, 23 Dec 2013</ref> Discovery, Inc completed a purchase of the Scripps network of channels in 2018.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180307023049/https://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-newsroom/discovery-communications-completes-acquisition-of-scripps-networks-interactive-changes-company-name-to-discovery-inc/ Discovery Communications Completes Acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive; Changes Company Name to Discovery, Inc.], Discovery Corporate, Mar 6, 2018</ref> The company is publicly traded with significant shareholdings held by many individuals and companies including TV personality and businessperson [[Oprah Winfrey]] and {{wpl|John C. Malone||,}} the libertarian boss of the Liberty media group who is also on Discovery's board.<ref>[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/oprah-winfrey-gets-stake-in-discovery-as-company-takes-95-percent-of-own-4108679/ Oprah Winfrey Gets Stake in Discovery as Company Takes 95 Percent of OWN], Hollywood Reporter, Dec 22, 2020</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191122074829/https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2019/11/19/liberty-globals-john-malone-increases-discovery-stake/ Liberty Global’s John Malone increases Discovery stake], Digital TV Europe, 19 Nov 2019</ref> In May 2021, it announced a planned merger with WarnerMedia, part of the Warner Brothers entertainment group.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57139433 AT&T and Discovery to create new streaming giant], BBC, 21 May 2021</ref>

==Programs==
This is not a comprehensive list, just the best and worst of programs that relate to [[RW:MISSION|RationalWiki's mission]]. There are many more programs that either sit somewhere in between or aren't related to our mission. The dates are the original run dates, but many programs are re-run (and some, like ''Cosmos'', are syndicated from another network).

The list combines programs from Discovery, Animal Planet, and Science.<ref group=note>Many programs were aired on more than one channel, and some programs aired on Science in the [[United States|US]] but on Discovery in [[Europe]].</ref>
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===Good===
Some of the better programs promoting science and/or skepticism.

{|class="wikitable"
! Name
! Year
! Original content
! Description

|-
| ''[[Arthur C. Clarke#Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World|Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe]]''
| 1995
| No
| Sequel to the more famous (and better) ''Arthur C. Clark's Mysterious World''. Looks at genuine mysteries as well as some non-mysteries with a [[critical thinking|critical mind]]. Basically, it shows you how to have an [[open mind]] about all topics, but not be a [[crank]] by having a mind that is so open that your brains have fallen out.

|-
| ''Connections''
| 1979, 1994, 1997
| No ([[PBS]]) for 1979 series; Yes for others
| Explores connections between various scientific developments. The original was a [[BBC]] program shown on [[PBS]] in 1979, but the follow-ups (''Connections<sup>2</sup>'' and ''Connections<sup>3</sup>'') were aired on Discovery and TLC.

|-
| ''Cosmos: A Personal Voyage''
| 1980
| No ([[PBS]])
| [[Carl Sagan]]'s famous documentary explaining [[science]] and [[astronomy]] in particular.

|-
| ''{{wpl|Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking}}''
| 2010
| Yes
| Examines aliens and time travel from a [[reality]]-based perspective.

|-
| ''{{wpl|Mostly True Stories?: Urban Legends Revealed}}''
| 2002-2004
| Yes
| Mostly good; did copy a deliberate hoax from [[Snopes]], though; oops!<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/humor/mediagoofs/sixpence.asp "Mostly True Stories Sixpence Error"] on [[Snopes.com]]</ref>

|-
| ''[[MythBusters]]''
| 2003-2016
| Yes
| Mostly good but with some bad (but mostly good).
|-
| ''Phil Plait's Bad Universe''
| 2008-2009
| Yes
| [[Phil Plait]] explains how the universe is trying to kill us.

|-
| ''{{wpl|Through the Wormhole}}''
| 2010-2017
| Yes
|Hosted by Morgan Freeman, this series explores various topics on [[biology]], [[cosmology]], [[neurology]], [[astrophysics]], but also [[futurism]], [[aliens]], and [[transhumanism]]. They tend to steer away from endorsing [[pop science]], but did have a controversial episode on {{wpl|Race and intelligence||.}}

|-
| ''Wonders of the Solar System'', ''Wonders of the Universe'', ''Hacking The Universe'' 2015<ref group=note>It was called ''{{wpl|Human Universe}}'' when it aired on BBC.</ref>
| 2010, 2011, 2015
| No
| Like ''Cosmos'', but British. With [[Brian Cox]].

|-
| ''When Dinosaurs Roamed America''
| 2001
| No/Yes
| An American focused version of the BBC series ''Walking with Dinosaurs''. It focuses on the natural history of the dinosaurs that once lived in the United States. 

|}

===Dubious===
Not quite crap enough for that section, but not entirely kosher either.

{|class="wikitable"
! Name
! Year
! Original content
! Description

|-
| ''{{wpl|Amish Mafia}}''
| 2012-2015
| Yes
| Pretends to be a documentary with genuine footage, but its authenticity has been widely disputed.

|-
| ''[[Brainiac: Science Abuse]]''
| 2003-2008
| No
| Might be somewhat fun (although repetitive), but it's not science. It's what you get when a 14-year old tries to mimic ''MythBusters''; it's all about blowing stuff up ("cool!") and their "research" completely misses the [[scientific method]]. Calling it "science" only serves to misinform the public on what science really is.

|-
| ''{{wpl|Dark Matters: Twisted but True}}''
| 2011-2012
| Yes
| The show talks about certain controversial scientific experiments like [[MKULTRA]], [[Agent Orange]], and the [[Tuskegee experiment]], but also gives far too much credence to the [[Philadelphia Experiment]], the [[Lost Cosmonauts]], and [[Nazi UFOs]].

|-
| ''{{wpl|Deadliest Catch}}''
| 2005-
| Yes
| Discusses marine biology, overshadowed by the usual scripted drama.

|-
| ''{{wpl|Eaten Alive (TV special)|Eaten Alive}}''
| 2014 special
| Yes
| Advertised as a guy who gets eaten by an anaconda, but this never happens in the actual airing. Not exactly pseudoscience, but it's a good example of the sensationalist nature which all too often features on Discovery.

|-
| ''{{wpl|Moonshiners (TV series)|Moonshiners}}''
| 2011-
| Yes
| If I was making illegal moonshine, going on a TV show would be the last thing I'd do.

|-
| ''[[Whale Wars]]''
| 2008-2015
| Yes
| Follows the questionable exploits of Paul Watson and his [[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society]]. Offers very little critical commentary.

|}

===Crap===
These programs are mostly crap. Like most [[crank]] material, they can be decent (and sometimes even good) sources of popcorn fodder. You just have to be willing to ignore what's being sold as science on what used to be a channel that knew what science ''was''.

{|class="wikitable"
! Name
! Year
! Original content
! Description

|-
| ''[[A Haunting]]''
| 2002-2022
| Yes
| [[Ghosts]] and other [[paranormal]] nonsense.

|-
| ''{{wpl|American Chopper}}''
| 2003-2019
| Yes
| Fun at first, but soon got increasingly embarrassing as it focused more on petty fights. Everyone thought the embarrassment finally ended in 2010, but then it spun off ''American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior'' (2010-2012) — which is so embarrassing we're not even linking to it — ''Orange County Choppers'' (2013-2014), and a number of one-off specials.

|-
| ''{{wpl|Animal Face-Off}}''
| 2004
| Yes
| Like ''[[Deadliest Warrior]]'', but with animals like bear vs. alligator. Fun when drunk with friends because it's just laughably bad. The creators and "experts" take it embarrassingly seriously, though.

|-
| ''[[Finding Bigfoot]]''
| 2011-2018
| Yes
| Well, they haven't found [[Bigfoot|it]] yet.

|-
| ''Ghost Lab''
| 2009-2011
| Yes
| More ghosts.

|-
| ''Ghosthunters''
| 1996-1997
| Yes
| And more ghosts... Not to be confused with the better known ''[[Ghost Hunters]]'' from Syfy.

|-
| ''Lost Tapes''
| 2008-2010
| Yes
| Various nonsense of the [[cryptozoology|cryptozoological]] varieties. Does include actual information about animals and history as well in several episodes.

|-
| ''The Lost Tomb of Jesus''
| 2007
| Yes
| Claims to have found the tomb of [[Jesus]]. Spoiler: it's not Jesus' tomb.

|-
| ''Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives''
| 2014 special
| Yes
| Claims that some ancient giant shark ([[Megalodon]]) still lives.

|-
| ''[[Mermaids: The Body Found]]''
| 2013 special
| Yes
| [[Aquatic ape]] and [[mermaid]] nonsense.

|-
| ''[[NASA's Unexplained Files]]''
| 2014-
| Yes
| Features some real science, but also a lot of pseudoscience. Suffers heavily from [[balance fallacy]].

|-
| ''The Pet Psychic''
| 2002-2003
| Yes
| Yeah, this is really what the title suggests. Features [[Sonya Fitzpatrick]] as a [[pet psychic]].

|-
| ''Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science''
| 2003
| Yes
| Also a book; looks at Sasquatch, Bigfoot, etc. In spite of the name, it's mostly pseudoscientific and ends with the conclusion that it's likely that Bigfoot exists. For example, it uncritically accepts the {{wpl|Patterson film}} and doesn't even ''consider'' the possibility that it's a [[hoax]].

|}

==See also==
*[[History Channel]]
*[[Nat Geo]]

==External links==
*{{wpa|List of programs broadcast by Discovery Channel}}
*{{wpa|List of programs broadcast by Animal Planet}}
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Skepticism]]
[[Category:Television]]

Categories: Media, Pseudohistory, Pseudoscience, Skepticism, Television