Finding Bigfoot

{{title-italics}}{{film|2}}
'''''
Trying to Find
 Finding Bigfoot''''' is a crappy TV series that aired on [[Animal Planet]] that revolves around a number of 
ghostbuster wannabes
 well educated investigators who quest out to find photographic evidence for the mythical [[Bigfoot]] creature, turning up empty-handed each and every time without exception. Every episode is thus what is known as a [[shaggy dog story]] (or shaggy apeman).

The series has run for 
way too many
 nine seasons from 2011 to 2017, with a one-off finale airing in May 2018.

==Cast==
* Matt Moneymaker (yes that's his ''actual'' name): founder and president of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. Yes, someone made an ''entire'' organization out of Bigfoot.{{efn|Follow your dreams: you ''can'' actually do anything in life you put the will in to do. The existence of a Bigfoot ''organization'' proves that!}}
* Cliff Barackman: the 
man whose job it is to [[PIDOOMA| pull evidence directly out of his ass where there is none]]
 evidence analyst of the group.
* James "Bobo" Fay: The "field caller" who, like Cliff, has wasted too many years of his life looking for Bigfoot that he will never get back.
* Ranae Holland: The 
vindicated
 [[Pseudoskepticism|"skeptical"]] member of the team who does not believe in Bigfoot, which leads one to ask why she'd even be on a ''Bigfoot'' TV show in the first place.

==Premise (short version)==
The team ventures out to find Bigfoot: each time, they fail.

===Premise (less short version)===
The Finding Bigfoot team drives out to some location where a "witness" saw or heard Bigfoot. From that "evidence", the team commences their multi-night "investigation", which often concludes with an elaborate plan to try and attract Bigfoot, usually involving noise or light, by using boats on a lake, or silent electric ATVs. They also do wood knocks, which mimics the bigfoot's supposed communication. Night-vision technology and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras are used to document these "investigations".

Starting with the second season, locals from around the filming area are invited to come and share their Bigfoot encounter stories, likely to fill any remaining time-slot space.

===Series finale (MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!)===
Having finally given up trying to find Bigfoot, the 100<sup>th</sup> and final episode of ''Finding Bigfoot'' aired on May 27<sup>th</sup>, 2018.

The team never found Bigfoot.

==Reception==
Depressingly, the show was an instant hit for the Animal Planet, thanks to a large population of extremely [[Credulity|gullible]] viewers.<ref>http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2012/03/13/animal-planet-squatches-viewership-with-finding-bigfoot-ratings-401412/20120313animalplanet01/</ref> Despite this, the show has received substantial criticism for obvious reasons, including the fact that any Bigfoot footage would have been leaked long before any episode would have even aired,<ref>https://www.huffpost.com/entry/finding-bigfoot-team-still-hunting_n_7772990</ref> not that this sort of thinking stops viewers from flocking to the show, of course.

==See also==
*[[Ghost hunting TV shows]]
*[[Schlockumentary]]

==External links==
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1948830/ ''Finding Bigfoot''] on IMDb.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Cryptozoology]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Television programmes]]

Categories: Cryptozoology, Pseudoscience, Television programmes