Watchin' The Detectives

Photo Credit: Roland Unger - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0  I really hate when they put the presenter's name in the title. In my database, the title is just Tutankhamun , with Dan Snow listed as presenter. Sadly, that title is neither unique enough to Google , nor will it get you there easily on TVDB or IMDB . But nevermind my obsession with the metadata... let's talk about the content.  Yes, this is yet another documentary about the infamous "King Tut" , but the renaissance in technology has really brought archaeology to a whole new level in the last decade. Dan Snow presents the treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb, focusing with child-like glee on the little-known back-room items as often as the famous display treasures. He would really like to convince himself (as well as the viewer) that the young Pharaoh died in battle, perhaps at Kadesh, but Raksha Dave does a great job reining his enthusiasm and forcing him to examine the evidence with impartiality. Meanwhile, e...

                                       We're going to be taking a deep dive into what makes a documentary a documentary. Which, as we write this, we're realizing it's not as easy to put to words as it is to know one when you see one.  In the broadest sense of the word, a documentary is any audio/visual media meant to document an occasion or to inform the viewer on a given subject. That much we can say for certain. There are as many ways to achieve this end as there are subjects to inform the viewer about, and the objective truth is not always the aim. So let's take a look at a few types of documentaries so we can start to get closer to the heart of what makes a documentary a documentary.  Part 2. News, Current Events and the Dreaded Long Form Infomercial.   For nearly as long as we've had moving pictures, current events shorts/newsreels/infomercials have been around. The mo...

                                                                                                                                                   Battle of Agincourt                    By Antoine Leduc, Sylvie Leluc et Olivier Renaudeau (dir.), D'Azincourt à Marignan. Chevaliers et bombardes, 1415-1515, Paris, Gallimard / Musée de l'armée, 2015, p. 18-19, ISBN 978-2-07-014949-0, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10026708 "The Real War of Thrones," by France 5    "The Real War of Thrones" is a ten part docu-drama about the Hundred Years...

                                                                               We're going to be taking a deep dive into what makes a documentary a documentary. Which, as we write this, we're realizing it's not as easy to put to words as it is to know one when you see one.  In the broadest sense of the word, a documentary is any audio/visual media meant to document an occasion or to inform the viewer on a given subject. That much we can say for certain. There are as many ways to achieve this end as there are subjects to inform the viewer about, and the objective truth is not always the aim. So let's take a look at a few types of documentaries so we can start to get closer to the heart of what makes a documentary a documentary.  First up: Nature Documentaries.  The great great...

 The History of Weapons  By: ZDF Studios  Pt. 7 (cont. from Pt.6)                                                                                         Episode 7: War At Sea    In this episode the historians look at Greek Fire, The Ship Cannon and Torpedos.   Up first is Greek Fire. While the recipe for Greek fire is lost to us today, there's a few clues as to what it might have contained, including: Sulfur, Pitch, Bitumen, Petroleum, Naphtha, Quicklime and various other oils. (let's go with olive, since they were Greek) In the practical experiment, they build a pump that would pick up the substance, set it alight, (there's debate on whether an ignition source was needed or if it combustied upon contact with water) and propel it onto an en...

"The History of Weapons" By: ZDF Studios Pt. 6 (cont. from pt. 5) Episode 6:  The Power of Destruction                                                                                                  American Civil War Ketchum Explosive/Fragmentation Grenade         (note percussion cap impact detonator, wooden shaft and flights, meant to keep it moving in a                                                               straight line when thrown)    In this episode, they cover the machine gun, hand grenade and the tank.    As with the revolver, m...