History Channel to Launch New "In Search Of..."; Plus: Scott Wolter Marks Three Years Since End of "America Unearthed" with Radio Interview

1/31/2018

The History channel has greenlighted a ten-episode revival of In Search of… starring Zachary Quinto, taking over the hosting role originated by Leonard Nimoy in the 1977-1982 original. Quinto was selected because he, like Nimoy before him, played Mr. Spock in Star Trek. In announcing the decision yesterday, the network said that the revived series would explore “dynamic” subjects “such as alien encounters, mysterious creatures, UFO sightings, time travel and artificial intelligence.”

Given that this is the History channel, the home of Ancient Aliens and The Curse of Oak Island, I can’t say that I hold out much hope that the new series, whose title changes from In Search of… to In Search Of without the suggestive ellipses, will offer anything new about these well-worn subjects, nor that they will treat them as anything more than titillating fodder to feed the perpetual mystery machine that is paranormal television programming.

The network cited the success of Ancient Aliens as a key factor in its decision to commission another series scraping the bottom of a well-worn barrel of ancient mysteries already covered on the aforementioned series. “To this day, the investigations conducted in this series remain relevant and a source of public obsession,” History vice president of programming Eli Lehrer said. “Now with Zachary’s passion and prevalence in the science fiction genre, the groundbreaking series is back for a new audience.” This is the second time in recent weeks that Lehrer has cited popular interest in space aliens and conspiracies as the driving force behind programming decisions made at the network. He previously said the same thing about Templar conspiracies, suggesting that History’s executive suite hasn’t quite worked out the connection between the drivel they broadcast and public awareness of history. If you don’t educate the public, it’s no wonder they express “interest” in the crap you make available.

Quinto said that he was “excited” to be revisiting the earlier In Search Of series with “advancements in science and technology” to help him reach the same inconclusive non-answers. “HISTORY is the perfect home for this unique and compelling series,” Quinto said, truthfully. More truthfully: I doubt he said any of it. It reads like something that the PR team asked him to sign off on.

The network omitted any mention of the earlier revival of In Search of… on Fox, hosted by Mitch Pileggi at the tail end of the X-Files phenomenon, in the fall of 2002. They also omitted to mention that the History Channel, and before that, parent network A&E, attracted its original audience of paranormal enthusiasts in large measure due to repeats of the first In Search of… series, which made A&E and then History cable’s home for paranormal and fringe programming in the 1990s, setting the stage for today. A&E even commissioned a sequel series, Ancient Mysteries, starring Leonard Nimoy because of the success of In Search of… reruns.

The History channel demonstrated its commitment to quality by wrongly stating in its press release that the first In Search of…, which launched in 1977, was hosted by Rod Serling before his death. Serling died in 1975. He had hosted In Search of Ancient Astronauts and its two sequels, a series of TV movies that inspired the creation of the series, which he was originally intended to host, but he was never the host of the In Search of… series. It’s probably worth mentioning that both Ancient Aliens and In Search of… got their starts as adaptations of the same book, Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods, before branching off into all-purpose investigations of anything vaguely “mysterious.”

A+E Networks, the parent of the History channel, must be truly desperate for the new series to have positive press. They actually sent me the press release and promotional materials yesterday morning, at the same time the rest of the media received them. Either all is forgiven after that time they tried to sue me over my book criticizing America Unearthed, or else they really want the word out everywhere.

Speaking of the desperate search for new TV series… The former star of America Unearthed, a show that aired on History’s defunct sister channel H2, Scott Wolter said on his blog Sunday that he would like to host a globetrotting show unearthing ancient mysteries from around the world. The next day, he appeared on AM950 radio’s Matt McNeil Show to talk about “life after America Unearthed,” a program that went off the air three years ago today.

In the interview, Wolter revisited claims he made on the show as far back as 2012, using most of the same words and the same bullet points that routinely uses in describing the episodes of his series. McNeil, however, is nearly as bad as Wolter, claiming that new discoveries about history are only accepted if “big universities” like Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Oxford are involved in their discovery. He asserted that cable television shows provide equally valid scientific analysis and should be accepted based on the data broadcast on air. Basically, he thinks Scott Wolter’s claims should be accepted because he thinks what he saw on screen was suitably scientific compared to the opaque scientific work found in journals. McNeil even suggests that “academic resentment” is preventing Wolter from being hailed as a paradigm-busting titan of science.

The pair also discussed Wolter’s key hobbyhorse, the Kensington Runestone, a Victorian hoax purporting to be a medieval Norse tablet, tied to the opening of a visitor’s center at Rune Stone Park in Minnesota. Wolter said that “people” (meaning scientists, historians, etc.) are “fearful” of the Templars and refuse to admit that only the Templars had the means and the resources to carve the Runestone. He adds that scholars have “fear in their hearts” that the Templars might not have been orthodox Roman Catholics, because I guess somehow universities are just chock full of true believers in orthodoxy, which is why Fox News is on such a tear about how atheist liberal professors are turning students’ minds to mush. Wolter adds that he believes that the Templars’ ideology was “compatible with Native Americans’ [ideology].”

You can tell that this is Minnesota radio, however, because McNeil simply assumes that listeners are familiar with the local runic curiosity, and know its backstory. You’re not likely to find that outside of Minnesota. He also lets slide Wolter’s claim that Kensington, Minnesota, where the stone was found in 1898, is the exact geographic center of North America. According to a 1928 U.S. Geographical Survey calculation, that honor actually falls to Rugby, North Dakota, though a more recent claim—made by an academic no less!—put the location at Center, North Dakota. Either way, it’s not Kensington, Minn.

Wolter concluded his discussion of the Rune Stone and Templars by saying that he believes that the only way one can accept his claims as true is to turn off one’s critical filters and to “realize you don’t know everything and to let this information come to you.” I’ll leave it to you to insert your own jokes. He added that no one outside of the fringe community truly understands who the Knights Templar really were. He claims that the medieval order is grossly misunderstood, and that academic treatments of them are incorrect and incomplete because they do not include Native American religious influences. He claims that Native Americans have told him that the Templars are their blood brothers.

“How come we’ve never heard that before? How come academia hasn’t gone down that road?” Wolter asks, apparently unaware that his friend David Brody spilled the beans two months ago and accidentally revealed that the Native American who supposedly admitted all this is a young man who was referring to twentieth century fringe history books, not to preexisting oral traditions.

He closed out the interview with a discussion about why “respect” is for him the most important virtue in any interaction—a common theme from a man who feels that opposition to his incorrect claims is automatically a personal insult—and he rehearsed his history of playing football in college and for a semi-pro team, another key pillar of his personal myth. This tied in to the official reason for his appearance, promoting a charity ball game.

He finished out the interview by teasing, for the third year in a row, a future book or television project which he alleges will be tell “the greatest story I’ve ever been involved in, and that includes every episode of America Unearthed.” As has been the case for three years, this involved no details and had no firm release date, only a vague request to “stay tuned.”

59 Comments

Machala

1/31/2018 09:56:53 am

Jason,
In reading your critique of the upcoming ( or upchucking - depending on your point of view ) of the redux of the In Search Of series, I was inspired and finally found an answer to something that had puzzled me for a long time.
I have always wondered where all those great journalist from the National Inquirer and its sister publications of True News, had gone to. Now I know. The have all taken jobs as writers and producers for A&E History Channel !

Regarding the fading actor, formally known as Scott Wolter, I long ago dismissed his self-serving blather. I've consigned him and those naive Minnesotans believers in the Kensington Rune Stone to live, a long, gullible life, in Lake Wobegone alongside their Vikings,Templar Knights, and Masonic cabalists heroes.

Eirik Sinclair

10/27/2018 07:23:34 am

1. America was discovered between 1300-1200 BC by Phoenicians, the Greenland Sagas commenced in 1200 BC.
2. Tartarus (Pre-Egypt) was moved to America in 1100 BC. A formation of Knights were created to police America.
3. The Gaul Knights were defeated in 754 BC giving rise to the Roman Republic & Empire that defeated Carthage in Punic Wars.
4. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the Roman Zeus from Carthage, shipped all men over 300 pounds to America in 133 BC.
5. Odin's Cobblestone Court was brought to America at the turn of the century. Mecca memorialized his departure as Allah.
6. The Kingdom of Naples was sent to Arcadia (Florida) in 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted & covered Herculaneum with ash.
7. Teotihuacan (The Religion of Thor) operated until 791 AD when it was defeated at the Battle for Uppsala Sound in Sweden.
8. A Skraelingar and Stave uprising took out every Viking ship as they descended from Vineland Station to Roanoke Island
9. Lief Ericsson's ship was the only one to survive, he entered America through theTemplar portal in Hudson Bay Canada
10. Retrieving all the men from the Midgaard Serpant (Mississippi River) the Nordic bloodline was preserved in 985 AD.
11. The Alamo Incursion occurred in 1002 AD, and the Indians of South America swarmed into North America.
12. A Federated States of Amerigan began in 1040 AD, the Vikings were crushed in 1066 AD by the Norman Conquest.
13. Mounds Park Minnesota is the site for which the Battle of Hastings took place.
14. The St. Clare Expeditions returned the Europeans to America in 1255 AD.
15. The men of the Sinclair Expeditions were found dead in 1362 AD.
16. In 1402 AD, Henry Sinclair was on his deathbed. He commissioned his son to return to America.
17. The Kensington Runestone was the centerpiece of a circular memorial erected at the lines intersecting the 2 Templar portals.
18. As America was being colonized, the Runestone was buried to avoid its discovery and destruction.
19. A tree was planted on its location when the Sinclair family returned to its homeland.
20. It was intentionally dug up to show evidence of America's earliest beginnings.

Tony Marino

10/28/2018 12:28:45 am

Well,Mr. Sinclair. It seems to me that you have an impressive list. Do you have ANY proof of what you're saying? If you do,I'd like to hear it. I sincerely doubt you do but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and give you some chance to prove it. Otherwise,me and a bunch of other people are going to conclude that you're just making all this up.
There are those who will say you're just making this up. Your little list would be impressive,if you had proof for any of it. If you don't then,you have the makings of a great novel. To me,you're going into Scott Wolter territory and the problem is,at least he TRIED to back up what he said with SOMETHING. Unfortunately to me,I don't think you can back up anything you're claiming here.

10/28/2018 08:07:48 am

Mr. Marino, yes there is endless amounts of proof. I spent nearly 20 years compiling it. Have written several books of my own using the information which is available in the history books, vatican archives, and physical monuments which explain their existence. If you or others would like to discuss, let me know how to contact you. My email is PPCpress@aol.com

The little list you referred to is just a small fraction of the historical timelines that I accumulated. Have compiled a list of all shipping records since the days of Macedonia Greece, to the expansion of the civilized world, to the change of guard here in America.

10/28/2018 11:54:30 pm

Well,Mr. Sinclair,here's the thing. There haven't been any real archaeological proof to back up what you're saying. A lot of it's pretty controversial and,in the words of others,fake. Most people like me would find it a little unbelievable,considering the ships that they had in ancient times.
As I once heard on a TV show called "Exploring Psychic Powers Live,""Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof." I'm sorry to say this but,you haven't shown me that proof,and I think Mr. Colavito would agree with me. I'm not saying you might not have it but it feels pretty iffy to me. I've written quite a lot of fiction and to most people,your list probably feels like that. Something for a novel.

I'm VERY skeptical about these sorts of claims without solid proof and I hate to say it,you haven't shown it to me or anyone else. Good try,though. I wonder what Mr. Colavito thinks of this?

10/29/2018 12:58:51 am

Mr. Marino, I don't think you are getting the point of my post. The list was put together by all the genetic proof, the physical proof, and the historical records proof. I'm offering you a dialogue so that you may obtain that proof. Nearly 20 years of studying cannot be conveyed to you over a single post. Skeptics are simply people who haven't done any studying. I was at one time a skeptic, but interested in the field. I discovered some information was faked, but it was to satisfy skeptics like you who wanted something more than logic games. For example, monks created logic puzzles to help people become logical. When civilizations were conquered, their records were turned into logic puzzles. Such as mythology. Truth concealed by fiction. If you research a topic and find out what it is based on, history fits together like a fine tuned puzzle. Such as... Every order of Knights corresponds exactly to a Mesoamerican society. Check the dates, they are identical. The historical records you agree with tell of the fall of societies in Europe, and the emergence of another in America at exactly the same time. Most people call this resurrection. Mythology, novels and movies have been telling the tales for centuries. All you have to do is put them together along with the archeological records. And boom... you have proof. It has been proven over and over so many times that skeptics like you seem to the ones that look like crazy people. Let me know how to have a chat room discussion with you, and get involved with the truth!

10/29/2018 10:43:56 pm

Now,Mr. Sinclair. Don't think I'm disparaging you. I'm not. But,what I'm getting at here is that a lot of this stuff seems pretty hard to believe. Have you ever seen ANY of the boats that were around in Ancient Greece,Egypt,or Rome? They may have been great in the Mediterranean Sea but I doubt they would have fared well in the open Atlantic.
It's hard to imagine people in the ancient world coming to America because a lot of people believed that the earth was flat and that if you went too far into the ocean,you'd fall off and never be seen again. People in those days had a limited knowledge of the world. They may have known China existed but probably not the Americas. That's what I getting at,sir.

Does proof of what you say exist? It's possible but it's hard to know. That's what I'm saying. I'm not trying to be insulting,sir. That's where I stand,sir. But,I appreciate the talk and I hope to do it again in the future.

10/30/2018 12:24:29 am

Mr. Marino, your concern is valid outside of the fact that teenage girls have crossed the Atlantic in little teeny tiny personal water craft. Moreover, your comment on falling off the edge of the earth. If you had discovered two huge continents with no civilized life forms... would you tell everyone and not keep it to yourself? No you wouldn't, you would tell everyone that they would disappear and be eaten. Primitive man would believe you... and their fear would keep them from the worldly discovery while you colonize the continents. A Macedonian frigate could easily make it across the Atlantic in calm to choppy waters. But, as you said... the sea is not always kind. The Kraken will get you on the way there, or on the way back. Which is the first key information on why Carthage and the Phoenicians moved to Norway. The coast of America was discovered, no one wanted to make the trip back. So, they followed the coast to icy waters. Knowing this area, they traversed the narrower seas to Greenland and back to what are now the Scandinavian countries. A relatively short trip was now available to the smaller ships of the time. But, once again, you must not have much knowledge of Phoenician dreadnoughts. The Templar dreadnoughts are much like the ones Christopher Columbus used. His ships were based on captured Templar ships. The Phoenician ships were much larger and built on the design of a cabin which was built on a Viking ship to hold up in during stormy conditions. Paintings from 250 BC show the ships, and are sufficient evidence for you. Ol' Nessie herself is well thought of in folklore for her trips to America from Scotland. The original was built from Egyptian wreeds. Let me know when you want to chat!

10/30/2018 12:44:27 am

Look on your internet search engine with 'Trireme' & 'Tunisia' to get a pretty good idea of what the Phoenicians were sailing at the time.

ToTo

1/31/2018 10:37:48 am

I have always thought that almost every "fringe" subject we have seen in the last forty years originated on "In Search of." The episode where they warn of the coming Ice Age is especially precious.

The assumption being promoted that Native Americans and Knights Templar are associated is simply the largest pile of drivel I have ever heard. If Wolter would have just shut up after AUE he might still be a viable entertainer today. Instead the crazy in this guy just keeps getting more and more pronounced (and he isn't done yet). Perhaps he should host "In Search of?" I get the impression that in hind sight many people who enjoy alternate views of history are regretting the fact they ever even paid attention to him at all. Everyone do a little word searching and see if there is even another forensic geologist attempting to date rock art..................

Joe Scales

1/31/2018 10:54:40 am

"Everyone do a little word searching and see if there is even another forensic geologist attempting to date rock art.................. "

The closest you might get is geologist/paleobotanist Kirk Johnson:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/making-north-america.html

It's actually a quite interesting show. For one sticking with real science, that is.

1/31/2018 10:46:11 am

Templars are all the rage on History Channel these days. Tonight will be a "documentary" on them as a companion piece to their Templar drama show Knightfall which will follow. Then you've got the Oak Island boys now going full blown Templar in their nonsensical pursuit of a long known hoax, pushing a piece of lead (the Island's "greatest discovery"???) as their tie-in. It's actually quite comical to watch them stretch for connections, yet pathetic knowing the misinformation they're spreading irresponsibly to the highest number of cable viewers for the night of their weekly broadcast. At this point, now downright lies.

David Brody

1/31/2018 10:51:23 am

Jason, why do you say I "accidently" revealed something? I put this on my blog. I understood that people might read it. And the Native American tribal chief I quoted joined the Air Force in the late 1970s, making his age at least in the mid-50s, yet you try to minimize him and his opinions by referring to him as a "young man." Not a big deal, but consistent with your overall sloppy work...

1/31/2018 10:59:53 am

Curious counselor, do you believe Wolter's "science" is ignored due to an academic conspiracy or because it could never sustain the rigors of competent academic, scientific peer review, or even the scrutiny from a middle school science teacher?

Jason Colavito link

1/31/2018 12:18:10 pm

I said "accidentally" because your interpretation of what he said differs markedly from a plain reading of the statement, which in turn contradicts the extraordinary claims made for it. To wit: He never says that the Templars are part of Native oral history; he said that his research into fringe history led him to interpret a (probably not very old) oral account that way. If you didn't realize what he really said, then you accidentally provided information you didn't mean to.

Americanegro

1/31/2018 02:23:59 pm

Judging solely by appearances, Indian by way of Africa:

http://www.pokanoketnation.com/pocasset/

Davie Brody

1/31/2018 08:04:52 pm

Jason, this explanation is convoluted and self-serving even by your low standards. I call bullshit. Maybe your sycophants will buy it, but I bet even they are shaking their heads with this one...

Jim

1/31/2018 08:26:18 pm

Sycophants, really Davie ? I take it you had to look that word up, seeing as how you can't even spell your own name right.

1/31/2018 10:26:53 pm

Gotcha with typos, Jim? Whatever.

David Bradbury

2/1/2018 03:49:19 am

"Judging solely by appearances, Indian by way of Africa:"
Remarkably, his own claim is:
"Daryl Black Eagle Jamieson January 23, 2015 at 4:48 am. I did DNA and had Dane,Scot Swede Finland Northern Russia Germanic and Native American."
(comment to:
http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2015/01/15/dna-tests-prove-scots-clan-are-viking-not-irish/ )
And he feels close to one clan in particular:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDQmUQKfkxo

2/1/2018 02:18:28 pm

I'd be interested to know how they distinguished between "Swede" and "Finland". Sounds like we have another fake Injun on our hands.

Dudley link

2/21/2018 03:38:55 pm

For American Negro: A number of Wampanoags have significant amounts of Cape Verdean blood. Often more than half, and yet, they self identify as Native Americans of various tribes. That's OK, I guess.

Randal Taylor

1/31/2018 10:51:27 am

I always enjoyed most of his show. He did debunk things on it and looked at other stuff I wasn't aware of as well. His focus on the Templar aspect became annoying though.

As long as the conspiracy angle and hidden truth agenda were taken tongue in cheek it was fine.

His biggest issue was getting wrapped up with Pulitzer and letting things swell his head.

1/31/2018 10:33:41 pm

I'd be interested in hearing you name just one thing Wolter has debunked.

Clete

1/31/2018 11:00:12 am

So, Scott Wolter wants to host another "Globetrotting series "investigating" ancient mysteries from around the world. If I were a channel executive I certainly wouldn't pay to send Scott Wolter on paid vacations around the world, then when he finally returned putting him on film of him standing in front of ancient sites scratching his balls and babbling on about how all of these things are somehow tied to the Knights Templar.

Gunn at Risk

1/31/2018 11:24:50 am

Some readers here already know that I am almost completely at odds with Wolter over many of his findings, since I'm a Kensington Runestone purist, meaning I take the inscribed story at face value, as a true story being told factually. I would like people here to know that not all believers in the KRS are as "far-out" in their views as Wolter is.

Concerning the Templars, Scott requires a belief in numbers and abstractions to come to his conclusions, which I personally think is going too far. His views of the Templars is not good, frankly, because he makes them look like weirdos, instead of the valient warrior monks they once were--most of them being very deeply committed to Jesus Christ...to the death. Scott has them positioned in a precarious spiritual history-position they don't deserve, in my opinion. Also, in my view, the idea of the Templars being involved with the KRS should not be laughable, which is (or should be) regrettable..

Scott started out well, but then stumbled, is my view. I have told him that I wish he had spent his time trying to corroborate the many local evidences in this area, some that he showed in his Hooked X book...which drew me into the subject back in 2010, plus a visit to the Runestone Museum.

I would like to point something out here: If one considers that the KRS and its nearby friend, the Sauk Lake Altar Rock, bear evidences of medieval Scandinavian Catholicism, as does the medieval Newport Tower, one may have difficulty NOT including the possibility that the Templars were involved in some of these expeditions...those pre-dating the KRS.

Here I'm talking about actual Knights Templar, not aging old men and their ancestors, whom I call post-Templars for lack of a better word or phrase. For instance, Henry Sinclair is thought by some to have been an offspring of Templars, though of course he himself was not a Templar. And, as with the proposed Paul Knutson search party, there is not any accurate proof supporting the Henry Sinclair material, either...which has been pointed out by this blog Host. In my view, the "record" is mostly wishful thinking, with sprinklings of Native American input that is highly questionable. (I do wonder about the Chippewa migration from the East Coast, however.)

So, what we still have are Catholics--Scandinavians--coming here to America in medieval times, expressing themselves in obvious evidences to be found in these parts...speaking of petroglyphs, iron object, including weapons, and of course stoneholes in rocks, which I will not linger over.

My point is that if the Catholic Church was involved in any of these medieval explorations, BEFORE the time of the KRS (1362), there is a good likelihood that the Templars were involved, too, as monk-muscle (you heard it here first.)

Peace from the fringe.

“HISTORY is the perfect home for this unique and compelling series,” Quinto said.

Yet, I see no history in the categories listed above. I agree that this is unexcusable, even shameful and hurtful.

1/31/2018 12:32:02 pm

The Templars were not monks and very few of them were knights. Facts are stupid things.

"offspring of Templars"

Think about that.

1/31/2018 03:16:26 pm

I would point out that "offspring of monks" is no more or less "crazy" than "offspring of Popes," and we have definitive proof of the children of several Popes. And I'm not even talking about "people with the last name Pope." Borgia, maybe, but not Pope.

Not that it says anything whatever about the Knights Templar, since while they, or at least the leadership, were technically ordained, they weren't required to take oaths of celibacy.

Nor, and this I direct at people like Wolter and Gunn, were they the only order of holy knights by FAR. They're just the ones who became bankers, and history is rife with stories of what happens to the bankers and moneylenders when greedy leaders don't want to pay their debts. There's literally nothing in particular to make the Knights Templar any different from the rest of the Holy Knights of the time period, and you WOULD KNOW THAT if you actually indulged in REAL scholarship.

Gunn, either give it up or give me the bodies. You've got a couple of rocks of dubious provenance, a defunct early Colonial windmill, and some holes in the ground. You don't even have a BUTTON or a BEAD, and if you're so into Scandinavian history, you should know how important beads were to them at the time. Find one. Just ONE. Until then, SHUT UP. You are NOT "more reasonable" than Wolter, you're just a different flavor of stubborn, anti-scientific whiner who's annoying the crap out of everyone around them.

1/31/2018 04:08:32 pm

Sorry, no, but it's stupid facts time again. Most Templars were NOT ordained, and none of the Knights were.

Justin Kraivanger

2/14/2018 11:32:57 pm

I’d like to see the compelling evidence that you have that proves it’s utterly rediculous to think that any of the Templar knights could’ve had offspring. We’re you there? No? Okay, so shut the fuck up already because you truly don’t know a damned thing more than anyone else. You can read a bunch of garbage on someone else’s written account or opinion, and that’s it. It would seem that you should stop replying on this blog completely, until you’ve watched the bar scene in “good will hunting” and realized how it applies to you in this forum.

1/31/2018 01:05:46 pm

"...My point is that if the Catholic Church was involved in any of these medieval explorations, BEFORE the time of the KRS (1362), there is a good likelihood that the Templars were involved, too, as monk-muscle (you heard it here first.)...."

First of all, I must congratulate you on your tenacity in clinging onto a delusion that a late 19th Scandinavian/American hoax is real, despite it having been disproved years ago. I admire your creativity in manufacturing myths to bolster your outre ideas. I give you an A for pseudo-scholarly effort.

But, as AC so deftly put it, " Facts are stupid things. ". He's correct. The Templars were not monks, few were actual dubbed knights, and were more merchant bankers than swash-bucklers.

You are as welcome to your romanticism and fantasies.They are relatively harmless imaginings. Enjoy them. Revel in your fictions, as I revel in my cynicism, skepticism, and agnostic worldview. At least my thinking is informed by reality and hard scientific evidence.

1/31/2018 01:12:04 pm

Wish they had an edit key... I meant to say AN not AC. It was AMERICANEGRO who observation on "facts" I was requoting. Sorry, AMERICANEGRO. I believe in giving credit where credit is due

1/31/2018 01:28:41 pm

Not a problem. Does "monk-muscle" sound a bit Christopher Street to anyone else?

1/31/2018 02:19:38 pm

MONK- MUSCLE - " Gets you out of the cloister, and into the bars !"

1/31/2018 11:36:55 am

Unfortunately the Catholics involved w/ the KRS are more closely associated with Marquette University and NOT medieval Europe.......smh. To me the reasons for the scam are more interesting than the tripe being presented as history on shows like In Search of and America Unearthed.

1/31/2018 01:06:57 pm

"To me the reasons for the scam are more interesting than the tripe being presented as history on shows like In Search of and America Unearthed."

I feel the same way about Oak Island. A thorough debunking of the hoax by someone like Richard Joltes would make for quite an entertaining broadcast. Unfortunately, it's relegated to youtube status. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaIaOesYR2I&feature=youtu.be

1/31/2018 03:19:15 pm

Exactly! EXACTLY this! I would LOVE to see a show that followed ancient hoaxes and gave you THAT history, because that...that is SO much more fun and interesting than "LOOK! ANOTHER RACIST CONSPIRACY TO PROVE THAT ONLY WHITE MEN ARE INTELLIGENT!"

Andy White

2/1/2018 08:40:12 am

It would be a great program: intrepid debunkers confronting nonsense with facts. I'd watch for sure.

2/1/2018 10:20:06 am

You know, it could work. The Mythbusters had an incredible run, and they're on their second generation of hosts. If they did a Mythbusters: History Edition it would bring an already established audience to the table.

2/1/2018 10:43:22 am

@Joe Scales,

Great idea Joe. That's something I'd enjoy watching, a MYTHBUSTERS - History Edition.
I'd be willing to bet, that if done correctly, with the right "mythbuster" host(s) - how about Jason ? - it would enjoy great success and a very long run. After all, there's no end of myths, cockamamie theories, frauds and fakeries that merit debunking.

2/1/2018 11:48:21 am

Okay, we need to figure out how to pitch it.

2/1/2018 01:03:25 pm

It would probably have to be something close to "Adam Ruins Everything" on TruTV, with its millennial hipness. Ever catch that show? It's not without its own interpretive bias, but it certainly is a debunking show that seems to be catching on.

2/1/2018 01:55:37 pm

I haven't seen that, but I'll check it out. I have fond memories of watching Mike Wallace chase people into their offices on 60 Minutes.

2/1/2018 02:11:04 pm

JOE,
Since I don't live in the States, I'm either cursed or blessed - depending on how you look at it - by the fact that I don't receive all those U.S. cable channels and no major U.S.Networks ( except CNN & Fox News and ESPN & Fox Sports networks [broadcast in Spanish] )
A&E, Discovery, History Channels etc. are their Spanish Language Channel broadcasts, - , which means they are delayed for editing and translation, and are rarely less than six-months to a year old.
I can, of course, live stream some stuff, but, the Inca internet gods being what they are, hi-speed internet connection is spotty at times.
One of the reasons I read Jason's revues, is to keep up on what laughingly passes for television programming in the States, now

2/1/2019 10:24:35 pm

Sounds like you got fucked in the ass by too many white men.

Only Me

1/31/2018 02:53:37 pm

Question for my fellow readers: how successful do you think this new In Search Of series will be?

I found Neil de Grasse Tyson's Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey to be entertaining, but it only ran 13 episodes like Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.

Is there anyone that thinks this new ISO series will run as long as the original?

1/31/2018 04:47:43 pm

How successful? Given the glut of fringe programming and continued lack of evidence for such things as Bigfoot in an age where nearly everyone carries a handheld movie camera on their person... I think they'll have an uphill climb. Unless of course Quinto shows up in character as Mr. Spock.

1/31/2018 05:25:11 pm

Given the glut of the "we don't never find nothing" shows, it probably gets viewership for the first few episodes and then free falls.

Causticacrostic

1/31/2018 10:16:51 pm

FYI, a new series of Cosmos with NDT called "Cosmos: Possible Worlds" is scheduled for spring 2019.

1/31/2018 04:43:15 pm

Does this sound familiar ?
Wolter;
"All the things that we thought we knew about the Templars historically, is quite frankly wrong."

Hmmm, did the crusades even happen ? Or was that all a charade by academia to cover up the fact that the Templars were over in America showing their monk-muscles to the native ladies in the hope of integrating into the native culture ?

1/31/2018 05:08:24 pm

What he should have said was "All the things that I think I know about the Templars historically, is quite frankly wrong." There's your show Scott!

Oh, and lest I forget:

Scott Wolter is an idiot.

2/1/2018 03:29:21 am

So,the History Channel's going to try to revive "In Search Of..." I hope it does better than the Mitch Pileggi version. I think the reason that the Leonard Nimoy version worked while the Mitch Pileggi version didn't was because the Nimoy version came at the subject matter in a rational,sober way,even though much of this stuff could be considered extremely batty. The Pileggi version of "In Search Of..." felt too sensationalistic and silly and I can see why it didn't last long.
I hope the new version of "In Search Of..." does what the Nimoy version did and not try to ape "Ancient Aliens." It should approach these weird subjects in an intelligent,rational manner and not go all crazy on us,which is what "Ancient Aliens" did.

And,it looks like Scott Wolter's going to try his hand at TV again,this time going all over the world try to look at ancient legends. Unfortunately,someone already beat him to it. His name is Josh Gates and he does a weekly show called "Expedition Unknown." I don't know how old Scott will do but I think he might be trying to in on Josh Gates' territory. What do you guys think?

2/1/2018 12:43:19 pm

For the overly-combative and woefully ignorant here:

https://classroom.synonym.com/what-were-the-vows-of-the-knights-templar-12083721.html

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-knights-templar-warrior-monks-1789433

2/1/2018 12:57:11 pm

Wow, you found something on the internet that you can read to support your crazy ideas. Didn't see that coming!

Templars weren't monks anymore than Jesuits are monks, and only the Chaplains were ordained. Lay Catholics can take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; they aren't intrinsically monastic or clerical vows.

A swing and a miss.

2/14/2018 11:39:22 pm

Monk - noun. (in Christianity) a man who has withdrawn from the world for religious reasons, especially as a member of an order of cenobites living according to a particular rule and under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. 2. (in any religion) a man who is a member of a monastic order: a Buddhist monk.

Just shut up already, you’re not even half as smart as you think you are.

2/1/2018 01:42:46 pm

Alrighty then.... let's address those pesky catholic vows ( small c deliberate ) in the practical, rather than religious sense.
What better way to bind a group together, then with religious vows ?
Poverty - because the rank and file weren't going to get paid more than a pittance, AND it discouraged looting for personal gain.
Chastity - because it ( was supposed to ) control widespread rape and saved money by effectively banning prostitutes and camp followers.
Obedience - No military or religious organization runs effectively without strict rules of obedience.
Wrap these 3 Vows around an aura of divine grace and religious ritual and you've got an effective group.

Mike Morgan

2/2/2018 02:31:12 pm

Sometimes I just have to shake my head and sadly laugh over how much trust and faith some delusional fans place in the XplrR duo to seek advice from them.

Clip from a comment of Wolter's "Kensington Rune Stone Visitors Center is Officially Open"

Anonymous January 30, 2018 at 8:41 PM
"I have located your email address on hookedX and trust i may contact you via that email.

I shall do so when the time is appropriate in hopes you may answer some questions I have on joining the order.

I realize you are busy with other affairs , yet i keep my mind open in the pursuit of knowledge and hope you may find the time to be of some aid to what is hopefully a future brother.

bless you and take care."

Scott Wolter January 31, 2018 at 7:35 AM
"Feel free to send me an email with your questions. I'll be happy to answer them."

What? There isn't a masonic lodge nearby that he could contact? No friends, relatives, or acquaintances that are masons he could question?

And even worse is this poor saps comment seeking advice from Pulitzer on Pulitzers new Q&A Facebook page.

January 21 at 3:05pm

"Thank you for your continued excellent comentary on Oak Island and history in general. I enjoyed your 1/20/18 Q&A talk. I noted that you said you have some patent experience with new medical devices. I've suffered with lower back pain for the last few years. I have tried alot of different treatments - short of fusion surgery (I also have Parkinson Disease). I am currently investigating a BEMER device (from Germany - used in over 40 countries). There is alot of info on this technology (improved blood circulation) on the web. Have you heard of this? Do you have an opinion on the effectiveness? Have you heard of an alternate source of treatment that is new or coming soon to the market? Thank you for any assistance."

Pulitzer never replied.

Dan Middleton

9/26/2018 03:29:24 pm

Regarding Scott Wolter,
Are his facts as much as 50% accurate, or possibly even higher? Is he as as old as 50 years, or even possibly older?
When this type of non-informational statement is made, it demeans real science.
This type of "pseudo-science" must be presented as entertainment, not factual science/archaeology.
A forensic geologist stidies mineralogy, sedimentary deposition processes, etc.. Since when does a forensic geologist have expertise in archaeology and anthropology?

Leif Dorkelson

11/24/2018 04:43:39 pm

Sounds like you guys above me here are more interested in oneupmanship... i’m putting forth the theory that all you idiots that pretend to know anything about the past without being there- is why you’re sitting in your moms basement with one hand in your boxers and the other one on your tandy PC watching midget porn..

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.