This Week in Paranormal TV Ratings

4/25/2020

Ancient Aliens is not on tonight, so I am taking the day off. However, before I sign off for the day, I wanted to provide a quick overview of the week in pseudo-historical and paranormal TV. Rob Riggle: Global Investigator actually rose in the ratings for its alien-themed episode, reaching 355,000 live plus same day viewers, its highest viewer haul since moving to Thursdays. What made that more amazing is that the show rose in the ratings while airing out of prime time, in its late-night exile slot. Its total, however, was still only half of what Discovery usually pulls on Thursdays, and it still failed to outdraw the similar Forbidden History, the obscure UK import airing on the little-watched Science Channel. Its latest episode had 400,000 viewers. Curse of Oak Island was up to 3.6 million viewers this week, while Secret of Skinwalker Ranch stubbornly remained at 2.1 million. Last Saturday, Ancient Aliens clocked 1 million viewers, while The UnXplained sank to 852,000. Overall, where we should have expected to see some ratings spikes as more people are trapped indoors watching TV, instead, everything is basically the way it always is, suggesting that these shows have a relatively inelastic audience.

22 Comments

Bill

4/25/2020 11:55:57 am

It seems a number of the paranormal shows returned this week, or within the last few weeks. Ghost Nation, Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures to name 3.

I'll be interested in the viewer number of Secrets of the Skinwalker Ranch for the next episode as this last one was brutally boring to watch. Oh look, the cows are moving around.

Kent

4/25/2020 08:04:18 pm

"its late-night exile slot"

The obvious question is "What portion of the ratings are due to people falling asleep with the TV on?"

E.P. Grondine

4/26/2020 12:57:50 pm

Brad Lepper pomotesJaosn's book:

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200426/archaeology-saga-of-giant-mound-builders-is-tall-tale-that-wont-go-away

One problem (among many) that Brad has is that there were tall Native Americans.

Kent

4/26/2020 09:11:48 pm

Yet you've never been able to prove it. It's a marvel that this unprovable has become entrenched as such an article of faith. I can name a seven foot tall Frenchman, a seven foot tall Chinaman, several seven foot tall Africans, and of course The Big Show, yet you've never named a seven foot tall Indian. And no, bodies that were mismeasured and no longer exist don't count.

E.P. Grondine

4/28/2020 11:36:49 am

Hi Kent -

Occasionally I get someone coming up to me and insisting that comet impact did not kill off the mammoth, but they are fewer and fewer nowadays. When I started off on this I ran into people claiming that Clovis users. were the first people in the Americas.

I feel a need to point out to you that "gaint' is an English word, which is used to translate a number of native words in different languages.

Kent

4/29/2020 02:03:46 am

Wait what now? You're playing the Clovis card? Do I seem new to you? That's like playing the Columbus card. It's played (f****d) out. Now you bring up this new word "gaint" and seem to be saying that tall Indians weren't really tall. Because it could mean anything. And because you have no examples.

Jim

4/26/2020 02:42:23 pm

Don't forget to mark your calendars.
The great philosopher Scott Wolter.

https://facebook.com/events/s/guest-philosopher-scott-wolter/143226920417091/?ti=icl

PNO TECH

4/26/2020 06:16:30 pm

‘Guest Philosopher’, eh?
“All you’ve been taught about philosophy is wrong! What Descartes REALLY meant was, ‘I think, therefore I am a Templar’!”
Certainly his resolve ought to be good’n’hard by now. And the extra time at home should reward us with some truly moonbat theories—especially if he has stayed in touch with Anthony Warren. I checked his blog the other day, and there is a newish entry, but the quality of crazy has fallen off markedly: I don’t recall even chuckling. Sad.

Jim

4/26/2020 10:35:46 pm

He is rewriting Roman Catholic doctrine now.

In the link below he claims Jesus rising after 3 days and seeing Mary Magdalene represents the sun god rising after 3 days of winter solstice and meeting the Goddess. (the Goddess being represented by the planet Venus)

I kid you not !

Jim

4/26/2020 10:42:59 pm

P.S.,, PNO TECH

On Wolters new blog entry he allowed my post with a link to Dr. Paul Wieblen's report which clearly demonstrates he is lying about the biotite in his response to my post,,, LOL
What a maroon !

Kent

4/27/2020 03:15:16 pm

That would be the core sample he took without permission. And now he's stealing from Anthony "Everything is stars, man!" Warren. What a tragic waste of a bachelor's degree.

Jr. Time Lord

4/28/2020 03:15:58 am

JIM
4/26/2020 10:35:46 pm

[He is rewriting Roman Catholic doctrine now.

In the link below he claims Jesus rising after 3 days and seeing Mary Magdalene represents the sun god rising after 3 days of winter solstice and meeting the Goddess. (the Goddess being represented by the planet Venus)]

Jim,

That's not a rewrite. That's exactly right. John the Baptist represents the Sun at the summer solstice. Jesus the Sun at the winter solstice. These both represent two distinct systems encoded into the texts.

Have you read "Animal Farm"? Did you take that literally too?

Have you been paying attention to the Phippsburg History Center?

PNO TECH

4/27/2020 08:46:32 pm

Re: Dr Weiblen’s report, I have several questions. Aside from his ‘Maine Tombstone Study’ ( [wild hand-waving] “Totally the same, guys: TOTALLY! “), Wolter’s only scientific basis for declaring the KRS old and therefore real is the lack of biotite on the worked surface, correct? He contends that the KRS party split the stone; that the face with the inscription was dressed >for< the inscription back in the 14th century, and that hundreds of years of weathering dissolved the biotite which proves that it cannot be a 19th century fake.
When presented with the lack of biotite found during the EMS traverses, he gets super-defensive ( calls you an idiot ) and states that the traverses were done on the ‘top of the plug’ only—that would be the backside, the reverse of the inscription, and therefore the surface of the face with the scoring from the glacier grinding it against other rocks.
Have I got the facts correct so far?

Looking over Weiblen’s report, it looks to me like the slice traversed was taken >perpendicular< to the glacier-scored side. They sawed a slice off parallel to the back ( so it’s also a cylindrical solid ) then sawed that slice in 2 the >other< direction, giving two pieces that resemble Woodruff keys rather than hotdog slices. Then they sawed parallel to one of the two rectangular flat faces of the Woodruff key-shaped pieces. After prepping it, that rectangular sliver—taken perpendicular to the scored backside of the KRS—was what the traverses were done on. Is >this< correct? I’m honestly asking: I looked at the report a couple times, but my screen is small and well scuffed.

If this IS true, it jerks the rug right out from under his fantastical house of cards: no biotite >within< the stone means none on the surface to weather away.

Jim

4/27/2020 11:59:53 pm

" Wolter’s only scientific basis for declaring the KRS old and therefore real is the lack of biotite on the worked surface, correct?"

Yes, as I see it. He does cover other things such as iron oxidizing away leaving pits on the surface but with no scientific dating of these.
He also has changed his story on the calcite into which some of the runes are carved. He initially said that the ph balance of the soil the stone was buried in was neutral ( around 7) but when it was pointed out that the acid in rainwater moisture and caused by local vegetation would have easily dissolved the the calcite disappearing the runes in a relatively short time, he now claims the ph balance of the soil is 9-11 or ridiculously heavy on the alkaline side.

"and states that the traverses were done on the ‘top of the plug’ only"

It should be noted that when I previously pointed this out to him he claimed Wieblen only did one traverse on the surface, now he acceeds there were multiple traverses.

"Have I got the facts correct so far?"

Yes, I would agree with that.

" Is >this< correct? I’m honestly asking: I looked at the report a couple times, but my screen is small and well scuffed."

This is exactly how I see it. I don't see how Weiblen’s wording or illustrations in the report could be ambiguous.

Also of note is the fact that Wolter refuses to make his report or original data available. He refers anyone to his later written book, or tells you to get his report from the Runestone Museum, lord knows what revisions he has made.

As well, when Wolter says:

" Are you suggesting that Dr. Richard Ojakangas, who like me, found 5% of the KRS graywacke was comprised of biotite, can ‘t identify the mineral? "

This is more crap. When Wolter submitted his report and data to the Museum, what was conspicuously missing was the data from Ojakangas' inspection !
Ourselves and the Museum are left with only Wolter's word on this matter.

Jim

4/30/2020 03:17:32 am

Just to add more evidence to the above:

Besides the fact that Dr. Wieblen found no biotite, Mr. Löfvendahl who examined a thin section when Wolter brought the KRS to Sweden for examination by Swedish experts, also found that there was no biotite present.

https://websites.godaddy.com/blob/65151a46-8ee3-453c-83d3-7b1077c69c9e/downloads/1bjjqlckr_452803.pdf?78d0546c

"In Nielsen and Wolter (2006) and Wolter (2003 and 2004 a & b) the results given in Weiblen (2001) and in Löfvendahl (2004) (both these latter two references are found on www.richardnielsen.org) that both show an absence of biotite in the thin sections were ignored. Weiblen (2001:10) has shown that the potassium layered silicate encountered in the electron microprobe transverse of 127 analyses is the clay, illite, rather than muscovite mica. The X-Ray diffraction in Weiblen (2001: Fig. 15) confirmed this. Löfvendahl‘s investigation on the same thin sections by point count found no biotite either, which confirmed Weiblen‘s results."

Jim

4/26/2020 02:52:40 pm

Oh Lordy, we must have missed this one.

https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjQyNjkwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz&episode=YmEzM2U5NzMtNWZiNi00MWJhLTkyNzctNDYyNDE0NTlhNjU1&hl=en-CA&ved=2ahUKEwjoy_6h4IbpAhXUB50JHdRiB2EQjrkEegQICxAG&ep=6

Scotty tells you where to buy his hooked X patches.

Jr. Time Lord

4/26/2020 07:59:21 pm

JIM
4/14/2020 09:48:36 am

"In a sort of related story the Florida Governor's Office has deemed the WWF an essential service.
The President's buddy Vince McMahon must be a happy camper."

Jim,

That wrestling company has been known by "WWE" for almost 20 years now. Wrestling fans are a segment of the population well-worth pacification. If you have ever attended a wrestling event, you know who I'm talking about. "Triple T" would be a great wrestling name for the Canadian prime Minister. "Tropic Thunder" Trudeau. Entering the arena to a song by the band "Cinderella" seems appropriate. Considering the Cinderella character had a different name in all the versions of the story until, she got black face. Donald "Forrest" Trump is it least Orange. Possibly due to Lysol injections, or too much sunlight on his blood.

Stay Safe!

Jim

4/26/2020 10:23:55 pm

Essential service my butt, Trump's good friend Vince McMahon bought an exemption because his big dollar TV contract stipulated live performances.

E.P. Grondine

4/27/2020 11:30:28 am

Flipping through the channels the other day, I noticed a UFO show on Soviet UFOs and took a look. The production values were abysmal. No maps, no google Earth shots, no stock footage. Say what you will, AA has great production values.

E.P. GRONDINE Fan

4/27/2020 01:04:51 pm

Great point, maybe the show will win a “Noble” Prize.

Kent

4/28/2020 08:27:16 am

Google Earth and stock footage are your idea of production values? Sad.

E.P. Grondine

4/28/2020 08:44:00 pm

They are inexpensive.

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