Discovery Channel had their premiere of a new 12-part series titled "Animal Face Off" (or AFO for short). The 12th in this series is the Colossal Squid vs the Sperm Whale (we're not letting on anything about it, other than what has already been posted in the R & D forum), airing 06 June, but I'm interested to hear any reviews of the series, if anyone has watched it, any of the programmes.

It is not airing on New Zealand Discovery Channel yet - ours is Australasian Discovery [edited].
Ta
Me

the first show aired last week here...great white vs. crocodile...I guess in our day and age of video combat, it is a way to get teens to watch a show and maybe spark some interest in animals...but...the details were "croc-hunter-ified"...over the top sensationalism and somewhat overblown thoughts on the "dangerous and deadly" aspect of the beasts...very nice videography and cg effects though.
greg

Thanks Greg. You'll probably have kittens if you can stomach watching the series through to episode 12; a particular someone, who shall go unnamed, is ever-so-slightly less-than serious in his approach.

It's supposed to be sensationalised entertainment, as the two animals that face off wouldn't normally (apart from the whale and squid) meet/enter into combat. Of course, I'd have preferred it had it been a face off between a grizzly bear, tiger or lion and a colossal squid, in the squid's natural environment! On land, in a battle between a mouse and a sperm whale, the mouse would have won!

Anyone else any thoughts, or did only one person in the whole wide world watch the show.
Ta
O

Death ray? Imhotep's gland? You weren't being serious?

(EDIT - description and play-by-play, dont want to give it away as it still has time to air) I enjoyed watching the show. Cant wait to see the Colossal and the whale Face-Off. The Giant (undiscovered) Ammonite could take them all on, it was the real reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs ya know :D

now now... I only meant that the show was somewhat sensationalized...i am sure that YOUR appearance will be very, very professional, and very logical.
no, really.

Death ray? Imhotep's gland? You weren't being serious?

.... :oops: ... there was more too .... in fact about 95 mins more

The diver?

Just saw the previews for lions vs. tigers. on AFO. Looked tight.

Funny too since I was talking about ligers on FFA (www.fishadviceforum.com).

i prefer cartoon networks version..... even if the morons favor a croc..... :roll: they have a little spoof goin on about a flying croc vs. a flying shark..... of course its common knowledge that a shark would make the croc look stupid for about a second and a half beofre it bites the croc in two.... :) the flying great white would reign supreme until it meets a flying messie.... or just me...


Simply marionettes dancing for my amusement

Cupidlu :heart: :whalevsa:

Official site:

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/animalfaceoff/animalfaceoff.html

I see Discovery are already selling DVDs of some of the episodes but not the colossal squid/whale one yet. Steve, do you happen to know if this will be released? It'll probably be the only way I will get to see it :(

Is there a nematode vs hookworm episode?

I happened to catch a commercial about that show today and it was the first i've heard of it...

I have to say I'm disappointed with the Discovery Channel lately.... more often than not, i'll turn it on sometime during the week and I'll find some reality decorating show....or car show... or hot rod whatever... and now this show which appears to have robotic replicas of animals fighting eachother.

Does anyone else think this channel used to be better? To me, it looks like it had sold out to whatever it can grab the most attention with.

of course its common knowledge that a shark would make the croc look stupid for about a second and a half beofre it bites the croc in two:

I think you might find this (http://www.oceansofkansas.com/bite.html) interesting.

"biting below the waist...Ouch!....I bet that hurt!"
what a neat page...very cool !

Fluffy: you actually pegged it...our lives have become so overworked that now everyone has to have over-fun ...and so a channel that needs ratings to stay alive is forced to show a lot of sensationalized shows..."Jaques Cousteau's Underwater World" would be a flop on todays breast augmented, bootie shaking tv stations. Lets face it, as a demographic, we are a very,very small one !
I like the food network.
Greg

Valium is nice. :)

[vitriol excised]

Well...some of the spinoff channels are good...Discovery Health, Discovery Wings, etc... they are just trying to make a profit, after all. and who knows, maybe some kid will be intrigued enough by one of the shows to actually learn about sharks or crocs. some good will have to come out of it all.

No, really, it's very nice. I don't think that I could get by without it. I suppose a lobotomy might work, but I'd imagine that operating heavy machinery would be way more difficult.

;)

[further vitriol also excised]

The diver?
:oops:

... I wonder when E-channel are going to do a biography on Neil Diamond.
[edited, Steve]

Phil, squid vs whale airs June 6 ... though don't expect to learn much science from it (because not a lot of truth was uttered from these lips ... there'll be a BS disclaimer at the very beginning I'd imagine). It was that or I get up and go, saying there's no way X could beat/eat Y, end of story, 94 mins to fill.

Ah yes...a slave to the corporate masses!
welcome to the club !
Hell's bells ! Sure, so you had to cow-tow a little...but heck, maybe somewhere some children will say to themselves "hey, giant squid are neat ! we should learn more about them !"
That is all it took for me, way back when, and it can only effect them for the positive ! You could be influencing a whole new generation of cephologists and future Tonmo supporters..(Tony's dream)
hehe....
greg

I already saw Shark vs. Croc and Elephant vs. Rhino, I'm glad that the shark won, but I was rooting for the Rhino, that was stupid, I'm sure that many people have decided to make this show their weekly famliy gambling spree, I'm a little curious as to how the squid's arms and tentacles were made, care to provide any insight, Steve?

I miss the days when my whole family would complain about the mind-numbingly educational shows when the remote was in my hands.

I was bored a while back and got an idea to put in my 2 cents... so i found an email address for comments on the discovery channel website. They said they would reply in 1-2 weeks...heh...heh. I, of course, dont ever expect one. But I figured I might as well do it anyway.

What do you guys think of the National Geographic Channel? I dont watch much tv anymore, but from the few things I've seen, it looks fairly decent.

I watch the History channel while eating breakfast. :)

.... anyone catch Lion vs Tiger?? I see hippo vs bullshark is next up (next Sunday)

I still wanna see Manny Puig vs. Steve Irwin.

whatd you say i was full of steve? :)

Gravy and glass splinters?

:lol:

:lol:

.... anyone catch Lion vs Tiger?? I see hippo vs bullshark is next up (next Sunday)

:cry: :cry:

I forgot to watch it!

Neil vs Zappa ????

Reanimated Zappa? How can Neil be expected to compete against the undead?

Using a wooden stake.

I don't think that stopped him the first time... :twisted:

Of course, we could just even up the odds. :twisted:

I knew you were gonna say something like that.

Sorry, I'm predictable. :roll:

i dont think thatd even things up..... I doubt anyone would remember this Diamond guy if he croaked... however, Zappa's been gone for a while and as we all can see is still as popular....

Flicking matches... now thats fun :twisted:

You know a matchup i'd like to see, geoduck vs earthworm.... wooooo! imagine that fierce battle....

i dont think thatd even things up..... I doubt anyone would remember this Diamond guy if he croaked...

cretin

"Did you ever read about a frog who dreamed of being a King
And then became one"

Watched the hippo vs shark.... it wasnt bad.... fortunately there wasnt as much of the CG mess as i thought there would be.... which is a good thing.... however it seems that they dont have fact checkers around once the experts leave... for example, the mentioned hippos eat and sleep underwater, when actually hippos may run/walk several miles to graze... but maybe im just nitpicking.... as for the face off of scientists trading barbs, yeah that didnt seem posed at all.... :roll: <- minus the smile though.... not saying there arent scientists that are encumbered with huge egos, but at least teach them to talk junk properly.....

the show did remind me of a theory my parents had when i was growing up.... they used to say that if i ever caught my older brother i'd kill him, but lucky for them, i'd probably never catch him....

:x I forgot to watch it again!! :x

How about Pam Anderson vs Rosie O'Donnel ?

How about Pam Anderson vs Rosie O'Donnel ?

Weren't Pam's lips once a part of Rosie? :twisted:

Which?

:indiffer:

No no...not that. They are both so plastic ! Maybe that's where she caught the virus...hmmm.
Ok...how about Emeril vs George W. B. ?????

Hmm... does the winner get to spit-roast the loser? :roll:

"I like to baste my turkey in saliva...I lick it good all over...the legs, the thighs...and I don't know what that thing is, but I give a lick anyway..."
the butler ,Scary movie 2

:goofysca: ... not exactly what I had in mind...

Yeah, dude, that's gross. I hope I can stop vomiting by 9 o'clock tomorrow morning...

The movie got bashed by critcs...if you think it is gross to read, you should see it ! I laughed so hard, I had tears streaming down my face...but it certainly not a film for the pc sensitive...and crude (as you can tell from the quote)

I did see that part, and it was pretty funny. It's just that the whole Emeril and Dubya and saliva associat... oh, dear... excuse me... [barfing]

Anybody see Elephant vs. Rhino then Wolf vs. Cougar?
Next week is Polar bear vs. Walrus, though I'd like to see Neil vs. a blue ring...

:x AHHH!! I keep missing these! Could somebody please bring this to my attention on Sunday? :)

What's your home phone #? That way we could all call you about 4 in the morning, and remind you ! :D

I saw Wolf vs. Cougar, I was hoping to see some kind of an omen about my school's mascot (Castaic Cougars), but unfortunately, the Wolf got killed :cry:.

I saw Wolf vs. Cougar, I was hoping to see some kind of an omen about my school's mascot (Castaic Cougars), but unfortunately, the Wolf got killed :cry:.

.... this is like giving the end score away to someone watching a delayed match! What did you think of it? I'm aching to know.

I have to say I'm disappointed with the Discovery Channel lately.... more often than not, i'll turn it on sometime during the week and I'll find some reality decorating show....or car show... or hot rod whatever... and now this show which appears to have robotic replicas of animals fighting eachother.
.

I've ranted about this on my blog more than once. I turn to Discovery and The Learning Channel to see what's at the bottom of the ocean and what's in the farthest depths of space - not to see garage mechanics emasculate one another. Sheesh!

Anyway - if you happen to be in the pacific time zone like me:

SHOW TITLE: Animal Face-Off
EPISODE: Saltwater Croc vs. Great White Shark
CATEGORY: Animals
SYNOPSIS: The largest reptile on the planet can meet the world's largest predatory shark off the shores of Australia.
CHANNEL: 42 [TDCC]
DATE / TIME: April 18: 6:00PM, 10:00PM
April 19: 1:00AM

SHOW TITLE: Animal Face-Off
EPISODE: Lion vs. Tiger
CATEGORY: Animals
SYNOPSIS: Asiatic lions live in northern India, not far from the nearest tigers.
CHANNEL: 42 [TDCC]
DATE / TIME: April 18: 5:00PM, 9:00PM
April 19: 12:00AM

got this info here: http://tvlistings4.zap2it.com/
Don't know if it will be of any use to those outside North America. But hey - you've got playpii so no complaints.

.... this is like giving the end score away to someone watching a delayed match! What did you think of it? I'm aching to know.

Honestly, Professor :lol:. I see Toren's point. The Discovery Channel is moving into the medium of, as Al Franken put it: Infotainment. And like Connie Chung, more "tainment" than "info". Instead of educational scientific tidbits. We're getting pistons, hydraulics, and what's supposed to be entertainment for testosterone junkies, it's as if DSC has dropped the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, in favor of the ABC. And yet, I'm lovin' it! Call it: "Embracing the Nightmare".

P.S.: I'm not a big (or even small) sports viewer or entusiast, I had absolutely no idea what you meant by that very first sentance.

Last week was "Walrus vs. Polar Bear", anyone see it?
And what is this weeks? (Don't forget today, BOE :wink: )

Thanks Nick! :D
Ill try not to. :oops:

Anyone see it? What was it this time, and was it any good?

:oops: I missed it again. :( Oh well. I dont even know when it comes on. :(

Anyone see Lion Vs. Croc? I was quite pleased with the outcome :bonk:

I also liked the outcome of Jaguar vs. Anaconda, but as for Gorrilla vs. Leopard, I think I have some problems, when they asked "So why did the gorrilla win?" I heard myself saying "'Cause he's a big dumbass." :bonk:

I hear the next one will be Sasquatch vs. Pacific Tree Octopus!

:shock: (hadn't heard that was next) :mrgreen:

Afraid I haven't seen any of these yet, though am aware of mixed reviews, and schedule and screening date changes. I now have no idea when the squid/whale programme will air. :?

heres the page for the episode of interest, but no word on when itll air... looking at the schedule id say at least August.... :sleeping:

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/animalfaceoff/challenge/challenge12.html

amazing... they actually got a different pic of steve! well, a different one that didnt involve things up the nose or something similar...

http://media.dsc.discovery.com/convergence/animalfaceoff/lab/lab.html