Discovery's "Dino Hunters" - Has anyone watched it?

[dyno77]

Haven't seen this yet but i can see from the descriptions how its going to play out..
It looks like another anti-dinosaur documentary,but id rather watch some videos of the storage rooms or how they make casts,or even sculpt life size dinosaur models.
Another set of videos worth watching is the interviews with Robert Bakker or the presentations of the history of T Rex.These videos are long and have more information than documentaries.
There hasn't been worthwhile documentary about dinosaurs since that last T rex documentary in 2017 in my view.

[ITdactyl]

Apparently the detractors hated on the show so much that its supporters pooled together and gave it a second season/series. (  I'm kidding of course)

One thing I find interesting is that Clayton Phipps (in the clip below) mentioned that his asking price for the "Dueling Dinosaurs" is 79 million US$ (but ended up selling the fossils for just $6 million US, to be split between several partners and leaving Phipps with a modest profit)

trailer for S2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ls6QXmW8A
clip (from S1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OUkJLukKuw

I'll end this with the reminder that the show is NOT a dinosaur documentary (despite the bad CGI dinos shown throughout the show, as well as recycled clips from older dino documentaries) - it's more about the fossil hunters.  It just shows a portion of the fossil trade and lets viewers decide how to feel about it.  And yes, I do recommend people watch it - not because I want anyone to sympathize with the fossil hunters; I just think it is at least insightful.

For those who prefer reading, this article by Bloomberg provides an interesting take on the point that the show is trying to make.
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-hunting-dinosaur-bones-worth-millions/

[austrosaurus]

The only things I have to say to and about this show and the people in it are a lot of expletives that would get me very banned from the forum, so all I'll say is that it's absolutely disgusting that Discovery, a channel that is supposed to be promoting science, is instead promoting what Ian Malcolm called "the "r*pe of the natural world". And it's no surprise that Bloomberg has written a propaganda piece trying to get people to sympathise with fossil thieves.

[stargatedalek]

The only things I have to say to and about this show and the people in it are a lot of expletives that would get me very banned from the forum, so all I'll say is that it's absolutely disgusting that Discovery, a channel that is supposed to be promoting science, is instead promoting what Ian Malcolm called "the "r*pe of the natural world". And it's no surprise that Bloomberg has written a propaganda piece trying to get people to sympathise with fossil thieves.

Discovery has made shows promoting strip mining, rattlesnake hunting (illegal in many states due to declining populations), and tuna fishing. There are a lot of topics where "displaying what goes on uncritically" is in fact taking a side, and Discovery has made theirs extremely clear.

[Dynomikegojira]

Commercial paleontology is a disease and this show offends me.

[ITdactyl]

Oh, no one's gonna argue with your points @stargatedalek , because they're true. I don't know the current content of the other regional Discovery channels, but almost all the shows in Discovery SEA right now (barring the air crash and crime investigations) are about people profiting from nature.

For my part, I don't sympathize with the fossil hunters (and definitely not with the show runners) but I am very curious how the trade works in America (where it is arguably supported by law). I even wish there'd be shows focusing on the illicit fossil hunting/trade in the Sahara, Gobi and Burma so people'd be more aware of what's happening (and that it's still happening)

Personally, I'd rather know why something "bad" is still being perpetuated (rather than being told that it's bad, end of discussion).

Oh (and pardon the prudishness), A @austrosaurus , careful with the word slinging. They're not "fossil thieves" because the Supreme Court has already ruled that they own the fossils found in their land. What we're standing against is their sale of the fossils to private collectors instead of museums.

[austrosaurus]

Oh (and pardon the prudishness), A @austrosaurus , careful with the word slinging. They're not "fossil thieves" because the Supreme Court has already ruled that they own the fossils found in their land. What we're standing against is their sale of the fossils to private collectors instead of museums.

I was very careful with my choice of words legality and morality are two very different things, and in selling the fossils on the private market they're stealing them from generations of scientists and citizens who want to learn from them and appreciate them.