History Into Fiction

It’s the age-old question: How do you capture the interest of a younger generation that thinks history is boring?

Herodotus and Thucydides probably wrestled with the same problem that now confronts Nancy Dubuc, the president of the History Channel.

Her answer–one that has garnered the cable channel higher ratings–is to create shows that meld reality TV with subjects that sometimes have a tenuous connection to traditional history: “Ice Road Truckers” and “UFO Hunters,” for example.

In the Jan. 3 edition of The Los Angeles Times (Section D1), media correspondent Matea Gold looks back on the three years of Dubuc’s tenure and canvasses both critics and admirers of the History Channel’s evolution.

I’ve long since given up shaking my head when I see one of those stubbled-jawed Indiana Jones wannabees crawling through a tunnel while breathlessly wondering if he will ever get out. No one ever seems to worry about the cameraman with him.

Even better entertainment is provided by the readers’ comments about the article on the LA Times website. One tortured lover of history wrote:

“Hysteria” Channel would be a better nickname as everything that I see deals with doomsday predictions found in ancient documents or obscure writings of medieval mystics or cheery thoughts like “life after humans” – - all told with the melodrama of a bad 19th century play.