Rick Baudé Wrote:
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> I think the "fellows" really thought
> they were going to get a chance to do real
> Egyptology rather than just following along saying
> "Yes, sir". I don't know how much longer I'm going
> to take it. Both my kids were yelling at me to
> turn it off.
IMO, it should be telling to you that the show isn't very good if your own kids think it's crap.
I can't understand those who lap up this show: no professional Egyptologist bears watching it, most people with a modicum of interest in Egyptology or archaeology in general think it's worth anything, and yet, I understand another series is in the works!
I recall when the auditions for this were announced on EEF by Past Preservers head, Nigel Hetherington. This is how it read, back in July 2009:
A new television series for the History Channel is seeking an Archaeology or Anthropology Expert/Professor AND several student Archaeology or Anthropology majors or recent graduates! (Please do NOT submit if you are only an enthusiast.)
This expert and the students will be a part of a small team that will travel to several digs in Egypt with the legendary Dr. Zahi Hawass.
(If the expert and/or the students have experience in Egyptology even better, but this is not a requirement.)
This series will be the adventure of a lifetime! There is also pay to be negotiated. And the time commitment is roughly October 2009 through February 2010. We understand this may seem like a long time frame for some professionals and students, but it is an opportunity unlike any other!
Quite ironic, that last line. :\
Now, I seem to have missed the expert: is this Zoe? Surely not. Oh, wait, Hawass. Of course.
Now, when I read this audition call back in 2009, for the briefest of moments, I even considered this, but as I am very busy with my own work, I decided against. Thank the gods for that.
I do feel bad for any professional archaeologist or anthropologist who actually applied for this show, or even worse, was accepted. There aren't many lanes open to archaeologists (and especially Egyptologists) these days, but I'm fairly sure that prostituting oneself and losing what self-respect and dignity one has to be part of a show like this wasn't what these people had in mind.
After the viewing of an episode online, reviewing the trailers, and so on, and then finding that Past Preservers heavily pushed this series because Hetherington is a local producer of the series, I decided to withdraw my association with Past Preservers. I had hopes PP would work on quality documentaries - of the type I have discussed many times on this board - but this series has dashed those hopes.
My
.
Katherine Griffis-Greenberg
Doctoral Candidate
Oriental Institute
Doctoral Programme in Oriental Studies [Egyptology]
Oxford University
Oxford, United Kingdom