Mysteries at the Museum

So if your a history buff you will enjoy this show. However I believe it was cancelled around Sept 2019 and no news on if it was gonna be renewed. I am addicted to this show and I believe have seen every episode. There are lots of interesting facts, and artifacts presented in an interesting way. They use alot of dramatizations and stock footage to bring the story to you in an interesting way. However not all of it directly relates to that story. They may show a different plane when talking about a fire suppression plane they may show a 737 or something but the story is the main idea anyway not the photos. Also they dont always tell the whole story. Normally it's only scratching the surface of the story. Some of the stuff can be a bit wierd and some downright stupid but overall interesting show. I am very disappointed that the travel channel is no longer showing new episodes. All they show is ghost shows and I find them totally ridiculous and unbelievable. It's totally fake and people actually believe that crud. Bring it back please.

This show is interesting but it is often misleading. They will show an "artifact" like a bullet but the story will be about a Demon Cat. The two have nothing to do with each other!

I love this show, but as others have stated, one of its biggest flaws is how repetitive it is. From the way they describe the objects, to the adjectives used to describe the "sinister" plots or "daring" plans, to the way they film dramatizations of events.

But my BIGGEST problem with the show is that 90% of the time the artifact shown has NOTHING to do with the story told other than being the same object. For example, the story might be about a treasure found at sea, but the artefact will be some random coin in a currency museum that wasn't in that treasure and wasn't even involved at all. It's just a coin similar to what was found. I just finished watching the episode about wine bottles etched with the president's initials using a dentists drill. But the artifact that they use was some random dentist drill from some museum that has never had anything to do with the story. Like this would be interesting if it was the actual drill used, but instead it's just some random drill that happens to be similar to the one used. The show is called "Mysteries at the Museum", not "Mysteries Told with Random Objects at the Museum"

This is a great show. It is amazing what fascinating little nuggets of history they dig up. Some of the stories are so compelling I am continually amazed that they aren't more well known. Some of them would make great films. I will very often research the stories on my own to get more information. Usually, the portrayals are fairly accurate, although they do emphasize certain aspects and play down (or ignore) others for dramatic purposes.

I usually DVR the show and watch it in bed, preparing to go to sleep. As fascinating as it is, conversely,it has a somnolent affect on me, and I usually have to re watch 2 or even 3 times to get through all of the stories. I think it is partly due to the reliable and unchanging rhythm of the show. they start out each entry the same way: setting the scene with the museum that holds the artifact that will introduce the related story, first mentioning some of the other museum holdings, then describing the physicality of the artifact in question. Then they tell the story with silent actors pantomiming the narration.

The narration itself has its own certain conceits: then never use one word when three will do, and adjectives abound. They never use a simple word, when a fancy one exists. (It's never a book, It's and "ancient tome" . People don't die, they "succumb to injuries"). Another little conceit is the rhetorical question and the use of puns. For example, In the story of the Double Eagle balloon crossing of the Atlantic: "Will their "lofty" ambitions be fulfilled? Will the balloon rise to the occasion? Will a slave that worked as a seamstress trying to get confederate plans to the Union be able to "thread the needle" and sneak past guards? How did a brassiere "boost" a young mother's bank account?" I love it. It's amusing.

Don Wildman, the host, is superb. He has a great tone, and conveys a sense of urgency, when called for, without getting all worked up. And always has this kind of amused inflection. Plus he is very easy on the eyes.

Another thing that is part of the predictable comfortable rhythm is timing and flow. When they finish one story, they immediately start the next one, saving the commercial break until a crucial cliffhanger. After the commercial break, they briefly recap the story and proceed. This is good for fast forwarding through the commercials, or if you doze off during the story, you can get up to speed without having to rewind. I swear, it's the same pattern over and over. It's like waves crashing on a beach. Two other shows that are just as good are Mysteries of the Monument and Mysteries of the Castle.

It is a great idea for a TV show, I absolutely love the stories, however, they are very loosely based (at best) on the objects in the museums. For example, a medieval clay etching, depicting farming in ancient Britain, then goes on to tell a story on crop circles. Or the story of John Smith, a barber who once cut president so and so's hair, who used this phone, that is on show at the museum of telephones... It's kind of funny how irrelevant the objects actually are.

It's also another very americanised program, in this I mean that the historical war accounts are somewhat pro-America, and twisted to paint their history in a favourable light. It's bias, annoying, and eyeroll inducing, because more often than not, there is much more to the story.

Overall it is a good show, and worth watching if you love history.