History Bites

I liked History Bites, it was a very fun show to watch but it was also educational. I like that it was able to be entertaining while it also informed. OK so it's not like it was teaching us a ton of great new information we couldn't learn on Wikipedia or that we don't already know from schools, but for a family show it is great and kids can get a lot out of this show. Likewise the comedy was not gold but this show was way way more entertaining than most educational history shows would be. The host Rick Green seems like a really nice person and he is likable, a very good host for a show like this. The actors all are fine for the roles they are doing, basically sending up historical figures with impressions. Totally worth seeing if you like history and or family friendly entertainment!

Pretty good way to trick people into learning- by entertaining them. Much more entertaining than educational, but they do their research well, though some of their joke are off the bat. They're not history teachers.

I was so bad at history, but putting it in a comedic context always helps it to seem interesting. You have to hand it to Rick Green for creating so many really clever projects.

This is a real gem of a show that never got the widespread attention it deserved. History Bites is the brainchild of Canadian comedy legend Rick Green (of The Red Green Show fame). Essentially, it asks the question "What if TV had been around for the last 5000 years?" Each episode picks a major point or theme from history and then acts it out as if our modern television and culture were back in that period. Rick Green lends his talents in narration by offering up educational tidbits in between skits.

The show could easily have stunk but instead shines thanks to absolutely stellar acting and writing. Each cast member is a genius in their own right in that they manage to pull of near flawless imitations of pop culture icons like Don Cherry, Jerry Seinfeld, Martha Stewart, Regis Philbin hell, even Judge Judy. You really have to see it to believe it.

Just another gem of Canadian TV that sadly will likely never get the fame it deserves.

It is true that a lot of important points in history can be presented as only so interesting. This show manages to take the less exciting points (and some of the really exciting ones too) and turn them into quite enjoyable 30 min lessons.

Of course time constraints limits the amount of details that are able to be presented, but most of the subject matter is there.

While the show is not laugh-out-loud hilarious, it is still amusing to watch. Some of the pop culture impersonations are quite well done. Good examples are Howard Stern, Barbara Walters and Judge Judy.

This show is especially great for teens, who might have a resistance to studying history. They will get most of the impersonations and skits, and the show moves quickly enough to keep their attention.

Over all, pretty well done.

This show is now running on two networks in Canada, the History Channel and the Comedy network. The episodes running on the History Channel are the original episodes from 1998, although later episodes may crop up later.

A few pieces of interesting trivia for fans of the show. It was created by Rick Green, who co-created [ and guest-stars in ] The Red Green show. Steve Smith's [ Red Green ] company produced the show.

One episode I was watching earlier today seemed to feature an appearance by Jessica Holmes, before she starred in her own series and in Air Farce. Has anyone else seen this episode to confirm it?