Destination Truth

Destination Truth follows the exploits of self-styled adventurer and cryptozoologist Josh Gates. Every episode Gates and his drinking buddies search for two new cryptids (or, when convenient, any other odd stuff in the vicinity).

If you overlook the fact that Gates lacks any real credentials (although he regularly consults with experts), the show is a great watch. It's a light-hearted alternative to series like Ghost Hunters and MonsterQuest.

Although Destination Truth's methods are suspect (as they only spend a few days in most locations), they're by no means worse than other sensationalist documentaries and the casting more than makes up for any shortcomings: Gates is both abrasive and witty as he playfully (and rightfully) ridicules first-hand eye-witness testimony; his outright skepticism is a breath of air; and his sarcasm, well, a bit over the time (he's about as subtle as a hammer... or Michael Moore).

All in all, Destination Truth is a surprisingly good watch for a Scifi channel documentary.

It looks like a couple of folks don't get it. It's a drama and a comedy.

We laugh our butts off every time we watch it. Actually about half the time. The first half of each "investigation" is funny. This includes getting there, which is always a disaster. The investigation kind of slows the laughs down some as it is awful "Blair witchcraft". It's OK though as they have two investigations per show.

I wish they would just change it to more of a travel show so we would have the laughs the entire show. It would be great if they could have some guests on the show like Geraldo Rivera as he has to be the model for Josh Gates character.

First of all, Josh Gates is a very entertaining guy, something which has been missing from prior 'investigation' shows which scifi has aired. Amanda Tapping in Proof Positive, while a good host, was just far too serious and made the show very dry. Boston Rob in that show from last year, which I can't even recall, was obviously bored with it and falsely skeptical. It was all a show and not an overly entertaining one. Josh Gates ... he's awesome. He takes something that really does not warrant the level of serious treatment which makes people interested in cryptozoology and such things appear as weirdos and brings it down to earth. A show of this type is good for interesting people in the field of Cryptozoology. As a 30 year old who IS interested in such things, it's nice to find an entertaining, fun to watch, semi-investigative series. And it's also fun to be afraid that some of their less than smart ideas might end up with either the host or the producer seriously injured.

All right, so they really don't find anything, but maybe that isn't the point. Something that is missing from investigation shows is a little bit of humor and Destination Truth has plenty of that. I find this show absolutely hysterical and would watch episodes for that reason alone. However, DT does introduce many lesser known myths about animals around the world. Maybe, just maybe, this is the true purpose of the show, to reveal stories and legends of other cultures. Maybe in Season 2 they'll find some exciting evidence, maybe they'll continue to come up empty, but I will learn something about a foreign culture and laugh a little in the process. My suggestion is take the show for what it is and enjoy it for what it offers, an entertaining hour of television.

Call me crazy, but wouldn't it make sense, when chasing spirits in Peru for instance, to communicate with a suspected entity in Spanish or Quechua instead of English? Inquiring minds...