Discovery Channel Promises to Stop Ruining Science With Ratings Grabs Like Eaten Alive

Discovery isn’t going to do any more fake monster shark/dudes not getting eaten by snakes ratings grabs anymore; they’re going to get back to nature and science! Or, if you’re one of the people who regularly tell us how wrong we are about megalodon, Discovery is quitting science forever! Take your pick. Choose wisely.

Thankfully, it seems that most viewers have been unhappy with the completely bananas direction Discovery has been going with some of their recent “nature” shows, because their new president, Rich Ross, says they’ll be changing course. At the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour in Pasadena last week, Ross commented on 2013’s fake megalo-documentary as well as the recent debacle where no one was actually eaten alive on Eaten Alive.

EW reports that Ross responded,

I don’t think it’s actually right for Discovery Channel. And it’s [a type of programming] that I think in some ways has run its course. I don’t think you’ll be sitting with me here next year asking me a question about something I put on—whether a series or a special—where that’s the dilemma. They’ve done very well, many of them, but it’s not something that’s right for us … if something [has been previously ordered], it’s probably still coming. But I’m telling you where I am and how I feel moving forward.

So while we may not have seen the absolute last bogus Discovery Channel special, they’re going to be extinct in the near future. Unfortunately, that also means that those demanding satisfaction from Eaten Alive will probably never get their wish. On the show, conservationist Paul Rosalie was supposed to get swallowed by an anaconda in a “snake proof” suit, but viewers spent two hours watching only to see he and the snake hug it out for 20 minutes.

Rosalie apparently did the special as a way to bring attention to destruction of the anaconda’s habitat, but it was pretty firmly marketed as “guy gets eaten by snake for science.” Ross commented, “I don’t believe you’ll see a person being eaten by a snake during my time here.” So exactly the same as before his time there, then?

That’s a shame, because if there’s anything Eaten Alive did accomplish, it’s that everyone in the world except the snake now wishes Rosalie would get eaten by a snake.

(via EW)

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Dan Van Winkle

Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct Geekosystem (RIP), and then at The Mary Sue starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at Smash Bros.

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