I DVR'd the mermaid mockumentary awhile back and I'm excited to watch it with my daughter. She still thinks mermaids are real (she's 5) and while I think, "yeah, this could confuse her more", I think it also might be entertaining. I liked the one discovery (I think?) did on Dragons.

Anonymous wrote:I happen to be watching the Discovery show, "Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives" when my kids walked in. They are obsessed with sharks. Now I am stuck trying to explain the concept of a "mockumentary" to my 5 year old. Why is Discovery doing shows like this (also the Mermaid one)? People lack basic science knowledge, why make things worse?!

Just tell them that it was a made up story like a Greek myth or fairy tale.

How much more black could it be? The answer is none. None more black.

Anonymous wrote:I happen to be watching the Discovery show, "Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives" when my kids walked in. They are obsessed with sharks. Now I am stuck trying to explain the concept of a "mockumentary" to my 5 year old. Why is Discovery doing shows like this (also the Mermaid one)? People lack basic science knowledge, why make things worse?!

OP, I understand what you mean. My son has issues with those types of shows. He understands the purpose of a commercial (to sell you product, claims often not legit, all marketing). He understands the concept of marketing & advertising so his argument is that the shows aren't trying to sell a product so might be legitimate. I try to explain the purpose of the show is to market the channel and to entertain. Those Discovery shows are like the kiddie version of "make a million selling real estate with no money" late-night infomercials. Think how many adults fall for all that “but wait, if you call now, limited time offers”.

Anonymous wrote:Bummer, I thought we were going to talk about Spinal Tap and Best in Show.

"This one goes to eleven."

"You can't really dust for vomit."