Movie Monday: History Channel’s “Bigfoot: The Definitive Guide”

I haven’t done a Movie Monday post in a while, but I finally had a chance to watch the History Channel’s Bigfoot: The Definitive Guide so I have something to write about.

The show’s premise was as follows:

A team of top scientists come together with one goal: to create the definitive guide to Bigfoot. Does the creature exist? And if it does where is it? And how can it survive without being detected?

I found it to be one of the most excellent paranormal documentaries on the subject yet. In my opinion, it set a new standard. Here’s what I liked about it most:

1. The credible experts, including Dr. Jack Rink, Dr. Anna Nekaris, Dr. William Sellars, Dr. Jeff Meldrum, and Dr. Ian Redmond. (Notice something about them all? They’re not plumbers, wannabe actors, etc. They’re all doctors who approach Bigfoot from a scientific mind frame. Love it!)
2. The map of all the Bigfoot sightings. They plotted more than 10,000 sightings worldwide to indicate a series of “global hotspots.” If you want to know the very best places to try and look for Bigfoot, this guide laid it all out for you.
3. The stories they used to illustrate the various more credible sightings. They didn’t just focus on current sightings. They used ones that went back quite a way, and from a variety of different people. (ie. Native Americans as well as early settlers to Northern California and British Columbia.)
4. The three solutions they posed Bigfoot might be. If Bigfoot does turn out to be something, they posed three possibilities of what Bigfoot could be: Gigantopithecus, Homo heidelbergensis, or Squamish Indian shamans-in-training (a.k.a. “wild men” ). The first one is a type of ape species (which I found interesting because I always think Bigfoot will turn out to be an ape of some kind, whether Gigantopithecus or something else, such as a hybrid humanzee). The second was a species of early man. The last was very curious hypothesis because these shamans-in-training have to completely isolate themselves from people, live off the land, and it was suggested end up becoming so wild like that they could resemble a Bigfoot creature. The trouble with the last one, which Dr. Redmond was quick to point out, was, “But that wouldn’t explain the very real phenomena of what gives Bigfoot its name: the case of the big feet.” (Unless shamans are singled out to become shamans because of some distinguishing feature/characteristic like big feet, which would be doubtful but intriguing if it were true.)
5. The kind of thinking that was going on and the discussion that was taking place. Lots of discussion and going back and forth about possible solutions. It was refreshing to see people working together, not always agreeing, but always keeping an open mind and looking for new ways of looking at the situation.

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

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Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.