"Mysteries Of The Abandoned" airs on the Science channel Thursdays at 10 ET. Each episode covers the history behind several abandoned structures. It's introduction reads:
They were once some of the most advanced structures and facilities on the planet, standing at the cutting edge of design and construction. Today they are abandoned, dangerous, some of the even deadly. From uninhabited cities to empty factories, these long forgotten engineering marvels are scattered across the globe.
The series began on April 20th. I have seen five episodes to date. Topics include:
- The Marx Generator (a Soviet era lightening bolt weapon designed to stop incoming missiles)
- Zeljava (a Croatian air base built in the side of a mountain),
- Goat Canyon (the world's largest wooden trestle bridge located in California)
- The Grand Goulets (a very dangerous mountain road in the French Alps)
- Duga-3, aka "The Russian Woodpecker" (a large Soviet era over-the-horizon radar system located in the Ukraine)
- Hashima Island Japan (once one of the most densely populated places on earth)
- The city of Pripya (abandoned after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster)
- Peenemunde (the WWII German V2 rocket program that later became the basis for Operation Paperchip and the US space mission).
While I knew about some of these places (such as Hashima), there were many more that I hadn't heard of-- such as the Soviet entries. If you like old abandoned stuff like I do, this might be the show for you. I hope there are many more episodes. Also check out @abandonedspaces on Twitter for many more cool places.
GMonsterTV
TV: Heavy On Sci Fi, Horror & Adventure
May 29, 2017
May 29, 2017
Not a bad show; it's informative, eventually. First, though, we must suffer through the list of at least three examples of what this mysterious object/ place might be (but isn't) before the facts are revealed. Also, I find "Engineer and Adventurer" Rob Bell's comments to be excruciatingly benign; he contributes NOTHING to the program. A typical observation: "When you first see this place, it's obvious, you can tell something happened here." Wow. Thanks for your brilliant insight, Rob. I suspect this guy was hired to provide a little eye candy for their female viewers but, other than that, his presence is entirely ancillary. To be fair, however, he does demonstrate a remarkable flair for stating the obvious with a degree of passion, which almost makes it sound like he's added something we didn't already know (almost, but not quite). Another thing that annoys me is the narrator asking, before every commercial break, "What is this thing, and why was it abandoned?" I think a more important query would be, "If you don't know, Mr. Narrator, why should I continue to watch?" Anyway, that particular phrase does have some merit; it's my cue to hit the mute button or to change the channel (in addition to finding Rob Bell's comments completely useless, I also HATE commercials). Great post, though - I saw each of the episodes cited above. They could knock it down to a half-hour program if they would abandon the requisite misdirection, but I suppose that would just give the narrator something else to wonder about ("Why was our show cut to thirty minutes, and why ...").
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