Finding Bigfoot (2011– )
3/10
Not sure about this...
13 January 2013
I watch this show all the time, although I know the outcome is going to be like the dozens of Loch Ness Monster specials that have been done: Nothing will be found. At this point I watch not expecting them to find anything, but rather to see and hear the asinine things that will be said and done.

I find it comical that certain cast members are certain that they "know" many things about sasquatches, although they have never observed or verified any of them. Arrogant, self-assured Matt "knows" what sasquatches eat, how they track and kill game, that they're nocturnal, and that they use howls and knocks to communicate. On one show, he proudly announces that he was the one who "discovered" that they communicate with wood knocks - never mind that the creatures may not even exist. The fact that he attended law school in Ohio and chose his school in large part because of its proximity to alleged bigfoot sightings tells you where his focus is. Matt has been accused of using a reverse scientific method - taking his desired conclusion (that bigfoots exist), then cherry-picking evidence, no matter how thin, vague or inconclusive, to fit his desired outcome. Matt considers himself to be one of the foremost experts on these creatures, yet to call what he does "science" would be a considerable stretch.

Then there is hopeless, gullible Cliff. A one-time schoolteacher in California who quit his job and spent almost every night for the next year living in his car and searching for sasquatches, which he never found. I know that this will come as a shock, but he is divorced. Cliff frequently chimes in about bigfoot habits, which he knows even less about than Matt (who has allegedly at least seen a bigfoot). Then there is the inane chatter. Cliff, about a particular search area: "There are a lot of bears around here. There are some, but not many." I'm surprised that the editors didn't catch that he completely contradicted himself in two sentences. While talking about finding sasquatches, Cliff also injected the gem, "Water is the key." You can't get knowledge like this on just any program. When the team went to South Dakota, Cliff ran across a bison in the wild during a night investigation. He gushed for probably five minutes about how rare it is to see a bison in the wild. The next scene, an aerial view, showed probably 40-50 bison grazing on a hill. In one episode Cliff plays his guitar in the woods, which supposedly attracts any sasquatches looking for a concert or a dance hall.

Ranae, the trained scientist of the bunch, is the daughter of a professional daredevil (you can't make this up). She is the only non-Californian of the bunch, and the resident skeptic. While Cliff is ready to believe anybody, Ranae believes nobody. She comes up with implausible explanations for what people have allegedly seen - which the guys ridicule, because they have already decided that the people saw a sasquatch.

Bobo is the only member of the group who doesn't have apparent delusions about being a serious scientist. He is just out there for the fun of it. He is the only one of the bunch I would go out on an expedition with. He lost a bit of credibility with the statement that sasquatches speak Native American languages - which, if you smoked enough peyote, I'm sure you would hear them doing. Setting off fireworks in the woods was one of Bobo's brainchildren for attracting sasquatches. I'm sure animals came from all around to investigate the explosions and flashing lights. Right.

Whenever the team seems on the verge of finding anything, something invariably goes wrong - like four cameras in a remote watch location all failing at the same time (highly suspicious) or the DNA in supposed bigfoot hair being too degraded to identify what kind of animal it came from.

I am totally convinced that the crew is operating under false pretenses, and that they will never encounter a bigfoot (if they exist) doing what they are doing. Matt in particular is convinced that the creatures are nocturnal, yet a very large portion of alleged sightings have taken place in broad daylight. The crew also makes a great deal of noise in the woods, believing that they are stimulating curiosity in these creatures. If I wanted to drive away every animal within a five-mile radius, I would do exactly what they do: Go into the woods, yell and bang on trees. They don't seem to know even the most rudimentary things about animal behavior.

The shows have taken on an air of considerable predictability, which they will have to fix if the series is renewed. They follow a set pattern, with only a change in location each week.

To their credit, the cast has done a cute commercial for Wendy's in which they encounter a sasquatch coming out of the restaurant carrying a bag, and all they can talk about is the sandwich he is carrying.
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