Let me first explain that I find cryptozoology fascinating, notwithstanding that most of the more famous specimens are either hoaxes (e.g. Loch Ness Monster - The "Surgeon's Photo" has been clearly proved to be a hoax) or are very unlikely to be real (e.g. Bigfoot/Sasquatch - unless they hibernate, they would be very trackable in winter in the snow in their so-called environments and we certainly would have captured one or found a corpse by now). However, the world is indeed a large place with large tracts of wilderness that can hide significant sized animals for extended periods of time, such as the coelacanth and the Okapi (which was just photographed in the wild for the first time this year). So, while I have a healthy dose of skepticism, I also do not reject all claims of unknown creatures as nonsense.
Destination: Truth ("DT"), which is known as Monster Hunter outside of the U.S., is definitely the sort of show I might find interesting if it was at all well-done. Unfortunately, DT is about as far from well-done as is possible in fact, about the only thing they could do to make this show worse is hire the ridiculously melodramatic old actor who narrated the second season of the similar Animal Planet show, Animal X.
Where to begin? Let's start with Josh Gates, the star of the show and so-called leader of the merry gang of cryptozoologists. Gates might be the most obnoxious person on television these days. It is rare to find a person whose ego is so unjustifiably bloated, even more so than his gut hanging over his safari belt. Gates leads his team of "investigators" on trips to various parts of the world where, if the local people are unsophisticated, Gates takes great pleasure in mocking them, sarcastically quizzing them on little bits of 21st century Americana, getting satisfaction from the blank or puzzled looks with which they respond. Another favorite subject of Gates' scorn is the rudimentary transportation they take, which seems to break down in almost every episode. As soon as they get to the region where they think their cryptid is to be found, Gates has them set up their "base camp" with their tents and equipment. Usually, the only reason that such a camp is set up is so that Gates can have someone with a walkie-talkie perch there and respond to his "Josh to BASE, Josh to BASE" calls on his walkie-talkie, arrogantly pretending he is some sort of macho military figure or great explorer rather than the unqualified, pompous, lard-*ss he actually is.
What kind of cryptids do they investigate? They have gone to very remote areas of Africa and South-East Asia to investigate sea monsters, giant owls, dinosaurs, etc , as well as the yeti in the Himalayas, suicide-inspiring ghosts in Japan and elves in Iceland. So far, they have discovered exactly zero concrete proof of anything. They have some extremely inconclusive videos and tape recordings of movements and noises in the dark, and some unknown footprint casts but nothing more. There is a very good reason why they do not uncover any real evidence: they spend a lot less time investigating these mystery creatures than it takes for them to travel to these far-off locales. Generally, they spend the end of an afternoon and part of a night traipsing around in the forest and then call it quits. Often, the reason given for why they have abandoned the search after only a few hours is because their batteries have run down on their equipment. Apparently, no one on the show, Gates included, is smart enough to think to bring extra batteries or maybe lug a gas generator with them in their jeeps that can recharge their batteries.
Most episodes seem to be modeled after The Blair Witch Project a bunch of people wonder around in the woods with infrared cameras becoming terrified at the slightest little noise. A viewer is more likely to get motion sickness from all of the shaky camera work than to become either scared or convinced there is a genuine point to anything that they do. Most episodes feature someone named Erin Ryder, whom Gates refers to just as "Ryder" on their team of investigators. Ryder appears to have been involved with a bunch of third-rate reality TV shows (including one with the Pussycat Dolls), has no scientific credentials and seems to have only two qualifications for the job: she looks pretty good in tight camp shorts and she screams as well as any girlie-girl in a B-movie horror flick any time a large bug, small bat or large gust of wind passes nearby.
So, if you love The Blair Witch project and want to see people pretending to be in that movie screaming "What the f^&%^#^ was that???" at every tiny little noise they hear at night, Destination: Truth is the show for you. If you like a show that actually has some connection with the truth and a real attempt at an objective, scientific-based documentary, then you will find that Josh Gates' show is a complete waste of time.
Destination: Truth ("DT"), which is known as Monster Hunter outside of the U.S., is definitely the sort of show I might find interesting if it was at all well-done. Unfortunately, DT is about as far from well-done as is possible in fact, about the only thing they could do to make this show worse is hire the ridiculously melodramatic old actor who narrated the second season of the similar Animal Planet show, Animal X.
Where to begin? Let's start with Josh Gates, the star of the show and so-called leader of the merry gang of cryptozoologists. Gates might be the most obnoxious person on television these days. It is rare to find a person whose ego is so unjustifiably bloated, even more so than his gut hanging over his safari belt. Gates leads his team of "investigators" on trips to various parts of the world where, if the local people are unsophisticated, Gates takes great pleasure in mocking them, sarcastically quizzing them on little bits of 21st century Americana, getting satisfaction from the blank or puzzled looks with which they respond. Another favorite subject of Gates' scorn is the rudimentary transportation they take, which seems to break down in almost every episode. As soon as they get to the region where they think their cryptid is to be found, Gates has them set up their "base camp" with their tents and equipment. Usually, the only reason that such a camp is set up is so that Gates can have someone with a walkie-talkie perch there and respond to his "Josh to BASE, Josh to BASE" calls on his walkie-talkie, arrogantly pretending he is some sort of macho military figure or great explorer rather than the unqualified, pompous, lard-*ss he actually is.
What kind of cryptids do they investigate? They have gone to very remote areas of Africa and South-East Asia to investigate sea monsters, giant owls, dinosaurs, etc , as well as the yeti in the Himalayas, suicide-inspiring ghosts in Japan and elves in Iceland. So far, they have discovered exactly zero concrete proof of anything. They have some extremely inconclusive videos and tape recordings of movements and noises in the dark, and some unknown footprint casts but nothing more. There is a very good reason why they do not uncover any real evidence: they spend a lot less time investigating these mystery creatures than it takes for them to travel to these far-off locales. Generally, they spend the end of an afternoon and part of a night traipsing around in the forest and then call it quits. Often, the reason given for why they have abandoned the search after only a few hours is because their batteries have run down on their equipment. Apparently, no one on the show, Gates included, is smart enough to think to bring extra batteries or maybe lug a gas generator with them in their jeeps that can recharge their batteries.
Most episodes seem to be modeled after The Blair Witch Project a bunch of people wonder around in the woods with infrared cameras becoming terrified at the slightest little noise. A viewer is more likely to get motion sickness from all of the shaky camera work than to become either scared or convinced there is a genuine point to anything that they do. Most episodes feature someone named Erin Ryder, whom Gates refers to just as "Ryder" on their team of investigators. Ryder appears to have been involved with a bunch of third-rate reality TV shows (including one with the Pussycat Dolls), has no scientific credentials and seems to have only two qualifications for the job: she looks pretty good in tight camp shorts and she screams as well as any girlie-girl in a B-movie horror flick any time a large bug, small bat or large gust of wind passes nearby.
So, if you love The Blair Witch project and want to see people pretending to be in that movie screaming "What the f^&%^#^ was that???" at every tiny little noise they hear at night, Destination: Truth is the show for you. If you like a show that actually has some connection with the truth and a real attempt at an objective, scientific-based documentary, then you will find that Josh Gates' show is a complete waste of time.