There is a lot of mindless garbage on television these days and while some of this entertaining drivel certainly serves a purpose, you can expand your horizons through some selective channel surfing. Contrary to popular belief, it is very possible to find educational TV shows that are also entertaining and fun. Here are five of my personal favourites.
Mythbusters
Is it possible to maintain a conversation while skydiving? Is a hot water heater really a rocket in disguise? Can you cook a hot dog by electrocuting it underwater? These are some of the questions that Mythbusters aims to answer, even if they don’t have any direct impact on your day to day life. Even so, there are many lessons to be learned, like correlation does not imply causation and we shouldn’t believe everything we see on TV or in movies.
There are many things that you may assume to be common knowledge, but many of these supposed “facts” aren’t true at all. You can tune in through the Discovery Channel to learn about exploding sharks, the bacteria on your toothbrush, and how to beat radar detectors. Alternatively, you can find Mythbusters on DVD
The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan
Even though I may not be a dog owner myself, I feel that we have a lot to learn from the Dog Whisperer. Cesar Millan says that he rehabilitates dogs and he trains people, because it is never Fido’s fault. Through the Dog Whisperer, we learn not only how to best interact with our canine companions, but also about the importance of being calm, assertive and balanced.
I found that many of the training techniques that Cesar employs on the show can also help you interact with dogs who aren’t your own. My friend’s dog has a habit of “wandering” when she goes for a walk, so I used some of the techniques described by The Dog Whisperer
The Dog Whisperer can be found on the National Geographic Channel.
House Hunters International
Some people say that one of the best places for you to invest your money is in real estate. Some people say that one of the best places to spend your money is on international travel. House Hunters International effectively approaches both of these areas of interest, walking us through the process of buying a home in many locations around the world.
You may recall that real estate is one of my little known interests, so this show is a natural fit. I learn a lot about what to look for when buying a house, as well as some of the regional differences when it comes to buying a home. Choosing a loft in New York City isn’t the same as looking for a villa in rural Spain.
House Hunters International, as well as related shows like Property Virgins, can be found on HGTV.
The Deadliest Warrior
Who would win in a fight between William Wallace and Shaka Zulu? What would happen if the Italian Mafia faced off against the Japanese Yakuza? The Deadliest Warrior simulates these battles that never happened in real life and never could have happened. There is even an episode featuring the legendary Spartans made famous in the movie 300.
In this show, which you can find on Spike TV, they equip these historical warriors with the weapons that they would have used at the time. For example, the Spartan was given a short sword, shield, spear, and javelin in his simulated battle against the Ninja, who was given a ninjato, black egg, shuriken, blowgun, and kusarigama. They test the relative effectiveness and simulate 1000 battles to see who is the deadliest warrior. Very cool.
House, M.D.
This television show happens to occupy a very special spot on this list, because it happens to be the only one that is fictional. Whereas the other shows are very much meant to be educational, House is a medical drama. That does not mean that you have nothing to learn from this show, however, and that’s partly why it’s one of my must-watch shows on television today.
Yes, part of the appeal has to do with the cold, calculating, and cynical nature of the show’s title character. The educational side is definitely there too, teaching us about part of the medical diagnostic process, a myriad of different conditions, and some of the ethical issues that may arise along the way. You can find many of the seasons on DVD
Do you have any favourite educational TV shows? I think that Jeopardy! could make the list too, but its lack of depth and discussion explain why it didn’t make the cut for me.
Used to watch “The Dog Whisperer” when the Chihuahua was younger. His techniques don’t seem to work on chihuahuas. Sure, they do on the show, but when you try it for real, the chihuahuas look at you like you’re crazy.
I occasionally watch “Mythbusters” too. “Time Warp” is another interesting one to watch.
While interesting, the Deadliest Warrior isn’t necessarily educational. The programmer bias when entering weapons into the computer tends to influence the results in that direction.
Mythbusters, however, is my favourite show on TV. Highly recommend watching the hot water heater episode (testing what happens to a hot water heater with safety measures disabled) and the episode where Adam tries to run on the treadmill while drunk 🙂
I liked the episode of “Mythbusters” where they were testing whether elephants were afraid of mice.
Weapons will kill much faster in a fight than bare hands. I always look for some type of weapon laying around if I have to defend myself. I have weapons at home within a step or two in each room to protect my family. While these may not be conventional weapons, they are the first thing I would grab before taking anyone on in a fight and I have over 15 years martial arts and MMA training.
I watch Mythbusters once in a while. It’s not my favorite. I also watch House with my wife and like it a lot for the intense drama of the mystery.
My favorite would be The Deadliest Warrior because I’m a martial artist and love that type of thing. It actually helps me learn more about strategy.
Mythbusters and House Hunters are some of my faves as well. I have a fascination with other people’s houses and how people decorate and shows like House Hunters, Property Virgins and even MTV Cribs have always interested me.
There’s a show called Sports Science that is pretty interesting. I believe it comes on Fox Sports Network here. I can usually get drawn into some of those half hour forensic shows as well, but I don’t make it a habit to tune in regularly.
From five of them I like House MD very much. It is such a good show to watch on television. I really like this show. The story and the cast of this show is also wonderful.