WTF was this garbage?

I found this very disturbing....

On the TV guide on demand it does NOT state that this is fiction. it does NOT say mockumentary. It actually said "Documentary." So, I don't care what the hell excuse you have, that is wrong and deceptive.

I started watching it thinking the program was real. I wasn't expecting quote on quote "mermaids" but I was expecting an investigation into possible evolutionary discussions like the smithsonian channel has presented exploring the depths of undiscovered territories in our oceans.

There are some pretty unbelievable creatures that are in reality (not fiction) living in our oceans; creatures that have crazy colors and strange anatomy. So I was expecting to see something that had been found that was close to a mermaid in that it might have anatomy close to a human in some parts of the creature's body.


As I started watching it I immediately became suspect because the acting was so TERRIBLE, but I didn't automatically turn away because I thought maybe they had people who were reenacting actual stories to protect the identities of scientists who might feel persecuted by the scientific community (this has actually happened before with for example those studying linguistics and were blacklisted by Noam Chomsky and his lap dogs).

I was very surprised that NOAA didn't sue these people for defamation because usually mockumentaries, parodies, or any other type of fictional film can use the abbreviations or acronyms of well-known organizations, but NOT the full title. But these clowns somehow thought that they would get away with that because they stated many times "National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration." That is also what really pissed me off. They were using an actual reputable group's name with this garbage.

Now, I might have been able to warm up to the film had it for one thing been really entertaining, or had it been on the Syfy channel (like it should have been in the first place) but the fact that they were trying to pass it off as real with no disclaimers (and they KNOW they were) on a channel that prides it self with documentaries on real earth science like Meteorology and studies of the universe and other planets etc. Then they pull out this utter garbage.....it is really insulting.

Also, to those who say "oh come on. of course it was fake! how could anyone think it was real."
Well, let's think about an 11 or 12 year old who is sitting next to you. Or maybe someone who has perceptive or neurological problems, or is mentally challenged in some way. Or maybe someone who has a regular tv compared to those large plasma screens and can't see the tiny microscopic print that was displayed after ALL the credits had rolled that finally said "this was fake." By the way, I didn't see this until articles in the news reported this story and mentioned that a pathetic excuse for a 'disclaimer' was added.

I mean, if this was april fool's day or something I might laugh, but it isn't april fools....so what the heck?

I think I am going to boycott the Discovery channel from this point on. I barely watch animal planet to begin with so there wouldn't be much point to boycotting that.

oh and let me just add this: what is the pleasure or entertainment of seeing whales bleeding out their ears? I don't find that amusing and I wouldn't want to see that unless it was a real problem that was being presented seriously to those watching. Watching animals being tortured isn't entertaining at all, at least not for those with a healthy mind. It would be like watching one of those humane society ads asking for money to help abused dogs and cats and then at the end of the ad seeing the sentence "ha, we were just kidding!" I'm surprised PETA isn't already out there yelling about this.