Finding Bigfoot Producer Says Cryptomundo Fans’ Comments Are “Misguided”
Posted by: Loren Coleman on January 27th, 2012
Are your comments “misguided”? Did you think Finding Bigfoot was made for you? Do you like being called a “Bigfoot geek”? Read on.
As you see in the comment section, Facebook remarks are sometimes forwarded from FB and posted in response to Cryptomundo blog postings. In the following case, the discussion over on Facebook resulted in some comments by one of the producers for the Animal Planet program, Finding Bigfoot that appeared worthy of posting on a blog level today.
Tyler William Bounds (pictured above) has infrequently found it important to address Cryptomundians in the past, about Season Two and regarding Season One.
As a little background, this is how he introduced himself in 2011:
“Hello Mr. Coleman. First, I’m a longtime fan of yours, your books, your museum, and of Cryptomundo.
I’m a member of the BFRO, and I consider all of the cast members, including Moneymaker, good friends.
I was a production assistant and ‘fixer’ for a few episodes – GA, OR and WA.
I am actually the one who found the prints in GA.
I was employed by the production company.”
For his latest, as posted publicly on Facebook, a long way around, in response to a FB announcement of a post here, Tyler William Bounds typed:
As a crew member on the show, I often end up defending the series and correcting people’s misconceptions about how and why the producers and cast choose to do what they do, and why certain witnesses or pieces of footage are selected to be featured. But since it seems people are automatically biased against anything that is connected to the BFRO, I’m tiring of trying to explain the particulars to people who don’t have an understanding of how making television works. People have very polarizing opinions of what is or isn’t shown, who is or isn’t on the show, and which cast members are “legit” and which ones aren’t. Several of the comments on this thread, and on the Cryptomundo page, are misguided, which is understandable, since not everyone has all the facts, or they are relying on secondhand stories that they represent as “facts.” I have firsthand knowledge of what goes on during pre-production, during filming, and after the cast and most of the crew have walked away from production and the footage is in the hands of Hollywood editors. It’s often times hard for me to read such blatant misrepresentations of something that I proudly work hard to help create, and thus hold close to my heart, but I’ve decided that no matter what I say, people are going to hate the show, are going to hate Moneymaker and the BFRO, and will criticize anything that the cast or production company is involved with. It’s a waste of my time to troll the internet, trying to correct every comment that is based on misunderstanding or some other type of logical fallacy. I’d rather spend my time in the woods, and enjoying my sudden (and surprising) occupation as Bigfooter Pulling Down a Paycheck To Go Bigfooting Across The Country. I love it, and if you had my job, you’d love it too. Thanks for watching the show.
And then, to JDC who wrote, “Hope your next post, if there is one, educates rather than attacks those fans of yours that sign that check you cherish,” Bounds replied:
The check that I cherish?” Nah. You don’t know me at all. I don’t do it for the money dude. I don’t do anything unless it’s fun, or an adventure, or a learning experience. Life is what you make it, and I have made mine a lot of fun. I make a living doing what I love to do, and that is success in itself. And as far as the show is concerned, I really don’t care if you or any of these other people on your page or on Cryptomundo like it or not- we don’t make it for you, we make it for the 1.6 million other people that watch it every week. If I was going to make a TV show for bigfooters, it would be a much different program, but I’m beholden to the network, not other bigfoot geeks.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Well the general criticism on here is that the show follows the same pattern and never shows any evidence while making wild claims throughout the show. I don’t really care how the production crew decides to splice the show together. We all realize that, but we are commenting on what is actually said on the show by the members. How can that be misguided? When Moneymaker or Bobo say “thats a squatch” to almost any noise, bone, impression in the ground, or any witness’ story; is there some kind of back story where the producers just slammed that together to make them say something that they didn’t say? If not, I would say pretty much most of the criticism on here is accurate, which is why this guy was unable to give specific examples.
I think we actually do have a very good idea of how and why TV is made, and the forces that shape what ends up on the tube. I see nothing in this rather pissy message to make me think otherwise. Interesting he used the term “misguided.” Somebody misguided, yup. At least he understands which side of the bread has the butter on it. The show is not for us, but for the maximum number of couch potatoes for the advertisers to hawk stuff at. As I said, we are well aware of that phenomenon.
Maybe if they would just admit that this show is based on actual events instead of trying to potray it as a documentary of actual events they would get a better response. I think the problem that people here have with the show is that it is put out as a scientific group forging ahead to prove the existence of bigfoot. But the truth is that it is a reality show that is using bigfoot as a plot device.
I guess I’m just a Bigfoot geek.
I just think that this needs to be handled differently if the Finding Bigfoot people are actually serious about the search.
I mean, BFRO touts itself as the ONLY scientific organization on this hunt. I”d disagree, and say besides that the TBRC is not only truer to science but took the right tack if, as I have seen alleged, they were tapped for this show and declined. Science is not conducted for ratings in people’s living rooms, nor with tag-along groups (paying for the privilege no less) in the woods.
From everything I have seen – and one does not have to watch the show to come down with this, just watch the duelling comments – FB is, indeed, geared to titillate a TV audience largely ignorant both of proper scientific protocol and of the breadth and depth of the evidence. It trivializes the topic, which I would hope is not BFRO’s intent.
I rarely side with a member of the skeptical fringe. But Sharon Hill has one thing right:
[Science is] an entire process of collecting the information and synthesizing it into reliable knowledge. It’s not done by one person; it’s a community effort. There are rules and protocols. It’s REALLY HARD and takes A LONG TIME. That’s why we respect it so much. … I would argue …there is no way I would consider what BRFO does to be scientific. I think they misuse the term to mean “careful” and “systematic” but, for many reasons, they fail at achieving the high bar of “scientific”.
The BFRO database is pretty careful (much of the time) and systematic (as any database should be). But the BFRO approach on Finding Bigfoot isn’t a scientific one. One can separate the activities as I do, and call the former wheat, and the latter pretty damaging chaff. More damaging than Ray Wallace, if you only ask me, because it’s being underwritten by “The only scientific research organization exploring the bigfoot/sasquatch mystery.”
Glad Mr. Bounds is doing what he loves. But if I were him, I might not love it so much.
Well, I know the show at least wasn’t made for THIS Bigfoot Geek; I don’t have cable. Nevertheless I would probably be watching it every week if I did, not only for the subject matter, but for the fact that Ranae is a cutie. 🙂
Having said that, there is a balance on shows like this between factual reporting and entertainment. You often have to balance making it fun with factual data, or otherwise the show might lose ratings. A similar phenomena occurs in our mainstream media (I’m thinking Fox News here especially).
Are there legitimate critiques? Of course. Many on this blog point them out. I personally think the show, structured as it is with quick stops in reported Bigfoot territories, will not find a single Sasquatch. Nor will they get what is needed to prove it: a body, i.e. by shooting it. Which is well for the show, so that they can keep it on the air and keep people’s jobs, but in that particular regard it does a disservice to the quest for Sasquatch itself (a never-ending journey is not an end unto itself). However, at least it is getting people better awareness of the issues of cryptozoology, and the fact that a skeptic is on the show as well as believers adds a self critique that is needed in this type of research.
Personally, after seeing some episodes on youtube, I prefer the old MonsterQuest series. But that’s just me.
Oh, I don’t doubt that I am misguided…Wrong-Way Corrigan was always a hero of mine…
But I’m not THICK enough to consider FINDING BIGFOOT to be anything more than what it is.
Tabloid TV.
Low grade entertainment for the masses.
It is not (and was never designed to be) a useful contribution to the field of Bigfoot Research.
But there’s no shame in that. Make the show, collect your profits, and enjoy.
Just don’t ask for the respect of those who are serious about the subject.
Ha!
Actually, I like the way he says “other bigfoot geeks,” indicating he is one, too. He seems like a decent young man, TCB. I’d buy him a beer and shoot the s–t for a while.
Anyone can say what they want regarding the show. One thing for certain is it has brought awareness of the subject to many millions of people who otherwise had no clue. People are now talking about the sasquatch and accepting their existence and many more feel empowered to report their own encounters now that its more popular and not considered such taboo. Every “research” organization has had a spike of new reports since the show began, now how can that be bad? I appreciate what the finding bigfoot team has done for research and more importantly the recognition and soon the protection of this species.
“I really don’t care if you or any of these other people on your page or on Cryptomundo like it or not- we don’t make it for you, we make it for the 1.6 million other people that watch it every week.”
This guy doesn’t get that we are part of that market share! his boss should send him for remedial marketing training.
He should get sasquached for that remark
Mr Bounds is part of BFRO, and you gotta expect him to side with his group and defend the show. Even MonsterQuest wasn’t able to find proof, I’m still a big fan of the show. It educated the general public about Cryptozoology. With reguards to Destination Truth, the Yeti foot print looks a awful lot like the Sumtra Bigfoot print. Destination Truth is produced by the same company as Finding Bigfoot. I think Sharon Hill’s comments have merit. The goal of most Bigfoot hunters (myself included) should be, to find irrefutable evidence of these animals existence, that even the scientific community cannot ignore. I don’t think alot of people take the show seriously, except for us. Talking to my students, they related that they treat the show like one of those reality type shows, like Swamp People and Ax Men.
He can make all of the comments he wants, but the reality of the situation is his TV show sucks. They should change the name from Finding Bigfoot, to Finding Something That’s Not Bigfoot, because every little thing that happens they assume was a Bigfoot.
“enjoying my sudden (and surprising) occupation as Bigfooter Pulling Down a Paycheck To Go Bigfooting Across The Country.”
Need there be more said? Money makes the weak biased.
Him defending the show is fine.
I wasn’t offended by any of his comments, and maybe even give props to him for coming to bat for the show.
However, it doesn’t change the fact that I think the format of the show is TERRIBLE. Lots of the content too.
MonsterQuest was great.
And since I’ve heard this twice now…. can anyone back up TBRC being approached and declining before BFRO? If that could go beyond a rumor, I think there’d be something very very revealing and meaningful there.
I blame the constant sensory assault by ‘The Media’ for my “misguided” ways! 🙂
The show has shed light on the Bigfoot phenomenon and the people that believe. Unfortunately this light has exposed an entire organization as a bunch of buffoons. In my opinion almost all credibility is gone.
Roboo8:
Hello
“Even monsterquest wasn’t able to find proof”
For Bigfoot and a bunch of other cryptids, yes, but thee were some shows where they did find what they were hunting, or thought they were hunting. For example, they did catch video of a enormous, possibly a species of super Humboldt squid, in the sea of Cortez (could also have bee a giant squid, but if it was it was one for the record books: estimated over 100 ft if a Giant Squid, 60 ft for Humboldt). That vid can give one some nightmares. They also had a guy who after the expedition into a river failed to turn one up, pulled in sharks inside a fresh water river. Also found a big Greenland shark in fresh water too that episode. The episode on giant bears, though failing to find anything, did reveal previous off the wall finds (a Polar Bear deep inside the state of Alaska (I think hundreds of miles from the coast), a Grizzlar (a Polar/Grizzly hybrid, the first wild one found), and an unusual giant Brown bear shot on an island where they are only a third the size of the one shot (1200 lbs). There was an encounter with several record-sized Crocs on one show. However, the vast majority of episodes found nothing resembling a new species, and even the one about the super squid is not for certain (like I said, it could have been a giant squid), But I’d bet that Finding Bigfoot has found far less evidence for its quarry than Monsterquest found for critters it went after.
In my opinion, this Tyler William Bounds is just another spoiled brat with NO SENSE of reality.
“I don’t do it for the money dude”? Yeah, good for you. Planting evidence, faking footprints, knocking on wood, yeah, that kind of stuff you have to really hate to do for money. Hard work like that is something you wouldn’t do for free, right Tyler William Bounds?
Yes, in my opinion you faked everything. In my opinion that whole show is a hoax to generate money for all the other spoiled brats who work on that show.
I am wrong? Really? Prove me wrong Tyler William Bounds…show us a Bigfoot. What’s that you say? You can’t? Yeah, we all know you can’t…so much for your “FOOTPRINT”.
Matt Moneymaker, Justin Smeja, Tom Biscardi, Cliff, BoBo, etc, etc, etc, in my opinion you are all fakes! There is NOTHING OUT THERE, and YOU ALL KNOW IT!
“Don’t do it for the money” Tyler William Bounds? Well then do it for free or shut up and take your critisim
I claim BS on you, and your show. We all know this season was filmed last summer and you found NOTHING. So don’t sit there and claim you are some free spirited guy on the hunt for adventure…we already know you are not.
In my opinion you are just another chubby little spoiled brat who found an easy wake to make money by faking evidence for other chubby little spoiled brats.
Prove me wrong little brat….show us anything REAL about Bigfoot….yeah, you can’t.
Go fake some more evidence from an animal you can never find. 1.6 million people can’t wait to see what you fake next…what size shoe do you wear chubby?
Just my opinion
Finding Bigfoot? No. FAILING Bigfoot? Yes. The show is an insult to all but the easily amused. Whatever credibility the BFRO once had is being eroded to Biscardi status faster than you can say “Moneymaker”. The best we can hope for is that this blight on serious cryptozoology passes quickly into the realm of “atrocious television misfire” territory. And fast.
Hapa,
In reguards to my comments about Monster Quest. You are absolutely correct. I think what I should said is that they did not find any definative proof of Bigfoot. But it is not for a lack of trying. Out of all the shows I have watched, Monster Quest has been the only one to try using the most up to date equipment out there. Like I said in my first blog. I am a big fan of the show. In fact I own the whole series on DVD. I guess with what I am now seeing on televsion, I’m dissapointed with how bigfoot hunters are being protrayed. We need shows with Loren Coleman, Rick Noll and Jeff Muldrum leading the way. They give monster hunting a good name.
We don’t have the show yet in england so i checked them out on YouTube and i have to say they fall far short of the likes of Monsterquest etc!!
Every sound and shadow is a Bigfoot.
The only credible one is the lady Renae and she is shouted down and belittled at every oportunity,yes she may be sceptical but at least she has a brain in her head!
Moneymaker by name and Money maker by nature!!
The show with the thermal image was a joke,every time he opened moneymaker opened his mouth fluent rubbish came out,plus running into the bush after the creature,which was really a local who was curious as to what was going on(not mentioned later in the episode)
I could ramble on for hours but the fact is these people are making a both serious and fun subject to love and be involved in no more than a joke!!
BOBO,well i can’t even describe him,he’s only there to be a bigfoot size comparison,there really is something strange and not quite right about that !!
This could have been a good show but as far as i’m concerned the cast and the way they go about thigs are terrible…apart from Renae!!
And last but notr least for god sake stop saying SQUATCH….Bloody morons!!
That was strange and not not quite right about that bloke…..the comment regarding BOBO!!
If you don’t do it for the money, then don’t take any.
I doubt that the folks who run carnival sideshows have much respect for their patrons either.
Heh, I’m with Hapa, Bigfoot geek and proud of it! LOL I’m in good company!
But seriously I think Tyler is being a tad tunnel focused here. It’s like he’s reading the posts and thinking of only one thing, the “geeks want serious research not television”. Which is true. What he is not seeing is, the reason why the Bigfoot Geeks want serious bigfooting. It is because we KNOW what they are making IS TELEVISION not serious Bigfooting.
The discussions here tend to be about dissecting what we see, analyzing it and toss in our personal likes and dislikes. We then suggest (or stubbornly argue about) what we’d like to see. If you can’t accept that, than avoid posting your opinion or story here (which Tyler has done a few times).
ANYONE can do television (youtube has shown that) Not ANYONE can make television about good bigfooting (and good science for that matter). All the TV formula gets old you know, which is the biggest problem many (not all) cryptomundians have.
Now with that said, I’m not offended by Tyler’s comments, he’s promoting his show, as well as defending it(which is his job), he’s doing what he enjoys, that’s fine with me.
I’m just tickled that ” Believers” like Tyler called us Bigfoot Geeks, while the skeptics I’ve encountered say we are all believers…
LOL if being a Geek means I think TOO critically on subject, I’d rather be called a Bigfoot geek.”
MISGUIDED? This sounds like a word that should be used to describe every BRFO expedition.
I have to say this guys, but I kind of agree with him on his message, but not his slight insult even if he is defending himself. He doesn’t know any of us, and although I am a Bigfoot Geek, some of you here are not……..yet.
Now, I love Bigfooting(being a Bigfoot enthusiast by researching all related materials and possibly spending too much time in the woods looking for something that you can’t tell anyone about because they will think your crazy), and I love the show, “Finding Bigfoot” for its entertainment value.
What our friend, Tyler William Bounds, is saying is this: We are selling a beautiful square box. It is a fantastic square box and is perfect in every way, made with love and passion of all involved. You guys are looking for a round circle, not a square. That doesn’t make our square stupid or less than perfect, it makes it not what you want. So…….all the show haters should keep looking for their beloved perfectly round circles and stop trying to see a circle in a square box.
What do you think?
i love the show. or should i say i love the sasquatch. i am getting tired of the squatchy remarks and every little peep that mr. bo-bo hears he’ll call it a sasquatch. this man has in his words seen two bigfoots in his life and he thinks he’s the expert. don’t get me wrong but this type of clown stuff can’t be good t.v. it will get old fast bo-bo. you can’t really think that your the bf voice specialist. you get out more than i do but you are also getting paid to loaf in those woods bo-bo and cast. just don’t mess up a good thing.
Talk about making generalizations and stereotypes…
I’ve got a lot of respect for the BFRO and its efforts. However, the BFRO is not running the Finding Bigfoot show. It’s Animal Planet. The show is not aimed at the Bigfoot Geek…yeah, you’re right…it’s aimed at drawing in viewers anyway they can.
Sorry, but any show that takes a flir shot of a horse in the distance (end of the first season) and purposefully leaves the blob ambiguous without ever even answering what the image really was, is deceiving the viewers, geeks or not.
And yeah, let’s keep the show with some semblance of skepticism and scientific protocol. Every bone found in the woods is not and has not been gnawed on by “Squatch.” And when you’re out on a night hunt, every snap of a branch and sound is not a “Squatch” following you. That’s what gets to the readers of this site (at least it does me)–I’m willing to buy that BF’s are out there, but when the show’s main cast can’t come up with any definitie physical evidence other than snapping twigs and finding bones of dead critters, then that’s not scientific by any stretch of the word, and it’s not doing the BF community (here or elsewhere) or the BFRO any good.
Nuff said.
Perhaps this show, combined with the countless hours searching for the beast in many parts of North America without turning something tangible up (i.e. a body) might bring us to the conclusion that A. 99.9% of Bigfoot sightings/encounters are not legit, and B. the other 0.1% of sightings is in areas where people have not really “Looked” at. Particularly in dangerous terrain, like the Nahanni Valley in Canada (I don’t know if Finding Bigfoot ever went there, but even if they did they would have to stay there for years before ruling out that region as Sasquatch habitat. Going to a hotspot for only a few days or weeks will not cut the mustard). Some might say that the above proves there is no such thing as Sasquatch, but based on the amount of good secondary evidence found so far, I can’t bring myself to that just yet.
We need committed, really committed people, to go into such wilderness areas and stay there for at least a few months, in order to do good Cryptozoological works. If I had the money, the time, the opportunity, I would go. Any Volunteers?
BTW: Since the vast majority of new species (on land) have been found in tropical, semi tropical regions in the world, should the focus of research for mystery hominids be focused in those regions of the world, instead of the Pacific Northwest?
No Sir, we are not “misguided” in wishing the show was edited differently to make some logical sense at times. I don’t think this guy quite understands where the criticism is coming from. Most of us are not anti-BFRO at all and consider it a great resource for information. And I don’t mind watching a show for “entertainment.” That’s mainly why I watch MonsterQuest as well. But then, it doesn’t make me squirm in my chair on a regular basis.
The problem I personally have with the show is that I’m of a certain age, and when one of the searchers whispers “I hear something” the viewer often can’t hear it. On most shows of this type the clip of the sound will be added during the editing process to highlight what was heard, but not on this show. So we are left wondering why. Was the sound was really something easily recognizable like a train whistle? Or was the sound made by the production team? Or was the sound a figment of their imaginations? Or was there just no sound? How can we know if we can’t hear it?
And there was one episode in which they were sure they saw eye shine, but the cameras remained firmly on the searchers instead of turning towards the possible creature/whatsit. Why??? And this has happened several times. Also what is with these quick scans of the woods with the night vision that are so fast that the viewer has no time to focus on anything? I think Destination Truth does a much better job of slowing all that down for the viewer, plus at the end they play back all the audio several times. That would be a nice change.
Why not try some changes for the sake of the viewers? Don’t you sell advertising based on viewers? Don’t you care about ratings? Don’t you want the show to get better? This leave it or lump it attitude towards the viewers doesn’t bode well for the show’s integrity or longevity, in my opinion.
I think we are all in some cases guilty of being critics with something we may not quite understand. At any rate, even if they found a Bigfoot and got a thermal, would they be allowed to show it on TV? The government probably would have it’s hands in this, like they did with UFO Hunters. In my mind as a viewer we are having open minds, and thats a start but even if they spotted one on TV we may never see that episode. These are secrets our government knows but does not want to tell us. They know whats out there, and this is a FACT.
I saw some others posting about MonsterQuest. I loved that show it was my favorites. You can’t forget the episode about the Muskellunge (fish) they had in Minnesota, or the Lake Demons in Ogopogo! I thought they did an excellent job here. The episode called “Critical Evidence” was dynamite in my mind where they matched the technologies up to the times and determined the squatch in the Gimlin, Patterson film was obviously female and that she was about 7’4″… Think about that, that was the height of Andre the Giant!
The premise of the show is all wrong. If Animal Planet wants to get valuable BF evidence, they need to stop chasing “leads” that may or may not pan out, and instead fund a long-term, low-impact expedition in Northern CA or Oregon. Running through the location of a “recent sighting” with cameras, boom mics and a dozen PAs isn’t gonna get them anything. Also, get rid of this BFRO circus. Just because they run around chasing things doesn’t make them experts. They’ve proved that in the first season. Get in touch with hunting/fishing guides and people who really know how to track and operate in the wilderness.
I agree, and I think most viewers would love a show of this as well. Something more of a documentary of a long-term project that showed the reality of field research.