January 31, 2007

Best Evidence: Bigfoot

The Discovery Channel has a new series called Best Evidence.

Best Evidence combines dramatic documentary storytelling with today’s technology and advances in science to unravel and test both long-held and recent mysteries. We go to any limits — using science rather than loose conjecture — to make definitive points leading us to the very Best Evidence. Get a preview of the upcoming episodes.Discovery Channel

The second episode of this new series deals with the examination of the evidence for Bigfoot and airs Thursday night, February 1st.

That’s a topic that has been discussed here on Cryptomundo, most recently in my blog entries Digging For Proof of Sasquatch and Science and the Sasquatch.

Episode 2: Bigfoot
It is one of the most enduring unresolved mysteries. Is the missing link between early humans and apes alive today in the dense temperate forests of the Pacific Northwest? In 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin were investigating reports of Bigfoot/Sasquatch sightings in the Bluff Creek area of Northern California. They struck gold when their film camera captured a 22-second shot of an alleged female Bigfoot before she disappeared into the woods. Most scientists believe that this film record and a set of footprint casts that accompany it are an elaborate hoax. But a few self-proclaimed experts make the opposite, startling claim. To them, it reveals compelling proof of a living human-ape. We consulted with numerous researchers and professionals — from anthropologists to orthopedic surgeons to a famous special effects makeup artist — to evaluate some of the best evidence. Also, we obtained four casts from the Smithsonian Institution as well as the shaky Patterson-Gimlin film. Using new digital video enhancement and stabilization techniques, as well as the expertise of Stanford University’s Gait Laboratory, BEST EVIDENCE examines the film creature’s costume, posture and gait frame-by-frame against the movements of an actor in a suit. The results will surprise even the most skeptical viewer.
Premiere: Feb. 1, 2007Discovery Channel

Published today in the ISU Bengal, the student newspaper of Dr. Jeff Meldrum’s university, is the following article.

Professor to discuss ‘Bigfoot’ Legend on Discovery Channel Feb. 1
University Relations
Posted: 1/31/07

Dr. Jeff Meldrum, associate professor of anatomy and anthropology in the Idaho State University department of biological sciences, is scheduled to appear Feb. 1 on the premier episode of the Discovery Channel series “Best Evidence.”

The episode, titled “Bigfoot,” includes an interview with Meldrum in his ISU lab. He discusses his research into what some believe may be footprint evidence for Sasquatch. The episode also depicts his work in progress at ISU’s Idaho Virtualization Laboratory, directed by Ralph Chapman.

Duplicate casts of footprints found at the site of the controversial Patterson-Gimlin film clip, alleged to depict a Bigfoot encountered in northern California in 1967, were obtained from the Smithsonian Institution and virtualized in 3-D.

Meldrum also traveled to the Motion & Gait Analysis Lab at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University in Calif. to confer with Dr. Jessica Rose, researcher and director of the lab, and Dr. James Gamble, affiliated orthopedic surgeon. They conducted a re-examination of the Patterson-Gimlin film with particular attention to details of the film subject’s gait, or pattern of walking.

The Discovery Channel notes, “‘Best Evidence’ examines the film creature’s costume, posture and gait, frame-by-frame against the movements of an actor in a suit. The results will surprise even the most skeptical viewer.”

The program is scheduled to air Feb. 1 (check local listings for times).

Meldrum recently published the book, “Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science” (Forge/Tom Doherty Associates, 2006), which examines whether evidence indicates a real primate species lies behind the legend of Sasquatch, or Bigfoot.ISU Bengal

Here in Central Time Zone land, the show airs at 8 PM and again at midnight this Thursday night, February 1st. It re-airs February 15th at 1 PM Central as well.

And another thing, what photo is Discovery using to promote this show on their website? Again, it’s the classic Ivan Marx photo!

Will the science used in this program answer any of Ben Radford’s questions?

“Where is the science in the search for Bigfoot?”

Where, exactly is the science?

Is Jeff Meldrum’s analysis about anatomy (based on a FILM) good science?

Is Fahrenbach’s Bigfoot analysis good science?

Is the BFRO’s Skookum cast analysis good science?

If so, by what criteria? I challenge anyone to show me how any of the above (which are among the most touted examples of science being applied to Bigfoot) are good science. Pick a widely-accepted list of criteria for the scientific method and see how the above research measures up– or doesn’t. Ben Radford

Filed under Bigfoot, Bigfoot Report, Breaking News, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Evidence, Eyewitness Accounts, Forensic Science, Sasquatch, Television