What Did You Think About The Season Two Premiere of Finding Bigfoot?
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on January 1st, 2012
So what did the Cryptomundians think of tonight’s premiere of Season 2 of Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot?
We welcome all opinions, but if you feel the need to call the cast members names, your comments will be edited/deleted per the site’s terms of use
The Finding Bigfoot team believes a baby bigfoot may have been captured on camera in the New York area, so they head out to investigate. Are the knocks they hear in the woods evidence of a sasquatch?
The Finding Bigfoot team heads to a small Quaker village in New York to investigate sasquatch activity. Several community members come forward to recount stories of local bigfoot sightings.
A man recounts the story of a possible bigfoot encounter that occurred in the Catskill Mountains, less than one hour outside of New York City!
A noisy baboon is brought out to help “arouse the interest of a curious bigfoot.” The team eventually hears mysterious howling in the woods. Is a sasquatch at the source?.
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
I think it was a man with his pet monkey
I really did not see any difference in the premiere than any of the other shows from last season. Was really disappointed. Thought they would of learned and changed the format some, but it looks to be another season of the same Animal Planet Reality style show, with the final 5 minutes having the climax scene.
I think a little better. At least when they got some eyeshine and they knew it was a deer they didn’t just leave it hanging like it was a bigfoot.
I think more BOBO/Cliff and Ranae and a lot less Matt…
I think the boys missed there one great chance to prank Ranae and scare the day lights out of her with a man in costume that would have been priceless
For pure entertainment value, they should replace Matt with Zach Galifianskis and put Matt in Hang Over 3.
I can’t watch this show very often. It’s not science, and though some people don’t like to hear this, science is how these animals must be either proven or debunked. They are going in with their minds already made up. They should eliminate all other possibilities before declaring “that blob of heat is a Bigfoot, this weird noise is a Bigfoot, Bigfoot are the only things that make noises in forests at night”. Unfortunately it’s growing in viewership and will only encourage the type of programming that is getting more and more rampant on Animal Planet and Discovery Channel.
Getting Matt off camera and in a strictly producing capacity = winning formula for this show. Also, slap anyone who uses the word “squatch” and slap them hard. No exceptions.
Science can prove an animal existed because of one bone fossil, but there have been many footprints and hair samples, but yet that isn’t enough?
I just saw them engage a zoologist in order for him to confirm that apes in their natural habitat are difficult to find and view by humans and will be extraordinarily elusive.
Then they invite musicians, bring along caged monkeys, stumble through the forest, and scream goofy Sasquatch calls hoping to get contact.
They say BigFeet are intelligent elusive beings and then expect them to be stupid for the show.
It is fun to watch. I enjoy watching them make complete fools of themselves. Maybe they will get lucky despite themselves.
“Squatches are known to swim underwater and pull ducks and geese under by their feet.”
????
Now that is a video I want to see.
The credibility of this show was so damaged in my eyes from last season, I just don’t know how I can trust to take it seriously this season. This is going to be just like Ghost hunters on SyFy…7 years later, we’ll still be no further along in finding the truth and they’ll still be bumbling around in the dark capturing heat signature blobs, sounds and footprints that could all be faked, misidentified, or….wait for it…”real”..ooohh…on to next episode. 😛
Tim–fossils are a lot more concrete than footprints and inconclusive hair samples. A substantial fossil (ie, not just a tooth) constitutes a body, and a body or a captured living animal is the way hypotheses get verified. Organisms that are known only from a single tooth or track always have an asterick by them–a cursory glance at a list of dinosaurs will show you this. Science is also quick to admit when it is wrong and change its paradigm–still on the theme of fossils, take for example the “brontosaurus”. That is something the people who host this show won’t do–admit that they are wrong, or that there are other possibilities. Time and resources should be dedicated to going out and capturing a live animal, locating a dead body, or just getting some authentic film of a Bigfoot, not running around in the dark jumping at noises, even if that’s what an entertainment audience wants to see.
I wanted to add back on topic of the show in question–sometimes they are too “expert” for their own good. I do not remember which episode this was as I tuned into the marathon randomly; I don’t think it was the new one, but they released a way-too-exact height for Bigfoot and doubted one eyewitness because what he described did not fit 100% with what they thought Bigfoot looked like. As there are no clear images and I doubt any of the cast has closely examined a Bigfoot long enough to be such an authority on its looks, this struck me as the ultimate in “knowing the answer before you look at the question”.
We should get it on Eden later in the year-looking forward to it
I am mystified as to why they took caged primates with them? Not a very good move territorial-wise (if Sasquatch IS territorial -evidence suggests it is) and…why not get sound recordings and hay/straw from primate cages at a zoo for full effect? Very weird.
The show makes a mockery of Bigfoot believers, if people watch the show and think all believers act like that then they will think were all idiots.
And seriously, how can they say that awful blurry video of a little monkey is “definitely” a sasquatch?!
Monkeys are not apes. The difference in species separation between what Sasquatch/Bigfoot probably are and what monkeys (e.g. baboons) are is so great that it would have made more sense to put a caged human in the middle of the woods.
The scientific foundation of this experiment defies all logic, and it is obvious this was done for pure entertainment value.
Regarding this one, I might come down on the side of PETA in any critique of this episode!!
I didn’t watch. This series seems exploitive to me, taking people who may actually believe in Bigfoot and turning them into cliched laughingstocks. The series about the turtle-wrangling hillbilly is in precisely the same vein- both series do their hosts a disservice, displaying them like carnival side shows. It’s sad for those in front of the camera, and I’m afraid they aren’t aware of how they are being manipulated. And just like the turtle guy hurts the image of the Southerner, “Finding Bigfoot” portrays the cryptozoologist as an out-of-touch bumbler, tramping through the woods chasing shadows. A sad commentary on a society seeking entertainment at others’ expense.
I am very excited that the show is doing so well that there is talk of a Season Three. Loved the marathon yesterday that culminated in the new season opener.
The New York baby footage is one of the most compelling pieces of footage in the whole Sasquatch mystery, so I was glad to see it explored in this episode.
All fandom squees aside, I really hate the use of caged animals in two of the shows now. I hope this is the end of it. I can’t see how anyone can be proud of subjecting a bunny or a baboon to fear and stress. That the show is put on by Animal Planet makes the practice even more inexplicable.
Loren,
As a reliable voice of reason, it would be nice if you would more forcefully denounce the ridiculous Finding Bigfoot show and their cloddish team. The “experiment” you describe above is emblematic of everything the team does.
Simply watching to the show for a few minutes will expose the anti-scienfic, anti-logicial, untruthful, and stupid way these guys operate.
By giving them a pass here on the site or pretending that they deserve anything but derision, I think you hurt your own cause. I appreciate your comments above but at this point, I think the show and the fame-whore team should be beneath contempt.
Best
“Blobsquatch Season 2” or “Snipe Hunt Season 2” . . . take your pick.
Well, so much for not calling the team members names…sheesh.
I agree with the sasquatch howl thing. I hate when they do those calls. They always talk about how smart bigfoots are and then they all do calls that sound distinctly different. The sasquatch would know that it’s not another sasquatch. And yes, the monkey thing is also stupid. Actually, I don’t think I’m sold on the tree knocking thing either.
lancemoody writes: “As a reliable voice of reason, it would be nice if you would more forcefully denounce the ridiculous Finding Bigfoot show and their cloddish team. The ‘experiment’ you describe above is emblematic of everything the team does.”
A few things need to be said about this.
(1) This posting is by Craig Woolheater, who may or may not have a different opinion of the show than I do. Nevertheless, I find it bad form to try to intrude into Craig’s posting with my feelings about the program, except as my comments apply to content realities;
(2) As those that read Cryptomundo closely have seen, the points of which I critique the program are based on differences, mostly, of fact. For example, I posted extensively on the historical reality of “wood-knocking” claims made on Finding Bigfoot (for example, please see here, here, and here; and
(3) I do appreciate the popular cultural significance of this series in terms of Bigfootery, hominology, and cryptozoology on television, which can actually be separated from how “good” or “bad” the content might be. For those reading my “Top Ten Cryptozoology Stories of 2011,” I have tried to make it clear that those picks (including Finding Bigfoot being on the list) are because something may be “popular,” not “scientific.”
So, didn’t watch this episode, and I’ll tell you why.
I watched ever episode of season one, except the recap/retelling/P&G footage episode because I was pretty sure nothing new would come out of that, at least nothing new to a cryptid fan who had once surfed the net for sasquatch info.
Anyway, over the holiday I caught some TV. Some new Ghost Adventures and some Finding Bigfoot ads. Seeing the Finding Bigfoot ads on TV, while I was watching my Finding Ghosts show, really made it click for me how stupid the FB is.
Finding Ghosts shows have consistently been on since 2004 (Ghost Hunters). I first started watching the show in mid 2007. Anyway, I was really excited about it. I liked how they were ‘scientific’ and debunked and found evidence, etc. I liked that it seemed to be about as serious and even open minded show about really trying to catch evidence of ghosts. Anyway, seasons and years later… most of the cast has changed, the episodes formula has altered but not changed much, they keep investigating the same way, and I suppose keep finding the same things. What’s to be learned from that? Not much of any real importance comes from the show and fans watch it. That’s it.
The TV spots for FB made it look like a ghost show. And that’s when I realized it’s so ridiculous. And I guess that’s based on how my mind works. I guess in the realm of everything, there’s a chance you could be anywhere and turn around and see a ghost. Probably 1 in ten billion, but a chance. The same is not true with sasquatches. But the show presents itself ‘if there’s woods, there’s a squatch chance.’
Aside from probably never finding anything on the show, I’d speculate that MM doesn’t want anything found, as it would partly belong to Animal Planet, no doubt, and mean less moneymade for him.
Also, as I understand it, MM and co weren’t going to do a second season unless they didn’t have to wear the camera packs and I think have a bit more control over the product….. one episode in, can anyone tell me if this is the case, or did it come of exactly the same as season one?
I found it interesting that they took a baboon with them into the woods. There is one scene in the movie Ghost and the Darkness (about the true story of the Tsavo Maneating Lione over 100 people in a short period of time), that showed Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas pinning a Baboon in the wilderness at night, with the plan to use its calls (said in the film to be irritating to lions, though I don’t know that is true) to lure it into the open, so they could shoot it…hmm…
I think next time, if they want to bring a primate out into the woods, they should bring either an Orangutan or Gorilla and see if there is any response to their calls (Orangutans are legendary for their booming vocals), assuming they could get them to make noise and would provide ample protection for the critters if the “Squatch hit the fan”. Such a big ape making noises in the woods might attract or provoke a Sasquatch to d something in response, but it might prove potentially dangerous. Who knows what would have happened if a cougar or bear tracked down that Baboon on that show and wanted a piece of Primate pie…
Talk about at the very, very, very very least, a ratings boost!
It would probably be a better thing to simply play loud recordings of these apes, and perhaps chimpanzees (especially Bili ape Chimps, due to their size, 300 lbs), so see if there would be a response.
I think they need to attempt some long term research in one location for a season. These short trips make the show too formulated. They repeat the same old stuff in each episode(woods at night, maybe camping, always shouting in the dark, analysis of some BF story/picture/, town meeting, back to the woods,Bobo- BF reenactment (nice to see Cliff at it!) shouting into the dark, chasing things you can’t hear or see, and if you are lucky, they put a rabbit or baboon in the cage to make things a little different) and you can tell its more for entertainment value than real research.
I did like the visit to the Zoo and how the Primate chap looked at the vid and saw it as a primate. Nice to see some folks in the field think with an open mind rather than shut the door on the possibility.
I also heard two of the so called calls. That was interesting, but again, how did they know it wasn’t some kid playing a prank on them? I mean people know they are filming in the area.
I was interested in this ep, because it’s about a hour and a half drive from where I live.
It was entertaining, but my opinion on the research value hasn’t changed. Too much Hollywood to be anything other than mind candy after a long day chasing kids.
I don’t watch these and here’s why:
1) Until the scientific mainstream gets involved in earnest we will have nothing;
2) The power of the evidence is in its volume and depth. If they aren’t dealing in that on this show they’re toast, because snippets and soundbites don’t look any different from UFOs, ghosts and other “paranormal” stuff;
3) Reading up is a much better way to become aware of – and impressed by – 2) above.
Shows like this strike me as a response to the scoftical shibboleth: “Give me your best/5 best/10 best pieces of evidence.” It’s a silly request: would you tell a physicist to convince you of relativity in five sound bites? This is the same thing.
I would like to see a show like this with professional hunters instead. Find an area with recent sightings and have them go and see what they can find. Maybe even get a body out of it.
When Matt and Renea came upon the “swanky” abandoned houses! LMAO oh man Renae was great! Define swanky. LOL!!! Then when he was telling her a squatch would seek out a mattress her face LMAO!!! She really must bite her tongue!
The most fascinating thing about that episode was what they called the “baby bigfoot” footage. That footage is simply bizarre. There is no other way to put it. I am wondering if any skeptics have come up with a possible explanation? Especially when it appears that the “baby” originated off the shoulder of a bigger entity before being viewed swinging in the tree. Unless these folks had a neighbor or visitor with a pet monkey that they took out for exercise and were able to retrieve, or else just by sheer chance happened to see one such pet simply being released (which is illegal) the baby bigfoot explanation does seem to be the default answer.
This show should be classified as a comedy. A few of my favorite lines are:
1) It’s well known that sasquatch love peanut butter and peanuts. (We know so much about their diet, but yet we can’t get a clear picture of what one looks like within the last 40 years).
2) Sasquatch have been known to pull ducks and geese under water from below. (Ummm…do I need to comment on this. How is it known that they do that?).
3) This baby bigfoot video is in my top 5 of all bigfoot videos. (the image is so small that it’s insane to jump to baby bigfoot. This most likely was someone’s pet that they brought out so that it could play in a tree for a while. I’ve seen owners of gibbons and monkeys carry them on their shoulders frequently. A baby bigfoot is one hell of a leap.)
Every noise, movement, is somehow a “squatch”. It becomes hilarious to watch one of these episodes.
The thermal footage is funny also. These guys go and do a town hall, all in small towns basically publishing that they are in town to research sasquatch. These people probably jump at the chance to get on TV by running by in the distance so that Matt Moneymaker can immediately call them a sasquatch. It would be better if they secretly went to a location and nobody knew about it. Everything about this show is elementary, but it’s so damn funny to watch.
[Cryptomundo editorial comment: This comment was edited to conform to the site’s terms of use.]
IMHO: “Baby Bigfoot” image analysis was absurd! With all the repetitive cutting and zooming into and out of the video, by the time one recognizes where in the shrubbery we are, and tries to separate the animal from the branches and leaves, they have switched to another viewpoint or gone to a cast member’s face or a commercial!
How about a SLOW, smooth viewing of the entire film (what there IS of it), showing the various pieces of “action” in their entirety, so the animal’s size, shape, mass, limb proportions and movements can be seen in context, rather the 0.3 second bits?
“Baboon In The Woods” was a cruel and insensitive way to treat an innocent young animal, and raised all sorts of concerns for the caged creature’s safety. As commenters suggested, it would seem to be a better idea to simply play LOUD recordings of apes, chimpanzees, 300-pound Bili apes, howler monkeys and gorillas to attract Sasquatches, not only because of their easy access but for their natural vocal timbre and unfamiliarity.
What’s with leaving Renae out in the woods overnite, ALONE (except for cameraman, soundman, producer, director, camp manager, security man and cook, I’ll bet), tippytoeing around in the dark with virtually no gear or techniques to attract the big guys? Outside of the danger, what did they expect to happen?
When they heard those distant knocks, WHY DIDN’T THEY TRY KNOCKING BACK??? They KNOW that there’s only two animals that can make loud wood knocks, and they say out loud that it must have been a Squatch, and then they wander off!
Ah, there’s more, but that’s enough for now. Next week?
I did check out the “baby bigfoot” site in the New Paltz, NY area back in the day, and can assure you that the area is squatch free. Minewaska (sp?) Park is large but even that area doesn’t hold any hope for bigfoots, in my opinion. Ulster County, no. Sullivan County and further north, absolutely.
In terms of the second season, I don’t know what to think because I only watched the “Further” episode, but based on Nielsen ratings, Finding Bigfoot: Further, did not meet APL’s expectations. Did the first episode of Season 2 fare any better?
I work on the show as a production assistant, cameraman, and as the hiking and camping coordinator. I am also a member of the BFRO. I won’t comment on the show and people’s seeming dissatisfaction with it in general, or the cast, or the production, as I have already done that back in June, when I discussed with Loren the discovery of possible bigfoot tracks while filming an episode in Georgia. But I will take exception to two assumptions made here in the comments.
1.) There is always a chance that there will be random people in our filming areas, but we go to great lengths to not tell anyone specifically where we will be filming. Maybe the person with a particular states’ Film Commission, who issued us the necessary permits to film in certain locations, told all of their buddies, and those people decided to come out and mess with us. I will concede that it is indeed possible. But in the majority of our filming locales, there was NOBODY around that would be doing that. We were often a long ways out in the wilderness, or had permission to be behind locked gates or in restricted access areas. We have necessary permits, or landowners’ permission, to go the places we went, and we strive to keep those places very secret. In some states, I can virtually GUARANTEE you that there wasn’t anybody within miles of us while filming. We film at night in out-of-the-way locations, and contrary to what you might think, there isn’t a Bigfoot Hoaxer Mafia, consisting of people obsessed with messing with researchers, or for that matter, film crews.
2.) In each state, myself and one cast member went and camped for 3 days, in areas of reported activity. There is NO other cast or crew members with us when we go out. We spend 3 days hiking and exploring, setting up audio recorders, trailcams, bait stations- all the things we, as dedicated and very serious bigfoot researchers, do when we are in our local areas, on our home turf, NOT making a television show. I took my responsibilities during those 3 days VERY seriously, and I worked very, very hard to make sure that everything that occured during that time was documented, and that anything happening that could be a possible bigfoot interaction was investigated to the best of our abilities. It was my job to film the cast members out doing their bigfooty stuff, but, for me personally, my duty as a bigfoot researcher was primary, and my job as a film crew member was always secondary.
Thanks for watching the show.
This show is useless. Pure and simple.
I’ve only watched a few episodes so far. Are they overzealous at times and making bold assumptions? Yes. But this is an area filled with grey, and I’m not aware of anything which sets the standard for finding these creatures, and still has a strong appeal to a TV audience. This is partly entertainment, and partly scientific research. Do they crossover? Absolutely. I guess I’m someone who would be in the overly-enthusiastic crowd then. I’ve never seen one, but have friends who claim they have. Thus I believe, combined with all the research I’ve done on my own. Until there’s a body lying on a slate, the science community will never concede about the existence of these creatures. The show has its flaws, but so did Monsterquest and Destination Truth. The field has become more mainstream from all these, although many people will disagree, of course. But until some of the other methods come up with incontrovertible proof, I would be reluctant to gainsay their methodology. Show me all the proof by other methods, and I’ll be the first to stand by your side. So far, we have numerous stories, some samples, and other pieces of evidence. No smoking gun, by “traditional methods” or media-hyped ones. I do believe in their passion, and that wins me over to an extent. I’ll also believe in the passion of those who cast doubt on the show, and look forward to future revelations, no matter where they hail from. I think we’re all looking for the same destination, but travel different paths.
BoBo, Cliff and Ranae are pretty solid–OK, when BoBo says something similar to Bigfoot swimming underwater being a well known fact, he loses me; Matt is way too ready to proclaim everyone’s sighting as a “Squatch” and too quick to dismiss others’ descriptions of what they saw because the color is off or the height, etc., do not jibe with his image of a Bigfoot (by the way, I am in favor of squelching the “squatch”, also).
More science and less hype is what the show needs. Perhaps they don’t have the resources to buy better and more equipment. This is pretty much my view on Destination Truth: great format and good people but their stays are too short and their rushing wildly at noises diametrically opposes their stated intentions. After all, why make such an effort to be covert only to rush off and scare away the thing for which you’re searching?
Jeff Meldrum, Anna Nekaris, et al, bring science to bear in an understandable and targeted approach. While the possibility remains, I doubt they would hold a Ho’ Down or new age drum ritual to tempt Bigfoot out of the forest.
Pheromones, recordings and better equipment, sans Matt Moneymaker on the talent side and the show might grow new legs. As it is, I watch mostly out of morbid curiosity all the while hoping they would listen to Ranae a bit more when she tells them what she sees instead of poo-pooing her “No, that’s a ‘Squatch’ no doubt about it” mantra.
I hope it gets better.
Every Ghost Hunters episode MUST have them asking the spirit to make itself known and every Finding Bigfoot show MUST have all the cast members scaring away the “SQUATCH(‘S)” with their ridiculous caterwallerin’. I’m sure it’s in the contracts. At least this time they got a REAL baboon to make noise, but did you notice he kept his mouth shut after it got dark? Maybe the bafoon-foons could learn something from “Boon-Boon”.
Yep, I’ll be watching every show-for the Eyewitness accounts…nothing else will happen.
Melissa Miller:
If I completely rewrote my post on why I don’t pay much attention to shows like this, it would sound like yours do.
Nice job.
Lost several hours of my life last season watching this mess that I won’t be recapturing. Not making that mistake again. This show lacks creativity, scientific perspective, and charisma. I’ve said it once, and I’ll repeat: this show should be called “Looking for Bigfoot” because these guys couldn’t “find” Bigfoot if he marched directly into camp, punched Matt in the face for his poor howling ability, and gave Bobo a lap dance. Perhaps if folks stopped watching and ratings plummeted the network would step up their game and produce something resembling quality.
I’d like the show a bit more if Moneymaker wasn’t involved (more Cliff and Ranae), they didn’t think that every bump in the night was Bigfoot, and some of them weren’t making definitive statements about outlandish behavior that Bf are ‘known’ to do (swimming underwater to get geese?).
How can every noise in the woods be proof that bigfoot is there? If they are really trying to prove bigfoot is real they are setting it back more then anything. They act like they know their diets, habits, likes and dislikes. DO some real science on the show and get some objectivity.