Monster Quest I vs MonsterQuest II
Posted by: Loren Coleman on May 29th, 2008
How do you think “MonsterQuest” (Season Two) is stacking up against “Monster Quest” (Season One)?
First of all, do we even really have any ideas about where Season Two is going?
“MonsterQuest” seems to not be as forthright about the complete episode list for Season Two, as one might expect. Either that or they’ve fired their publicist.
The list is certainly not been up on their website. Of course, back channel hints of programs on Chupacabras, Giant Squid, Merbeings, Bigfoot, Mystery Bears, and Yeren, have been heard. But the only program schedule shared is the following one,
Mega Hog, May 28
Vampire Beast, June 4
During the fall season of 2007, the residents of a town in North Carolina began to lose pets and farm animals to an unknown creature. In this same town, Bolivia, 50 years ago there was a similar occurrence involving dogs and goats. Could this be the same mystery predator?
Ghosts, June 11
The Lizzie Borden house, one of America’s most haunted locations, was the scene of a famous 19th century double murder. Paranormal experts enter the house and install many cameras equipped with high resolution infrared in this investigation of the paranormal.
(I am totally at a loss as to how or why the Lizzie Borden story got approved for “MonsterQuest.”)
Anyway, if I discover what is on the full schedule and the proposed dates of broadcast, I’ll update the list.
Just a reminder, for comparison, the following are the title topics that were investigated during Season One:
America’s Loch Ness Monster
Sasquatch Attack
Giant Squid Found
Birdzilla
Bigfoot
Mutant Canines
Lions in the Suburbs
Gigantic Killer Fish
Swamp Beast
Stalin’s Ape Man
Creatures from the 4th Dimension
The Real Hobbit
Giganto: The Real King Kong
American Werewolf
BTW, the “MonsterQuest” Season One DVD was released on May 27th.
Note the evolving logos…as the phrase “Monster Quest” becomes one word, “MonsterQuest.”
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About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the worldās leading cryptozoologists, some say ātheā 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. Sandersonās 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 Colemanās 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.
What the… Ghosts? They should go for Mokele Mbembe or something else, but not for ghosts. In the end this is Cryptozoology…
I love all different types of anomalies. That being said, however, I cannot understand the inclusion of Lizzie Borden’s ghost on Monster Quest. In addition to not categorizing ghosts as “monsters” per se, there are already a slew of ghost shows: A Haunting (Discovery), Ghost Hunters (Sci Fi), Paranormal State (A&E) and those are just the shows that run regularly. Interspersed throughout is a generous peppering of paranormal programs (okay, enough alliteration). Bring on the Monsters! But, like you said, that’s just hearsay at the moment. I hope the site reveals more soon.
Maybe if they shoot a Chupacabras ep in PR, I’ll go bug them for my 15 minutes. š
Watched the show last night. I hope the rest of the series is a lot better. MEGA HOG = MEGA LAME.
Hmm. Well, I guess we’ll see how it goes. I saw most of last night’s episode but missed the ‘conclusion’ if there was a definite conclusion.
Hey,I for one want to say”give ’em a break”.anyone here ever make a TV show on Cryptids? If ya dont like it then dont watch it. You won’t always get a hit especially with cryptids,they’re elusive.
Rarely are they going to get one on film. I for one understand that as I’m looking for Big ‘n Stinky,myself.It’s good to see others and what they do to try and capture or film these animals,might give some of us ideas.I’m always open to suggestions,as I don’t know everything.
I think the show is about people’s attempts to film these things.I think this is a wonderful program and will be purchasing them in the near future.If there wasn’t a Monsterquest,what would there be to watch?
While I have an interest in the paranormal as well as cryptozoology I can’t quite fathom why Lizzie Borden would be appropriate subject matter for MonsterQuest. That being said, I’ve seen every episode thus far and don’t plan to watch any future episodes. Even in season one I found the show to be primarily filler without much content. They repeat the same things over and over, they never come up with any new evidence, they bring in some….questionable ‘experts’. Not to mention the terminology they use and the sounds/images they use to try to induce a false sense of danger and fear. It all just strikes me as very fake, very contrived and not at all a serious attempt at any kind of progress in the field. It’s sensationalism for $ and what I’m looking for is honest exploration for knowledge. I’m not impressed.
I thought Monsterquest was about cryptozoology not spectrology. A haunted house is more for the likes of Ghost Hunters. (new season started last night) Though there are reports of ghost animals (black cat of Washington DC) it really does not belong in cryptozoology at all. Maybe Monsterquest is running out of ideas?
A trip to the Congo in search of Mokele-mbembe would be awesome, but it is extremely costly and impractical. On the contrary, I have been impressed with MonsterQuest as a whole. Although i think the show peaked withhin the first few episodes of the first season(the DNA test essentially proving Bigfoot and the camera evidence concluding that the squid caught on camera was either a 40 foot Humboldt or a 108 foot Giant) i still sat down to watch it every Wednesday night. I thought the “Mega-Hog” episode was actually pretty good. I hadn’t heard about many of the reported giant feral hogs killed, and the 700 pound true wild hog, the one that was shot seven times before it finally died, was amazing. I am frustrated that the MonsterQuest website hasn’t put up a complete series schedule, and if the one on here is correct, i am less than impressed. The Vampire story seems interesting, but the ghost one is absurd. Not only do ghosts not have a place in cryptozoology, they are most certainly not monsters either. Im really hoping thats false information.
I was pretty disappointed with the Monster Hogs episode. There was an episode of Explorer on National Geographic Channel dealing with Hogzilla specifically. They focused on that one case and actually went and dug up the body, analyzed the photo and came up with conclusive answers. Far better (and more informative) than last night’s MonsterQuest. Perhaps if they are running out of ideas they could fund a one year Bigfoot expedition and tape it? Just an idea.
Running out of Monsters? Maybe – there IS a limit to how many times viewers will watch a re-hash of old news, or enthusiasts repetitively wandering around with fascinating equipment, trying to unearth some tantalizing tidbit or smoking gun, with predictable non-results.
Without believeable Monsters involved in on-going developments to generate topical interest, MQ will soon lose their audience, no matter how many cameos Loren does – but that’s the nature of the beast (heh).
I tend to agree with the other poster that the “Mega Hog” episode left a lot to be desired.
Although I must say the part of the show where they allowed the hog to run around with the camera on top was fun—(if inconclusive).
This season is shaping up to be terrible. Hopefully the Vampire Beast episode will be better than the Mega Hog episode. But ghosts? What the heck!?!?! Maybe the episodes after that one will be better.
I don’t know why people talk so much grief about MQ. I guess ya can’t please everyone. Its the only cryptozoology show we have. They examine all the best evidence out there and actually try to seek out these creatures that likely (lets be honest here) do not exist. What more could you want? Some of you seem to want some groundbreaking sasquatch footage or something. I can promise you that if it turns up MQ won’t be the first to show it. And keep in mind that this is a show made for entertainment purposes. Its bound to be sensational and flashy. Know one whats to watch a bunch of guys measure sasquatch tracks all day or dig through old local newspapers. If the show wasn’t sensational people wouldn’t watch it, it would make no show on cryptozoology would even exist. Take what you can get and be happy with it.
“Giganto: The Real King Kong” was not an episode of MonsterQuest.
You have to remember that MonsterQuest and all of the other programs like it are NOT aimed primarily at people like the members of this list, who have been following various topics of cryptozoology for any time. Rather they are aimed at the general public, and especially those for whom the video of Patty and other similar information, some of it decades old, are new material. If we continue to watch MQ much longer, eventually they are going to run out of previously prepared information and clips. So they are going to have to decide whether they will spend the $$$ on their own “quests” or taper off, like so many former series have done. And no, I don’t think the Lizzie Borden house is part of the show–I wasn’t even aware that it was haunted.
I really enjoyed watching Sasquatch Attack from season one. I hope there is a follow up on the DNA that was analyzed. Hopefully on season two they will go back to Snelgrove Lake and do more field research.
As for the ghosts…they do go up against Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi in their Wednesday time slot. Maybe that’s why they got the thumbs up for doing a ghost-oriented show.
What about a show on Yetis or Yowies? Surely they would be better than a show on ghosts.
Being a hunter and having some experience with trail cameras I find it interesting watching the people use trail cameras on some of the TV shows (MonsterQuest etc.). It is kind of funny for me to watch these TV Cryptid hunters thrashing about in the woods not using any sent control, not even wearing gloves, and leaving their smell everywhere. And then they expect to have something on their cameras after only leaving it out at the site a week. It isnāt going to happen.
Most hunters understand that the cameras need to be in place for a while before you will get a picture of your more elusive game (big buck, large bear, etc.). They also understand that sent control is the number one concern around that camera site. If those larger more elusive animals can smell that a human was at that site recently they will stay away. Now these TV Cryptid hunters are stalking very elusive, very timid, and they seem to be somewhat intelligent animals. What these people need to do is:
ā¢ Invest in a scent control system
ā¢ (Clothing, gloves, soaps, sprays).
ā¢ Take less people to the site to set up the cameras.
ā¢ 1 guy and the TV cameraman.
ā¢ Leave the camera out there for 2 months before you go back.
What they really need to do is add a world class outdoors man and a trail camera expert to these expeditions. I think this would greatly up the odds of actually getting something worth while on camera.
Comments on this post – actually, the entire Blog! – run the gamut from flame (“Take what you can get and be happy with it.”- maslo63) to fatalism (It isnāt going to happen.”- moosemlh) to filosophy (“If there wasnāt a Monsterquest, what would there be to watch?”- size 13) to frustration (“Itās sensationalism for $ and what Iām looking for is honest exploration for knowledge.”- TheBlessedBlogger) to fun (“I must say the part of the show where they allowed the hog to run around with the camera on top was fun.”- cryptidsrus) to the fantasy that any one TV Series can be everything to everybody.
What a great Blog – (“Fascinating!”- Spock)
(Alliterative apologies to eireman)
In terms of finding a ‘real monster’, this was the best episode so far. The horse tumble was just one of the many dangers/hazards facing hunters, game management and other outdoorsmen in the field on a daily basis. These are man-made monsters and even smaller boars in the 300-400 lbs range are extremely dangerous. Herbivores and omnivores like hogs have always proven to be far more dangerous to humans that even the most aggressive predators in terms of the folks killed and maimed every year by them annually. The radio tagged boar quickly outdistanced the researcher’s ability to follow it. There are deep dense thickets of brush, temperate rain forests, boggy swamps and desert areas that no human has even set foot in the US including Native Americans. We have tons better technology than our ancestors did but some of these areas are just to far off the beaten path for even the best equipped expeditions to reach and return from safely. Unless a scientist is willing to dedicate life and limb to get to the evidence of mega-hogs, Bigfoot or many of the other cryptids lurking on the fringes of the unknown, these cryptids are going to be scoffed at as legends or tall tales. Our current regime of biologists and zoologists are far more concerned with preserving know species than discovering new ones to me.