I wasn't going to review this series because I didn't think it deserved the effort. It's that bad. But a single statement in episode 1 was so infuriating, I had to comment. At approx. 27 minutes in, an individual identified as Dr. Clarence B. Jones, a civil rights leader, makes the statement, "It was the barbarians, so called, who opposed slavery." In the context of this series, "barbarians" refers to the Carthaginians, although neither the Romans nor the Greeks would consider the Carthaginians to be barbarians. Did the Romans take slaves? Yes, they did. Did the Carthaginians take slaves? Yes, they did. Did the true barbarians take slaves (the various Germanic tribes, Visigoths, etc.?) Yes, they did. In fact, if you canvased the ancient world to see who took slaves and who did not, I don't think you would find any nation or tribe that did not take slaves. It's simply amazing that Dr. Jones' statement got past the History Channel editors unchallenged. And to make it into the final cut is unforgivable.
Many of the so-called "experts" in this series have no credibility at all. They may offer opinions, as we all can, but to promote them as experts is simply bizarre. Jesse Jackson? This Dr. Jones? They may be experts in their respective fields, but ancient history is not one of them.
The only conclusion I can come to is The History Channel had an agenda with this series and was untroubled by promoting fake history if it will reinforce that agenda. The History Channel has been in a downward spiral for years, but this is so bad, it would be better if they had promoted it as period reality TV cosplay. Simply horrible.
Many of the so-called "experts" in this series have no credibility at all. They may offer opinions, as we all can, but to promote them as experts is simply bizarre. Jesse Jackson? This Dr. Jones? They may be experts in their respective fields, but ancient history is not one of them.
The only conclusion I can come to is The History Channel had an agenda with this series and was untroubled by promoting fake history if it will reinforce that agenda. The History Channel has been in a downward spiral for years, but this is so bad, it would be better if they had promoted it as period reality TV cosplay. Simply horrible.