Mermaids: The Body Found (2011 TV Movie) User Reviews

Fake documentary?

[yannigk · 4/10 · 19 September 2011]

I thought this was a real documentary albeit the feeling that the three scientists involved in the interview were very well spoken (and had a strong eye contact with cameras, something only actors can do), until the moment when another "scientist" a Dr. Rodney Webster appeared on screen.

By golly, I recognized him from District 9, in which he also portrayed another scientist. The name of the actor is Jason Cope (on IMDb).

From then on, everything the 'scientists' in the movie was all just plain theories and not actual occurrences. Sure the Bloop is real. Sure the beaching were probably caused by sonar tests. And yes, there is an actual theory proposed about Aquatic apes.

But the mermaids? their sightings? the found skulls and x-rays conducted on them? All fake? At the end of the movie, the credits says "Similarities to names are purely coincidental". Which means, none of those scientists actually exist. (Google the names and university and you will find nothing).

This is disappointing, considering that Animal Planet was broadcasting it, and I thought they should label the 'movie' as fictional instead of playing it convincingly as a documentary only to have it rebuked by the credits.

Shame on Animal Planet and Seriously!?

[jalcenius · 4/10 · 29 May 2012]

I have always respected Animal Planet for their documentaries on interesting subjects. I believe they even had one called "The Whale That Exploded" and it was a documentary about a sperm whale that exploded while being transported to a university on the busy streets of Taiwan. I did not see advertisements for the show. I just happened to be scrolling through the channels and saw it was coming up. Thankfully, I DVRd it so I could go through the commercials (which were half of the show!). I naturally assumed, that this program was going to be a scientific look at the possibilities of mermaids and the likelihood that they had found a body. At first I was really intrigued. They did a good job at making the show seem legit. I found this particularly interesting when they were talking about our unusual evolutionary characteristics that we shared with marine mammals. At first, I felt the "scientists" seemed too comfortable with the camera and were too moody. I assumed this may have just been editing. As they were showing the "reenactments" I started to get more suspicious, but I stayed tuned in. It wasn't until halfway through the show that I thought, "Hmm... this seems a little bull," but I continued to watch anyway.

When they finally reveal that it was for "entertainment only" I felt robbed and really angry. I trust Animal Planet to give me truthful events. They needed to state at the very beginning of the show that the entire "documentary" was "For Entertainment Only." If it had been a true documentary, I think it would have scored higher and had been very entertaining had they removed all the fake BS and maybe focused on the possibility of there being mermaids and what they might look like and evolve into (which they did touch on that a bit). As a movie, it sucks. The HORRIFIC CGI would have been acceptable for a true documentary, but for a movie, it was horribly done and we could have seen better CGI in the 1990s. The videos that showed evidence was poorly done. The 2-hour time slot was made up of 1/2 commercials.

At first I felt this was a real documentary, but as the conspiracy theory part of the movie continues, you begin to strongly question it. Had I known at the beginning that it was a "movie", I still would have watch it and it would have been given the same score.

This pseudo-documentary smells kinda fishy. It's truly a documentary of lies.

[ironhorse_iv · 4/10 · 22 April 2016]

In 2012, Animal Planet attempted to sheds its soft and furry side of paternalistic, preachy, and observation-based programs, to something more active, entertaining and edgy like airing a documentary like 'Mermaids: The Body Found' to the public. This documentary claims that there is indeed scientific evidence for the existence of humanoid fish like beings living in the ocean. Not only that, but the government is hiding it from the public. Without spoiling too much, of the documentary, for the most part, the intense interviews mixed with CGI reenactments make this, a very entertaining watch. However, instead of focusing the special on entirely on how the mermaids came to be; 'Body Found' spends way too much time on the dangers of sonar and the conspiracy theories about it. It was so preachy. While, yes, sonar has been singled out by some environmentalists as a focus for activism and while, yes, it's true that the Navy does secret sonar testing. One thing that isn't true, is that it's being tested on marine life. For the most part, the US Navy follows strict protocols to avoid them, such as not operating the Sonar in specific areas of the ocean that are considered sensitive or not operating when a marine mammal is known to be within a certain range. Unfortunately for many whales, dolphins and other marine life, even with that, sometimes, the use of underwater sonar does cause mass cetacean stranding throughout the world's oceans, but most are incidents, not on purpose. It's hard to prevent the use of sonars on navy ships; since it is a very information key to them. I wish the documentary didn't portray them, so badly. Another problem with the interviewers, is that, for scientists, they barely talk about the mermaids at all. Despite, speaking in a very well-spoken matter, none of the things, they were saying, were scientific accuracy. It's there, where I realize, I was watching a fake. I really felt betrayed by this hoax. While, this special did well, boost their ratings, I was somewhat disappointed that Animal Planet went the same route as History Channel, focusing too much on entertainment rather than providing actual research based programming. I would never have thought, that they would go that route. It's also very shameful that after the initial airing and subsequent negative feedback, they decide to rebroadcast this documentary and make a sequel for it, in 2013, 'Mermaids: The New Evidence', knowing full well that they were misleading people. I guess, money is truly the end all-gain. Who cares about education, when you can make green! Like the History Channel before it; stunts like this, proves without a doubt, how much Animal Planet has step so low, and became a joke. The documentary created enough of a stir that the U.S. government issued an official statement on the matter. When the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had to rebut your claims, you know, you lose your way, Animal Planet. You use to be respected. What really sucks about it, is how much the filmmakers did to make it seem like it was, all real. Publicity for the program included a website falsely claiming government seizure of the site's domain & very few disclaimers to indicate the speculative nature of the programming during the original broadcast. It really gave the impression of being an actual documentary, when in truth, much of the material was made up, and the scientists shown were actors. It was a hoax that fool America. It didn't help that the production values are extremely cheap-looking with stupid jump scares. The cell phone video near the end features the seemingly-dead mermaid sitting up and screeching at one of the kids checking its "corpse" was really badly made. Also another video where a camera focuses in on a porthole on a holding tank and a webbed hand suddenly appears, startling the person filming was just silly. In my opinion, all the CGI renderings presenting various scenes of Mermaids at work (having a baby, hunting fish, migrating with whales, and facing off against a giant shark) need some more work. After all, their version of the mermaid seem to have the look and behavior of a Pinniped (Seal) mixed with cetacean (Dolphin). If we are to believe this extreme and unrealistic evolution. Wouldn't it, make more sense that these creatures to have stream-like faces, body hair or thick blubbery skin, so they wouldn't freeze to death, due to the cold temperatures and get crush by the heavy pressures of the ocean? After all, this documentary says the mermaids can live in deep depths of the ocean along with whales and dolphins. Another problem with that theory, if a mermaid live with whales and dolphins, wouldn't those creatures find them, as a threat? It makes sense if the whales and dolphins, were breed domestic, but these creatures are wild. They would had killed them. To make matters somehow even worse, the documentary resorts to showing the same clips of "footage" over and over in an effort to merely fill time. It really got annoying. However, despite that, the make-up work for some of the scenes with early man were very impressed. Great work on that. Even some of the majestic music being placed over these moments does work; but some of the tunes, seem to be ripped from the 2007's Sci-Fi movie, 'Sunshine'. I also love the dark broody music from the beginning of the documentary. It adds to the mystery of the unknown. It felt scary at times. Overall: While, Mermaids are probably a lot more rooted in lonely sailors' imaginations than the physical world. I have to give the documentary, some credit. They really did try to make it seem like it was real. I just wish, they weren't misleading people in order to do that.

An obvious fake that doesn't belong on Animal Planet or Discovery Channel

[funwithstardestroyers · 1/10 · 7 August 2012]

I stumbled upon this when they re-ran it on the Discovery Channel. It looked fishy (no pun intended) from the beginning, but, since this was the Discovery Channel, I thought that it was a reenactment of actual statements. Wrong. It was very easy to tell that the "scientists" were actors. They were trying too hard to look "candid" and genuine. So that struck me right off the bat. Then we were treated to a "video" of a teenager stumbling across the body of an alleged mermaid. Again, very obvious that it's fake with blatant, poor CGI.

I have no problem with any of this. It's a free country and there are people who believe this stuff. However, I do have a problem with this kind of stuff being shown on the Discovery Channel. The Discovery Channel has (or had) a reputation of having legitimate scientific programing. They've had plenty of ACTUAL documentaries in similar style to this and to put this program on the channel, regardless of how many times they alluded to how it was fake, is completely inappropriate. I expect this kind of stuff on the SyFy Channel, where it would be appropriate, not on a channel like Discovery. I believe this program, more than any other in recent times, speaks to the poor state of U.S. television.

A steaming pile....

[df357 · 1/10 · 27 May 2012]

....of mermaid scat. Well, there was 2 hours of my life wasted. A seemingly interesting albeit fantastic concept. Presented by Animal Planet as a documentary but is anything but.

There are clues to the unwary along the way that this is faked: early on we supposedly view amateur cellphone video taken by two boys on the beach. However, the "cellphone" lens snap zooms in as they discover the twitching hand of the yet undiscovered species on the beach. I don't know of any cellphone that has a manual zoom lens capable of this feat. The "secret" video at a Navy facility is equally phony. The static that is digitally added to make us think this is amateur video betrays the fact that it is staged.

The main actor does a good job and is believable although I figured him to be a hoaxer early on. The other "interviews" are obviously actors overly emoting and some with affected accents. Even the supposed TV interview of a German fisherman is poorly acted and an obvious sham.

For a network that 'makes its bones' with documentaries, Animal Planet should be ashamed of itself for sullying its reputation with this sham.

A Fake Documentary? Why?

[wakeyourdream · 2/10 · 29 May 2012]

I was watching this special, having stumbled innocently across it late one night, entirely ready to believe in mermaids. Hoping, actually. I made it through the film not quite convinced - the "scientists" were unusually well spoken, and a bit too pretty. The liberal dosing of crappy CGI and government conspiracy didn't help matters, but still, I was optimistic. I googled the main scientist and clicked on the first few links, all of which led to a page claiming the site's content has been seized in a DOJ investigation. What? That's completely illegal (freedom of speech, anyone?) and upon further googling, it seems the fake pages were registered by Discovery around the time of the program's production. Why? Why would Discovery create a fake documentary, and take such care in hiding that is was, indeed, fake (the creators did release a statement/disclaimer that the program was purely for entertainment purposes, but that statement certainly is difficult to find). I just wanted to believe in mermaids, was that too much too ask?! And having my hopes dashed after wasting two hours on an excess of commercials, horrible CGI, and repetitive clips and conspiracy - I don't think I'll ever watch anything produced by Discovery again.

I lack the words to express my disappointment and contempt for my fellow man

[dcm-20 · 1/10 · 12 August 2012]

WARNING SPOILER this presentation is fiction "Aquatic Ape Theory" = seamonkeys Met someone who actually watched this t^rd......and argued without end it's reality.

We are living in the future which the maitre d' in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" wept.

wow, just wow.

Interesting factoid: Did you know that the word "gullible" isn't in the dictionary? And apparently Dr. Evil's mother, Chloe, may have been a mermaid (what with the webbed feet and all).

So gather an interesting group of acquaintances and screen this gem followed by discussion. Try not to frighten the timid cryptozoologists as you probe the finer points such as, "Were the spears, made from the spine of a stingray, forensically similar to the one which caused the death of Steve Irwin?" "Does this prove that the Crocodile Hunter was killed by mermaids?"

Excellent Mockumentary

[snagssharkteeth-23785 · 10/10 · 8 April 2019]

I dont know why everyone is so upset by this, mermaids do not exist so obviously this is not a documentary. Animal planet did another mockumentary on the Yeti and the Dyatlov pass incident. This one got a lot of hate speech also but if you watch these with an open mind and realize that they are actually for entertainment purposes you can actually enjoy it. If they can do documentaries on real animals, why cant they documentaries on mystical ones? Ask yourself, do you hate all fictional movies, books and songs because they are based on an unreality? no, so what good reason is there to hate this?

The mocks use factual mystery to create this fiction, that is what makes it better. The bloop sound for example. The acting is good and I like it how the interviews are done. Animal planet clearly has enough money to go beyond the study of animals and I think its a fine thing that they do things like this. Im impressed that Animal Planet are actively willing to destroy their own market by taking a less serious root but in doing so they possibly might be creating a new one? I hope they make more like this, I think one on the Lochness would be a great show.

"Fun Fact: It's always fun when a network with a reputation for fact based programming decides to present a non-factual program with no warning!"

An interesting 'what if' docufiction

[armana_13 · 5 September 2012]

This was an interesting theory of how merpeople *could* have evolved. The idea of hominids going back to the ocean in response to rising sea levels makes sense, and throws up all kinds of fascinating possibilities. The CGI is clunky in parts, but that's what I would expect from a documentary in the same class.

I realise some will have an issue with this piece of fiction being aired on a documentary channel. I, however, don't have a problem with it. It's in that weird realm of alternate science - this may not be real, but the science made some kind of sense and it will hopefully get people thinking about how we treat marine mammals and our simian cousins.

I'm not sure if this is the case for everyone, but the blurb my TV provider put with the program clearly said 'theory of how mermaids could have evolved' - which is a signpost for docufiction.

There was also a disclaimer at the end which pointed out which parts were real (the 'Bloop' recording and the naval sonar test link to beached whales).

Mermaid mocumentary

[gleekgirl17 · 7/10 · 12 August 2018]

I enjoyed watching this program (several time) on both Animal Planet and Discovery Channel. I admittedly didn't realize it was completely fake untill I saw it on the snopes website. I do not think it should have been aired on channels that provide legit documentaries. It belongs on the syfy network or something to that degree because it is not a real documentary. It has real scientific history in it, but all the mermaid body "footage" is CGI. That being said, it is an interesting story and I would watch it again.

A new low for cable TV

[indiedavid · 1/10 · 27 May 2013]

This show is the reason I quit watching Animal Planet and Discovery Channel. After the initial airing and subsequent negative feedback, I thought they had learned their lesson. I just saw that they are re- broadcasting this pathetic show. The very nature of both networks has been completely compromised by this "found footage" rip off. Every development executive involved in this project should have been fired immediately. Now I see they are actually re-broadcasting this garbage. Thank goodness for Natgeo and PBS. I really love nature television but I have lost faith in the credibility of the information presented on Animal Planet and Discovery Channel.

Highly Entertaining

[maembishop · 8/10 · 22 February 2018]

As far as mocumentary goes this one is very compelling. It makes the audience think and ponder the possibility of a mermaid while still maintaining a healthy amount of fiction. It is far from perfect but highly entertaining.

Very real like

[lbunyak · 7/10 · 7 December 2019]

It's not as bad as some say. On the contrary it's very interesting and catchy. Well spent time.

mermaids ( a body found )

[sckniff · 1/10 · 19 September 2012]

Why has animal planet given away its status as an iconic factual and educational channel and prostituted itself in a way that is only known to itself, to bring a programme like mermaids into its fold? It was obvious from the outset that we were listening to actors in studio's rather than in lab surroundings. This transmission should have been televised on April 1st. How many times in the past have Animal Planet tried to dupe its viewers? Obviously we will have to view every other transmission with a critical or unbelieving eye from now on. The most upsetting part of this fiction is that we were missing better programming on other channels. Very let down!

Absolute Rubbish and FAKE

[tmdavies1 · 2/10 · 29 September 2012]

I am disgusted at Animal Planet for putting on such rubbish, thats two hours of my life I will NEVER get back. Animal Planet show real life programs why would you do that!

Terrible acting, terrible CGI and music. Absolutely rubbish.

I agree with all the views of just how terrible this program was.

Sharks eat people - There was part of person in the shark! - Really your first thought is 'it could be a mermaid'

There are enough idiots that believe this rubbish such as this, Nazi UFO, Atlantis etc all this does is reinforce there feeble belief systems.

Don't DO IT AGAIN!!!!!!

Mermaids: Stupidity Found..

[Zashiratori · 1/10 · 9 March 2013]

I do agree with everyone that Animal Planet and Discovery Channel has, for the most part, lost their factual take on shows and specials, and after watching this, I've lost my respect with both. The fact is, is that we're not here for 'What If' documentaries that claim to be true when they aren't! Not only was it stupid but also very dramatized and hard to sit through all of it.

If most people are curious to watch it because of the horrible reviews its getting, to have their own opinions... There are better things to do with this time, such as: biting all your fingernails completely off, giving yourself 1000 paper cuts on your face, take a nap on shards of broken glass, or to even have all your blood sucked out by leeches... All in which would be more productive and entertaining/informative....

All in all, fake (duh), stupid, waste of time and widely advertised as a documentary that only belongs on the sci fy Chanel, not either one that people are supposed to have any respect for factual documentaries on! Animal Planet, Discovery.. You disgust me...

All Right! Science channels are lying to audience today!

[cordeirolf-bio · 1/10 · 17 February 2013]

If you watched that show without warning, and you are no scientist, you probably accepted their lies as facts. The real fact is, being myself a biologist, I got disgusted as this crap vomited pseudo-science before me. How can they lie so much to the audience and, worst than that, in Discovery Channel, an (at least at the old times) scientific channel committed to the truth? That's bad news. Since that terrible "The Fourth Kind", it looks like lying to the audience is really in right now.

PS: If you support this kind of crap, you should understand that believing that the earth was created 5000, 6000 years ago is a small feat, and I am sorry for you.

questionable Mockumentary ethics

[CSHaviland · 5/10 · 28 May 2013]

This mockumentary was successful enough to inspire a recently released sequel: "Mermaids: The New Evidence," a talkshow followup featuring various pseudo "viral videos" and "leaked videos" of incidents that help to support the myth.

This is a fictional documentary special about the story of a scientist and his team stumbling upon "evidence" supporting the "Aquatic Ape" theory, which purports that a branch of ancient human returned to the ocean, and that we are a near-branch of those creatures that still carry apparent aquatic features.

The idea is provocative because it is not at all outside the realm of scientific feasibility for ancient humans to have returned to the oceans, just as the ancestors of whales and dolphins did. But just because it's a feasible notion, that doesn't mean we need to consider that it may have happened. The problem is that aquatic mammals are air-breathers, and therefore need to surface with at least enough frequency that, with the ever-growing human population, it's extremely unlikely for them to escape direct evidence that they are alive. There is nothing in the fossil record supporting such creatures either. And finally, there is no reason any government around the world would want to suppress evidence of such creatures, any more than a new species of land primate or a new species of dolphin.

I must digress for a moment, so that this kind of program is placed in context.

Animal Planet, like any non-premium television channel, is in the business of advertising. That is how they make most of their revenues, and all content in between the commercials is a sales gimmick to attract an audience to watch the advertising. Even a news broadcast is a gimmick, though it runs by a certain code that at least pretends to be objective, and is further governed by laws such as "freedom of the press." Therefore, any television content can be manipulated to maximize interest in it, either by creative editing, creative writing, or creative visuals, or any combination thereof. It is folly to see television as a reflection of reality. It is not at all the same as personal experience. But television producers and the technology at their disposal are getting more and more clever at blurring the line between entertainment and reality. The precocious radio / television / film actor / producer, Orson Welles, created a live radio play in 1938 inspired by H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds that came across as a news broadcast, and accidentally tricked lots of people into a panic thinking Martians were really invading. This demonstrated the power of mass media vs the gullibility of humans to confuse what they see and hear on media with reality.

Mermaids: The Body Found, and Mermaids: The New Evidence, explore the same territory by mixing various known scientific paradigms with fake interviews, fake footage, labeled live action reenactments, and CGI dramatizations. The network's interest is simply in ratings. But what of the producers? I believe one motivation of the producers is simply to find a creative way to protest military testing in the ocean that can harm marine life, in particularly sonar testing which many believe is proved to link to the mass beaching of marine mammals. The producers needed to find a way to draw mass interest in their protest. So they devised a gimmick to propose that there could be very important undiscovered life in the ocean that is being damaged by this testing.

However I feel they crossed the line, and may have shot themselves in the foot. For one thing, by creating a fake documentary and passing it off as a real one, it creates distrust that anything in the show has any basis in fact at all. Call it the "cry wolf" syndrome.

Secondly, and more importantly, in their fake documentary they create an atmosphere of animosity toward our government - claiming that our government and military agencies stole evidence, harassed witnesses, and interfered with their programming. It is one thing to scream "fire" when this kind of thing happens for real, and to protest testing that may be very damaging to the environment. But to make up government "cover-ups" and pretend it's real, and distribute that on a channel that passes itself off as an educational outlet for all ages, is in my opinion unethical, irritating, and dangerous.

If my pre-teen kids watch this show along side genuine nature programming, they can walk away feeling angry toward our government for something it isn't doing - covering up evidence of something important. Or they could walk away not believing the entire thing - dismissing something the military may be doing that it should not be.

While one can argue that a mockumentary like this challenges our youngsters to think critically, teaching them to discern what is real and what is not, I tend to think it actually does quite the opposite.

Ignore the shamers, this is a great pseudo-documentary

[pdkahler · 8/10 · 26 May 2018]

I can't understand why so many people were irked by this mermaid series. This is part two in the series and it's very interesting with good animation too. For the people who didn't like it because it was pseudo, guess what? Mermaids aren't real!

True or not true

[dwbecker · 30 September 2012]

Im just a simple computer guy I love history and mythical stories. This mermaid documentary caught my attention I saw those closed websites you see on all the articles a guy with my background I can probable research a website a little more then the average person all the websites shows as shutdown by homeland security are in fact owned by the discovery channel. Now answer me why would Dr Paul Robertson's personal website be owned by the Discovery channel? That piece of evidence alone shows me one financial reason to create a back story for the show. While entertaining, I would love to entertain the ideal of real life mermaids. However this particular show to me shows a lot of work to make. What could be a true story has a lot of hidden un-truees. Have fun! You never know what's on TV I am a found believer do your own research I don't believe everything I see or read.

Complete Bull@@@@

[skinnybob22 · 1/10 · 1 October 2013]

You have to ask yourself why and how someone would fund such a contemptuous piece of rubbish? Seriously, why would anyone actually want to spend any time making this?

Personally, those responsible should be horsewhipped or made drink their favourite sugary drink laced with LSD just so they understand when and when not to cry wolf. Sad, middle class twats laughing at their middle class parties toasting their fanny award and thinking what childish spoof they can get away with next. Sad c@@ts. Glad I'm not paying for this sh@t!

In fact, In the words of the great Bill Hicks, go kill yourselves you f@@@in waste of space.

Funny flight of fancy

[akblake1 · 8/10 · 22 November 2012]

Very entertaining flight of fancy, a 'what if' which made a few base suppositions and then went from there, allowing the story to develop. Very obviously fake, but entertaining to follow what might have happened had humans evolved into the oceans. Tying it into conspiracy theories was a bit dodgy, but also gave the film a good plot device about why nothing would have been heard about across the globe- "the government covered it up".

Now, if you're one of the screamers out there crying that Animal Planet dared to show a fictional documentary, what you're really saying is "I have no ability to think critically and so depend upon the television to tell me the truth, because of course, television never lies and channels shouldn't ever change their programming. Animal Planet shouldn't ever expect me to think for myself and judge whether something is fiction or reality." I recommend this 'documentary' to anyone with enough sense to know when something is a work of pure (if enjoyable) fiction.

Argee with all but the mermaid lady review, it is horrid

[The_Real_Celsus · 1/10 · 2 September 2012]

Was doing some work when my fair lady put this on. It seemed like it was serious, and we could not find any info in the guide saying otherwise. I logged in here to find that Animalplanet was playing it like it was real to get more viewers. This is in poor taste and I have lost massive amounts of respect for this channel...then again I don't watch it much so perhaps they always play crud like this. Poor acting, poor cgi, poor plot (really mermaids with nets and spears? Where do they put them?), and poor photo-shopping skills on all the "proof" images. THe acting is over the top, but nowhere as bad as the music choice that tries its best to pull you in but makes you want to rip your ears off.

Totally Disgusting and Inexcusable.

[delticola · 2 June 2013]

Is discussing a fraud equivalent to "Spoiler" for the purpose of this comment?

For years I have respected and enjoyed both the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet which are related corporately.

A long time friend of mine made a genuine documentary that aired on the Discovery Channel in the first year that it was on air.

I have a university education in Biology studying wildlife but I work in the transportation industry now because I don't have a MS or Ph.d but I do understand genetics, organic chemistry, calculus, evolution, ecology and I'm not all that gullible usually.

But because of the presentation, I was completely fooled by some of the video footage simply because of the excellent and decent reputation of the discovery channel/animal planet. I was questioning why everyone was "Doctor." Even PhD. doctors sometimes don't even go by Dr. and there was too much emphasis on them and looking at the camera. They did seem a little like actors and not real people like you and I. But that's not my point. What was Discovery trying to do with this crap? Ruin their reputation for good programing?

This was a very poor decision by Discovery/Animal Planet to present this program and stage fake interviews of fake Ph.d scientists that don't exist and fake their background with NOAA. And blackscreen a fake former Navy guy. Totally inexcusable to do this. They should have made a movie with Scientists getting arrested in South Africa or the Navy loading up the Washington creature and flying it to South Carolina. But this was just wrong.

What comes to mind is the Orson Wells, War of the Worlds radio broadcast before our time. That caused a lot of fear and panic.

I'll never watch a program on their channels again with the same enthusiasm or appreciation as I had before. Very disturbing.

Docufictions Now?

[LadySailor1975 · 1/10 · 23 March 2016]

The only good thing here was the computer animation. And I do believe if mermaids were indeed real, they would look more like this and not like "Splash" (which I love) and "The Little Mermaid" (not liked).

But, where did these docufictions come from? This makes a mockery of real documentaries. This is a fictional program that is based off real science of DNA testing and so on; but mocks the discovery of real animals. I do believe there are indeed animals that we have yet to discover; but not mermaids or unicorns (will they do that one next?).

Shame on Discovery networks for airing this. This should have gone to DVD with a disclaimer on it. Sad that they sold out for ratings.