Program note for those heading to Pompeii
 

I'm making no claims for the quality of the show, but Discovery Channel is doing something "big" about Pompeii on Sunday evening (9EST/PST -- can't guess about your time zone). If you are heading to Pompeii (?Herculaneum?) sometime soon, it might be an interesting preview.

If you've already been, I'd be curious about your reactions to what they do -- it looks like it might be a typical docu-drama, dramatized history, but if they use the real locale and real artifacts, it might be interesting.

Thanks, Cassandra. We have this written on our calendar so we don't forget!

Topping this.
Saw their ad on Discovery Channel last night when I was surfing TV. Here's the website for more info:
POMPEII - The Last Day
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence...i/pompeii.html

It looks like a speculative docudrama - but I'll be watching it anyway! The story of Pompei is just so fascinating.

Topping for reminder -- it's tonight.

I have never been to Pompeii, but the program was interesting. What did the rest of you think?

I've been to Pompeii and also have a bit of background in earth science and have done a fair bit of reading on the AD 79 eruption. I enjoyed the program and was pleased to see that they got the technical part largely correct, as least as I understand it - the time line was correct, as were the explanations of the pyroclastic flows (as opposed to a steady ash-fall, as had been thought not too many years ago) that buried first Herculaneum, then Pompeii. Many of the actual characters (not the Plinys, whose actions were depicted accurately) were essentially fictional, though grounded in fact based on actual remains. That's in the best tradition of historical novelists and I think they did a good job with it.

I especially enjoyed the cuts from the storyline to the actual ruins and artifacts - I remember quite well standing in the laundry and it was fascinating to see it "reconstructed" as it may well have looked at the time. Ditto for the house of Polybius, though I can't say I remember that particular house.

I think I can fairly say that I would have appreciated my visit to Pompeii even more had I seen the program before going, so I would recommend it to anyone anticipating a visit.

Thanks for the tip about the program airing last night. It was wonderful and we enjoyed it very much. It was a great program to see if you have been to the region or are planning a visit. Thanks again Cassandra.

Well....... I found it interesting and it will definitely enhance our visit there in May, and generally think they did a good and interesting job of presenting the information.

But I was beyond annoyed at the frequency and duration of the commercial interruptions. I'm spoiled a bit by DVR but wanted to watch this "real-time." It would have been worth waiting a while to start playing it back just to get through the ads, but it felt like the actual program only occupied less than half the two hours allotted, so we would probably have had to wait 45 min. or more to get far enough behind not to have to see the ads. (There must be an equation for this....) The interruptions themselves are bad enough but Disc makes it that much worse by repeating "teaser lines" ("how do you breathe when the air is on fire?") and re-introducing the program over and OVER again.

Still, I thank them for presenting it. Some of the speculative drama was a little hokey but it did add something to make the story real. Glad I saw it, but next time will just wait so I can fast-forward through the <i> plethora</i> of interruptions.

Hi,
I missed this post, but would love to see this show. Does anyone know if it will run again.

Thanks

ktyson... the Pompeii show on Discovery will re-air tomorrow (Feb 1) at 8 PM Eastern time. I watched it last night, and while the commercials were an annoyance, the story line put a lot of context to the events that led to Pompeii's end. We leave for Italy in a week and a half and I have always wanted to visit Pompeii/Herculaneum. I'm even more excited about it now!

Also, as a side note, tonight on The History Channel you can see another feature on Pompeii called &quot;Digging for Truth&quot; starting at 9 PM eastern time which looks equally as good!

topping for ktyson

Italygirl, Thank you. I will definitely watch tomorrow night (discovery channel), and I will try to watch tonight (history channel).

Have a wonderful trip!

Can we expect to see a trip report upon your return.

We loved the program. We will be visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum in May so I am so glad that some thoughtful Fodorite brought it to our attention :-)

Italygirl,You are so right about the commercials. The program was terrific but commercials seemed to come more frequently than most shows.

The whole thing only added up to about an hour's worth of material (as I said in the other post), and a few things almost made me laugh. It's the sort of presentation that will probably make people hoot at it in a decade or so (the way we laugh at 1950s &quot;documentaries&quot; about drinking on the way to the prom) -- obviously an American production -- so of COURSE the Romans all spoke with British accents (not even good ones, I suspect)!

I will indeed post a trip report to follow-up ktyson! We're doing 10days in Italy... Rome and the Pompeii trip, Tuscany to visit some friends living in Montecatini Terme, and Venice for a few days. This will be my husband's first trip outside of the United States... I can't wait for his reaction to the scenery, the people, the culture, the food!

Pompeii reminder - started at 8pm in my area.

if you want to see the program and others from series, you can rent them or get them thru a free trial with either netflix or blockbuster.I got the I Claudius series and Cities of the Ancient World also.The Rome and Pompeii had the views of the forum and as it was.... overlayed like the tourist booklets they sell. It was very interesting.Most people dont realize they have TV programs and documentaries t go to the site and check it out