TV: FutureStupidity
Normally I enjoy shows about military technology (especially stuff like "Mail Call" and "Tactical to Practical"), but the success of "FutureWeapons" on the Discovery Channel just has me baffled. The show is hosted by former Navy SEAL Richard Machowicz (that's a pretty cool name, BTW) in a tone that can only be described as "intense."
Every time they introduce a new weapon, he fawns over it and acts so amazed you'd swear the darn thing was created by God Himself. I don't deny Machowicz has "been there and done that," but there's just something unsettling about his manner as a host. Combine his attitude with the various manufacturers extolling their products' virtues, and it starts to sound like an infomercial targeted at the DoD.
The second major problem, at least for me, is that many of the "FutureWeapons" are not really that futuristic. It's hard to keep a straight face when the show is describing the HK 416 gas-piston AR upper as "amazing" and next-gen (maybe someone should send them the popular Leitner-Wise upper, which you can literally order right now off the Web). The show even pimped the AA12 automatic shotgun as "the ultimate close-combat weapon." The silliest part was when they showed the ridiculous twin-turret mount for the AA12. Which would you rather have on top of your vehicle - two automatic shotguns effective up to perhaps 50-75 yards, or a belt-fed .30 caliber machine gun that can hit stuff 600-800 yards away?
posted by Mulliga @ 7:33 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Saw the same episode the other night and about puked.
Some of the hardware is pretty trick, but, as they say, there is nothing really all that new under the sun, when it comes to personally held hand weapons, anyway.
I thought the auto shotgun piece was absurd, followed closely by the HK rifle, though I'd still like to own one of those in civvy legal configuration. Nothing too advanced about either one, and the shotgun was really nothing that couldn't have been done a century ago by John Moses.
Mac's demeanor, I agree, is strange, and not needed to get the point across about the hardware.
I still enjoy the show regardless of its deficits, and as long as the hardware stuff is interesting, will continue to watch, as it beats the hell out of American Idol.
Post a Comment
<< Home