A shot in the foot?

"Best evidence: Bigfoot" is a mostly sceptical documentary about the elusive man-beast of the North American forests. I think even true believers would admit that, from a commercial angle, sceptical documentaries doesn't "sell". I suspect Discovery Channel took a certain risk airing this show. Somebody might have felt shot in the foot!

While "Best evidence: Bigfoot" gives ample time to some of the few scientists who *do* believe in Bigfoot, John Bindernagel and Jeffrey Meldrum, the main emphasis is on the sceptics. They believe that Bigfoot is an anatomical absurdity, that there isn't enough food for a big-brained and big-bodied primate in the Pacific Northwest, that eye-witnesses frequently err, and that the famous Patterson-Gimlin film is a hoax. Even Meldrum is forced to admit that Discovery's hired actor manages to convincingly replicate "Pattie's" gait. In other documentaries, similar experiments by contrast turn out in Meldrum's favour!

In the end, Meldrum nevertheless decides that he just can't let Bigfoot go. Sounds familiar? ;-) He has encountered the creature himself during a camping trip, heard it poke around his tent, even leaving a large footprint! In his book "Sasquatch: Legend meets Science", Meldrum also mentions being attacked by something throwing rocks at him during a trip in the woods. Something similar happens in the classical MonsterQuest episode "Sasquatch Attacks". Pattie might be an anatomical, ecological and psychological absurdity, and...yet she moves. Or shoots people in the foot?

For daring to question the commercial paradigm, I give "Best Evidence: Bigfoot" four stars, but I admit that I tend to sympathize with Dr. Meldrum on this point...