Grassman lives

OK, I admit it. I'm bored, I don't want to read more Steiner on a Friday evening, so...I decided to start watching "MonsterQuest" episodes again!

"Ohio Grassman" features a team of local researchers trying to find the elusive Grassman, a Bigfoot-like creature said to inhabit the wilder parts of Ohio, including an area popularly known as the Sasquatch Triangle. Originally, the Grassman had the reputation for being an aggressive, beastly bogeyman. Today, he seems to have blended right in with the business-as-usual Bigfoot observations from the rest of North America.

In fact, "Ohio Grassman" is a pretty good introduction to the Bigfoot phenomenon, or at least the Bigfooting phenomenon. When I watched it the first time, I considered it frivolous and somewhat bizarre. I mean, one of the researchers puts up a gorilla mask in the forest as a "decoy" to lure the ape-man within camera range?! Later, I realized that the BFRO-type guys featured in the documentary actually represent the *moderate* faction within Bigfooting!

All the usual ingredients of the Bigfoot problematique are present: mysterious "nests" in the forests, weird sounds in the night, Bigfoots approaching camp fires or peeking into people's windows late at night, the inevitable footprints... The research team uses everything from wood-knocking and vocalizations to model helicopters with infrared cameras in its search for the unknown beast. One witness manages to find the skull of an African baboon in the forest! In the end, most of the evidence turns out to be inconclusive. However, fingerprint expert Jimmy Chilcutt believes that the footprints came from a real animal, and closely resemble those of a gorilla.

My main objection to "Ohio Grassman" is that the program is very slow-paced, bordering on boring. There's definitely more action on "Finding Bigfoot"! However, since I feel very pro-squatch this evening, I will nevertheless give it four stars for the effort.

Incidentally, did you notice that the closest town to the Grassman flap area is called Pleasant City? Sounds like Point Pleasant...