World's Weirdest Events (BBC)

[Peripart]

I've been watching this show on and off, and finding that's a pleasant way to spend an hour of a Thursday evening. It focusses (as the title suggests) on unusual creatures or natural-world events, but in a very family-friendly not-too-taxing way. Chris Packham (safe BBC naturalist, him off Springwatch etc) presents, for some unexplained reason, from an abandoned desert town in the US.

It was only after last night's show that it was brought home to me what a Fortean show this really is - the latest episode included such stories as crows leaving presents for a young girl in her garden, face-blindness and rocks that spontaneously catch fire!

I urge you to take a look, but you'll possibly need to mentally screen out the style of presentation.

The homepage for the show can be found here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b069b2qc

 

[Mythopoeika]

It was only after last night's show that it was brought home to me what a Fortean show this really is - the latest episode included such stories as crows leaving presents for a young girl in her garden, face-blindness and ocks that spontaneously catch fire!

Ocks?

 

[Peripart]

Ocks?

Possibly, but mainly rocks. Ahem - now corrected, thank you!

 

[CarlosTheDJ]

Yeah we've been watching and hugely enjoying this series!

Although a lot of the stories seem to have come from the hallowed pages of a particular journal....

 

[Peripart]

... and the disjointed presentation makes me wonder if it's been imported from another channel/country, with the Packmeister shoe-horned into the gaps between stories.

 

[CarlosTheDJ]

You could well be right.

I have to say, the Packmeister suits the old "black-suit-but-no-tie-in-the-desert" look quite well. Can we have Desertwatch instead of Autumnwatch?

 

[Ermintruder]

Although a lot of the stories seem to have come from the hallowed pages of a particular journal....

Declare IPR and hit them for the residuals!!

Although....I suppose, no Fortean topic can be inherently-copyrightable. And if there are protected/secret ones, nobody outwith the Circle Of Trust can ever know.

Is an undiscovered mystery phenomenon only Fortean once it's discovered? Or is it Fortean now? But.....if it's fully filed/indexed/analysed, it's ceased to be Fortean, obviously. Or does it?