What I discovered in Pasadena

It turns out that Stephen Hawking has a sense of humor.

That’s one take-away from Discovery Channel’s recent 25th anniversary celebration at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, California — during which the network presented its latest programming to sharp-tongued panelists of the Television Critics Association (TCA). Those TV critics can be as snarky as Simon Cowell during AI Auditions Week. They let fly with comments on upcoming Discovery shows, embracing some while jeering others. Above it all floated the specter of Dr. Hawking in his interplanetary wheelchair — while the noted astrophysics professor and celebrity couldn’t personally attend the event, he sent a video message to promote his new Discovery program, Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking.

“I am very glad to be here for the Television Critics tour. As you know, I am a big fan of television… especially shows in which I have appeared… like The Simpsons.” (Hearty laughter from the crowd.) “I am still waiting for my invitation to Dancing with the Stars.” (More hearty laughter.)

The good doctor even fielded (via video) some prepared questions from the media, giving answers to burning questions about the universe such as: “Seriously, is there anything truly worth watching on television?”

Dr. Hawking’s deadpan response: “I like crime dramas, but I don’t know if I should feel guilty about that.”

Into the Universe looks to be a mind-bending trip through space and time narrated by the popular scientist. Questions about time travel, black holes and the Big Bang Theory (the theory, not the TV show) will be explored in this Discovery series, with Hawking adding that “people will be hooked by the amazing graphics and storytelling.”

In addition to blue-chip offerings such as Hawking’s show and an ambitious 11-part series called Life co-produced with the BBC and narrated by Oprah Winfrey, Discovery Communications fanned out a lineup of shows running the gamut from meteorite diggers to real-life adventures of gay organic farmers in upstate New York.

Discovery, it might surprise Asian audiences to learn, does not simply do extreme adventure shows like Man Vs. Wild and Deadliest Catch, or fun-science shows like MythBusters — it produces a wide range of programming in the US under its various channels such as Planet Green, The Learning Channel, Animal Planet and Investigation Discovery. It’s clear that American audiences have a much broader definition of “discovery.”

Take shows like The Fabulous Beekman Boys, which follows what happens when gay couple Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge decide to leave cosmopolitan Manhattan and run an organic farm for a year, becoming “ecopreneurs” — raising pigs and making soap from goat’s milk. Sounds a bit like Queen Acres? That was the verdict of the TCA pundits, though the show is popular with its target audience — largely women and eco-viewers.

On the other hand, reality shows like Prison Wives (about spouses of convicted killers) and Fatal Attractions (about people who raise wild animals in their homes, despite the dangers) pushed the audience of TV critics to bouts of apoplexy worthy of The Jerry Springer Show. Hearing the skeptical reaction from the crowd as prison spouses Latoya Marion, Tim McDonald and Pam Booker made their case for love behind bars, Booker acknowledged: “We are judged all the time. We’re being judged here today.”

But those real-life star-crossed lovers were practically treated with loving care compared to the animal owners from Fatal Attractions. Noting another Discovery show will feature dwarves who raise pit bulls (Little People, Big World), one wag in the audience blurted out, “What’s next on Discovery? Giants Who Raise Chihuahuas?” The same critic accused Discovery of pandering to sensationalism by featuring “crazy people doing dangerous things” just for ratings. (Though such bizarre programming choices are certainly nothing new to reality TV.)

The three hapless animal owners endured jeers from the audience as they defended their choice to continue raising deadly snakes, wild panthers and chimpanzees in their domestic homes — despite personal attacks and even deaths. The chimp owner, Jeanette Rizzotto, admitted she loved dressing her chimps up in clothes and allowing them free roam of the house — despite a friend’s chimp, the infamous Travis, going berserk one day and ripping its owner’s face off before being shot by police. Animal Welfare Policy expert Josephine Martel pointed out that such animal owners “make the mistake of believing the animals love them back the same way,” a delusion that is often fueled by ego and a desire for celebrity. Martel asked the panther owner, “Have you ever had psychiatric treatment?” The panelist paused a beat before blithely shooting back: “Yeah, but not for this.”

All in all, it was tasty grist for the TV critics, who needed no special license to lambaste the glut of reality TV shows filling the air space. But in a way, reality programming is the lifeblood of Discovery, as it explores the extreme and often unreported stories of nature and mankind. Though it’s odd to see such a motley mix of panelists — from blue-collar types to Oxford scientists — it is all arguably the domain of Discovery.

Discovery — now under the direction of former Fox Networks executive Pete Liguori — may have a lot of competition, now that reality shows involving danger and extreme behavior are the norm of television, but with hit shows like MythBusters (in which urban myths are tested and often debunked using science), Deadliest Catch, American Chopper (the show’s tattooed father figure, Paul Teutel Sr., was there to extract questions from the assembled journalists), River Monsters (in which Jeremy Wade hunts down real-life freshwater killers — everything from piranhas and armored catfish to the deadly alligator gar — then releases them back into the wild), Storm Chasers (featuring real weather freaks Sean Casey and Reed Timmer) and Into the Pride (wherein animal lover Dave Salmoni shows villagers how to deal with rampaging wildlife), there’s still plenty of good science to go along with the “reality.”

Yes, this just might be what will make TV worth watching again: more geeks, fewer freaks.

If Discovery, in its 25 years of success, has taught us anything, it’s that engaging with the world around us makes for more interesting, well-rounded people. The hosts of MythBusters, River Monsters, Storm Chasers and others at the Pasadena event demonstrated a palpable curiosity about their world, and maybe this is what comes across to Asian audiences. (MythBusters’ media-friendly stars Kari Byron, Grant Imahara and Tory Belleci even promised to check out the myth of the Philippines’ “Magnetic Mountain” some day.)

In Asia this year, we can expect new seasons of MythBusters, Atlas 4D, Worst Case Scenario, Solving History with Olly Steeds and the aforementioned Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking. Over on Discovery Travel and Living, popular shows like LA Ink and American Chopper have new seasons, while on Animal Planet — another signature Discovery channel — there’s Wild Recon (in which a snake expert hunts down deadly venom for scientific research) and a fresh season of River Monsters premiering Feb. 16.

Still dangerous TV? You bet. But at least it’s in the name of science.