Deep Sea Detectives

This is one of my favorite shows. I always try to see it when it is on and frequently watch repeatedly.

The danger of the diving world is referred to repeatedly throughout the episodes but is not sensationalized. The danger was made quite clear when one of the cameramen was killed during a dive in the Pacific a few years ago. These brave personnel are never shown but are credited. Did you think that the principals hatterton and Kohler film themselves? This week's broadcast by the History Channel of a two hour special following the 2005 expedition to determine definitively the cause of the sinking of the Titanic, is is a splendid example and one of the finest documentaries I have seen.

The film makes abundantly clear that diving is only a small part of the precess of discovery. The expedition was searching for confirmation of observations made during a previous expedition of some years before.

The Titanic lies at such a depth to make it necessary to use submersibles (mini-aubs) for the dives. In this instance the vessel and its crew were of Russian origin.

The final portion of the show emphasizes the subsequent tedious and exacting analysis of the data and imagery collected; it sets forth a theorem as to what happened, that though not perfectly definitive, does bring the mystery of the Titanic closer to solution.

The film itself is excellently edited, and includes interviews with survivors, descendent's of survivors, those who have spent years studying the sinking, former participants in preceding expeditions, plus a summary of the ship's history and known events. Much expertly well done animated drawings and explanations of the construction of the ship and its breakup are also included.

I cannot praise rhia work too highly. The hour long regular programs are just as finely done.

The show is presented in a compressed time frame format. The hosts are trying to give a feeling for how underwater investigations proceed. This is NOT the Burger King of science shows. Each one of these investigations could take months or even years to complete. Check out the book "Shadow Divers" which gives an account of John Chatterton's and Richie Kohler's investigation to identify a U-Boat 60 miles off the New Jersey coast. They needed 6 years to finally make the definitive identification. Three people died diving to this U-Boat. This show gives you the same sense of this investigative process. And, if you think that the host, John Chatterton, is showing off or has a big ego, just read about his life story in "Shadow Divers"! Most people can only dream they had half the experiences!

Don't bother to waste your time on this show.

I believe each episode is one hour in length, but all the history that can be learned is presented in 15 minutes. The rest is just constant restating of already presented facts and suppositions.

In addition, there seems to be a lot of 'look how talented I am' ego tripping by the show hosts.

If you got an hour to kill, go read a book, you'll get more out of it. At the end, I just felt like I was waiting and waiting for something interesting to happen, and it never did. This show reminded me of the "Al Capone's Vault" fiasco.

The episode I watched was "U352."

Most people that watch this show have an interest in historical shipwrecks. John Chatterton and Richie Kohler are icons of the wreck diving community. Both have a serious interest in the shipwrecks they investigate.Their exploits investigating a lost U-boat off the coast of New Jersey during WWII will be documented in a major motion picture called Shadow Divers, which will be filmed in 2006.In Deep Sea Detectives,they primarily answer interesting questions about the fates and futures of these famous shipwrecks. As a recreational diver, I've found many of the shows are well worth the time spent in watching them.They were also involved in a Nova documentary called Hitler's Lost Sub which was based on the same wreck

As a history & nautical buff, I love this show! I agree there is a bit of rehashing, but that's typical of almost any show of this nature today...people either have very short memories, or they duck out for a snack & miss something, so producers tend to make certain points many times. The show's hosts, John Chatterton & Richie Kohler, are excellent...these guys are the real deal. They aren't armchair experts, they ARE the experts! John Chatterton has found & documented more lost ships than anyone to date, as far as I know. Richie Kohler is a serious historian who is fortunate enough to have "been there" on his own & along with John for some very important discoveries.

I don't think there's any arrogance about either of these guys...they know what they're talking about. Solving the riddle of the U-869 is just one of many major, important discoveries these guys have accomplished (read "Shadow Divers"!). With a love & respect for history, a no-nonsense approach to problems & more knowledge than any written or personal source on their topic than anyone else I've read or spoken to, no better hosts could be found. People often mistake pride as arrogance. These men are more entitled to being proud of their work than anyone else I know of. They've both sacrificed a lot to get where they are.

I highly recommend this show. It's important for people to remember & respect history. It may all be in the past, but it shapes us now & it will in the future. John & Richie...thank you!