If you missed the premiere screening of Animal Planet's "Mermaids: The Body Found," worry not, as typical of many cable television networks the channel is repeating the show, but based on a search of our satellite provider's schedule, if you want to see it, you'd better see it today.
Animal Planet is showing "Mermaids: The Body Found," twice today, and on DirecTV on the West Coast it shows up at 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. today. The special, half a decade in the making, purports to give you a look at the fictional creature known as a mermaid, but also reveals information that seems to point to the creature not being fictional, after all.
It's called a "speculative documentary." Charlie Foley, Animal Planet’s senior vice president of development, spent five years researching, writing, and developing - as well as executive producing - “Mermaids: The Body Found.” The show combines cutting-edge CGI with what are purportedly reports of actual events. These mermaids, though, don't look anything like Ariel of Disney fame.
The idea for the film came from Foley's past experience with another Animal Planet "speculative documentary." That special was focused on dragons. After the success of that show, Foley and the network wanted to do another one.
Foley explained how he came to the idea of a special on mermaids in an interview with the New York Post. He said:
"And I got thinking about mermaids and the question whether they could be real. And if you look, every seafaring culture on Earth has a mermaid legend, including cultures that never had contact with one another. They all have the same stories. They all depict the creatures similarly. That’s intriguing. Could this have evolved and how would it have happened? And that’s sort of the leading question.
"In the theory of human evolution there’s this pretty radical theory called the aquatic ape theory.
"The fact is there are animals that have moved from the land into the sea. Could it have happened to humans? And with aquatic ape theory, if there’s anything to it, what is the logical extension of it if we continued going in that direction. The idea is that people pulled back and we stopped evolving into a marine animal, into an aquatic animal. But what if we kept going? And that to me, knowing that it’s happened before knowing that it’s real science with other animals. Could it have happened with one branch of the human family tree?
"Could there actually be a scientific grounding to this legend?"
Watch an embedded video below, including that camera phone video, allegedly taken on a beach in Washington in 2004.
Source
Image Source Wikimedia Commons
Comments
#1 Fake
Im not really sure about my idea, but what I saw tonight was kinda fake, the video taken on the beach with the two kids was completely fake.
#2 Mermaids
Wrong. Just. Because its not the picture you had in mind of a mermaid doesn't mean it's not real. Why would the people who were interviewed risk their names being tainted if they didn't believe 100% in what they discovered/examined that day? Our government would want to hide something this big too, if people knew this was real, the public would go out searching and most likely hunt them wouldn't they? We don't like competition or coexisting. People from different cultures and different places don't just all come up with the same creature out of thin air. The navy and our government are hidin things like this and it's not right.
#3 So you think that government
So you think that government hides this so people won't hunt them? Why would the gov't concern themselves with these "creature's" well being? Oh, and does it just involve our government or did somehow all of the other countries who can't agree on anything finally found something they could all buy into, hiding the existence of mermaids. Finally as to your contention of how people of different cultures can come up with the same thing without it being real, try reading a little Carl Jung. Jose[h Campbell and any volume of comparative mythology might help too and just for fun try Kurt Vonnegut's 'Galapagos' (hint, that one is fiction just like the show.)
#4 You clearly have not worked
You clearly have not worked for the government. Their reaction to this is the only thing that makes me think it is true. You are correct in one sense. The government is probably not trying to protect the species if they did exist. Governments work in their own self-interest. This is often on a state or federal scale. I would know. I've worked in all levels of government. If the testing was causing harm to whales & they bleed from the ears, what else could the testing have caused? If the story were true, the government worldwide (i.e. in Cape Town as well) would be scrutinized. Religious organizations could also be in an uproar. You may not believe in it, but you can examine the government's reaction. Why would they take so much time to correct the story if there was no truth in it? Why would the Navy take the time to convince the children to change their story publicly? You don't have to believe in the creatures if you don't want to, but you really should at least question the government's reaction. Believe me, I've seen them do much worse.
#5 You say you've worked in
You say you've worked in different levels of the government , as in what ?
An what do you mean , you've seen them do much worse ?
Do you know anything about this ?
Message me please . - Kierah .
#6 You say you've worked in
You say you've worked in different levels of the government , as in what ?
An what do you mean , you've seen them do much worse ?
Do you know anything about this ?
Message me please . - Kierah .
#7 Mermaids are real
I agree 100%
#8 In Reality
Obviously there are more things to learn about our past as human kind.The truth is there.But to have caused wales to beach themselves in such a manner,is the real tragedy here.This was disgraceful enough without the covering up of an aquatic human race.Who ever it was to develop the sonic device,you kinda have to wonder if the purpose isnt as evident as the visable outcome of the beaching of wales. Dispicable
#9 are you serious?
A completely made up, faked, "documentary" and there are people who believe it? Do you believe that the Blair Witch Project video was actually found footage too? This is about as real as the Ancient Aliens and bigfoots (bigfeet?) living in populated areas crap. "Well, we don't know for a fact that they DON'T exist, so therefore they DO exist!" People will believe this garbage, but completely discount religion, too. It's sad that so many stupid people breed.
#10 Well, religion is just as
Well, religion is just as implausible and devoid of actual proof as mermaids, Sasquatch, ghosts or whatever other superstitions people choose to believe in. To call people stupid because believe in this show but not your religion is also an example of stupidity.
#11 Religion teaches you to be....
Mass organized religion teaches you to be closed-minded. In other words it preaches "faith" over scientific evidence and/or fact. Understanding the scientific fact of evolution allows this program to become plausible.
#12 science..thats a joke
Religion if anything teaches you to be open minded.. to believe in something without physically interacting with God in anyway .. shows you that faith is the ultimate example of being open minded .... but besides that people will believe in anything these days .. cuz truth is anything is possible.. God can do anything and all things ..and thats the bottom line..
science only proves what man is capable of understanding in a guesstimate theory .. or best guess as it were.. thats it and only it.. science doesnt prove shit.. for in science when something doesnt add up they always just guess.. so in science your only believing someones best guesses.. cuz in all reality no one truly no's the unexplainable.. and even trying to tell people your theory makes those people that much damn dumber.. sciences best guess ..IS NOT the TRUTH ...LOL..
#13 The "Faith" argument yet again...so tiring...
Your whole response flies in the face of your contention that religion teaches you to be open-minded. It also shows a total lack of understanding of the Scientific Method, which is totally sound, and uses first-hand observation and facts to either prove or disprove a hypothesis. I love how incredibly open-minded you are about science, and I'm sure you're completely open-minded about all the other hundreds (thousands?) of religions which have beliefs contrary to your own religion's beliefs. I'm sure they all have "faith" in their own religions, probably equal to or exceeding your own. Oh, no, but your's is the correct one, right? What a joke! Anybody can create a religion, throw in a few key persons that really existed, invent a few mythical stories, full of magic and wonder, then use the "have faith" tactic to get the weak-minded, simple individuals to follow it. Then they can get them to starve themselves (fasting) when there are food shortages, turn the other cheek as they continually get abused, and get them to vote Republican...
#14 Are you for real?!
pff you don't know whats down in the ocean, unless you go look for your self, there really could be aquatic creatures hiding you don't know for sure but you can't deny the theory!!!
#15 #1 are you serious
the only reson religon is so sucsesfull is because eourope sent missionarys all over the world to change people coustomes to fit theres total religos monopoly the best form of power religon kills more people tan any thing
#16 Mermaids The Body Found
I believe that they could be real, but i dont believe they are part human. I believe animals can evolve to creatures. God has made so many different types of species out there in this world. They are finding new animals/creatures everyday. They may be distinct now, i dont know. I believe in Dinosaurs, but I never seen one before. I never want to give up my faith believing in God. So people do give up believing in Christianity.
#17 mermaids
obviously you people cannot read...at the end of the movie it says only the bleep vocalizations that were initially recorded were real. Its what initially spun the idea of the mermaid possibility into a theorized documentary. Now lets think on that....clearly the concern regarding the navy sonar killing whales in a ridiculous attempt to test the sonar or whatever the reason was creates a huge concern here as well. Why would our nation ban whale hunting just to risk killing hundreds due to sonar testing....thats just plain rude. SO....what is really going on. Obviously it stopped, as beaching has been on the downslide apparently due to the public airing of the results, etc. The one thing they did not address however that I thought was strange as they never once theorized on anyting Atlantis related....it would seem to have fallen into the theory factor as a possible place of relativity. We know if the approximate place of Atlantis is correct, it existed in some of the deepest casms of the ocean. Anyway I found this show awesome in the idea of speculation and true to the fact that the deep ocean really is the least explore area of our world. We do know neanderthals existed, we do have mammal commonality with the ocean mammals...if we are so close to apes by DNA why could we have not been close to another ocean creature once in existence....anything is possible. People please...when watching a movie be sure to read all the ending credits...much is gained by the format.
#18 My reply has been deleted...Why???
Hey I put a message on here and it has been deleted. It was a long one saying about the possibilities of there being mermaid creatures. I dont know why. The fact of the matter is that the message I posted wouldnt have an impact on making anyone look for the creatures. Its just not fair that my post was deleted and no one elses was!!
#19 Did you read the article before posting?
The special was a docu-fiction. Right in the article up above they call it a SPECULATIVE-documentary. meaning it is all still a theory. I really wish the show was real, and that mermaids exist or atleast did at one point, but the fact of the matter is there is no proof, and just because you want something to be real, doesn't mean it actually is. So please, stop being silly and argueing over the authenticity of this special, it was never claimed to be real, just made to seem real.
#20 Real
The gov't hides them, because it is possible to breed with them. They're real.
#21 I like how simplistic some
I like how simplistic some people are when they judge this movie based on the CGI effects and video scenes of the mermaid. Of course those aren't real, but I suppose those same people think the bloop recordings weren't real, the skeleton remains they found that resembled human ancestors with aquatic adaptations wren't real, and the naval officer who took what they found on the Washington beach captive wasn't telling the truth. If the aquatic ape theory flew over your head, maybe you should take an anthropology class.
#22 it was all made up
they said it was all a dramatization. The "remains" were fake, the "Naval officer" was an actor, as were the kids, the "doctors" and everything else.
#23 It's not made up!!
People shouldn't be in denile just because this looked fake, Dinos were real and you believed in that why did you believe, have you seen one? You believed based on science to prove it but we don't need science to prove that there is a God and his son is jesus, do you need science to prove your religion? Well I sure hope not.
#24 i can't believe what im reading
First of all, if you do some simple research, you'll find that the producer himself admits that this is a Mock-umentary. It's not real. It's just a big what if. Oh, and religion does make you closed minded. Closed minded to the facts. Faith does not mean its real and has no basis in reality. Jesus, Bigfoot, mermaids. It's all belief systems. Amen.
#25 i can't believe what im reading
First of all, if you do some simple research, you'll find that the producer himself admits that this is a Mock-umentary. It's not real. It's just a big what if. Oh, and religion does make you closed minded. Closed minded to the facts. Faith does not mean its real and has no basis in reality. Jesus, Bigfoot, mermaids. It's all belief systems. Amen.
#26 i can't believe what im reading
First of all, if you do some simple research, you'll find that the producer himself admits that this is a Mock-umentary. It's not real. It's just a big what if. Oh, and religion does make you closed minded. Closed minded to the facts. Faith does not mean its real and has no basis in reality. Jesus, Bigfoot, mermaids. It's all belief systems. Amen.
#27 Only someone with limited
Only someone with limited knowledge of religion and spirituality would believe it makes you closed minded.
#28 Now I know...
Now I know what happened to those Sea Monkeys I flushed down the toilet 30 years ago.
#29 The government covered up the
The government covered up the UFO in New Mexico in 1947 too! I'm just saying!! It's totally real in my opinion
#30 They are real
For those of u who think that ariel sebastian and flounder arent real......u r all idiots!!!!
#31 If this is all fake then answer me this.
If this is all fake... then why both of Dr. Peterson's websites blocked by the government?
#32 And what are the website
And what are the website addresses?
#33 And what are the website
And what are the website addresses?
#34 Sea-Banshee
i like to think they are sort of sea-banshees.
as long as hollywood keeps casting pretty fashion models as mermaids, that's good enough for me. but the truth is still something to die for.
#35 THIS MOVIE
Ive seen a little video clip of this boy who walks up to a corpse on the beach and pokes it with a stick and a creature jumps up and howls at him. This Video is DEFINATELY FAKE. There is no sound of the boy screaming or who he is with and also the quality is the beast which points to the graphics designer getting away with niggly shit.
I wouldnt consider myself a non believer of mermaids and if they existed. But I do know this for sure, they definatley would not be around these days, and also the video clip is not old because look at the clothes on the boy and the video camera didnt appear to be vintage Lol. Maybe they did exist and maybe they didnt...Who knows.
There are a few ways to possibly find out...Youd have to pretty much get a baby as an embryo or something, which lets be realistic you would need to be an extremely smart person/rocket scientist and maybe a bit of mixing with genetics and mutation or long years of adaptation which lets face it, no one could really be bothered. It would be a life wasted if proven wrong. If we did have cells in our body that gave us the ability to breathe underwater, those cells have completely gone from our genetics and it would take centuries to rebuild...IF, and thats a big IF, it was true. Think to yourselves. We have come a long way in adapting over all of these year and to go back on that would take a few lifetimes.
Anyways people try not to dwell on it. Because for all you know the director/writer of this movie could have made a great story just to get the believers and non believers to watch their movie...Quite interesting though
#36 This is a clever documentary,
This is a clever documentary, I personally enjoyed the theory behind it all. I got a few major points out of the whole show.
1. there is still so much in our world we know little to nothing about.
2. the "bloop" is of unknown origins. - that doesn't mean it's a mermaid.
3. Navy testing sonar weapons.
I would like to think this is real, but the video of the boys discredits the whole "documentary".
The Aquatic Ape theory however is a interesting theory. something I think most can agree on; this was / is possible.
My reasoning behind my rather bold above statement, when darwin first started speaking of evolution he was laughed at, and ridiculed for what he believed in. however over time "most" of his theory has proven to be more and more accepted. the only portion currently not accepted of the theory of evolution is that of humans.
so should we throw out the aquatic ape theory? No
should we dismiss extraterrestrials as non-existent? No
We simply shouldn't throw out all these ideas just because they seem implausible.
If there is something like 100 Billion Galaxies in the Universe, Statistics 101 will tell you its probable E.T.'s exist.
We can argue Mermaids, E.T.'s, Religion, etc is nothing more than a fallacy. I cannot "prove" mermaids exists just as the next person cant prove to me X religion exists.
Nowadays its so easy to "fake" a UFO, or ghost siting, and with all the media attention to paranormal, or otherwise otherworldly entertainment its difficult to disguise between fact and fiction.
The Fourth Kind is a prime example of Fake, but is the famous bigfoot siting fake? "Experts" have tried disproving it, but the consensus is, they can't disprove it, nor can they prove it. Just because they can't prove / disprove doesn't mean we throw it out, we investigate further, attempting to solve the case.
Getting more so back on topic humans are naturally curious, I would assume if mermaids exist they too would share the same trait, investigating the sonar weapon attempting to find out what it is they hear for example.
which is what I got out of this documentary most of all, we as humans are the dominate species on Earth. We should keep an open mind, so we can better understand the world we live in.
#37 video of mermaid is fake
Look at the flock of birds in the upper left hand corner if the screen as the boy goes to lean down and look at the "mermaid". the flock of birds never stay in the same flight pattern the whole time. There's clearly some doctoring to this video.
#38 oops!! Meant to say: look at
oops!! Meant to say: look at the flock of birds in the upper left hand corner of the screen as the boy goes to lean down and look at the "mermaid". The flock of birds STAY in the same flight pattern the whole time. There's clearly some doctoring to this video.
#39 video of mermaid is fake
Look at the flock of birds in the upper left hand corner if the screen as the boy goes to lean down and look at the "mermaid". the flock of birds never stay in the same flight pattern the whole time. There's clearly some doctoring to this video.
#40 uts just a television show people
Real or not real, its just a television show people and if you want absolute facts then consult a journal or a textbook and not TV. Moreover, rather you believe it or are ridiculing the idea, the point is mermaids have been a part of culture for centuries and a "speculative documentary" is interesting to watch nevertheless; as such the legend is very much real. So I say to everyone just watch TV and stop complaining or taking it too heart.
#41 Government Strikes Again!
Let's see Roswell Cover up in 1947, Area 51, Manhatten Project Cover up in 1945, Philadelphia Project in 1943 also known as project rainbow, and now mermaids. If all these are false then why all the government cover up? Why the government at all? Why the fight which lead to the passing of the Freedom of Information Act in 1974. Why is it that now some 38 years later we are still met with red tape, missing material, and what is released is reduced to documents with just about everything blacked out? Let's not trust other eye witnesses, lets trust our government!!
#42 Seriously
Why is anyone arguing about this. The creators stated, though not very loudly, that this was made up. Only the bloop and the navy sonar testing causing whales to beach were real.
The rest of it was entirely made up. The remains were not real. The videos and interviews, all fake. Those were actors. The phone video: they barely made an effort. Those kids never talk. What real kids would be walking along beach surrounded by dead and dying whales, and not saying a word? Not even screaming when the "mermaid" attacks them. They were actors, and if they had spoken, they would have had to be paid more. As for the government blocked websites. Also, fake. That was set up intentionally. , as a gimick. Animal planet is still the owner of that domain name.
I swear, it amazes how people can be convinced that the government is so incompetent, and corrupt as to be a thing of mockery. Yet apparently, at the same time competent enough to manage a globe spanning coverup.
Could they be real? Maybe, but I doubt like this. I'd be more likely to believe it if they were not air breathers. As the theories goes, they would have to surface their entire head to get a breath. The documentary also implies they leap out of the water like dolphins. If they truly did travel with whales, how could we possibly miss them? People go whales siting all the time, they bring cameras. Is the government confiscating all these videos. New ocean species are discovered every day, yes. Most are deep sea dwellers that rarely surface, if at all. New aquatic mammal species are more often the case a previously miscataloged group.
My two cents. Neat show, definitely gets you thinking. But it was created for entertainment, not to reveal "the truth" or convince anyone that mermaids are real.