History channel cancels Dog Fights Show

[R0NNC0]

It had it's flaws, but I can't recall any other show that interviewed Al Vraciu, Ham McWhorter, Jeff DeBlanc, or Jim Swett among others. It's too bad McCampbell passed a few years ago. It would've been great to hear his take.

[T_O_A_D]

I think it's an awsum show for one reason only, It has interviewed some of our Best pilots with thier best stories, and put them in my living room so I can hear and see their faces and voices. All the rest is just icing on the cake. We are running out of time to capture these men from WW2 so keep the cameras rolling, and get more many more on film please, from all sides and theaters of the war.

[Y0RGO]

Originally Posted by 4./JG53_Wotan

Personally, I never cared for the show and am not surprised that it may get canceled. There were serious issues with the accuracy of the some the episodes going back to the original 2 hour premier / pilot. I wasn't too impressed with the CGI either - it was decent but in the end it seemed more like a cartoon rather then a historical recreation of 'the best dog fights' (btw I don't consider bombing ships 'dog fighting').

Wotan

You could not care for the show when it shows gErmany lose on dogfighting, yes?

[fly_zo]

Originally Posted by Y0RGO

You could not care for the show when it shows gErmany lose on dogfighting, yes?

typical reaction

[DHC2Pilot]

Here too, I've got mixed emotions of the cancellation. The actual combat footage was always interesting, as well as the interviews, however as stated before the accuracy of the script was sorely lacking in every episode I watched (I lost interest after the 5th episode. And I couldn't stand the computer generated nonsense they had on there especially when they tried to explain some of the maneuvers. I'd much rather watch Wings of the Lufwaffe or Wings of the Red Star. Now, if the "Wings Of...." series would just start covering the Brits, Italians, Japanese, etc. we'd be all set - they'd have no end of planes to cover.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by R0NNC0

It had it's flaws, but I can't recall any other show that interviewed Al Vraciu, Ham McWhorter, Jeff DeBlanc, or Jim Swett among others. It's too bad McCampbell passed a few years ago. It would've been great to hear his take.

That's the significance of this show in a nutshell. TOAD stated it well too.

Personally my gripe about the show wasn't it's content. We know it was basic stuff placed for the masses, and not the fanatic or the knowlegable. My complaint had to do with the editing and presentation. Every 5 minutes or so there was a commercial. Upon coming back the first minute or two was a rehash of the previous segment. Boring, repetative, and ultimately that's what made it unwatchable.

The content was capable of reaching who the producers aimed it at with no problem. It's editing and contstant repetition killed it. I quite often got the feeling they were cutting corners to preserve money, hense the repetition.

I bought season one for my 9 year old nephew. If season two comes out I'll do the same. Two things have spurred his interest in WW 2 history. IL2 and Dogfights. His dad has taken him to quite a few museums at his request to see airplanes of WW2 because of of these two. I plan on taking him to the air show in Reading PA this June. I told his dad/my brother about it and if I can't make it he'll take him. (Actually a third thing helped spur the flight bug. Wings of War. Who'd a thunk it?)

[Von_G]

I recorded most of the first season, watched em once.
Quite enjoyed them, in spite of the innaccuracy and hyperbole, but probably wouldnt watch em again.
My 14 year old lad on the other hand, has watched them multiple times and I am sure they are the reason he has started to get interested in IL-2.

So I agree with Robert. They may be a little thin for us hardcores, but I would support the show because it interests the younger generation in something important that happened long before they were born.
New blood is essential if flight sims are going to continue to be viable as products.

[Erkki]

Was pretty odd humour to me...

[choctaw111]

Yes, the show has its flaws, and for those of us who are serious about this kind of thing, we were horrified by some of the inaccuracies...however, this show has certainly brought many new people into this genre, into Il2 and ultimately into SoW:BoB. Anything out there that will cultivate new simmers into our little niche is greatly appreciated I think.

[mondo]

My only gripe with it is that it was a bit gung ho America and didn't really feature any one from any other countries unless they were being shot down by an American (this isn't an anti america rant but just how I saw those episodes). It would have been nice to feature some of the 100+ kill German aces who flew in Spain right up until the last days, Russian aces or maybe some of the British nightfighter aces.