History Channel's "Top Shot" on Sunday night

[Justin]

I alos wonder if they are going to have trouble getting proffessional instructors liek Mike in the future. Choking on national TV, regardless of the facts on the ground can't be good for business.

Actually, if the show is renewed for a second season, Mike's failure has a redemption story already built right into it. Assuming he's willing to audition again for another go-around, the producers would be more than willing to have him on the show since giving him a chance to redeem himself on television makes for a good story.


Also, I see a lot of people here bagging on Seeklander and claiming they could do better. It's a lot easier to be a phenomenal shot from behind a keyboard. Not quite so easy from behind a rifle you know little about that may or may not be in good working order.

 

[rscalzo]

It's very likely the producer's have extremely wide latitude and can easily influence the outcome

.

I know for a fact that was not the case. Seeing all the comments of how great everyone would have done is somewhat funny. the point of the show was to pit these people against firearms that are unfamiliar to them. Jim Sinclair was intimately familiar with those rifles. When he got to the black powder and others, he have almost zero experience where the others would shine.

I'd like to see some here be put in a unfamiliar event and then speak.

 

[Phydeaux642]

There sure are a lot of condescending, holier-than-thou armchair experts spewing their hate here it seems. You gripe when shooters are portrayed in a poor light or not at all and you gripe when they are featured on entertainment TV in a positive way. Maybe people are correct in assuming that there is no way to make you happy.

 

[Justin]

If the show on TV doesn't live up to the show that they envision in their head (that they will never actually produce) then it's obviously the worst thing ever.

A lot of gun owners tend to remind of me Comic Book Guy from "The Simpsons" in that regard.

 

[easyg]

To be honest, I really enjoyed the show.
It's always fun to watch shows with real shooters.

And I'm glad that Mike was eliminated instead of Kelly.

 

[Straight Shooter]

The purpose of a show like this or Survivor, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars etc. is to get people to gather around the water cooler the next day and nit-pick how the contestants did. The fact that people on THR may actually know some of the contestants adds and interesting twist.

It could turn out to be fun to watch this show being a member of THR because of the insight the members could bring to the table and perhaps some insider gossip or it could be ruined by the same.

 

[Lorenzo Rojo]

If the show on TV doesn't live up to the show that they envision in their head (that they will never actually produce) then it's obviously the worst thing ever.

I don't think anyone posted that Top Shot was the worst show ever. Television networks, producers, and participants on televisions shows open themselves up for criticism by realizing shows for public consumption. The History Channel, with the advertising they used and the editing of Top Shot created expectations and summarily disappointed many of the folks on this forum.

The History Channel sold the show as a battle of experts. Mike is, by definition and his own proclaiming, an expert. He did not deliver, plain and simple. By being on the show, he has made a tacit agreement to public criticism. By making a television show, the History Channel has opened itself up to criticism.

Pandering to the lowest common denominator for the sake of entertainment, by policy, is worthy of negative criticism. Editing a show for the sake of whipping up drama and interpersonal conflict, by policy, is worthy of negative criticism. Failing to deliver on the promise of expertise is worthy of negative criticism.

If we are all willing to accept sub-standard effort in any arena, we get what we deserve.

 

[Jon Coppenbarger]

well yeah it is still open sites I recieved my master card at long range shooting long range matches with a open sited ar15 and he has done it all. those matches were 800, 900 and 1K.

if you go to the nra web site and look up the rules you have TWO catagories for palma. one is a service rifle and the other is a match rifle.
It did not state which he shot did it? no the show did not. I asume since he has I believe the show stated but I could be wrong he shot on team USA which would be the palma rifle with a 308 win round. And apeture sites are considered open sites and just like a ar15 service rifle you are allowed ONLY ONE manification and with a ar15 your only choice is the rear. with the palma rifle you have a choice either the front or rear. the magnification is only to help clear the sites. if you want to use a scope you will be shooting like F class and that is usually reserved for the old and blind. If you knew anything like the guys on the show you would realize how small that dot is threw a apeture site at 1k and then try it with a post its a GAS! it seperates the men from the boys.

As I said 600 yards is a cake walk for him and with a scope its a joke. give 1k yards a shot sometime over a post.
I have a saying if you can not clean a 200 yard target their is a good chance you will not do it at 600 yards and beyond. I love the wind!!!!

Justin This site is becoming a Joke as with comments like if he only shot the pistol instead of the rifle. Well guess what thats next week and kelly could be out then also. but I think the guys who chose kelly did so with the purpose of getting the one person on the team who would smash him and make sure he was off that week.

I think I will go to another site with a little more knowladge instead off alot of guys who talk without knowladge!!!!!

 

[offthepaper]

I think I will go to another site with a little more knowladge instead off alot of guys who talk without knowladge!!!!!

Uhh........It's knowledge Jon.

 

[testosterone]

Hey, Jon; they don't use open sights at 1000 yards for Palma shooting, which the bio says is his main game. They use aperture or "peep" sights.

Stop it, we all know that we are talking about optical sights vs. iron sights.

 

[Gryffydd]

I think I will go to another site with a little more knowladge instead off alot of guys who talk without knowladge!!!!!

Said like a true seeker of knowledge.

but I think the guys who chose kelly did so with the purpose of getting the one person on the team who would smash him and make sure he was off that week.

That raises the question though, did they KNOW what the elimination challenge would be?

 

[brboyer]

.

I know for a fact that was not the case. Seeing all the comments of how great everyone would have done is somewhat funny. the point of the show was to pit these people against firearms that are unfamiliar to them. Jim Sinclair was intimately familiar with those rifles. When he got to the black powder and others, he have almost zero experience where the others would shine.

I'd like to see some here be put in a unfamiliar event and then speak.

How so?

 

[Justin]

I don't think anyone posted that Top Shot was the worst show ever.

Oh noes! I used hyperbole!

Maybe no one said "worst show ever" but from a number of the reactions here, you'd think the host of the show kicked their dog.

Television networks, producers, and participants on televisions shows open themselves up for criticism by realizing shows for public consumption. The History Channel, with the advertising they used and the editing of Top Shot created expectations and summarily disappointed many of the folks on this forum.

Where did The History Channel or the production company ever make any sort of promise to the members of THR that the show would live up to their ephemeral and ever-changing expectations?

The History Channel sold the show as a battle of experts. Mike is, by definition and his own proclaiming, an expert. He did not deliver, plain and simple.

He failed. Yes. In rather spectacular form. Or the equipment was faulty. Either way, one extremely poor performance on one stage is hardly indicative of his not being an expert.

By being on the show, he has made a tacit agreement to public criticism. By making a television show, the History Channel has opened itself up to criticism.

Comic Book Guy: Last night's Itchy & Scratchy was, without a doubt, the worst episode ever. Rest assured I was on the Internet within minutes registering my disgust throughout the world.

Bart: Hey, I know it wasn’t great, but what right do you have to complain?

Comic Book Guy: As a loyal viewer, I feel they owe me.

Bart: For what? They’re giving you thousands of hours of entertainment for free. What could they possibly owe you? If anything, you owe them.

Comic Book Guy: Worst... episode... ever.

Pandering to the lowest common denominator for the sake of entertainment, by policy, is worthy of negative criticism. Editing a show for the sake of whipping up drama and interpersonal conflict, by policy, is worthy of negative criticism. Failing to deliver on the promise of expertise is worthy of negative criticism.

The show is, obviously, geared to whip up some interpersonal conflict. But that's hardly "pandering to the lowest common denominator." I don't even recall them having to bleep any of the contestants for swearing like on a lot of the other shows.

Honestly, if that constitutes your notion of "lowest common denominator" I have to wonder how often you get out. There was hardly any sort of offensive or "lowest common denominator" content in the show.

And again, at no point did they claim Seeklander was an expert with the 1903, and even if he was, it doesn't change the fact that sometimes fate throws a curveball in the middle of a match. I've seen it happen to shooters from beginners to USPSA Grand Masters. Just because someone who's experienced fails at one task doesn't mean they have no experience whatsoever.

If we are all willing to accept sub-standard effort in any arena, we get what we deserve.

It's a tv show for crying out loud. A, most likely, medium-budget shooting competition show built within the fairly well-established structure of the competitive reality show.

It's meant to be watched and enjoyed. If you're so inclined, pick a team or competitor to root for. Or if you don't like the show, don't watch it. But I fail to see what's wrong with a shooting tv show built on a foundation that the average non-shooter will find interesting and/or compelling.

 

[Jim Watson]

Stop it, we all know that we are talking about optical sights vs. iron sights.

I am aware that knowladge of the distinction between peep and open sights under the broad category of iron sights has kind of faded out of the public eye. My Master Class colleague calls 'em all open sights, too.
But I don't. Call my $570 Baldwin vernier tang peep and globe outfit "open sights" and I will feel insulted.
But what do I know? I am just old and blind and shoot F-class with a scope. What does it matter if the young twerps shooting service rifle, match rifle, and Palma rifle call their apertures open sights? I guess they figure that they are open on the ends.

 

[Justin]

Uhh........It's knowledge Jon.

Jon missed out on the spelling bees because he was at the range shooting.

 

[Robert]

Pssshh! I could have made those shots easy. I am the greatest keyboard commando Grand Master, Uber Wizard shooter the world has never seen. Heck I could have made those shots blindfolded with a sling shot or for a real touch of difficulty, a Mosin Nagant... sheesh. I am going back to reality this is for the birds.

 

[bamawrx]

I think the main reason this show has so much interest is the botched 100 yard shoot by the one competitor. It really is hard to imagine what took place on both the spotter and shooters part.

I'll watch the next episode and see if the show is something that I will follow or not. My hope is that it will appeal to a wide audience and expand the interest in the shooting sports. Clearly it isn't designed for me, and yes it has some The Bachelor/Dancing with the Stars kind of a thing going on. That's TV these days.

Not sure what so many posters are all upset about. This thing has struck a nerve big time...

 

[Hawthorne2k]

Not sure what so many posters are all upset about. This thing has struck a nerve big time.

Yeah, I can't figure that out either. One second it's complaining about how there's no shooting sports on TV, and then the next second it's complaining about the most exposure the shooting sports have ever had on TV...

Well, there's a way to cure that, and it's called YouTube. Get a camera (a Flip or a Kodak will cost you under two hundred bucks), get some editing software (My Macs come with iMovie, but there's a bunch of good, cheap editors for Windows out there), get a bunch of your friends, and do it better yourself.

 

[Justin]

Not sure what so many posters are all upset about. This thing has struck a nerve big time...

Which is what I don't get. For the first time that I'm aware of, there's have a tv show airing on a fairly widely-distributed network that was expressly intended to appeal to a wide audience (ie not just a niche program aimed strictly at gun enthusiasts), and many of the responses to the show are uniformly negative for what are clearly nit-picky reasons.

 

[cdpsrjc]

I watched it and enjoyed it. My wife watched it with me and wants to see it next week. She has never fired a firearm and has told me on many occasions she has no interest in going to the range with me. If this is the means to introduce her to my wonderful obsession, I'm all for it.

 

[huntsman]

I watched the show today and thought it was cheesy, too much like survivor with fake drama, just let them line up and shoot.

Now I know why I don’t watch reality type TV.

 

[bamawrx]

Hopefully Ben Stoeger will hang around and keep giving us the inside scoop moving forward.

And hopefully Justin will leave the thread open for future episodes.

Its great to see responsible mainstream gun usage on tv, the Brady bunch can't raise more than a few thousand bucks, court victory after victory, CCW nearly everywhere, short barreled rifles/shotguns in Alabama, etc...

 

[Dr.Rob]

Justin has seen me shoot horribly with a 1903a3 before, and while I'm no 'expert' my day of shooting certainly didn't reflect my overall skill with a rifle. I still haven't figured out what the heck I was doing wrong.

We all have bad days. Hope Mike gets a second chance.

PS I can't imagine some of the expert shooters from previous 'marksmanship' shows doing that rope crossing then shoting. Seems obvious to me the producers were choosing reasonably fit cast members to do unusual 'obstacle course' type matches.

 

[nosmr2]

Lame

 

[taliv]

most of you need to chill out. geez.

if you don't like bad drama, don't watch TV. hello!