Table of Contents Categories
The UnXplained
Topic: Unsolved
From HandWiki - Reading time: 7 min
| The UnXplained | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Non fiction Television documentary |
| Presented by | William Shatner |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 79 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | William Shatner Kevin Burns Susan Levanthal Kim Egan Rob O'Brien |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Prometheus Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | History |
| Original release | July 19, 2019 – present |
The UnXplained is a television series on History that claims to "explore subjects that have mystified mankind for centuries".[1] The show is hosted and executive produced by William Shatner. It premiered on July 19, 2019, and has aired for six seasons on the History network.
Background
On March 27, 2019, History greenlit The UnXplained hosted and executive produced by William Shatner and ordered an initial six episodes. The show is produced by Prometheus Entertainment. Kevin Burns and Susan Leventhal also executive produced the first season.[2] History later increased the episode order to an eight episode first season. It premiered July 19, 2019.[1] After the first season History ordered another 20 episodes.[3] The show interviews scientists, historians, engineers, witnesses, and researchers about various "mysterious" topics.[4][5]
Season one appeared on Netflix in June 2022.[6] Netflix was rumored to be considering ordering season five of The UnXplained,[7] but History Channel picked up the show for a fifth season.[8] The History Channel renewed the program for a 6th season on October 6, 2023.
Episodes
Sources for the episode lists below can be found here.[9]
Series overview
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Season 1 (2019–20)
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Season 2 (2020–21)
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Season 3 (2021–22)
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Season 4 (2022–23)
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Season 5 (2023)
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Season 6 (2023)
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{{Episode list| No. overall | No. in season | Title [10] | Original air date [10] |
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Critical reception
Media reviews
Common Sense Media reviewer Melissa Camacho gave the show 3 out of 5 stars, saying, "The documentary series offers lots of intriguing narratives about peculiar practices, extraordinary moments, and fantastical events in history that may or may not be explained away by science". According to Camacho, explanations by spiritualists and paranormal believers are often presented in a way that is "much more captivating than the academic studies and objective evidence being offered", and that "skeptics will find much of what The UnXplained has to offer hard to take seriously".[11]
Rory Mellon of Tom's Guide wrote that the show had reached the top 10 streamed shows on Netflix. According to Mellon, "The UnXplained covers an awful lot of ground, some of it not particularly solid either". Mellon warned, "the show doesn’t really offer up a lot of concrete answers, but if you can just enjoy the sense of mystery, then you’ll likely be hooked by this strangely watchable series."[12]
Writing in Irish Film Critic, Thomas Tunstall gave the series 3.5 out of 5 stars, and reported that the show's "subject matter runs all over the board", as if designed for an audience with attention deficit disorder. Though Shatner enthusiastically poses many questions, he provides far fewer satisfactory answers than he should – perhaps by design in order to retain the sense of mystery." Despite feeling disjointed, Tunstall called Shatner's presentation of content "captivating" thanks to his "irrefutable acting chops and narrative gravitas".[13]
Stuff critic Sarah McMullan called the show "evil fun", writing that it only features opinions from experts and others "who believe in evil". McMullan reviewed the show's segments, saying they emphasized evil as a factor, ignored science, and became increasingly "sillier", quipping, "Honestly, you couldn't write this stuff".[14]
Academic reviews
Professor Sarah Parcak criticized the show's presentation of archaeology. She labeled it as "horribly racist"; and wrote "as it turns out, 'A great archaeological mystery' is a code phrase for 'We are too lazy to read or even Google and honestly, racism is far easier than admitting non white people were/are brilliant innovators.'"[15]
Jason Colavito criticized the show, calling it "recycled material from Prometheus Entertainment’s other nonsense fake science shows" where the host "goes hunting for lost continents and sunken civilizations". According to Colavito, "Not a word is spoken about the many hoaxes and frauds that undergird the show’s claims".[16]
Popular culture
The Lake Shawnee Amusement Park reported an increase in attendance after being featured on the show.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "History to Premiere New Anthology Series "The Unxplained" Hosted and Executive Produced by William Shatner Friday, July 19 at 10PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic. June 14, 2019. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2019/06/13/history-to-premiere-new-anthology-series-the-unxplained-hosted-and-executive-produced-by-william-shatner-friday-july-19-at-10pm-et-pt-527413/20190613history01/.
- ↑ "History Greenlights New Nonfiction Series "The UnXplained" Hosted and Executive Produced by William Shatner and Orders Second Season of Hit Unscripted Series "In Search Of" Hosted and Executive Produced by Zachary Quinto". The Futon Critic. March 27, 2019. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2019/03/27/history-greenlights-new-nonfiction-series-the-unxplained-hosted-and-executive-produced-by-william-shatner-and-orders-second-season-of-hit-unscripted-series-in-search-of-hosted-and-executive-produced-by-zachary-quinto-771015/20190327history02/.
- ↑ Thangevelo, Debashine (January 17, 2020). "William Shatner boldly goes where few have gone in 'The UnXplained'". IOL. https://www.iol.co.za/entertainment/william-shatner-boldly-goes-where-few-have-gone-in-the-unxplained-40733302.
- ↑ Freeze, Kellie (July 18, 2019). "William Shatner Looks for Answers to Inexplicable Mysteries on 'The UnXplained'". TV Insider. https://www.tvinsider.com/790703/william-shatner-the-unxplained-history-channel/.
- ↑ "William Shatner talks about latest series The UnXplained". Wayback Machine: ATV Today. December 13, 2019. https://www.atvtoday.co.uk/139288-history/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Brown, Kassidy (July 16, 2022). "Lake Shawnee attendance spikes in wake of Netflix show". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. https://www.bdtonline.com/news/lake-shawnee-attendance-spikes-in-wake-of-netflix-show/article_a3e171b8-0453-11ed-b9b8-83b6b5d1ad7a.html.
- ↑ Vijan, Natasha (July 8, 2022). "'Stranger Things' Fans Already Have a Show Lined Up in the Netflix Top 10 to Stream Next". Netflix Junkie. https://netflixjunkie.com/whats-new-on-netflix-stranger-things-fans-already-have-a-show-lined-up-in-the-netflix-top-10-to-stream-next-the-unxplained/.
- ↑ "The UnXplained Season 5". History Channel. https://www.history.com/shows/the-unxplained/season-5.
- ↑ "Episode List - The UnXplained Full Episodes, Video & More | HISTORY". https://play.history.com/shows/the-unxplained/season-1.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Shows A-Z – The UnXplained on History". http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/unxplained/listings/.
- ↑ Camacho, Melissa. "Parents' Guide to The UnXplained with William Shatner". Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-unxplained-with-william-shatner.
- ↑ Mellon, Rory (June 27, 2022). "This strange show just crashed the Netflix Top 10 list". Tom's Guide. https://www.tomsguide.com/news/this-strange-show-just-crashed-the-netflix-top-10-list.
- ↑ Tunstall, Thomas (March 19, 2020). "DVD Review: William Shatner Serves Up A Cornucopia Of Mysteries In "The UnXplained: Season 1"". https://www.irishfilmcritic.com/dvd-review-william-shatner-serves-up-a-cornucopia-of-mysteries-in-the-unxplained-season-1/.
- ↑ McMullan, Sarah. "The UnXplained with William Shatner: The mad show that's the most evil fun on TVNZ". Stuff. https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stuff-to-watch/300433993/the-unxplained-with-william-shatner-the-mad-show-thats-the-most-evil-fun-on-tvnz.
- ↑ Gore, Leada (April 5, 2022). "Controversial UAB professor gets in a Twitter spat with William Shatner". Al.com. https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/controversial-uab-professor-gets-in-a-twitter-spat-with-william-shatner.html.
- ↑ Colavito, Jason. "Review of The UnXplained S04E03: "What Lies Below"". Jason Colavito. https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/review-of-the-unxplained-s04e03-what-lies-beneath. "Shatner presides over recycled material from Prometheus Entertainment’s other nonsense fake science shows goes hunting for lost continents and sunken civilizations. Not a word is spoken about the many hoaxes and frauds that undergird the show’s claims, and if you think anyone involved will so much as whisper that the modern versions of Atlantis, Lemuria, and Mu were born in racism and celebrated a white master race that civilized the world, you don’t know how propaganda works."
External links
- The UnXplained on IMDb
- The UnXplained on Rotten Tomatoes
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