Why You Should Watch Finding Bigfoot

In typical Experienced-Bad-Mom-style, I’m a day late and a dollar short. That’s because this post is about a great family program you may be missing, Finding Bigfoot, and yes, the season finale airs this Sunday at 10pm. So you’ve missed the whole season. (Never fear, though, because Finding Bigfoot re-runs will air into perpetuity!)

What is Finding Bigfoot and why should you and your family watch it? Finding Bigfoot is an hour-long show airing on Animal Planet that chronicles the experiences of 4 investigators (3 Bigfoot believers and 1 skeptic) trying to find Sasquatch. And here are my Top 10 reasons why you should watch their family-friendly adventures:

10. There’s no sex, violence, or bad language.

9. But there is new language to learn. After watching Finding Bigfoot, you’ll start using words like “squatchy” and impress your friends and neighbors.

8. It will teach you about cryptozoology, a whole field of study around animals that may or may not exist. Per the website livescience.com:

Cryptozoology is the study of animals that are rumored to exist. Such creatures are called “cryptids.” Some, like the gorilla, giant squid and okapi, are no longer hearsay and legend, but real creatures recognized by science. Others like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster, continue to tempt the hopeful and the adventurous with the possibility of their existence.

See? Did you even know that people didn’t think gorillas existed at one time? Me neither.

7. It will teach you about geography. The Finding Bigfoot team visits a new state every week and sometimes different countries. The show does a good job of providing maps and showing where the investigators camp out.

6. Finding Bigfoot is hysterical. The investigators hang out in the woods in the dark with video cameras attached to their heads. They howl into the night. They knock trees. Two of the people hunting Bigfoot are named Bobo and Matt Moneymaker. You couldn’t make that funnier if you tried.

5. It’s over-the-top. Usually the investigators dream up these crazy schemes to lure Bigfoot out of the forest. They’ve used girl scouts, crying baby dolls, and rock music as bait.  You name it, they’ve probably done it. Unsuccessfully of course. Which leads me to my next point.

4. It teaches perseverance.  These people have not found Bigfoot. Some have been searching 25+ years. But they don’t give up and they don’t give in to the naysayers, either. Follow your dreams!

3. It’s communal. Finding Bigfoot has a great fan base. Follow #findingbigfoot on Twitter during the Sunday night show and you’ll see tweets from a lot of believers, a lot of naysayers, and a lot of teens embarrassed to be stuck on the couch next to their mom or dad who watch the show.

2. Finding Bigfoot brings families together. My husband and I enjoy watching it with our 9-year-old and 6-year-old. And, I will forever remember this past Christmas season when my mother kept shouting things like “lunatics!” and “fools!” while we watched the show. Meanwhile, my husband just smiled and quietly recited facts from Dr. Jeff Meldrum and Dr. Grover Krantz, two well-known experts on Bigfoot.

And the #1 reason you should watch Finding Bigfoot?

1. What if they DO find Bigfoot? Then you’ll be all, “Katy at ExperiencedBadMom.com told me to watch Finding Bigfoot. But did I listen? NO.”

So set your DVR, grab some snacks, cuddle up, and learn, laugh, and enjoy Finding Bigfoot.

 

Disclosure: I don’t work for Animal Planet. And I was not promised they would hand over Bigfoot to me when they find him in exchange for this review.