[Interview] Voynich documentary on the Travel Channel

[proto57]

I thought the documentary was anodyne and disappointing, with any trace of character or verve ruthlessly edited out.

Yet the Voynich is extraordinary, romantic, frustrating, contradictory, mad(dening) and yet hyperrational. It's a siren, and everyone thinks they're smart enough to tie themselves to the mast, but they get lured to their fate regardless.

You wouldn't think so from that film, sorry.

Well I have to disagree with you. I think to a large percentage of viewers, who are unfamiliar with the Voynich, it probably was very colorful. The purpose of this one was to lay out the baseline understandings of the Voynich, and the questions which it raises. And I think that those alone are of great interest to the general public.

Maybe to you and I, not so much, as we are so familiar with all that. But the "character" of the Voynich came through, I thought, in this show, very well. If they had begun to launch into all the competing, alternate theories, it would have been a different sort of thing, and probably confusing to the average viewer. In fact one of the questions asked of me was about the number of theories... and I listed them at length, but they left that out. I think most viewers heads would have spun.

On the contrary, I think Bill gave a good overview of the types of approaches to the problems... although as he actually did after he blurted it out, I cringe at the phrase "Conspiracy theorists". It should be possible to discuss alternatives both within and without the paradigm, without labeling them with that distasteful moniker.

By the way, I was told, from several sources, that one or more of those asked to participate in this were vehement about what and who should be, and should not be, included in this show, or they would NOT participate. They didn't. This has actually happened on more than one occasion, in the past. In one instance a few years ago, a participant in a documentary managed to convince the producers that NO one else but themselves should be in the show... and they succeeded! I actually had to cancel my trip to Europe for that shoot, at the last minute, as did another friend of mine who had been scheduled. I think others had been jettisoned, and it became a one man show. Whether or not the results were "colorful", I can't say.

Rich.