User reviews

While I enjoy seeing old, abandoned places as much as the next person, this format is tiresome... bordering on annoying.

The "narrator" for the series is fine but all of the talking heads that are supposed to be subject experts are just hard to watch.

Their feigned ignorance/shock/surprise at the sites visited by the show is annoying to the point of me fast-forwarding past them to the parts I'm actually interested. What's wrong with the primary narrator relaying these tidbits of information?

I do enjoy the filming and subject matter of the show but the additional hosts ruin the experience for me.

I'm not sure why the other reviewer said this was a water down version. Even though I enjoyed the original Mysteries of the Abandoned it got a little tiresome with all the World War II places visited. This is all America. Numerous subjects of each episode is pure America back-and-forth across the states. From an abandoned race track to Jack London's home it's still shows a lot of Americana that people do not have the chance to visit these days. I found the stories on the abandon bunkers, amusement parks deserted a long time ago and the old forts located on the Potomac river near DC the most interesting.

"Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America" sets out with a tantalizing premise - to uncover the stories behind America's forgotten structures. Yet, it tragically falls prey to the pitfall of presentism, an approach that distorts rather than enlightens.

The series, in an attempt to engage with contemporary issues, frames many abandoned relics within the context of modern sensibilities, often completely out of sync with the era they belong to. This is not just a minor flaw; it's a fundamental misstep that robs the past of its authenticity and complexity. By judging historical sites and events through today's values, the show perpetrates a form of intellectual colonialism, projecting current attitudes and beliefs onto times and places where they simply do not fit.

It's a disappointment, as the show had the potential to offer insightful glimpses into the past. Instead, it often feels like a shallow, patronizing lecture on how we, in our enlightened present, know better than those in our less sophisticated past. The talking heads, presumably experts, come off as less informed interpreters of history and more like actors performing a script designed to appease contemporary biases.

This is a disservice not only to history but to the audience as well. I came seeking knowledge and understanding of the past, only to receive a filtered and skewed version that aligns with current ideological trends. The richness of history lies in its ability to challenge our present-day perceptions, to show us how people thought, lived, and solved problems in contexts very different from our own. By ignoring this, "Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America" loses an opportunity to genuinely educate and engage. It simply reaffirms contemporary moral grandstanding.

In essence, the series is a missed opportunity, a journey that could have been both informative and enlightening but ends up mired in the myopia of presentism. It's a reminder that history, when stripped of its context and complexity, becomes a mere shadow play for modern narratives, losing much of its value and relevance.

For those interested in a true exploration of America's abandoned past, free from the constraints of contemporary judgments, there are other, more faithful documentaries and series available. These alternatives respect the integrity of history and provide a more authentic and meaningful experience. "Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America," unfortunately, is not one of them.

This show just doesn't work unfortunately. Feels more like a watered down recap of places that have been covered in more detail on various YouTube videos. Imagine a big network or production company isn't going to risk going deep into abandoned places that aren't secured so it's just people standing around pointing at what was there. It also doesn't really show clips of these places looked like in their heyday which was weird. The first water park covered was visited by over a million people in its heyday, hard to believe they couldn't find a home movie or some Polaroids.

I liked the idea of this show but gave up after a couple episodes. The original Mysteries of the Abandoned is still going and a much better show.

I love seeing sites today that used to be something else. I even love those postcard displays on YouTube that show a photo of a resort how it looked in the sixties, and how it looks today. So interesting.

This show however was absolute nonsense. Such a yawnfest. Way too many 'experts' spouting profoundly uninteresting drivel every minute. Almost no footage or even photos of what the sites used to look like in their heyday. In episode one, we even had one of these historians saying they could see how cool it would be to have the abandoned water park used for off-road racing. What are the historians there for? I believe shows like this are made with the expectation that absolutely nobody is going to watch them, or pay any attention. Why are they made? It's certainly not for informing an audience.