OT: Deadliest Warrior

[O'Borg]

You can watch some of the shows on Spike TVs website or just hunt them down on YouTube.

There's a thread on RPGNet about the shows and the general consensus is :
It's a load of bollocks. But it's entertaining bollocks, and in the end, isn't that the best kind The answer, is no.

Some of the weapons tests are unrealistic - sure a Samurai Yuni can shoot out an eyeball at fifty paces, but only if the Viking Berserker is obliging enough to stand very still whilst the samurai aims. Likewise the sword/axe/club penetration tests are usually verses an dummy fixed to a solid mount and devoid of armour. When whacking someone with a big stick, a significant amount of force is going to be absorbed by your target rolling with the blow or getting knocked on his ass.
There's often a disparity in the quality of the 'experts' that baises the tests - the Apache guys were a world champion knife fighter and a US army knife and unarmed combat instructor. The gladiators had a couple of historians who liked to play with weapons. Same with the Samurai - martial arts experts vs two historical re creationists.
And then there's the childish smack talk between the experts which gets old real fast.

I'm sure the IRA vs Taliban one will be heavily biased, with some 9th generation Irish-American who's never been closer to NI than drinking a pint of Guiness waxing lyrical about those elite, balaclava wearing thugs who regularly got owned by the British Army and Ulster Police is they tried a stand up fight and who's favoured method of attack was carbombing civilians and hoping to catch a couple of bomb disposal guys in the blast or knocking on the door of an off-duty copper and hosing him with autofire in front of his family.

[Legbreaker]

The one bit of the show I actually like is the actually weapons testing. Some of the results have surprised me. For example, the Katana, arguably the best edged weapon ever produced by man, was unable to slash through either the Viking's iron ring mail or the Spartan's bronze shield.

Once again, it's just not a valid comparison. The katana simply isn't intended for use against heavily armoured opponents so it's unsuprising that it wasn't going to cut through virtually any sort of metal. Like all medieval warrior cultures, their were a number of weapons which were designed for such targets though.

Historical accuracy is another grave concern I have for the show. From what I learnt all those years ago in school, classical Greek soliders (including the Spartans) used very little metal as armour instead having not much more than heavily starched linen and leather (or something like that - it's been 20 years....)

[kato13]

I'm sure the IRA vs Taliban one will be heavily biased, with some 9th generation Irish-American who's never been closer to NI than drinking a pint of Guiness waxing lyrical about those elite, balaclava wearing thugs who regularly got owned by the British Army and Ulster Police is they tried a stand up fight and who's favoured method of attack was carbombing civilians and hoping to catch a couple of bomb disposal guys in the blast or knocking on the door of an off-duty copper and hosing him with autofire in front of his family.

I just want to say as someone who has strong Irish roots, that every Irish American I know considers the IRA to be a disgusting embarrassment to Irish history and culture. Even as an American I consider their inclusion to be in worst taste than the Taliban. At least the Taliban have had military engagements against other significant military units.

IMO they should have done Viet Cong versus Mujaheddin (since they each "defeated" a superpower), but there would probably have been too much of a weapons overlap.

[Raellus]

I just want to say as someone who has strong Irish roots, that every Irish American I know considers the IRA to be a disgusting embarrassment to Irish history and culture. Even as an American I consider their inclusion to be in worst taste than the Taliban. At least the Taliban have had military engagements against other significant military units.

IMO they should have done Viet Cong versus Mujaheddin (since they each "defeated" a superpower), but there would probably have been too much of a weapons overlap.

Well said. I agree with you on all points, Kato. There's a huge difference, in my mind at least, between a legitimate guerilla/"freedom fighter" and a terrorist. The latter, IMO, are the scum of the earth. What are they going to do on the show Suicide bomber at the Afghani girl's school vs. pipe bomb at the pub

Leg, you are correct. The bronze muscle cuirass was used for a relatively short period of time (including the Persian wars) but had fallen out of fashion for all but officers during the Peloponnesian War and the Hellenistic period. It was replaced by a cuirass made of layered, hardened linen. The "head-to-foot" description refers to the Corinthian helmet, hoplos shield, and leg grieves- a cuirass of one sort or another may or may not be worn but, when crouching, the shield covers the hoplite from chin to shins. In formation, when used properly (i.e. close order phalanx facing the enemy), the panoply (with or without cuirass) presented a nearly unbroken bronze "front". Outflank the hoplite, however, or get behind him... slaughter ensues.

Like I said in the thread starter post, it's a pretty cheeseball, not terribly accurate show, but for some strange reason (appreciation for camp, latent bloodlust, repressed machismo) I still enjoy it.

[pmulcahy11b]

The one bit of the show I actually like is the actually weapons testing. Some of the results have surprised me. For example, the Katana, arguably the best edged weapon ever produced by man, was unable to slash through either the Viking's iron ring mail or the Spartan's bronze shield.

That reminds me of something I learned in one of my college history courses. During the Crusades, a captured Crusader and the Muslims that captured him were comparing swords. They had a pillow and an iron bar. The Crusader, with his huge broadsword, hacked the iron bar in half with one blow. The Muslim warrior, with his scimitar, sliced the pillow in half after it was thrown into the air. The Crusader's sword simply batted the pillow aside, while the Muslim warrior's scimitar cracked when it hit the iron bar.

[Targan]

IMO they should have done Viet Cong versus Mujaheddin (since they each "defeated" a superpower), but there would probably have been too much of a weapons overlap.

I like it. That's a great idea Kato.

[Matt Wiser]

How about two WW II enemies that never faced each other in combat I'm talking about the USMC vs. the Waffen-SS. America's and Germany's meanest, thoughest, and most dedicated fighters never did encounter each other in combat. An episode of this show with that premise would be interesting.

[Darksheer]

these shows are unquestionably biased in every aspect and im actually surprised this isnt on fox
the "experts" usually have no formal military training but have either
a: been in the cadets
b: read alot of books
c: got beat up by a real military person for being smarmy
d: failed out of basic and went back to school
e: owned alot of <insert military weapon/hardware here>
f: been related to someone who served

and 90 % of the stuff is garbage
but It does make for a amusing hour

[Raellus]

Tonight's episode- arguably the silliest match up to date. Maori warrior vs. Shaolin Monk.

Should be... interesting.

[Legbreaker]

So.... How many points of IQ are you intending to lose by watching it

[kato13]

So.... How many points of IQ are you intending to lose by watching it

I think I'll risk one or two for this one. I have always been a sucker for all information about the Shao-Lin. I am pretty sure I won't really learn anything new but it might have some different interpretations.

[pmulcahy11b]

So.... How many points of IQ are you intending to lose by watching it

It's like the reason I love slasher movies -- they're funny!

[Raellus]

It's like the reason I love slasher movies -- they're funny!

Yeah, I'll watch it for the comedic value. Plus, I've got plenty of surplus IQ points to spare.

[Targan]

Tonight's episode- arguably the silliest match up to date. Maori warrior vs. Shaolin Monk.

Should be... interesting.

I think it would come down to what era each was taken from. Once the Maori had been introduced to the firearm and the New Zealand Wars were underway the Maori fully embraced the gun. The Maori wooden pallisade fort or 'Pa' was also pretty amazing - they could assemble one in a single night and often built them and left them empty, both as decoys and as positions to fall back to. Maori earthworks were very clever, they independently invented the zig-zag trench to prevent invaders shooting straight along trenchlines during storming actions. And in the New Zealand bush the Maori were the absolute masters of their domain.

[pmulcahy11b]

I think it would come down to what era each was taken from. Once the Maori had been introduced to the firearm and the New Zealand Wars were underway the Maori fully embraced the gun. The Maori wooden pallisade fort or 'Pa' was also pretty amazing - they could assemble one in a single night and often built them and left them empty, both as decoys and as positions to fall back to. Maori earthworks were very clever, they independently invented the zig-zag trench to prevent invaders shooting straight along trenchlines during storming actions. And in the New Zealand bush the Maori were the absolute masters of their domain.

That's true of a lot of these warriors they feature -- do you think the Ninja would be using bows, swords, and shuriken today No, they'd be using silenced pistols, Barrett M-82s with the best optics, and setting up Claymores in front of peoples' houses.