Parents' Guide to

Decoding the Past

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Mysterious history docu has some intense moments.

TV History Educational 2005
Decoding the Past Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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What's the Story?

DECODING THE PAST is a documentary series that investigates some of history's most unusual events and long-standing mysteries. Episodes have focused on everything from the Holy Grail and the seven wonders of the world to the Bermuda Triangle and the secrets behind the layout of the dollar bill. Each episode focuses on a series of topics that are linked by their relation to the show's overall theme. Experts lay the groundwork for each story, providing an overview of the events and placing them in the appropriate historical, geographical, and cultural context.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

The series' concise narrative means that a lot of information is shared in each hour-long episode -- but, true to the topics' mysterious nature, no hard-and-fast conclusions are drawn. Where details are open for interpretation (in the case of religious mysteries, for example), experts on all sides of the debate present their impressions and offer evidence to support their claims. In a segment exploring taboos in human society, for example, historians discussed stories about religious cults, cannibalism, the use of LSD (both in CIA interrogation methods and recreationally), and body-snatching of corpses to be used in medical dissection. Investigating various examples of each topic, experts explored the question of why these practices have long been frowned upon in civilized society and why they nonetheless persist today. But ultimately, viewers are left to examine the facts and make their own interpretations.

With its mature, often-controversial subject matter and frequent graphic details of violence, Decoding the Past certainly isn't for young kids and may be iffy for sensitive tweens and teens. But older viewers may enjoy pondering the legendary mysteries and debating their credibility.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the media's role in education. Is the purpose of this series to educate, to entertain, or both? Does it succeed in its goal? Does it fall short in any way? Are there certain types of shows whose information is more credible than others? Which ones? Can viewers take everything they hear from those programs at face value? How is the credibility of facts and legends affected by sources, time, and debate?

TV Details

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