Immortalized
By Kari Croop,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Taxidermy reality contest is bizarre but ultimately boring.
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What's the Story?
Each episode of the competitive reality series IMMORTALIZED pits a new challenger against one of four "Immortalizers" (Beth Beverly, Dave House, Page Nethercutt, and Takeshi Yamada -- all expert taxidermists who are respected in the field) and assigns them a project based on a predetermined theme. The winner is then selected by a panel of judges (Smithsonian taxidermist Paul Rhymer, artist Catherine Coan, and comedian Brian Posehn) who decide whether the challenger or the Immortalizer did a better job.
Is It Any Good?
In theory, Immortalized sounds like the stuff reality TV dreams are made of, turning taxidermy into a head-to-head competition that puts a little-understood art form in the spotlight with the corny intensity of, say, Iron Chef America. It sounds weird, just weird enough to work. Only in this case, it totally doesn't -- in spite of the concept's guilty-pleasure potential.
The main problem is the show's bungled format, which completely saps the series of any drama by devoting a mere five minutes to the actual creation process and breezing through the hours of painstaking work that goes into each display. As a result, the bulk of each episode feels more like filler than compelling television. And even weird subjects deserve more dignity than that.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about reality television's tendency toward the outlandish and bizarre. Does taxidermy make a good topic for a reality competition? Is Immortalized a show a lot of people will want to watch?
Why did producers choose to have the taxidermists do most of their work outside of the studio? Would it be possible to film them doing their work in a studio environment? What do you think about the show's format? Does it work for you?
What preconceived notions, if any, did you have about taxidermy before watching Immortalized? Did the show change any of your opinions about the "art" of stuffing animals?
TV Details
- Premiere date: February 14, 2013
- Cast: Brian Posehn
- Network: AMC
- Genre: Reality TV
- Topics: Science and Nature , Wild Animals
- TV rating: TV-PG
- Last updated: June 20, 2023
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