The American Runestone

The premise: Two goobers wander aimlessly and pointlessly throughout Minnesota looking for Viking runestones connected to the Kensington Stone. Of course, there are already countless books by real historians which argue both sides of the Kensington Stone's authenticity. Apparently, this show's producers never cracked open any of those books for research. That could have made for an interesting examination but, instead, this is precisely the type of television "investigation" which is an embarrassing joke. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. paints a more realistic portrayal of the Marine Corps than this show does to archaeology. I've listened in on more intellectual conversations between inebriants in a bar than the discussions on this program. Secrets of the Viking Stone has all the earmarks of the usual hackneyed programs of this ilk: 1) The commercial breaks are longer than the segments, which repeat half of the previous segment when they return from those commercial breaks. 2) Scott "I See Templars Behind Every Bush and Under Every Rock" Wolter is one of the talking heads trying to make sense of this mess.