Much as you’d expect, YouTube user weasel6666 (not me, not even slightly!) has uploaded WAGtv’s “Ancient X-Files” Series 2 Episode 4 “Sodom and Gomorrah” episode that aired on National Geographic UK only a couple of days ago. If you fast forward to 22:00, you can see the Voynich Manuscript half, which is loosely based on reprising the research I did for my 2006 book “The Curse of the Voynich” (copies still available, very reasonable postage rates, etc).

Even if you’re one of the many who don’t agree with my art history conclusions (but given that you’ll all get there in the end, I’m cool with that 🙂 ), enjoy the historical ride to Venice and Milan, and have a look-see at all the fabulous things I was able to get to for the first time, thanks to the magic of having a film crew filming my every damn move for a week. 🙂

I think it’s fair to say that the WAG team recorded enough footage for a 2-hour special and then tried to edit it down into a 22 minute half-episode slot: which in a curious way is a fair representation of my book, which similarly should probably have worked through its material at a far more leisurely pace (say, over 500 pages) than jammed into 230 pages.

But all the same… how was it for you? Leave your comments below…

17 thoughts on “Here’s the NatGeo documentary in English…

  1. Tony on May 25, 2012 at 9:27 am said:

    Nice piece of work Nick, well worth watching.

  2. Bron on May 26, 2012 at 1:22 am said:

    Just watched it! Fascinating.

    You may like to know, as an aside, you have an avid follower on the borders of Burma.

    Bron

  3. Fascinating.

  4. bdid1dr on May 26, 2012 at 10:41 pm said:

    Good show! Ekshuly, I was able to understand your Italian friends dialogue more than yours….stiff upper lip and all that… WHERE did they get those huge books that had the Voynich pages enlarged to six or times their actual size?

    Ennyway, I was fascinated with the glass-blowing demo (as well as with the S & G segment’s discussion of the “glaze” on pottery fragments). I recently received a necklace with a pendant of clear blue glass that has a double row of tiny “silver” bubbles within. We have several blown glass gallery/shops within a 50 mile radius. Tell your friends “thanks for the show”! I, for one, would not have been able to see it at all if it hadn’t been for your presentation, here!

    %-)

  5. Julie on May 27, 2012 at 6:08 pm said:

    I have been following your website for a while, and I find ciphers really interesting. Imagine my surprise when I saw you in the documentary! I was like hey, I know that guy!! I’ve only seen your face on a little icon on this blog, but I remembered how much awesome information you had on your site about the Voynich Manuscript and looks like I was right 😀 I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how much sense your theory made, compared to some of the other ones out there it makes the most sense to me right now. My only disappointment was that they didn’t at least devote a whole episode to discussing it.. there is so much interesting material they they could have easily ran a full episode or made a special out of it. Voynich deserves an episode all it’s own, not being tacked to the end of Sodom and Gomorrah.

  6. Julie on May 27, 2012 at 6:25 pm said:

    PS: When will you finally unravel your #1 mystery? I am excited to see what might be more mysterious than the Voynich Codex.

  7. Julie: the #1 cipher mystery is something I originally thought would take a couple of weeks to put together a decent page on, but – frustratingly – the more I put into to it, the bigger it seems to get. And what’s worse, I’ve recently ended up looking at something that’s potentially an even bigger cipher mystery story, which would mean the Voynich Manuscript would get pushed down to #3. Now, a list where you can’t reveal the top two items isn’t much of a list… but sadly that’s where things are pretty much at right now. 🙁

    Of course, in an ideal world I’d have the time and money to make films and books about such extraordinary things: but sadly my riches are in neither of these. So I guess I’ll just have to ask for your patience as I roll them out somewhat more slowly than we would both like. 🙂

  8. Tony, Bron, Ken, Bobbi, Julie: thanks for your comments, I’m glad you all enjoyed the show, even if at 22 minutes it was somewhat shorter than anyone would really like. Oh well! 🙂

  9. bdid1dr on May 28, 2012 at 9:41 pm said:

    Nick:

    When I first signed on to this page, I was not aware that you had visited Naples the year before. So, here I am, some many miles down the coast (from Frascati and the Lakes) roaming the Volsci Mountains to visit the one or two Benedictine scriptoriums (BESIDES Monte Cassino) where I have found the script identical to the “Voynich” writing. So, who is catching up with whom?

    BIG grin! bdid1dr

  10. nickpelling on May 29, 2012 at 7:45 am said:

    Bobbi: not sure where you got the idea from, but I’ve never actually been to Naples. Enjoy your Italian adventure, good luck finding things that catch your interest. 🙂

  11. Rene Zandbergen on May 29, 2012 at 12:26 pm said:

    Hi Nick,

    my response of yesterday seems to have vanished in the depths of the net. I enjoyed watching the film, and it must have been a great trip. What I liked best was the comparison of the Pharma jar with the Venetian glass. Too bad we didn’t get a year or range of years on that type of design…

    Overall, indeed, well worth watching,
    Rene

  12. bdid1dr on May 29, 2012 at 3:36 pm said:

    So, where was your portion of the NatGeo special filmed?

    Ennyway, I’ve found an excellent website for a pictorial history of Rome and the Papacy. There is brief mention of Rudolph II, the Aldobrandini/papal palaces, gardens, and works of art. If you and your readers would like to see some very strange artwork and garden designs, check it out:

    An Abridged History of Rome – Part III-IV
    http://www.romeartlover.it/Storia22.html

  13. bdid1dr on May 29, 2012 at 3:47 pm said:

    Eh, Bobbi, ask a stupid question, get an answer you deserve: Thanks for your very polite answer! Venice, Milan! Ennyway, check out the very interesting link I just posted. Cupids, eight-pointed stars, grotesque garden grottos……and Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati.

  14. nickpelling on May 30, 2012 at 1:41 pm said:

    Rene: basically… not before 1450, and probably not after 1550 (I’m pretty sure). But you knew I was going to say that! 🙂

  15. Talita on July 1, 2012 at 5:11 pm said:

    Hey Nick, just watched the show here in Brazil. I am now obsessed about the manuscript. I’m trying to get your book to read. P.S.: post more stuff on twitter.

  16. Talita on July 1, 2012 at 6:18 pm said:

    have you noticed that there are many hexagram stars like the “star of David” on the manuscript? (well, of course you have…) Isn’t that weird? Were was the book first found? Any correlation?…

  17. Michael on December 12, 2013 at 7:20 am said:

    Gone from YouTube though it may be, this episode shall forever live on at: magnet:?xt=urn:btih:f5db18f1c07f48a653ecd4c4eae211e8fd40c997

    Thanks for being awesome, Nick!

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