Cliff Barackman Takes on TV Critics of Finding Bigfoot with Ease

Cliff Barackman at the filming of season 1 finale of Finding Bigfoot. Photo by Neo Edwards 

"...bigfoots are primates, a form of ape that may also be very 'human-like.' --Cliff Barackman 

Another paper supports the rough back-and-fourth between the TV Critics and cast of Finding Bigfoot had at the  2012 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. It should be no surprise that Bigfooters would be able to handle a critic or two--let alone be confronted by them. Cliff Barackman is, in our opinion, one of the greatest Bigfoot ambassadors to the rest of the world. Click on the following link to read our previous coverage of Cliff Barackman.

Read the piece below from Cliff's hometown paper The Oregonian. Writer Kristi Turnquist finds Cliff at the TV Critic event and asks him a few questions. 

Cliff Barackman of 'Finding Bigfoot' -- 'Bigfoots live right outside of Portland': TV Press Tour

Published: Friday, August 03, 2012, 10:42 AM     Updated: Friday, August 03, 2012, 11:01 AM

By Kristi Turnquist, The Oregonian 

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.: Cliff Barackman and his castmates from the hit Animal Planet show, "Finding Bigfoot," were facing a pretty tough crowd Thursday at the 2012 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour.

Barackman, who lives in Portland, and his fellow bigfoot researchers, James "Bobo" Fay, Matt Moneymaker and the show's resident skeptic/biologist, Ranae Holland, take their investigations into bigfoot sightings around the country seriously. But the critics and reporters on hand were, at least initially, not what you'd call on board.

Getting things off to a bumpy start were questions like this one, directed toward an executive from Animal Planet: "What's made Animal Planet concentrate on bigfoot, have they run out of real animals?"

On Twitter, critics were making snarky comments. But midway through, the tone started to change, as Barackman and his cohorts made a sincere case for keeping an open mind about the existence of bigfoots -- we also learned that's how you refer to bigfoot in plural. (Don't call them bigfeet.)

Also, there's not just one bigfoot, as Barackman believes, based on eyewitness sightings, photos and footprint evidence. He theorizes that bigfoots are primates, a form of ape that may also be very "human-like."

Before the panel, Barackman told me that his interest in researching bigfoot partly accounts for why the Long Beach, Calif., native wound up moving to Portland, about four years ago. "I"m kind of a weird guy, so I feel at home there," Barackman said as we sat in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel, site of the TCA tour.

And, he added, "Bigfoots live right outside of Portland," citing reports of bigfoot encounters in the Sandy River area, and Clackamas County, for example. Not that they're limited to the Northwest, Barackman added, as he and the "Finding Bigfoot" team have so far visited 22 states for the show.

Barackman, 41, first got intrigued by bigfoot, or Sasquatch, investigation when he was in college, and came upon scholarly reports discussing the possibility of bigfoot-like creatures. Though he has a degree in jazz guitar, and has been a schoolteacher (at Cascade Heights Public Charter School, among others) Barackman is now working fulltime on Sasquatch research.

"Finding Bigfoot," which debuted in 2011, has been a hit for Animal Planet, ranking as the cable network's third-most watched show, behind "River Monsters" and  "Whale Wars." The new season of shows begins in November, with 11 new episodes.

Barackman, who is single, said that as much as he feels at home in Portland, his Sasquatch travels keep him on the road so much he hasn't been able to spend much time in the Rose City, even though he just bought a house.

And he's not concerned by skeptics who think searching for bigfoot is a rather eccentric, shall we say, calling. "It doesn't matter to me," he said. "When you're right, you don't have to prove it to anybody."

As to whether he's personally seen a bigfoot, Barackman cites the "Finding Bigfoot" episode shot in North Carolina. It was the middle of the night, in the woods, but Barackman thinks the creature he saw wasn't a human, but could very well have been a Sasquatch.

His conclusion: "I might have seen one. But I can't be sure I saw one."

SRC: The Oregonian

TV Critics: Show us Bigfoot or GTFO!

Ranae Holland, Matt Money Maker, Cliff Barackman, and James "Bobo" Fay

"First Animal Planet airs a mermaids special, now this — isn’t Animal Planet damaging its brand with this stuff?" --TV Critic at the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour.

The above quote sums up the general sentiment of the TV Critics during the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour according to Entertainment Weekly writer James Hibberd. In our summation, while the TV critics complain about the the quality of programming (and the reality of Bigfoot), Animal Planet is just fine with the ratings they are getting, and Matt Moneymaker will be quick to accuse the naysayers of ignorance.

Below is the full article from Entertainment Weekly

Bigfoot experts clash with TV critics: 'You're ignorant'

by James Hibberd

TV critics took on Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot during a contentious panel at the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour in Beverly Hills on Thursday.

For those who haven’t seen the show, it’s a bit like Syfy’s Ghost Hunters, only an expert team looks for Sasquatch instead of spooks. There are interviews, data crunching, mysterious footprints and a group hunting in the woods … but no actual bigfoot.

The press tour reporters have spent nearly two weeks in a hotel interviewing actors and executives promoting TV shows. So when Animal Planet rolls out this panel the critics are, understandably, thinking: Show us bigfoot or GTFO.

A critic points out: If these guys actually find bigfoot, such huge news is not going to really stay quiet until a regular episode of Finding Bigfoot airs. One asks: Has Animal Planet run out of real animals to do shows about? Yet another wonders: First Animal Planet airs a mermaids special, now this — isn’t Animal Planet damaging its brand with this stuff?

Animal Planet’s president, Marjorie Kaplan, is good humored about the situation. “Animal Planet has many shows about animals that may be more familiar to you,” she says. “Finding Bigfoot is an exploration of the secret corners of the planet … There are places on this planet that we know about and places we don’t …  New species are being found all the time.”

She also points out the network’s Mermaids: The Body Found special* got “extraordinarily” high ratings.

The Finding Bigfoot team, however, is far less amused by the critics’ skepticism. Seems there’s a lot of anecdotal evidence pointing to the existence of bigfoot and this crew are true believers. (There is more than one bigfoot, they say, and they mostly come out at night … mostly…)

“I’ve had one 15 feet away growling at me,” declares bigfoot researcher Matt Moneymaker. “So that’s why I think it’s [unfortunate] when people say they’re not real. They exist … I don’t think people realize how many witnesses there are out there … For those who don’t think these things exist, [famed primatologist] Jane Goodall thinks they exist** — and she may know a little more about it than you do.”

“You can’t equate bigfoot with mermaids,” bristles bigfoot researcher James “Bobo” Fay. “You’re ignorant of the subject matter.”

So is there solid real evidence of bigfoot?

Absolutely, they say. There’s all kinds of evidence! Except, you know, an actual or former bigfoot.

“There’s every kind of evidence that they exist,” Moneymaker says. “Except bones. Except a carcass.”

* Mermaid body not actually found

** True

Animal Planet: "Finding Bigfoot" Season Three will be BIGGER!

(left to right: Cliff Barackman, Renae Holland, James "Bobo" Fay, Matt Moneymaker)

(Beverly Hills, Ca.) This November, FINDING BIGFOOT, one of Animal Planet’s top-performing series ever, delivering more than 1.3M P2+ viewers in its second season, returns with 11 all-new episodes and two specials that take the team of investigators farther across the globe and further into sasquatch history than they’ve ever travelled.  For the first time, the intrepid cast of investigators -- Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) president Matt Moneymaker, researchers James “Bobo” Fay and Cliff Barackman, and skeptical scientist Ranae Holland – will expand their search in North America and beyond to investigate the sasquatch phenomenon known as “yowies” in Australia and the “orang-pendek” of Indonesia.  Also for the first time, Animal Planet will produce two “aftershow” specials, where the cast will answer burning questions from fans, dive deeper into the evidence and theories, and give behind-the-scene stories and insight.

Legends of bigfoot-type primates persist in cultures all over the globe.  So the bigfoot team will attempt to capture proof of these elusive Australian and Indonesian creatures by immersing itself in local yowie and orang-pendek culture and lore and using that information in the investigations. With the knowledge of the locals and its own experiences researching sasquatches, the team is hot on the trail to locate these distant cousins of the North American bigfoot in the remote terrain and jungles of these far-off lands.

Sasquatch sightings have been reported in every state of the union except Hawaii.  So this season, the team continues to leave no stone unturned and no piece of credible evidence unexplored as it travels to new locations to investigate compelling new finds in multiple states:  Arizona, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington.

In addition to their global jaunts, the team members participate in two all-new aftershow specials.  Moderated by Animal Planet executive producer Keith Hoffman, the specials bring the team together in an informal setting to discuss the investigations in greater detail and provide insights and tips not shared in the show.  Who doesn’t want to know how the team films at night without scaring away potential bigfoots or what the cast thinks will happen when bigfoot is found?

With no filters and unparalleled access to the cast, fans of the show and bigfoot enthusiasts everywhere will have unprecedented insight into their investigations that have become a part of the pop cultural zeitgeist.

FINDING BIGFOOT is produced for Animal Planet by Ping Pong Productions. Keith Hoffman is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Brad Kuhlman and Casey Brumels are the executive producers and Chad Hammel is the co-executive producer for Ping Pong Productions.

About Animal Planet
Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment.  APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.