Relic Hunter: Buddha's Bowl

One thing that we have not seen much of on this blog so far is a television show with real actors playing out a story. Conveniently, "Relic Hunters," does just this. My very first thought when beginning this show was how it fit the "Indiana Jones" typecast so snugly. Just watch the opening credits yourself:

The story follows a basic narrative structure. An adventurous professor, Sydney, and her bookish young teaching assistant are asked by members of a small village to find a legendary artifact, "Buddha's Bowl," a supposedly magical dish that refills itself with cash. The adventure becomes dangerous when a rival of Sydney's also goes after the bowl. Hilarity ensues.

The show is essentially an Indiana Jones ripoff, complete with (really cool) swords fights and beautiful women.

Here, Sydney uses her knowledge of archaeology to
find this clue in the wall of an underground poker club.
Whooooo archaeology! Where's Nick Cage?

The portrayal of archaeology and what archaeologists do is obviously glorified (and completely made up) to a point beyond recognition. Like Indiana Jones, she is more of an adventurer than anything. Archaeological analysis is less like careful examination and more like roughly handling artifacts looking for clues:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_ER0xAXOUM&t=6m36s

There are shows that entertain with archaeology and the mystery that surrounds it, and those that fit into this adventure stereotype that we have created. The former (think "Ancient Aliens") targets people who want to learn a bit about archaeology or the past. The latter ("Relic Hunter," "National Treasure") is just a convenient and proven storyline that producers can use again and again.

What's Right: Literally nothing. You could say that any exposure is good exposure, but there is so little archaeology that I don't know if that's true.
What's Wrong: First, the misrepresentation of archaeology is pretty glaring. The field is shown as more of a swashbuckling adventure rather than a scientific pursuit. From its characters to it's plot, the show is a bad 'Indiana Jones' ripoff.
Letter Grade: C-