Well, giving the History Channel dead horse a couple more whacks, I say that quality may vary somewhat, it depends on the particular show. I've recently seen shows with very interesting guests speaking, like Jim Dunnigan, Ian Kershaw, Matthew Bennet, Steve Badsey, Ian Fletcher...
One of my tricks to get my wife nuts is while watching saying "Hey, I have a couple of books by that fellow!"
They deserve credit for the effort, HC was much worse than it is now.
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"Do you mean the Asiatic hordes driven forward under the lash?
Oh, sorry, those were the Persians described by Herodotus in the 5th Cent BC!"