The folks out at the History Channel, who have sent me a lot of top-notch material at this point, sent out a copy of Nostradamus: 2012 for me to review, and it will actually surprise you. If you haven’t already seen it on the History Channel, easily a possibility, then you’ll want to catch up with this one for one really compelling look at (at least a possible) end of the world.

When you start out a DVD with a disclaimer like this:

For centuries the prophecies of Nostradamus have been part of the historical record. While highly speculative and controversial, their author’s legacy endures. Viewer discretion is advised.

You know you’re in for a gigantic romp that’s going to be filled with half-baked science at its very worst. And that’s what we’re dealing with here. Nostradamus: 2012.  Considering that we’re going to be dealing with Mayan prophecies (remember, these were the guys who had as a culture sanctioned regular murder, otherwise known as “human sacrifice”.) and some guy who wrote a book called “Secrets of Alchemy”, it’s not exactly a nice, concrete thing we’re dealing with. We’re going to get a look at the full string of natural-phenomena doomsday cycles here–supervolcanoes, floods, economic disaster, and plenty others, not to mention how they relate to the Mayan prophecies of 2012 and the numerous quatrains of Nostradamus.

First off, chances are you’re not going to believe most of this. It’s not hard to look at this and think that the whole thing is just outlandish, and with good reason. For instance, there’s a section that talks about the Hopi’s idea of the “Blue Star”, a harbinger of horror on earth. There are some schools of thought that believe it’s coming soon. By contrast, there are others who believe IT’S ALREADY HAPPENED. That’s right, they can’t actually agree on whether or not the biggest marker of something wrong has even happened yet. It may have. It may not have. And considering that most of the planet is still in one piece, it’s pretty safe to safe that it hasn’t happened yet.

But still, it’s an interesting look at things, and things yet to come. If viewed through the lens of the possible rather than the likely, it becomes a thrilling look at events that may or may not happen. If viewed through the lens of the likely, meanwhile, it becomes a steaming pantload that falls apart in more places than a poorly maintained Studebaker.

The end result, as far as your enjoyment of this, will depend largely on your tolerance for vagueness, contradiction and possibility.  If you can take it with a grain of salt, try it out. If not, you’ll likely feel better about staying away.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Nostradamus: 2012 a seven out of ten–it’s really well put together, but the subject matter is almost certain to annoy and offend plenty of people. Your tolerance for same will determine your enjoyment level here.