Cuarto milenio is a Spanishtelevision program directed and presented by journalist Iker Jiménez and Carmen Porter. The program has been broadcast weekly on television channel Cuatro since November 2005, being the channel's longest running program.
Cuarto Milenio has been acknowledged to have an established place on Spanish television, not only due to its longevity, but also to its following and recognizability, having been considered a television phenomenon.[2][7][8] Alternatively, it has been criticized as pseudoscientific,[9] pointing to its treatment of esoteric and conspiratorial fields,[10][11] and praised as a program of investigation and divulgation,[12][13] standing out by its consistent presence of scientific authorities and specialists as guests.[12][14]
The program has spawned two spin-offs; La mesa del coronel, a geopolitical program presented in 2019 by Col. Pedro Baños, and Horizonte, produced by the same team and ongoing since 2020.
Santiago Camacho (editorial, also in Millennium 3)
Alberto Granados (editorial)
Óscar Dorian (artistics)
Juan Jesús Vallejo (editorial)
Francisco Contreras Gil (editorial)
Martín Cappelletti (Sub Address and Address of Conduct)
Specials
On May 16, 2006, Cracking the Code aired, marking the theatrical release of The Da Vinci Code. The director and presenter of Cuarto Milenio conducted a special program that addressed the secrets and controversies raised by the book. On December 25, 2006, The Exodus Decoded special aired. This program discussed the documentary and research done by Felix Golubev and Simcha Jacobovici, about a proposed Jewish exodus from Egypt.
In 2007 the program aired a special about Jesus. A special emphasis was given to the apocryphal gospels.
Colección Cuarto milenio was a book-DVD collection that included best programs of the first few seasons, which were available weekly in kiosks.[15] There was another set released in 2011.
Seasons
Cuarto Milenio is the oldest program of Cuatro, having been broadcast continuously since the channel began service in November 2005. The best ratings for the show were in the third season (2007–2008), with an average audience share of 13.2% (897,208 viewers). During the following seasons, the show has maintained an average audience of 600,000 viewers per night, representing around 10% of the audience share, the only program on Cuatro to reach such a high percentage.
Season
Date
Programs
nº
1
November 2005 – June 2006
36
1–36
2
September 2006 – June 2007
45
37–80
3
September 2007 – June 2008
46
81–124
4
September 2008 – June 2009
45
125–166
5
September 2009 – June 2010
36
167–202
6
September 2010 – June 2011
40
203–242
7
September 2011 – July 2012
42
243–284
8
September 2012 – July 2013
46
285–330
9
September 2013 – July 2014
44
331–374
10
September 2014 – July 2015
44
375–418
11
September 2015 – July 2016
44
419–462
12
September 2016 – July 2017
463
Awards
Best divulgation program in 2006, voted in the portal ¡Vaya Tele!.[16]
Silver Medal for Mejor Cabecera Gráfica internacional at the «Festival Internacional de Televisión y Cine de Nueva York» 2010.[17][18]
Best investigation program at the Telemagazine Awards 2019.[19]
Criticism
Cuarto Milenio has been criticized for endorsing pseudoscience, spreading misinformation, and trivializing real world atrocities.
In a 2008 episode of the show, an image of a fake newspaper article from the satirical news website The Onion parodying the Stock Market, was depicted as a legitimate article from 1929.[20]
^Domínguez-Solera, Santiago David (January 12, 2010). "Pseudociencia y arqueología en España"(PDF) (in Spanish). Revista de arqueología. Universidad Complutense de Madrid.