History WebVideo / Lindybeige

* CallThatAFormation: One of his biggest pet peeves in movies. If a medieval/ancient battle scene shows people dueling individually rather than fighting in formation, expect him to gripe about it.

** Gladiator nets, for example, are single-use, mean you can't hold something in that hand, and would make you vulnerable in any kind of massed battle.
** Knife-throwing (and by extension [[StockNinjaWeaponry shuriken throwing]]) may be cool and an impressive skill, but it's not very efficient and has relatively few applications in combat. First, the ammunition is knives--preferably purpose-made throwing knives--rather than arrows or stones, and may be expensive or inconvenient to procure. Second, the range isn't very good, and they're useless if you can't get them to [[TheBladeAlwaysLandsPointyEndIn land pointy-end in]]. Thirdly, they don't really cause ''that'' much damage because their energy transfer isn't very efficient, and killing someone outright with a throwing knife is very unlikely. They can be good weapons of surprise to distract your opponent if you're closing in with your main weapon, or alternately if you're fleeing, but you aren't going to be silently and instantly killing off enemy sentries one by one as you often see in fiction, or get the same use out of them in open combat as you'd get from a bow and arrow, javelins, a sling, or even just throwing ''rocks''.

* HollywoodCostuming: A frequent peeve of his, as demonstrated in his ''Ironclad'' review, pointing out modern metal rivets and eyelets on supposedly medieval clothing, and obvious use of fiberglass and knitting for helmets and mail armor.

* HollywoodTactics: Taken apart in many of his reviews, where he notes suicidal mistakes in siege techniques, battle formations, and strategy.

* TheSiege: Discusses how sieges were much more common than battles throughout history, and explains major differences in the scale and context of sieges between the ancient world and the Middle Ages.

* HollywoodTorches: Has a whole video series called [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM5bKwQUA08ye59tygnx8vG8JbFwJ4_Pj Lindybeige about Torches]] nitpicking apart the inaccurate ways that movies use fire and torches. They randomly stick torches and braziers on walls and depict them burning even during the daytime, despite the fact that real torches burn out, produce a lot of smoke, are expensive, and by no means a good way of lighting an interior. He even notices a scene in ''Series/TheLastKingdom'' where they [[SpecialEffectsFailure failed to conceal]] the gas pipe that was feeding a wall torch.

* HollywoodTorches: Has a whole video series called [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM5bKwQUA08ye59tygnx8vG8JbFwJ4_Pj Lindybeige about Torches]] nitpicking apart the inaccurate ways that movies use fire and torches. They randomly stick torches and braziers on walls and depict them burning even during the daytime, despite the fact that real torches burn out, produce a lot of smoke, are expensive, and by no means a good way of lighting an interior. He even notices a scene in ''Series/TheLastKingdom'' where they failed to conceal the gas pipe that was feeding a wall torch.

* HollywoodTorches: Has a whole video about how movies randomly put torches on walls and depict them burning even during the daytime, despite the fact that real torches burn out, produce a lot of smoke, are expensive, and by no means a good way of lighting an interior. He even notices a scene in ''Series/TheLastKingdom'' where they failed to conceal the gas pipe that was feeding a wall torch.

* KatanasAreJustBetter: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLWzH_1eZsc The Katana]] he argues that they're not: A katana is just another kind of sword, not some magical always-superior superweapon.

* KatanasAreJustBetter: Argues that they're not: A katana is just another kind of sword, not some magical always-superior superweapon.

* HorseArcher: Lindy's video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4b5IclFJ8Q Horse archers - the unbeatable troops?]] looks at why horse archers, while useful, were not some kind of game-breaking super unit as they are sometimes depicted to be in war games. For one thing, like all cavalry, they're rubish at holding ground against an enemy attack or storming fortifications; that's something that only infantry can do well. As for counters, they're vulnerable to foot archers. Archers on foot can be packed together into denser formations than horsemen because horses require a lot of space, so their volume of fire can be greater. Horse archers also have a shorter accurate range than the foot archers because they're trying to aim while bouncing around on horseback, and the lightly or unarmored horses they're riding make them a bigger target than men on foot. They're great at harassing and wearing down the enemy, they can scout, they can attack groups of enemies on the march, but they're meant to be used as one ''part'' of a balanced army rather than dominating all areas of combat by themselves.

** Knife-throwing (and by extension [[StockNinjaWeaponry shuriken throwing]]) may be cool and an impressive skill, but it's not very efficient and has relatively few applications in combat. First, the ammunition is knives--preferably purpose-made throwing knives--rather than arrows or stones, and may be expensive or inconvenient to procure. Second, the range isn't very good, and they're useless if you can't get them to [[TheBladeAlwaysLandsPointyEndIn land pointy-end in]]. Thirdly, they don't really cause ''that'' much damage because their energy transfer isn't very efficient, and killing someone outright with a throwing knive is very unlikely. They can be good weapons of surprise to distract your opponent if you're closing in with your main weapon, or alternately if you're fleeing, but you aren't going to be silently picking off enemy sentries one by one, or using them in open combat the way you could a bow and arrow, javelins, a sling, or even by throwing ''rocks''.

** Knife-throwing (and by extension [[StockNinjaWeaponry shuriken throwing) may be cool and an impressive skill, but it's not very efficient and has relatively few applications in combat. First, the ammunition is knives--preferably purpose-made throwing knives--rather than arrows or stones, and may be expensive or inconvenient to procure. Second, the range isn't very good, and they're useless if you can't get them to [[TheBladeAlwaysLandsPointyEndIn land pointy-end in]]. Thirdly, they don't really cause ''that'' much damage because their energy transfer isn't very efficient, and killing someone outright with a throwing knive is very unlikely. They can be good weapons of surprise to distract your opponent if you're closing in with your main weapon, or alternately if you're fleeing, but you aren't going to be silently picking off enemy sentries one by one, or using them in open combat the way you could a bow and arrow, javelins, a sling, or even by throwing ''rocks''.

* CoolButInefficient: Points out that many weapons are cool in theory but not very useful in practice. Gladiator nets, for example, are single-use, mean you can't hold something in that hand, and would make you vulnerable in any kind of massed battle.

For a weapon-focused show that compliments many of Lindy's points, see WebVideo/{{Skallagrim}}.

* ''Film/HelenOfTroy''

* AcceptableTargets: The French. Never misses an opportunity to diss them.

* SticksToTheBack: Not exactly, but he talks about how scabbards worn on the back are not at all practical, since you can't get the tip of a long sword to clear the throat of the scabbard before your arm gets stuck, and there's no evidence they were used in historical times. In his review of ''Series/TheLastKingdom'' he pauses, highlights the offending weapon in red as a siren rings, and yells "Back-scabbard alert!"

* TheSiege: Discusses how sieges were much more common than battles throughout history, and discusses major differences in the scale and context of sieges between the ancient world and the Middle Ages.

* HollywoodTorches: Has a whole video about how movies randomly put torches on walls and depict them burning even during the daytime, despite the fact that real torches burn out, produce a lot of smoke, are expensive, and by no means a good way of lighting an interior.

* SticksToTheBack: Not exactly, but he talks about how scabbards worn on the back are not at all practical, since you can't get the tip of a long sword to clear the throat of the scabbard before your arm gets stuck, and there's no evidence they were used in historical times. In his review of the last kingdom he pauses, highlights the offending weapon in red as a siren rings, and yells "Back-scabbard alert!"

* SticksToTheBack: Not exactly, but he talks about how scabbards worn on the back are not at all practical, since you can't get the tip of a long sword to clear the throat of the scabbard before your arm gets stuck, and there's no evidence they were used in historical times. In his review of the last kingdom he pauses, highlights the offending weapon with a siren noise, and yells "Back-scabbard alert!"

* HollywoodTactics: Taken apart in many of his reviews, where he notes suicidal mistakes

* HollywoodHistory: Takes apart the inaccuracies of movies such as ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' and ''Film/BlackDeath'', which make huge errors in their depiction of geography, chronology, religion, and representation of historical events and customs.

* ''Film/{{Ironclad}}