No History Channel, that is NOT state-of-the-art CG.

[A Black Falcon]

1) When are the shows from? Might be pretty good for the year they're from...

2) Do you mean those battles and stuff? They did some ancient battles using Total War engine stuff, right? Or do you mean older shows with CG recreations of buildings and such?

Really though, the year it's from and the budget they had are the answers. Cable TV documentaries aren't going to have movie budgets for special effects...