The Deadliest Catch

[CU Tiger]

What is it about discoveries “ the deadliest catch” reality show that makes you watch it? I enjoy the show, but I find myself watching for hours! It is addictive. Everyone I get to watch it ends up like me.

The new season starts this week.

Do you find yourself immersed in this show?

[Ian]

Oh man, do I ever!

It was on like all day yesterday and I found I couldn't tear myself away. I've seen all these epsiodes like 10 times each and I still watch every time it comes on.

I'm so stoked for the new season to start. I can't wait!!

FYI ... I actually got to meet Sig Hansen in Epcot last year. Got my picture taken with him and everything!

[Disneyatic]

I am the same way, I can't pull myself away from this show! I DVR the series and could watch them over and over.
Did you watch the Season synopsis shows they had on last weekend? Those were great but seeing all the tragedies was pretty heartbreaking.
My favorites are the Cornelia Marie crew and the Northwesterner crew.

[Jeff G]

I watched four hours straight last night & then proceeded to set my DVR for Tuesday's new season.

An episode I had missed originally which I saw last night was the behind the scenes special. It was amazing seeing what the camera crew goes though while capturing this series. I thought their job looks tougher than the actual jobs they were taping. There was one shot that the camera mans foot fell into a crab hole and he broke a four ribs, ouch(and then he owed everyone on board a case of beer).

Definitely one of my favorites shows on TV. I must say though that I prefer to watch the marathons, they are so addicting.

[offwego]

Very interesting, but then I work with a lake based commercial fishing industry so I'm more then likely to be keen.

I don't have a fave crew but do find it hard to walk away from tv. I think as it lacks so much of the "scripted" part that comes into so many of the shows that are otherwise billed as reality tv.

[Ian]

Did you watch the Season synopsis shows they had on last weekend? Those were great but seeing all the tragedies was pretty heartbreaking.
My favorites are the Cornelia Marie crew and the Northwesterner crew.I did ... they were great!

And I agree about the Cornelia Marie and Northwestern ... those are my favorites, too. I also like Captain Jonathan and the Time Bandit.


An episode I had missed originally which I saw last night was the behind the scenes special. It was amazing seeing what the camera crew goes though while capturing this series. I thought their job looks tougher than the actual jobs they were taping. There was one shot that the camera mans foot fell into a crab hole and he broke a four ribs, ouch(and then he owed everyone on board a case of beer).I missed this the first time around, too, and it was really interesting. Especially the portions about how complex and intense getting all the cameras set up is.

This entire concept fascinates me. Maybe it's because, despite my love of boats and the ocean, I can't possibly imagine doing what these guys do. It's crazy!!

[Tink2002]

Love it, my roomate last year thought I had a serious problem becuase I would get sucked in any time it was on, whether I had seen the episode before or not. haha.... The guys just have such funny personalities, and you've really got to admire them for going through everything they do. I've got the DVR set for tonight, woohoo!:D

[ChipnDaleGal]

Another addicted viewer here. I stumbled on it by accident one weekend and spent almost the entire weekend watching episodes. I am very excited for the new season to start tonight. I can not explain why I find this show so addictive, it wouldn't be what I would label as my usual TV fare, but I love it. :thumbsup:

[wdwgrl377]

My mom and I love to watch this show! She's been watching it and she got me watching it! It's just really an awesome show!!:D

[Diznee4Me]

Intersting question what "makes you watch it?"

My wife asked me the same question this weekend as I was watching my fifth or sixth episode in a row. Every episode is so similar - catch crab, count crab, big wave, release pot, catch crab - but then again is so mezmerizing.

You really get pulled in and then seeing some of the guys get hurt - or die - really hits it home, it's a deadly job.

Finally my answer to my DW was I am always excited to see just how many crabs are going to be in each pot!:D

[bouncer]

We couldn't wait for this show to start last night. I think our remote is still smoking from switching to "Idol", "Loser" and "Deadliest Catch" and back. Missed almost all of Idol and saw the winners for Loser. Got in what we needed to. Maybe we should get DVR:D

DH is pretty serious hunter/fisherman and is out in all kinds of weather conditions as well as works construction in our lovely midwest weather. He's pretty sure that he could be a crab fisherman though I would never let him.

I think part of the appeal is that you think to yourself that either
A: "I could NEVER do that!" (my case) or
B: "I could SO do that!" (DHs case).

[Tink2002]

I think part of the appeal is that you think to yourself that either
A: "I could NEVER do that!" (my case) or
B: "I could SO do that!" (DHs case).

SO true! My boyfriend and I often have "arguments" about whether he could climb Mount Everest or sail the Seas like those guys, or whatever the last show he watched on Discovery had someone doing. (Thank you crab crews and man vs. wild...) Luckily for me, we live on the wrong coast for the crab and definitely don't have the means to climb mount everest as poor little college kids...hahaha....

[Ian]

Was everyone aware that there were two new episodes on last night and not just one? I didn't realize that and by the time the second episode started I was falling asleep, so I missed it.

I have to catch it on rerun, but the first one was great!

[Jeff G]

DH is pretty serious hunter/fisherman and is out in all kinds of weather conditions as well as works construction in our lovely midwest weather. He's pretty sure that he could be a crab fisherman though I would never let him.

I think part of the appeal is that you think to yourself that either
A: "I could NEVER do that!" (my case) or
B: "I could SO do that!" (DHs case).

I so couldn't do this show. We chartered a boat in Cancun last year and when we got out from the shore we were in 15' rollers, it was a long 3 hours hanging over the side of the boat:sick:. (it didn't help that we got in from the Disco with free drinks at 3:30 and then we were on the boat at 7:30 but thats a whole different story). Needless to say if I couldn't handle Cancun seas I doubt I could handle the Bearing Strait waves along with near freezing water crashing into me the entire time.




Was everyone aware that there were two new episodes on last night and not just one? I didn't realize that and by the time the second episode started I was falling asleep, so I missed it.

I have to catch it on rerun, but the first one was great!

I didn't but the DVR did. I was at a school board meeting which ran long and didn't get home until 10:30 and I had both episodes recorded. I didn't feel like staying up to watch both so I saved them for tonight.

I'm glad to here the season was off to a good start.

[cal5755]

I watch them during the marathons. I am not so addicted that I watch it during the season but I do find myself fixated when the marathons come on. I love the ocean so maybe that is what I find appealing ....

IAN... great picture with your intercot shirt on!! Thanks for sharing that was really cool!!

[dolphindan1]

Where is the young guy from last season that finally got to be captain....Blake or Brad oor whatever his name is...I must have missed him

[Ian]

Where is the young guy from last season that finally got to be captain....Blake or Brad oor whatever his name is...I must have missed himRight ... Blake Painter.

I was wondering that myself, actually. He was captain of the Maverick, right? I don't remember if they were on or not. I'll have to watch again and see if I see the boat. Maybe they got a new captain?

[Ian]

Actually, Janet dug up a story that Blake was very unhappy with the way Discovery portrayed him in season three so he declined to participate in season four.

[Diznee4Me]

I ended up watching both episodes. Past my bedtime but they were great! :thumbsup:

I really enjoyed the part with the truck in the second episode. For those who haven't seen it - look forward to your response!:D

[CU Tiger]

I have only seen the first episode of this year’s new season, but what is the deal about the junk truck? Did I hear correctly that it is for a prank? If so, on who and how?:confused::mickey:

[Jeff G]

I have only seen the first episode of this year’s new season, but what is the deal about the junk truck? Did I hear correctly that it is for a prank? If so, on who and how?:confused::mickey:

I haven't watched the 2nd but in the first episode I believe they were loading it as a prank aimed at Sig becasue he wanted a new truck.

[Ian]

I haven't watched the 2nd but in the first episode I believe they were loading it as a prank aimed at Sig becasue he wanted a new truck.Actually, I'm pretty sure it was intended for Phil, not Sig.

If I had to guess (and I haven't seen the 2nd episode yet either) I'd guess that Capt. Jonathan pulls up one of Phil's pots, hooks the truck onto it instead, and then dumps it back in the water.

[trennedy]

My DH got me started watching a while back...I am now addicted too. I DVR the show now. I don't know exactly what it is, but I really enjoy the show.

[Melanie]

"Deadliest Catch" caught in fishy editing

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Tuesday's fourth-season premiere of Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" opens during a raging nighttime storm in the Bering Sea. Mammoth waves smash an Alaskan crab fishing boat called the Wizard, sending large swells crashing over its deck. Inside, alarmed crew members discover that their stateroom is flooding with incoming seawater.

The sequence suggests that the fishermen are in danger of sinking as a violent tempest tosses huge waves against the boat.

But here's the not-so-deadliest catch:

The boat flooded in September.

The huge storm waves were from October.

And a producer may have filmed extra footage to help stitch the two events together.

Pages from a production outline obtained by The Hollywood Reporter suggest that producers of the cable network's top-rated series may have strayed from reality while editing the harrowing sequence from the show's record-setting premiere.

The document directs producers of the Emmy-nominated program to patch together a scene of life-and-death peril from different days of filming.

EARLY DRAFT

Discovery executives described the outline as an early draft that was dismissed by the show's production company. The sequence, however, does match what appeared in Tuesday's episode. The network strongly denies that re-enactment footage is ever used by "Catch," but it acknowledged that material from separate days of filming were combined to produce the scene in question.

From the outline:

"WIZARD ROGUE WAVE: Combine Wizard leak story on 9/26 with the Wizard being hit by a big wave on 10/1 and 10/2. The fiction we are constructing is that the big wave hit the Wizard on their steam up to Dutch -- caused a leak in Lenny's stateroom. In reality these were two separate events. In addition to the original source material, (a producer's name redacted by THR) shot re-enactment footage."

Such editing and staging tactics are common on reality shows, but Discovery considers "Catch" a documentary and holds the series to the highest standard.

Discovery president and general manager John Ford said the outline was an early draft that did not rise to the level of network inspection. "It's a rough draft that was rejected," Ford said after speaking to producer Original Prods.

That said, the scene did combine shots from two different days. The exterior shots showing the Wizard being hit by the waves were filmed from another boat while the Wizard was alone during its actual flooding.

"The Wizard was struck by a big wave, and that wave caused the leak you see in the show," Ford said. "The thing we didn't have on camera was the actual wave that struck the Wizard. That was shot at a separate time on the same journey and was an insert edit from the show. We did that for story continuity because we didn't have a boat-to-boat shot."

Despite mixing the footage to create a more dramatic scene, Ford said the story told in the episode remains accurate.

"Everything that you see in the show happened," he said. "Nothing is made up and nothing needs to be made up. The Wizard was struck by a big wave, and that wave caused the leak you see in the show. The show is 100% authentic."

PICKUP SHOTS

Also, Ford denied the suggestion that the show uses re-enactment footage, though sometimes "pickup shots" are utilized.

"For certain things, we do pickup shots for continuity," Ford said. "If the camera didn't run properly when the captain was boarding the boat, they have the captain back up and board the boat again."

Pickup shots are very common in unscripted programming of all stripes.

"There's pickup shots in documentaries," said Craig Borders, a reality series director who is co-chair of the Directors Guild of America's reality TV committee. "Interviews can even be considered pickup shots."

At the outset of the current season, Discovery instructed producers to not use any re-enactments, Ford said. "Catch" did use a re-enactment shot once last year, and the scene was put into black and white and was labeled a re-enactment. Ford suggested that the production outline may have been written by a person unfamiliar with all of the show's guidelines, confusing pickup coverage with a re-enactment.

The leak comes a year after the network admitted another reality hit "Man vs. Wild" took liberties with storytelling. Although the "Catch" sequence doesn't compare to the gaffes committed by "Wild," parent company Discovery Networks always has positioned itself as "a nonfiction entertainment" programmer.

Tuesday's episode was the highest-rated premiere in the network's history and was seen by 3.5 million viewers. The show also is the flagship entry in Original Prods. line of gritty blue-collar reality shows, including History's "Ice Road Truckers" and "Ax Men." The genre has become so popular on basic cable that NBC this month announced two Original Prods. shows set to air in summer 2009: "Shark Taggers" and "America's Toughest Jobs."

Original Prods. declined repeated requests for comment.

Nominated for seven primetime Emmy Awards, "Catch" often is praised for its realism. Noting that Bering Sea fisherman have died while filming the show, the New York Times last week declared that "of all the reality shows, 'Deadliest Catch' is by far the realest."

With that in mind, the lines between reality programming, documentaries and docudramas are increasingly difficult to distinguish. And for many filmmakers, where those lines are remains uncharted territory.

Whatever the case, the inherent danger faced by the boat's crew is undeniable. Viewers have embraced the series because it offers a brand of man-vs.-nature escapism not found in scripted productions.

Last year, "Catch" fans on a Discovery Channel message board thread debated whether one scene was staged. The consensus: never on this show.

"I suppose we're a country that's been desensitized to 'thrills' because Hollywood spews them out so rapidly and easily," one viewer wrote on the board. "That's why I'm so hooked on 'Deadliest Catch.' It's so refreshing to see 'real life' that contains more thrills and chills than even Hollywood can imagine."

[Ian]

Interesting, Mel ... that's sort of along the lines of what Capt. Blake's complaints were. That they edited footage together and made things appear differently than they really were, casting him in a less-than-positive light.

[ChipnDaleGal]

I guess I understand that the producers want things to be as dramtic as possible for compelling TV, but this makes me a little sad. These fisherman are such real and brave guys. I bet this makes them feel a little silly, and that isn't right. But it doesn't change the fact that I love this show.

[Tink&Goofy]

I love this show - and now I got DH hooked on it! I think my favorite episode is when the Time Bandit (I think) gets surrounded by the ice flows, and has to inch their way out. Amazing.
I haven't seen the captain that had his wife on board last season (I can't remember the name). Is he still there??

[Melanie]

I need to make an effort to catch this show sometime. My brother is hopelessly addicted and mentions it to me a lot.

[Jeff G]

Actually, I'm pretty sure it was intended for Phil, not Sig.

If I had to guess (and I haven't seen the 2nd episode yet either) I'd guess that Capt. Jonathan pulls up one of Phil's pots, hooks the truck onto it instead, and then dumps it back in the water.

I was able to watch both episodes and you are correct the prank was on Phil and a good one at that. To further explain the full prank: ***Spoiler for those of you who missed the 2nd Episode****. The truck was hauled out by Captain Jonathan on the Time Bandit. After the Cornelia Marie & Captain Phil laid their first string of pots the Time Bandit crew snuck in and replaced one the the pots with the truck. The crew of the Cornelia Marie played heck hauling in the truck. Once they have it on board they find a note painted on the side of the truck from the Time Bandit crew aimed at Phil and his desire for a new truck. Overall it was a funny prank.

The only question I have is that will anyone get a fine for dumping this piece of trash into the ocean?

As for the season, the show is off to a good start but the crabs seem to be hard to come by and the green horns seem like they are going to test the rest of the crews this year.

[JanetMegan]

The only question I have is that will anyone get a fine for dumping this piece of trash into the ocean?



Thank you for asking what I wanted to know, I mean it has got to be illegal to dump something like this right?? I thought it was a pretty poor example in our new-ly "green" US attitude.

[Ian]

I haven't seen the captain that had his wife on board last season (I can't remember the name). Is he still there??That's captain Greg Moncrief on the Farwest Leader. I don't believe they're participating in season 4. They were only in season 3.

His wife, Ragnhild, accompanied him on his fishing trips and served as the cook and functional nanny to the deckhands and crew.

[Bethis26fan]

Does anyone know when the new season starts? I know it starts in April, I just don't know the date.

[Dopey's Girl]

April 14 the new episodes start! I can't wait. I'm so hooked on this show. There was a clip show on this week. My DVR caught it. It was mainly stuff we had seen before, but still fun to see that it was back on!

[Ian]

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooo PYSCHED for the new season to start!!

:fish:

[Dopey's Girl]

Well, what did everyone think?