Deadliest Catch

Deadliest Catch used to be my favorite show. I have the first four seasons on DVD, but I've only watched through the first two and a half, and I watch the new episodes once in a great while.

So, I was sad to hear about Captain Phil's death in February. It actually felt like someone I knew had died. However, I didn't plan to watch the episodes about his illness until we happened upon the show last night.

I had stopped watching because although I think the subject is fascinating and many of the images are incredible, I don't like the way the show seems to manipulate its subjects. I know that even "serious" documentaries have to shape their stories through the way they choose to edit the material, and I know that "reality" TV seldom represents reality, but especially with Deadliest Catch, I don't trust the producers of the show to give us even a semi-accurate depiction of what's really going on. Yeah, the fishermen do basically the same thing day in and day out, with varying degrees of bad weather, but life is interesting enough -- drama shouldn't have to be manufactured. I also don't like the way the subjects become more and more aware of how they'll be portrayed, and start to act accordingly. (It is interesting that they write notes to their families on their gear, though.)

I understand why the fishermen (and Coast Guard people) wanted to do the show in the first place. It is a dangerous job, and this is a way for their families to see what they're doing on the boat, and to possibly understand what happened to them if something goes wrong. Also, they, and the captains especially, are motivated by money. Most do seem to love the job and the sea, but they definitely have to love making all that money. Getting paid to do the show is an extension of that.

When I watch a "reality" show, especially one on the Discovery Channel, or the History Channel, or A&E, I want to learn something new. That's what I enjoy most when I watch TV. But I feel like about halfway through the third season of Deadliest Catch, I stopped learning new things about fishing on the Bering Sea, and started to wonder to what extent the producers were directing the "drama".

I was also swayed by this blog:
http://thefishwife.blogspot.com/
I don't know if I trust everything there, either, but it gives me enough reasons to doubt the intentions of the show's producers.

An example from last night's episode: on the official Northwestern bio for Jake Anderson, it says "It’s extremely difficult to get a spot on a crab fishing boat [...] Fortunately for Jake, he knew the brother of Nick Mavar, a long time member of the Northwestern crew. With an introduction from Nick’s brother, Captain Sig and the Northwestern crew agreed to give him a shot as greenhorn." On the Discovery Channel site: "[Jake] got his break when it turned out he knew Nick Mavar's brother (their families share the same hometown). Thanks to the Mavar recommendation, Capt. Sig and the Northwestern crew decided to give Jake a shot as a greenhorn." Last night, Nick was referred to as Jake's uncle. (This is confirmed here: http://www.goskagit.com/home/article/deadliest_catch/) Apparently this is mentioned in Season 5, but if this is supposed to be an educational show, why would they not say in Jake's greenhorn season that he's related to a respected crew member?

Moving on, did the show handle Captain Phil's stroke well? No -- I don't think so. Supposedly Phil wanted the cameras to keep rolling, and that's okay. But they should have treated Phil's illness in the same understated way they treated Coast Guard rescues in early seasons. There's a fine line between the "character" and the actual human. There's a fine line between advertising upcoming episodes and exploiting a "doomed" man.

However, I have to say that although I don't agree with the way the show is handling all this, I probably will keep watching. I wish I didn't have to do so much reading between the lines and restructuring the story in my head, but I guess that's what happens with "reality" TV, and maybe that's why so many of us love it.

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/06/deadliest-catch-devoted-to-captain-phil-harris.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/06/23/captain-phil-harris-suffers-stroke-on-deadliest-catch