Deadliest Catch

A few days ago another TV show that I have come to not only watch regularly but look forward to returned, that being "Deadliest Catch".  The show is a documentary on the king crab fishing in the Bering Sea and films four main boats as well as others at times and the Coast Guard as well.  It does this using film crews on the boats as well as a "chase boat" that will go from boat to boat for shots as well.  The show does an incredible job showing just why this profession is considered the "deadliest on earth" with stunning video and great work in bringing the captains and crews and the life they live to the viewers.

The show while occasionally showing other boats for part of seasons primarily focuses on four boats, the Wizard, the Northwestern, the Cornelia Marie, and the Time Bandit.  All four boats have their own unique personalities but all have great character stemming from their crew and the way things are run on the boat.  For example the Northwestern is a mostly no-nonsense grind away ship that goes about getting its business done.  The Time Bandit on the other hand is full of jokesters that have a ton of fun, though as with all crab boats the business is still serious.  All the boats have individuals in their crew that are really easy to relate to and fun to watch and over the years viewers really come to feel like they know them at least to some extent.  That is evident perhaps best by the unfortunate passing of the Cornelia Marie's skipper, Phil Harris, just this past year.  Countless people mourned his death, myself included.  I could go on for quite some time about the people on the boats, but it would make for an extremely long post and likely wouldn't do them justice as watching the show would.

The show also has followed a Coast Guard rescue helicopter in the last couple of seasons.  There is no question that they provide a service greater than any words or praise could relate, and there is no shortage of danger in their work.  Many times they have been shown to be out searching for survivors of a sunken boat, to being lowered down upon a ship where a sailor must be medivac'ed to a hospital that is many, many hours away still ... and all this in winter storms and in seas that are rolling along and winds that are pushing them all over.  These people are brave people who do a great service to the fleet while risking their own lives.

The show does an incredible job showing the life of a crabber too.  Greenhorns, or rookies to the profession, are shown as being the low man just as they are, often doing the worst work and being the butt of many jokes.  All members though suffer extremely long hours, often over 24 hours at a time, as they push on through temperatures near or even below freezing while being sprayed by ocean waters upon the deck of a rolling ship.  They sleep when they can, eat when they can, but otherwise spend most of months upon the sea working on the deck of the ship before their season is over.

It is pretty obvious why this is considered the most dangerous profession there is as well even watching just a single show.  You start with freezing temperatures, then add in winter storms that can easily bring 30 foot waves that can start collecting ice on the ship.  That alone can bring about bad things, especially if someone should fall in, but those are conditions that are worked in regularly.  Then you add in the fact that these people are working extremely long hours and are working with cages that weight thousands of pounds, work near the rails of the ship with ropes that could drag a man down ... the dangers just go on and on.  Each year the Bering Sea claims men and boats, and each season you see the effects of this on the show with events such as the Katmai sinking, another man falling of the pots and drowning.  Once you're in the sea you have only moments to live and generally the outcome isn't going to be good, though the Time Bandit in one season was able to rescue a man they saw fall in the sea from another boat.

It truly is a great show that has done an incredible job of showing the life of these people in an incredibly dangerous profession.  They bring you the crews and make you care about them, and they show the hardships that they deal with very well.  Everyone should watch at least a few episodes of this, if you think you'd be interested or not, everyone should give it a chance.  From the sinking of boats, to the grinding away for countless hours, to the weather that would drive any sane person to seek shelter, to the joy of a successful season, Discover and "Deadliest Catch" have truly created one of my favorite TV shows of all time.  Watch it.  You won't regret it.