"Swamp People" on The History Channel

[John Mace]

Anyone else watching this?

I know there is bit of a "teh-he, look at these redneck rubes" factor, but I'm still fascinated with this show. There's really only one Cajon sounding guy, but it's pretty cool to be able to hear that accent. And it's just crazy dangerous how those guys catch alligators on fish hooks. Then, there is a wee bit of True Blood graphics thrown in for good measure.

I haven't been interested in any of the other job related reality shows (Ice Road Truckers, or whatever), but for some reason this show has me hooked (pun intended).

[Odesio]

Blue collar work seems to be very popular fodder for reality shows these days. I've only caught the tail end (HA! Get it?) of Swamp People but I was under the impression that they hunt gators to make money not just for fun. One of the reasons I think some of these shows are popular is because we're being presented with an aspect of American life that most of us are unfamiliar with. Dirty Jobs, which doesn't just feature blue collar stuff, is my favorite of these types of shows because I get to see a lot of different things and it doesn't get stale. I absolutely hate the crab fishing show because I pretty much learned all I needed to know about crabbing from the mini-series before it became a regular reality series.

I think the show is interesting -from the parts I've seen- and I welcome the chance to view a slice of American life I would not otherwise be exposed to. What it's doing on the History channel, who can say?

[Tully Mars]

I've seen parts of two episodes and I found it interesting. The show seems to suffer from the same drawn-outness that all such reality shows seem to suffer. However, the characters were genuine. In fact, they reminded me of people I've encountered through the years.

My grandfather told stories of fishing for gators like the show depicted. Once, when we were running lines for catfish on the Neches, he pointed out a gator slide on the river bank and showed me the signs. I was reminded of that when Troy pointed out the gator slide on that show.

[John Mace]

Originally Posted by Odesio

Blue collar work seems to be very popular fodder for reality shows these days. I've only caught the tail end (HA! Get it?) of Swamp People but I was under the impression that they hunt gators to make money not just for fun.

Oh, it's definitely for money. IIRC, the season only lasts a month, so they go all out trying to make the most of it.

I think the show is interesting -from the parts I've seen- and I welcome the chance to view a slice of American life I would not otherwise be exposed to. What it's doing on the History channel, who can say?

All these science channels have gone whacky. The Learning Channel seems to now be the baby channel. NatGeo is largely the Gang and Prison Channel.