# Deadliest Catch starts tonight. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2007, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543 "2007-04-03T11:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/1 "2007-04-03T11:52:33Z")
A new season of “The Deadliest Catch” starts on Discovery channel tonight. Here’s a [link](http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/deadliestcatch.html). For those who don’t know, the show follows 5 or so Alaskan fishing boats through a fishing season, keeping track of their catches, and following the drama. . .men overboard, ice storms, personal conflicts, job conflicts, etc. It’s hard to describe just how well made and dramatic this show can be. It was pretty heartbreaking last year when a young smart dude who thought he was going to get to captain a boat got snubbed by the owner. Anyway, it starts up again tonight at 9:00. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/2 "2007-04-03T12:22:29Z")
Ha! Two of the ads are for Crab Fishing Jobs in Alaska. I love this show and don’t feel as bad when I have to pay high prices for crab legs. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/3 "2007-04-03T12:28:57Z")
The Deadliest Catch is a reality show that is head and shoulders above every other show of that genre. The rogue wave from last season was some of the best TV ever. They’re filming out the front of the wheel house, and a wall of water crashes over the boat, everything goes black, the crew is scrambling trying to find out what happened, and get the engines back up so they’re not dead in the water during a storm. It reminds you that these guys are one bad break from an icy death. Honest conflict and drama, these are not men who are “humiliating themselves for our amusement”, as an old coworker of mine described reality TV. Time to set up my DVR, can’t miss this. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/4 "2007-04-03T12:32:15Z")
I was checking the bios for this season, and it looks like Blake is a captain this year. I think he was the guy who I mentioned was passed over last year. Also, one of the captain’s wives is on board, and the greenhorn who got bitched at by his dad last year now has a full share, and his older brother is joining the crew as a greenhorn. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/5 "2007-04-03T14:01:58Z")
I have been counting down the days until the premier. I watched the marathon and the best of season 2 special last weekend. Mike Rowe interviewed the cameraman who was on the Aleutian Ballad when the rogue wave hit. He said that he had just set the camera up in the window when the wave slammed them. Pure luck that he got that shot. I can’t wait to see the guys on the Northwestern again. It looks like we have some new boats this time too. I heard that Mike Rowe isn’t narrating the new season. Someone please tell me this isn’t true, it would really diminish my enjoyment of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/6 "2007-04-03T14:32:35Z")
This show makes me crazy. I can’t for the life of me figure out what would make a person do that job (aside from lots of money, adventure, and bragging rights, which I guess is all ya need, right?). It scares the shit outta me! And yet I continue to watch as mere mortals harvest sea cockroaches from frigid waters. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/7 "2007-04-03T14:47:35Z")
[QUOTE=Honey] I can’t wait to see the guys on the Northwestern again. It looks like we have some new boats this time too. [/quote] Sig. I like the _Cornelia Marie_. It has the guy who is a hard ass on his son, and it looks like they’re bringing his elder son on board this season. That’ll be good. They seem like a pretty interesting family. > [@](#): > > I heard that Mike Rowe isn’t narrating the new season. Someone please tell me this isn’t true, it would really diminish my enjoyment of the show. I hadn’t heard. Who knows. . .new guy might be better. He never really grabbed me, though. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/8 "2007-04-03T14:57:27Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] This show makes me crazy. I can’t for the life of me figure out what would make a person do that job (aside from lots of money …) [/QUOTE] But, what gets me is that it is not all that much money. Maybe it’s alot of money per hour (for some folks) but they don’t work all year round. It’s not like they walk away with enough to retire, or even enough to make it till the next season. Personally, I could piss away what they make in a week or less. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/9 "2007-04-03T15:05:47Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] Sig. [/QUOTE] Yeah. I love all three brothers. Sig, Norman and Edgar. I’d feel safest on their boat. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/10 "2007-04-03T15:13:26Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] But, what gets me is that it is not all that much money. Maybe it’s alot of money per hour (for some folks) but they don’t work all year round. It’s not like they walk away with enough to retire, or even enough to make it till the next season. Personally, I could piss away what they make in a week or less. [/QUOTE] I looked for a cite but couldn’t find one, but I seem to remember them mentioning crew members could make in excess of $60,000 in a season. Considering that leaves the rest of the year to work your “day job,” that’s a pretty nice chunk o’ change. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/11 "2007-04-03T15:25:19Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] But, what gets me is that it is not all that much money. Maybe it’s alot of money per hour (for some folks) but they don’t work all year round. It’s not like they walk away with enough to retire, or even enough to make it till the next season. Personally, I could piss away what they make in a week or less. [/QUOTE] I was under the impression they made like $30-$40K in about 6 weeks or however long the run is. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/12 "2007-04-03T15:30:06Z")
[QUOTE=Honey] I heard that Mike Rowe isn’t narrating the new season. Someone please tell me this isn’t true, it would really diminish my enjoyment of the show. [/QUOTE] I rarely pop ino Cafe Society, but this might have made it worth it. Please tell me we DO have a new narrator. I couldn’t take 10 seconds with the original guy. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/13 "2007-04-03T15:30:13Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] I was under the impression they made like $30-$40K in about 6 weeks or however long the run is. [/QUOTE] It definitely varies depending on your position (owner, captain, full share, partial share) and the catch the boat made. It seemed like some guys got $15000-20000 for a season, while some guys got $75,000 -100,000. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/14 "2007-04-03T15:35:56Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] I was under the impression they made like $30-$40K in about 6 weeks or however long the run is. [/QUOTE] Like I said, not a lot of money. Factor in the risks, the isolation, and the fact that crabs don’t always do what you want, and it is even less. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/15 "2007-04-03T15:49:52Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] Like I said, not a lot of money. Factor in the risks, the isolation, and the fact that crabs don’t always do what you want, and it is even less. [/QUOTE] According to one of Discovery’s sites on the show: > [@](#): > > Every October, 250 boats gather in Alaska’s Dutch Harbour, waiting for a radio announcement that can seal their fate. These are crab fishermen, and they’re chasing one of the ocean’s great prizes – the king crab, one of North America’s most popular delicacies. The rewards for a successful season can be immense. In 2004, the Alaskan boats caught 15.4 million pounds (6.8 million kilograms) of crab worth US$65.8 million. **On a really successful boat, one fisherman might earn as much as US$100,000 for only five days work.** That’s pretty damn lucrative. Still not worth it to me. The ocean freaks me out. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/16 "2007-04-03T16:03:09Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] That’s pretty damn lucrative. Still not worth it to me. The ocean freaks me out. [/QUOTE] I don’t mind the ocean, it’s all the qualifiers in the last sentence of your quote. I’m just not that damn lucky. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/17 "2007-04-03T16:32:30Z")
[QUOTE=Honey] Yeah. I love all three brothers. Sig, Norman and Edgar. I’d feel safest on their boat. [/QUOTE] Except that I’m pretty sure Sig would have no problem taking a slacker and cutting him up for bait, _pour encourager les autres_. He’s one hardass captain. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/18 "2007-04-03T17:26:08Z")
Sig is a real slavedriver. He’s got a crew of tough old salts, and they were practically begging him to let up last season. So he lets them get maybe 4 hours of sleep, then it’s back to another 18 hour shift, and Sig is kicking himself for being a big softie. The scary thing about it was Sig’s attitude, basically that he tells them to fish, and they fish, like they’re just robots you turn on and let loose on the deck. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/19 "2007-04-03T17:32:24Z")
[QUOTE=Cheesesteak] Sig is a real slavedriver. He’s got a crew of tough old salts, and they were practically begging him to let up last season. So he lets them get maybe 4 hours of sleep, then it’s back to another 18 hour shift, and Sig is kicking himself for being a big softie. The scary thing about it was Sig’s attitude, basically that he tells them to fish, and they fish, like they’re just robots you turn on and let loose on the deck. [/QUOTE] I think they put up with it because his crew fairly consistently makes some of the best money. But yeah, he’s tough on them. Those guys looked completely exhausted, I felt bad for them. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543/20 "2007-04-03T17:44:01Z")
[QUOTE=Cheesesteak] Sig is a real slavedriver. He’s got a crew of tough old salts, and they were practically begging him to let up last season. So he lets them get maybe 4 hours of sleep, then it’s back to another 18 hour shift, and Sig is kicking himself for being a big softie. The scary thing about it was Sig’s attitude, basically that he tells them to fish, and they fish, like they’re just robots you turn on and let loose on the deck. [/QUOTE] I won’t disagree at all. That’s part of what makes the show good, though. Seeing each guy’s take on money-making, dealing with workers, etc. It’s still business, and Sig – right or wrong – has his own take on how to do it. Especially in a business like this, if guys didn’t want to come back, they have a choice. I thought the Cornelia guy was pretty tough on his kid last year. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadliest-catch-starts-tonight/398543.md?page=2)