13 replies to this topic

[JTMacc99]

Per the National Geographic Channel:

Fishing is a hard life, and harder with bluefin stocks depleted. In Gloucester, Massachusetts, there's a special breed of fishermen. For generations they've used rod and reel to catch the elusive bluefin tuna. They depend on these fish for their livelihood, and the competition is brutal.

Over the next 10 weeks, the most skilled fishermen will set out in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic in hopes of catching the valuable bluefin tuna. When one bluefin can bring in as much as $20,000—they'll do whatever it takes to hook up.

I'm through three episodes so far, (a new one aired last night) and I am really enjoying this show. Like every reality show in its first season, the guys are sort of aware of the cameras and do things that are probably just for show, but they haven't actually seen themselves on the show yet and are probably as close to what they really are as they'll ever be.

The big thing that has me hooked (I apologize for using that term), is how much I want to see a couple of these guys actually catch a fish. In particular, I find myself rooting for Dave and for Bill & Donna whenever they are on the screen. Bill really needs to stop paying attention to Dave as much as he does, although it seems like they all need to pay less attention to Dave.

In one way, I kind of agree with Dave that they should all just go fishing and stop worrying about each other, but on the other hand it does seem that they are better off if they are all chumming and fishing in the same general area.

Best I can tell is that Dave must be a Yankees fan or something.

Edited by JTMacc99, Apr 23, 2012 @ 8:18 AM.

[trojan69]

No coincidence that Disco went with Mike Rowe to narrate.

All the draaaama around the jealousies of the tuna.com boat is ridic. If the captains are to be believed, they are on their last gasp. They either make bank this season or they are dead.

I am sick to DEATH about all the environmental messages as to the depletion of tuna stock. If it really is that bad, fine. The quota is ZERO. The hypocrisy of these fisherman pretending to be green whilst personally doing everything and anything they can do to reduce the species is the absurdity of absurdities.

[JTMacc99]

Since it's the first time these people are on camera, I tend to believe that they really do have some sort of competitive thing going on with Tricky Dave and the Tuna.com. It seems like it might be both somewhat just having fun with an intense guy and a little bit of genuine annoyance with him (depending on which other boat we are looking at.)

I am under the impression that the show is playing tricks on me a little bit with regards to how much difficulty each person will be in if he doesn't catch a fish, but I do believe that this is not exactly a good way to make a living and that these guys probably would be in a little bit of trouble if they don't catch some fish during.

It was really interesting to see the Hard Merchandise run the fishing charter to make a few bucks. I really don't think that was done for the show. I also think he was NUTS to let those nudniks have any part of reeling in that 800 pound tuna, especially after we saw him get pissed at Jason for letting a fish get off earlier.

Edited by JTMacc99, Apr 24, 2012 @ 9:14 AM.

[kassa]

The Hard Merchandise guy was on a local talk show last month and was really entertaining, and also a lot more serious-minded than he has come off so far on the show. Spoke very eloquently about the lifestyle and the regulations, and would not be drawn into political flame throwing by callers who wanted him to agree with them about whatever their pet cause was. I heard him before I saw the show, so how he comes off on tv is much more superficial than my first exposure to him, but it's nice to know there's a substantial person behind the character.

He had nothing negative to say about anybody on the show, and there was no hint that there was genuine animosity. Of course he also didn't talk about how much he loves anybody else on the show, either.

Edited by kassa, Apr 24, 2012 @ 9:33 AM.

[JTMacc99]

He is one of the guys I was specifically talking about when I mentioned earlier how much I was rooting for some boats to land a big fish. You never know with TV, since we are shown whatever somebody else decides to show us, but I find myself liking hm and therefore rooting for him.

Showing him essentially emptying out his wallet to pay his tab at the bait shop was one of those things that was "a choice of something to show me", but even though I know that, I still felt like I understood what that must have felt like as one of the last things he did before he headed out for the trip that day.

Edited by JTMacc99, Apr 24, 2012 @ 1:01 PM.

[trojan69]

NG edit monkeys hard at work.

While there certainly was a notable storm early in the week, by Thursday of the week depicted it had calmed considerably. While Sal was bemoaning the rough weather in an off-camera voice over, there was zero white water or foam to be seen. The swells were well under two feet. What a joke. Glad he scored that big one, but there was no need to hype a becalmed sea.

Now...if Sal's radio had stopped working, why on EARTH was he even THINKING of staying out following his engine trouble? What repairs were made in the overnight when he got back to port? Mr. "Who will take care of my family" goes out without fully functional radios? Really?

OHHHHHHHHHHHH! Edit monkeys. Silly Trojan.

[JTMacc99]

I agree. There was a lot of "I don't want to die out there" cut together with, "I'm staying out here!"

If I ignore the editing, I will say that turning over the key and having the engine not fire up must be a REALLY sickening feeling. I hate the feeling of trying to start my car parked in my driveway when the battery is dead.

[JTMacc99]

FYI for the few of us that watched this:

National Geographic Channel has renewed its freshman reality series Wicked Tuna for a second season, the network announced Friday during its Television Critics Association presentation.

The series, which follows New England fishermen who use rod and reel to catch bluefin tuna, will premiere in early 2013, according to National Geographic Channels (NGC) executive VP of programming Michael Cascio.

"Wicked Tuna is a story of survival and tradition in a special breed of fishermen," said Cascio in a statement. "We are proud that the first season served to bring a wider audience to what is a complex and complicated discussion on the bluefin tuna, and the second season will expand on this goal even further."

[JTMacc99]

Well, in the second season premier they didn't really talk much about the bluefin tuna. They did, however, introduce a new boat with a bunch of cocky kids on it, so that was fun, especially when they backed it up with a nice fish.

Dave must seriously be just an awful person back on land, because all of these guys really want to stick it to him at every turn. Bill (I think that's his name) actually blamed his bad season last year ON DAVE. Dude.

[A Boston Gal]

I like this show a lot, even with the stunt casting of the cocky NH kid (did they say they all met in "prep school"? Interesting..). Poor Bill comes off as a sad sack that has a hard time conjuring up any luck (even though I like his wife), and Dave's a jerk, as has been discussed. My fave is the Hard Merchandise crew...loved them since the episode where he took out a charter group last season, and even though he hooked a tuna, let each guy on the charter have a turn at hauling it in ( JTMacc, I know you disagree about this <g>). He didn't have to do that...seems like a nice guy.

I hope they don't let the show degenerate into "Storage Wars", with characters more important than the actual events. On the plus side, the producers can't "salt" the ocean like they can with a storage locker!

Edited by A Boston Gal, Jan 17, 2013 @ 7:13 AM.

[trojan69]

That fight for the tuna that ended after nearly two hours was plenty dramatic on its own. These guys really do invest a lot and live out wrenching disappointments like this all the time. No need for "personalities" and faux rivalries.

Something I could not figure out...if the timing of the first catch was correct, how is it that what was purported to be the finest quality tuna was priced at only $14/lb and all the others, supposedly of lesser quality, were at least that, if not more? Shenanigans with timing much?

Why not show a complete dressing of a catch to make it suitable for sale? We've seen bits and pieces (no pun intended) but never a soup to nuts dressing.

[JTMacc99]

Why not show a complete dressing of a catch to make it suitable for sale? We've seen bits and pieces (no pun intended) but never a soup to nuts dressing.

This is the second time this week I heard somebody mention that. For whatever reason, they have chosen not to show that part of the job. It would certainly be okay with me to see it at least once, just to get an understanding of more of what they do.

I think the lower price per pound was sort of explained. First, this was week two and I guess the price goes down once the market has seen a some fish. Second, I think they actually said that sometimes the fish caught farther off shore have a wider variety of quality issues than do the close to shore ones. I have NO idea if that is true, but that's what I thought was said.

I don't think it was Shenanigans with timing, because I do think the kids mentioned that they had already come back from the trip that got them the $14 fish when they were watching Dave and Paul (!) catch their fish. I think it really could have just been a lesser fish, but then again, that could just be me wanting to believe the show.

I had access to a DVD here at work that had the first three episodes on it, so I could have jumped ahead to find out what was going to happen next, but I opted to just wait for it to hit my DVR this Sunday.

[AZChristian]

We've had the marathon running while doing household chores this weekend. Dave (his voice, hair, and hyperactivity) kept reminding me of someone, and I couldn't figure out how it was until this morning.

Jerry Lewis!

[JTMacc99]

I just watched the second to last episode of the second season, and a couple things struck me. First, it's clear that both Dave and Paul are very good at this, and Paul did a good job getting himself on his own boat.  I hope he can keep his act together enough to figure out how to be captain for an entire season next year.

 

Second, I love that Tyler gets such a kick out of Marciano. In a way, it supports my feelings that Tyler isn't a bad kid, even if he has been talking tough for the cameras. Also, that 110 inch tuna was frickin' huge. I hope they get a good price for it.