AXE man Drama?

GolfAddict · Jan 18, 2012

I haven't seen most of the reality shows mentioned other than Ice Road Truckers which got to be a bore real fast, but I saw one the other night that was just plain funny. It was about a group of folks that were "proving" that there are Bigfoots running around some state, can't remember where. (I think it would be classified a reality show, not really sure.)

arrow · Jan 18, 2012

GolfAddict said:
I haven't seen most of the reality shows mentioned other than Ice Road Truckers which got to be a bore real fast, but I saw one the other night that was just plain funny. It was about a group of folks that were "proving" that there are Bigfoots running around some state, can't remember where. (I think it would be classified a reality show, not really sure.)

That show is about as comical as the various "ghost hunter" shows. I watched this show a couple of times only because my daughter cuts one of these guy's hair. I stopped watching it as it was so labored trying to find a "ghost". Its going on 3 years now and have not seen anything on those shows that looks genuine. I can have just as much "hair raising" when the wife and I are in the kitchen together.

JRobyn · Jan 19, 2012

I "endured" an episode of "Ragin Cajuns" a few nights ago on Discovery (gulf coast shrimpers). I think it's new. It looked interesting until about 3 minutes in when they introduced captain "Blimp". He evidently is the total doofus that they designated to do all the "exciting" and "dramatic" stuff. And about 400# and down to about 5 usable teeth. Everything he did throughout the show was just unbelievably STUPID!! Any shrimper/fisherman that operated like he supposedly does would be out of business in days. That was my LAST episode.

ray66v · Jan 19, 2012

I always suspected reality shows were at least "staged".

Now that they have progressed over the years, to the point of being obviously, and ridiculously fake, I can't believe viewers would willingly sit there, and have their intelligence insulted.

jonyyuma · Jan 19, 2012

Aw man, have a heart, Ole Blimp was just a trying to collect some Discovery gold. he sure doen't know much about running a boat...Running over his own net. OMG.. Duffus??

Scooby074 · Jan 19, 2012

ray66v said:
I always suspected reality shows were at least "staged".

Now that they have progressed over the years, to the point of being obviously, and ridiculously fake, I can't believe viewers would willingly sit there, and have their intelligence insulted.

I honestly believe that the "first gen" shows were real and unstaged, documentary style. Like the first season of Deadliest Catch.

But "focus groups" love the drama, that means ratings and that means either instigating and exaggerating the natural "drama" or going even further and writing scripts.

crazyal · Jan 19, 2012

Anyone watch some of the early American Choppers? Back when it was more about building a bike. Once they figured out that people would rather watch Sr and Jr yell at each other than the details of building a bike they went wild. All the shows are basically the same find something that people will watch once or twice then sucker them in with fake drama.

I don't even bother watching. I would rather watch shows where they show something like a bridge or dam being built or how they move buildings. Even then they try to play up the dramatics but not too bad.

ray66v · Jan 19, 2012

Scooby074 said:
I honestly believe that the "first gen" shows were real and unstaged, documentary style. Like the first season of Deadliest Catch.

But "focus groups" love the drama, that means ratings and that means either instigating and exaggerating the natural "drama" or going even further and writing scripts.

A friends daughter dated a guy who crewed on some reality shows.

He said the producers did not initially script them, but the did "set up" things to happen and film them. Which of course, explains why the cameras were always right there to catch the drama.

He also explained, the participants are smart enough to know what the producers want. They like the money, and attention, so they ratchet it up when the cameras are on.

Today, it has clearly gone much further than that.

MHarryE · Jan 19, 2012

I enjoy them once awhile for learning about stuff we don't have up here. Like getting a contract to supply a log with a diameter large enough for a one piece tabletop, aged right, the right grain, etc. BS of fighting amongst each other really sucks but I DVD it and zip past the crap. Swamp Loggers is more like what it takes to run a business, the breakdowns, the crapped out gearbox right after you sent the old aching to the scrapyard, the engine running away and punching a hole in the block. Sending the son to deal with a bad situation because I can't go without exploding and making a worse situation out of a bad one. Really, I'm saying, I need to get a life. But then why am I here? This is it's own reality show with all of the personality types you find on reality TV but without the hype. Look at the thread, "What Shouldn't I Do With My New Loader?". Easily create your own show out of the responses, and the thought, "Been there, done that!" with nearly every new entry.

chopped · Jan 20, 2012

MHarry well said.....

forgeblast · Jan 20, 2012

I just finished up SoG(Sons of Guns) this morning. So searched for some more info about the show.
Appears that they lost their ffl for loosing some guns(report said 10). And then they made a deal to transfer their ffl to vince, and they would keep the manufacting part of the business. But in the last episode vince cleared out his things, and they have two new people doing the ffl reports.
Just seems a strange situation.

johnrex62 · Jan 20, 2012

kebo said:
Yeah, if they showed you what it was really like it would probably make some boring tv for the most part. They each have producers, and the producers have a tendency to make up things to make their show more exciting or intense, all to grab more viewers. I believe they actually tell the guys to get in verbal altercations and then start throwing stuff, or get into a wrassling match lol.

I would be amazed if they did not.

I was involved in a documentary while in High School. It was about a young upcoming music phenom that I attended school with. I guess the school environment did not tell the story they wanted, so they arranged/staged several confrontations between students to liven up the story. The most preposterous event was an "intervention" for one of our trumpet players who was supposed to have played a bit flat during one of the rehearsals. The asinine thing was that the majority of our brass line would not have known they were playing in the wrong key, much less a "little flat" unless they had a tuner running at the time.

Even if someone had been WAY flat, nobody would have cared during rehearsal because we were not that good or that competitive.

The producers had us looking like we were part of the Fame cast at the NY School for Performing Arts. As far as I know only one member of that 400 member band had any motivation to continue playing music after highschool and he wasn't involved in the scene they setup.

No, people. Reality shows are nothing close to reality, lets just say I look more like Brad Pitt than they resemble truth.

Scooby074 · Jan 20, 2012

ray66v said:
He also explained, the participants are smart enough to know what the producers want. They like the money, and attention, so they ratchet it up when the cameras are on.

Today, it has clearly gone much further than that.

Yeah, im sure all involved know how their bread is buttered.

Me id prefer to see it nice and simple. No drama, just educational programming.

Grateful11 · Jan 21, 2012

We finally watched last weeks Swamp Logger and like one guy on the show said, "You can't fix stupid". A tree on the back of Bronco II, one boat dock destroyed for a rotted log, the bosses son hooked the wrong end of log, the Father and Son team can't stop fighting with each other for nothing, etc. This show just gets worse and worse. I told my wife I'm just about finished with the show, it's nothing but a joke.

According to Facebook there's something going on with Swamp Logger, I haven't checked back in a few days. Just checked there's been no update from the Goodson family. Also I search for future episodes and there's not even any reruns showing up, not looking good for Swap Loggers, they probably wouldn't stoop to the level of Axe Men.

zman007007 · Jan 21, 2012

First of all, I would like to say thanks to everyone here commenting. 1st you tell me wrestling is fake. Then you tell me all of these or at least the biggest part of reality shows are fake. So now I am down to watching reruns of I love Lucy and the Andy Griffith shows, and just hoping no one tells me they are staged too. I am about to watch an episode of The housewifes of so and so, at least I know they are real. LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL ZMAN :laughing::confused2:

Turbys_1700 · Jan 21, 2012

Back in the 60's on Saturday afternoons I used to watch the Porter Wagoner Show and then Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling with Big Bill Ward...
That was a real popular show in the day...
Lots of drama with the good guys wrestling the bad guys...
Not a lot of difference here...
Staged drama in the logging industry with Axe Men...
Staged drama in the gold mining industry with Gold Rush...
Staged drama in the Pawn Shop industry with Pawn Stars, Cajun Pawn Stars, etc...
As long as people watch it they will continue to produce it...

CBW1999 · Jan 22, 2012

I am surprised there are not more law suits surrounding these shows....

A and E had a show several years ago called Family Plots- about a family run mortuary. All the same drama "yada yada yada"..... Then it suddenly dissapeared.

Turns out, one of the workers who ran the business wasn't licensed to do so and, previously had been invovled in some illegal activity/schemes elsewhere.

Looks like the producers didn't do their homework-

Mostly- as pointed out, these shows quickly become "improvisational" by the "actors" pretty quickly you see the behavior escalate as each person tries to get more time in front of the camera.

The only "reality" show I like to watch is "Dirty Jobs". You know the pointof the show and, you know the will make it funny!

Grateful11 · Jan 22, 2012

There's is one other show we enjoy watching these days and that's "Only in America" with Larry the Cable Guy. He visited a Dairy the other day with 2 carousel milkers, milking I think they said 7300 head 3x a day. That's a good show with lots of laughs and you can actually see people doing real work.

tnmike · Jan 22, 2012

My oldest son works as a hook tender/rigger for a big logging outfit in northern Idaho. He says it is all business on his job site and laughs at the show. If you acted like that in the real world you wouldn't last a day. Its all staged for TV.

Don't even get me started on sons of guns. What a bunch of morons. Who wants a quad AR15 anyway?