Fishing Frenzy

Discovery Channel's TV series is one of the most successful TV shows on the Discovery network, it has massive viewing figures around the world. If you ask around in any English speaking country you can be guaranteed that people will have heard of the show; and most likely watched it as well. But what is it about TV series about king crab fishing from Discovery that has captured the minds and attention of audiences? On the face of things it is just about the same as any other reality TV show, but deeper down you can find some real attractive nuances that keep you glued to the screen.

What is it exactly that has brought this franchise to Deadliest Catch 2012 and kept it plain sailing? It's the fact that it shows real lives and real drama, nothing is manufactured and set up to create more engaging shots. The events you see on the show are completely real and correlate with the actual working life of a deep sea crab fishing vessel. This is like a breath of fresh air for viewers, as they are often showered with false reality television painting a jaded picture of events and actions.

The truth is, crab fishing TV show from Discovery has been a hit with families. This is possibly because of the amount of family themes running through the show's actual content. Many of the people that work on these crab fishing vessels are actually related in some form or another. They have to work together through life or death situations, one mistake could cost the whole ship's lives. Therefore they are forced to work together and get past any differences they might have. This can teach great lessons to many families at home and put their arguments and differences into perspective otherwise overlooked.

There is the added factor in that the show makes you consider where your food actually comes from. For example when you are shopping round a supermarket it's likely that food has travelled from all around the globe to get to you. Very few of us actually take this into consideration when purchasing food. The efforts of people like the crews featured on deadliest catch all come together to provide the food that we all so often take for granted.

It's for reasons and recurrent themes like this that the show is so engaging. Other reality shows like wife swap are engineered in a false scenario to provide nothing more than entertainment. However deadliest catch is there not only to entertain but to provoke thought. You can genuinely put yourself in the boots of another person and experience an extreme way of life for a short period.

The show has really evolved into a proper franchise, with books, DVDs and even video games being released under its name. Certain captains and crew members have written their own books on the matter, as well as the Discovery Channel releasing their own books. The video game is available for most popular game console systems. Nobody could have predicted the unprecedented success of this reality show when it started back just seven years before.