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powder 2 da people
Nov 7, 2004

by Y Kant Ozma Post
gently caress you, Discovery Channel. I can't take much more of Sia's Breathe Me everytime there's a goddamn commercial break. After Six Feet Under, I'm scarred for life. That song can't be listened to without feelings of depression.

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Sock The Great
Oct 1, 2006

It's Lonely At The Top. But It's Comforting To Look Down Upon Everyone At The Bottom
Grimey Drawer
I'm not much into the Discovery Channel series, MythBusters etc. has gotten kind of old over the last couple of years. However, I still can't resist any specials involving asteroids, black holes, stars...anything space that somehow predicts the apocalypse I'm instantly hooked on.

Butthole Prince
Nov 19, 2004

She said that she was working for the ABC News / It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use.

Davidnssbm posted:

saying bear gryll quotes at works with some other MvsW buddy is what gets me through the day! Vit-uh-min C!

Be careful when you're walking on top of those glah-sea-ahs, there can be caverns thousands of feet deep!

Jamesy
Aug 6, 2004
Two are better than one; For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

boxc posted:

Oh God these Praying Mantises(Mantisi?) are pure evil.

:froggonk:

The grossest thing I've ever seen was a mantis eating another mantis' head during sex. It was loving disgusting. I am pretty desensitized and that was too much to even watch.

LordOfThePants
Sep 25, 2002

Sock The Great posted:

I'm not much into the Discovery Channel series, MythBusters etc. has gotten kind of old over the last couple of years. However, I still can't resist any specials involving asteroids, black holes, stars...anything space that somehow predicts the apocalypse I'm instantly hooked on.
The Science Channel is doing "Space Week" sometime - it almost makes me want to get digital cable so I can watch it.

LordOfThePants
Sep 25, 2002

I hate to keep bumping this when there's so little interest, but I have a Deadliest Catch question.

This week's episode, the red crab season was over. They showed the final crab count, then how much each boat made.

Does each guy get a different price on the crab? I wonder, because the Cornelia-Marie was the crab-count leader, but they made less money than the Northwestern did, and the Northwestern caught fewer crab.

Ape Agitator
Feb 19, 2004

Soylent Green is Monkeys
College Slice

LordOfThePants posted:

I hate to keep bumping this when there's so little interest, but I have a Deadliest Catch question.

This week's episode, the red crab season was over. They showed the final crab count, then how much each boat made.

Does each guy get a different price on the crab? I wonder, because the Cornelia-Marie was the crab-count leader, but they made less money than the Northwestern did, and the Northwestern caught fewer crab.

Well, they did show different ports that some used (I think it was Sig that went to a port his family has always been going to). There's a possibility the price per pound might vary accordingly.

Also, each crab is of variable weight. If they're pulling in monsters on one boat and others that simply qualify, that could be a significant change in overall value. The younger captain came in short on his weight quota, possibly because of small, light crab. Also, any deaths or undersize might be discarded when they weigh in but their original count would hold.

Pebbler
Apr 8, 2007

LordOfThePants posted:

I hate to keep bumping this when there's so little interest, but I have a Deadliest Catch question.

This week's episode, the red crab season was over. They showed the final crab count, then how much each boat made.

Does each guy get a different price on the crab? I wonder, because the Cornelia-Marie was the crab-count leader, but they made less money than the Northwestern did, and the Northwestern caught fewer crab.

I just saw that episode a few minutes ago and my guess is that each boat has a different operating cost. When each boats's deckhand crew is getting 37 to 38 thousand dollars apiece but their total catch weight is all over the map... I can only think each boat's system for paying out is different.

I wonder what the captains make? Probably way more, like 200 or 300 grand or more.

TheChirurgeon
Aug 7, 2002

Remember how good you are
Taco Defender

SolarFire2 posted:

Personally? I think Bear is an idiot. Well, maybe not so much of an idiot, but I feel that he takes foolish risks to make his show more dynamic.

You've basically hit the nail on the head. As far as the layout of the shows goes, Man vs. Wild is set up to be more dynamic and exciting than Survivorman, and Grylls is trying to be a more exciting host to watch (which he is, even when he's jumping into frozen water or otherwise doing things that you shouldn't attempt).

What makes Man vs. Wild a better show than Survivorman is that it has that proper blend of entertainment + learning that Discovery is always aiming for. That's also why it gets higher ratings.

Campbell
Jun 7, 2000
Regarding the couple of Deadliest Catch questions above, I might have a little info on that. The different offload ports are typically associated with canneries that they crab boat is contracted with. There are a total of 3 major ones in the Bering Sea. Basically a boat has a quota given to them by the Alaska Fish & Game (based off of past performance in the old Derby seasons, money and voodoo magic I believe).

The boats then go contract out parts/all of their quota to different canneries. That's why Phil Harris on the Cornelia Marie was saying they were in deep poo poo when the processor they were going to broke down...basically they'd catch all those Opies and a ton of em would die in their hold while waiting for the processor to come back online.

As far as payout, Captain & Boat takes 50% off the top. Deckhands get a % share based on their seniority/rank/whatever (such as "Senior Deckhand" or "Fullshare" guy, "Half Share" and I think greenhorns get even less). Different boats prolly give their guys different percentages too.

So the Captains do pretty well I'd bet, but when a new prop costs more than $20,000 and the diesel tanks on most of those boats is upwards of 30,000 gallons (which I think keeps them running for a week or two of steaming around) the boat probably eats a ton of that money.

I'm such a Deadliest Catch nerd :smith:

Edit:
And on a similar note, did anyone watch the 1st part of "After the Catch"? It kind of weirded me out because every single thing was like "Hey remember when that guy died? How about that friend of yours when he was crushed like a grape? Let's watch the footage!" The onslaught of morbid questions just seemed kinda disrepectful to me.

I kinda just wish that they'd let the captains talk about whatever was on their mind, even if it doesn't relate to EXCITING NEAR-DEATH BOAT STUNTS or something.

Dear Discovery Channel: Sometimes I am entertained just by learning about real-world poo poo, and do not need to be force-fed entertainment frosted with factoids.

Dear Bear Gryllis: I DO NOT LIKE YOU!

Campbell fucked around with this message at 23:07 on Jun 4, 2007

nmfree
Aug 15, 2001

The Greater Goon: Breaking Hearts and Chains since 2006

Campbell posted:

Regarding the couple of Deadliest Catch questions above, I might have a little info on that. The different offload ports are typically associated with canneries that they crab boat is contracted with. There are a total of 3 major ones in the Bering Sea. Basically a boat has a quota given to them by the Alaska Fish & Game (based off of past performance in the old Derby seasons, money and voodoo magic I believe).

That is how the original permits were issued, but boats can sell quota permits to one another. That's why 60 boats can do the same amount of work as >200 used to.

Campbell posted:

As far as payout, Captain & Boat takes 50% off the top. Deckhands get a % share based on their seniority/rank/whatever (such as "Senior Deckhand" or "Fullshare" guy, "Half Share" and I think greenhorns get even less). Different boats prolly give their guys different percentages too.

Greenhorns don't generally get a percentage, they get a straight wage off the bottom unless they do *really* well, sometimes the deckhands will vote to give the greenhorn a small percentage of their combined cut.


Campbell posted:

I kinda just wish that they'd let the captains talk about whatever was on their mind, even if it doesn't relate to EXCITING NEAR-DEATH BOAT STUNTS or something.
I think the other episodes will be a little more freeform and a little less of the sensational crap.

Free Market Gravy
Sep 17, 2005

Dear Discovery Channel:

I love your channel. Really, I do. It's the truth. When I have the TV on and I'm just listening or doing something while "watching" with my ears, it's you or the Weather Channel. I support and love you guys.

That said... Please... Find something, ANYTHING to air besides Deadliest Catch. Deadliest Catch is a great show without question and is far more interesting than any show whose premise is "watch guys crab fishing in Alaskan waters" should be. However, there's only been three seasons and yet no matter when I turn the channel on, there's a 95% chance you're airing a Deadliest Catch rerun. I can only watch each episode so many times. Hell, I don't think it's mandated by law that you can show shark-oriented shows ONLY during Shark Week, is it?

And while I've got your attention, please ramp up the difficulty on Cash Cab. I only like the show for the host anyway, but it's annoying to hear people strike out on questions that 4th graders would be ashamed to get wrong.

Thank you for your time.

Signed,
Robot Relations

LordOfThePants
Sep 25, 2002

Campbell posted:

Edit:
And on a similar note, did anyone watch the 1st part of "After the Catch"? It kind of weirded me out because every single thing was like "Hey remember when that guy died? How about that friend of yours when he was crushed like a grape? Let's watch the footage!" The onslaught of morbid questions just seemed kinda disrepectful to me.

I kinda just wish that they'd let the captains talk about whatever was on their mind, even if it doesn't relate to EXCITING NEAR-DEATH BOAT STUNTS or something.

Thanks for the info on the show, I've only seen this season so far.

I watched that show and I think they're doing a different theme for each part, which is why it was so morbid last week. According to my Tivo, this week's episode deals with near-death experiences and next week's deals with "mysteries of the sea" - which should be pretty cool.

Also, Man vs. Wild fans, good news. New episodes start next Friday (6/15) at 9:00pm, with Bear surviving in the Everglades.

I forgot to mention it when I saw it was on, but keep your eyes out for "Going Tribal". They're not making new episodes as far as I know, but it's an AMAZING series. Every now and then they'll run a marathon of it, I wish they'd show it more often.

keeper
Jun 5, 2002

Robot Relations posted:


And while I've got your attention, please ramp up the difficulty on Cash Cab. I only like the show for the host anyway, but it's annoying to hear people strike out on questions that 4th graders would be ashamed to get wrong.

I still hate it because it's a game show but it's the only one I ever get anything correct on because it's actually questions about stuff that is good to know and not bullshit trivia about celebrities.

TheChirurgeon
Aug 7, 2002

Remember how good you are
Taco Defender

Robot Relations posted:

That said... Please... Find something, ANYTHING to air besides Deadliest Catch. Deadliest Catch is a great show without question and is far more interesting than any show whose premise is "watch guys crab fishing in Alaskan waters" should be. However, there's only been three seasons and yet no matter when I turn the channel on, there's a 95% chance you're airing a Deadliest Catch rerun.

When did this become an open letters thread?

Anyways, the new season of Deadliest Catch is getting the series' highest ratings to date, so it's unlikely they'll scale back the repeats while the show is still in premieres.

The reason that Discovery networks (Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, Health, Science, etc) air so many repeats is because they own all their content. Because they don't get any syndicated shows, they have to fill all of their time with original programming. And because daytime and primetime audiences are vastly different, and a repeat of Deadliest Catch will still do better than a repeat of almost anything else they could show, the show's going to continue to get repeated all over the schedule.

Fantastipotamus
Nov 19, 2002

Nothing's wrong. Nothing is wrong. Everything is on track.

Campbell posted:

Dear Bear Gryllis: I DO NOT LIKE YOU!
I was watching one episode where he had to float down some river, and he was definitely wearing a life jacket under his shirt. He climbed out of the water at a low angle (so you couldn't see it) and then, miraculously, it was gone!

I thought Surivivorman was much more interesting :(

Free Market Gravy
Sep 17, 2005

Fantastipotamus posted:

I was watching one episode where he had to float down some river, and he was definitely wearing a life jacket under his shirt. He climbed out of the water at a low angle (so you couldn't see it) and then, miraculously, it was gone!

I thought Surivivorman was much more interesting :(

The guy from Survivorman is about as close to a real life superhero as you can get. He sets up and breaks down all the equipment himself and if he fucks something up while doing something monumentally and stupidly dangerous, he just does it again.

Both guys are more hardy than I am and I'll give them both credit, but Survivorman (the show name even sounds like a superhero) makes Capt. Smarmy British Air Force Shithead look like a boy scout.

Trotsky1940
Sep 18, 2006
I just picked up the Survivorman DVD at Wal-Mart, I agree with the above; Les Stroud is the man. He does everything himself, nothing super dangerous but you can tell he's busting his rear end to both film and survive at the same time.

Splendiferous
May 7, 2006

wah dee dah
New episode of Deadliest Catch is on. Sig hauling rear end down there with the guys was about as close to :unsmith: as you can get.

The Real Paddy
Aug 21, 2004

by FactsAreUseless

Splendiferous posted:

New episode of Deadliest Catch is on. Sig hauling rear end down there with the guys was about as close to :unsmith: as you can get.

They serve sandwhiches and cock for dinner, and they're all out of sandwhiches.

404GoonNotFound
Aug 6, 2006

The McRib is back!?!?

Trotsky1940 posted:

I just picked up the Survivorman DVD at Wal-Mart, I agree with the above; Les Stroud is the man. He does everything himself, nothing super dangerous but you can tell he's busting his rear end to both film and survive at the same time.

Agreed. When does the next season of THAT start anyway?


...there is gonna be a next season, right? :smith:

Humboldt Squid
Jan 21, 2006

I can't remember the name of the show, but that show with the guy who went and lived with various indiginous peoples around the world was awesome, but did it get canceled or something? :(

Also, futureweapons is loving stupid.

LordOfThePants
Sep 25, 2002

Humboldt squid posted:

I can't remember the name of the show, but that show with the guy who went and lived with various indiginous peoples around the world was awesome, but did it get canceled or something? :(

Also, futureweapons is loving stupid.
That was Going Tribal. They still show reruns occasionally. I think it was last summer they did a short, four episode "series" where he lived with four different tribes in Africa, but other than that I don't know if they're making new episodes.

I imagine it's a difficult show to film. I mean, the logistics behind planning the trips have to be insane, plus he spends 30 days with each tribe. Hopefully they're filming a new season right now.

Trotsky1940
Sep 18, 2006

404GoonNotFound posted:

Agreed. When does the next season of THAT start anyway?


...there is gonna be a next season, right? :smith:

He is filming, whether Discovery will opt to pick it up is another story. I would imagine they will as they run the first season so much.

TheChirurgeon
Aug 7, 2002

Remember how good you are
Taco Defender

Trotsky1940 posted:

He is filming, whether Discovery will opt to pick it up is another story. I would imagine they will as they run the first season so much.

There will be a second season of Survivorman. It should air on or around 8/10.

SpecialF
Dec 14, 2004

`You might just as well say, that "I breathe when I sleep" is the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe"!'
Quoting Wikipedia about Jamie Hyneman: Hyneman earned a degree in Russian language and literature. A variety of careers fills his résumé, including scuba diver, wilderness survival expert, boat captain, linguist, pet shop owner, animal wrangler, machinist, concrete inspector, and chef.
A fair bit of that is backed up by the m5 website.

ToastyPotato
Jun 23, 2005

CONVICTED OF DISPLAYING HIS PEANUTS IN PUBLIC

SpecialF posted:

Quoting Wikipedia about Jamie Hyneman: Hyneman earned a degree in Russian language and literature. A variety of careers fills his résumé, including scuba diver, wilderness survival expert, boat captain, linguist, pet shop owner, animal wrangler, machinist, concrete inspector, and chef.
A fair bit of that is backed up by the m5 website.

Somehow, I can picture him easily doing all of those things.

keeper
Jun 5, 2002
This last episode (Big Rig myths) was one of those frustrating as gently caress episodes. I have to hope they were hamming it up for the cameras but Kari was sounding like she had no concept of air resistance. And while their dynamometers were cool the blowout myth was a perfect example of Adam and Jamie attempting to re-invent the wheel, shotgun at the tire? wtf? There are much easier ways to replicate a blow out, or the much more common event of one losing a tread, to top it off neither really replicated a realistic event.

I was one of those who didn't think the Knight Rider trailer thing was possible though, so the coolest myth to me was the one they paid the least attention to.

headtrip
Sep 15, 2005

I will not instigate revolution.
After the Catch kind of weirds me out a little because the narrator's hubris is creepy as poo poo when he's actually on camera instead of just his voice. It makes him seem a lot more smarmy, or something. With that said, I still enjoy the show but I just get the feeling like the guy doesn't belong at the table.

Fantastipotamus
Nov 19, 2002

Nothing's wrong. Nothing is wrong. Everything is on track.

headtrip posted:

After the Catch kind of weirds me out a little because the narrator's hubris is creepy as poo poo when he's actually on camera instead of just his voice. It makes him seem a lot more smarmy, or something. With that said, I still enjoy the show but I just get the feeling like the guy doesn't belong at the table.
Mike Rowe?

Mike Rowe is awesome. Mike Rowe is the glue that holds Discovery Channel together, and I will listen to every drat word he has to say.

Seriously though, it's a little weird watching him interact with them directly, but I think part of that is that they're a little weirded out by being there, way out of their normal element. They're just normal guys, and Mike isn't, so he may stick out a bit.

ToastyPotato
Jun 23, 2005

CONVICTED OF DISPLAYING HIS PEANUTS IN PUBLIC

headtrip posted:

After the Catch kind of weirds me out a little because the narrator's hubris is creepy as poo poo when he's actually on camera instead of just his voice. It makes him seem a lot more smarmy, or something. With that said, I still enjoy the show but I just get the feeling like the guy doesn't belong at the table.

I haven't seen the show yet but I am assuming that Mike Rowe is probably bringing his Dirty Jobs self to the table.

torsloke
Feb 17, 2005
I think they should do a crossover episode with Mike Rowe as Sig Hansen's bait boy and call it "Deadliest Dirty Catch Job".

IRQ
Sep 9, 2001

SUCK A DICK, DUMBSHITS!

keeper posted:

This last episode (Big Rig myths) was one of those frustrating as gently caress episodes.

I find Mythbusters exceedingly more tolerable with a DVR of some kind. You can fast forward through the crappy animation and recaps that comprise at least 1/3 of the show.

I really wish they'd just go to a 30 minute format or do more myths per episode and stop padding the poo poo out of the show, but I know that'll never happen.


headtrip posted:

After the Catch kind of weirds me out a little because the narrator's hubris is creepy as poo poo when he's actually on camera instead of just his voice. It makes him seem a lot more smarmy, or something. With that said, I still enjoy the show but I just get the feeling like the guy doesn't belong at the table.

Mike Rowe is incredibly smarmy, and it's awesome. You need to watch some of the episodes of Dirty Jobs where he's stuck with hill folk too dense to even realize that he's just making fun of them non-stop right to their faces.

Campbell
Jun 7, 2000

headtrip posted:

After the Catch kind of weirds me out a little...

Yea it weirds me out because (while I really dig Mike Rowe), the relationship he has to the skippers is awkward (like if we were at the table) talking to them like we knew each other.

Of course, Mike and the viewers know all these guys but I kind of doubt that all the captains have even met Mike the narrator before this "After the Catch" series. It just seems awkward some times since the familiarity is totally one-way.

Maduo
Sep 8, 2006

You see all the colors.
All of them.


torsloke posted:

I think they should do a crossover episode with Mike Rowe as Sig Hansen's bait boy and call it "Deadliest Dirty Catch Job".

He already did a crab fishing episode, only he prefaced it by saying he's not crazy enough to get onto a boat out there, so he went to Maryland instead.

I guess they could always get that Hazard Pay guy to do it.

Free Market Gravy
Sep 17, 2005

IRQ posted:

Mike Rowe is incredibly smarmy, and it's awesome. You need to watch some of the episodes of Dirty Jobs where he's stuck with hill folk too dense to even realize that he's just making fun of them non-stop right to their faces.

Those are my favorite episodes of Dirty Jobs. I'm not afraid to say I have a huge mancrush on Rowe. He seems like he'd be an awesome guy to have a drink with.

soggybagel
Aug 6, 2006
The official account of NFL Tackle Phil Loadholt.

Let's talk Football.
To chime in on this whole 'Survivorman v. Man vs. Wild' I think a lot of you are missing the point. I've seen on other forums besides this one the attempt to stack up one another and who would "out survive" each other, but thats really stupid if you ask me.

The way I've always approached it is that Survivorman teaches real life skills you can actually use if you were in fact stranded in the swamps of the south or some frozen tundra area in Canada. The fact that he is alone does make it that much more intense as the isolation has to be somewhat maddening.

On the other hand we have Man vs. Wild. I like this show just as much because it shows what someone is capable in extremes of nature, and what you can do if you're extremely desperate. Note that most of the "stupid" survival stuff he does is basically presented as a last ditch thing where you'd either die or at least die trying to do something he does. Also I think people fail to realize that Bear is indeed a very freaking accomplished man! He's ex special forces, hes climbed Mt. Everest, and he did star in another show where he basically was going through French Foreign Legion training. Also to imply that he has it "easy" just because he has a camera crew is in my view, rather ignorant. Thats like me suggesting the show Jackass was completely staged and they had a safety crew and it was just a big ruse. Man vs. Wild is entertainment plain and simple, as Bear goes out of his way to do stupid things occasionally to show you what can happen and what someone could theoretically do.

Thus, I think both shows compliment one another rather nicely. Survivorman has always been grounded in reality, where as Man Vs. Wild is the more extreme show that goes to show you what one could do if they were a superhuman survivalist. I never understood the need to compare the two and declare one the "Superior survivalist show."

Dr. Doop
Jun 8, 2007
Im cool.....Because I watch Fox.
I finaly found myself with the weekend off recently. So I sat my fat rear end down on the couch and prepared to vegitate. I turn on the Discovery Channel and what am I graced with?.... An entire weekend of Crabs and Urban Legends. Kinda like my high school prom. This is proof that God loves me.

soggybagel
Aug 6, 2006
The official account of NFL Tackle Phil Loadholt.

Let's talk Football.
Haha, according to the Discovery Channel website, Bear's 2nd favorite movie of all time is Point Break and his 3rd favorite of all time is This is Spinal Tap. I like him more now!

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nmfree
Aug 15, 2001

The Greater Goon: Breaking Hearts and Chains since 2006

headtrip posted:

After the Catch kind of weirds me out a little because the narrator's hubris is creepy as poo poo when he's actually on camera instead of just his voice. It makes him seem a lot more smarmy, or something.
Mike Rowe is a formally trained opera singer, so it's difficult for him to *not* sound smarmy.

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