A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Deadliest Catch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Thom Beers |
| Narrated by | Mike Rowe |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 20 |
| No. of episodes | 331 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ernie Avila Thom Beers Jeff Hasler Brian Lovett Arom Starr-Paul |
| Editors | Nathan Araiza Josh Earl |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Original Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Discovery Channel |
| Release | April 12, 2005 – present |
Deadliest Catch is an American reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 12, 2005. The show follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing seasons. The base of operations for the fishing fleet is the Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Produced for the Discovery Channel, the show's title is derived from the inherent high risk of injury or death associated with this line of work.
Premiere
Deadliest Catch premiered on the Discovery Channel in 2005 and currently airs worldwide. The first season consisted of ten episodes, with the finale airing on June 14, 2005. Subsequent seasons have aired on the same April to June or July schedule every year since.
The show's 19th season premiered on April 18, 2023, and was simulcast on Discovery Channel and the streaming service Discovery+.
Format
The series follows a fisherman's life on the Bering Sea aboard various crab fishing boats during two of the crab fishing seasons, the October king crab season and the January opilio crab season. The show emphasizes the dangers on deck to the fishermen and camera crews as they duck heavy crab pots swinging into position, maneuver hundreds of pounds of crab across a deck strewn with hazards, and lean over the rails to position pots for launch or retrieval, while gale-force winds and high waves lash the deck constantly.
Each episode focuses on a story, situation, or theme that occurs on one or more boats. In contrast, side stories delve into the backgrounds and activities of one or two crew members, particularly the "greenhorns" (rookie crew members) on several boats. The fleet's captains are featured prominently, highlighting their camaraderie with their fellow captains and relationships with their crews, as well as their competition with other boats in the hunt for crab. Common themes include friendly rivalries among the captains (particularly between Sig Hansen of the F/V Northwestern and Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand of the F/V Time Bandit), the familial ties throughout the fleet (brothers Sig, Norm, and Edgar Hansen, who own the Northwestern; the Hillstrand brothers and Johnathan's son Scotty on the F/V Time Bandit; brothers Keith and Monte Colburn of the Wizard), the stresses of life on the Bering Sea, and the high burnout rate among greenhorns.
Because Alaskan crab fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, the U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopters stationed at Integrated Support Command Kodiak (Kodiak, Alaska) and their outpost on St. Paul Island, near the northern end of the crab fishing grounds, are frequently shown rescuing crab boat crew members who fall victim to the harsh conditions on the Bering Sea. The U.S. Coast Guard rescue squad was featured prominently during the episodes surrounding the loss of F/V Big Valley in January 2005, the loss of F/V Ocean Challenger in October 2006, and the loss of F/V Katmai in October 2008. Original Productions keeps a camera crew stationed with the Coast Guard during the filming of the show in preparation for such occurrences.
Narration
The show has no on-camera host. A narrator provides commentary connecting the storylines as the show shifts from one boat to another. Discovery Channel voice artist Mike Rowe narrates the action for North American airings. In the United Kingdom, voice artist Bill Petrie serves as narrator. The show transitions between boats using a mock-up radar screen that shows the positions of the ships relative to one another and the two ends of the fishing grounds, St. Paul Island to the north and Dutch Harbor to the south.
Rowe was originally supposed to be the on-camera host, and he appeared in taped footage as himself during the first season of shooting. As filming of the first season was nearing completion, Discovery greenlit production on another Rowe project, Dirty Jobs, under the condition that Rowe chose only one show on which to appear on camera.[1] Most of the footage Rowe shot during the first season became part of the first season's "Behind the Scenes" episode. After the third season of Deadliest Catch, Rowe began hosting a post-season behind-the-scenes miniseries entitled After the Catch, which is a roundtable discussion featuring the captains relating their experiences filming the previous season's episodes.
Changes required for parental guidance ratings
Because Deadliest Catch is essentially a filmed record of everyday life in a stressful working environment, the producers have to censor gestures and language deemed inappropriate for television audiences. For example, under the U.S. Television rating system, Deadliest Catch is rated TV-14 with inappropriate language ("L") as a highlighted concern.[2] For visual disguise of such items as finger gestures, bloody injuries, or non-featured crew member anonymity, the producers use the traditional pixelization or blurring. However, due to the volume of profanities used in the course of crew member conversation, the producers occasionally employ alternate methods of censoring profanities, such as using sound effects in place of the traditional "bleep."
Subject matter
Dangers of commercial fishing
Commercial fishing has long been considered one of the most dangerous jobs in America. In 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked commercial fishing as the job occupation with the highest fatality rate with 141.7 per 100,000, almost 75% higher than the fatality rate for pilots, flight engineers, and loggers, the next most hazardous occupations.[3] However, Alaskan king crab fishing is considered even more dangerous than the average commercial fishing job, due to the conditions on the Bering Sea during the seasons when they fish for crab. According to the pilot episode, the death rate during the main crab seasons averages out to nearly one fisherman per week, while the injury rate for crews on most crab boats is nearly 100% due to the severe weather conditions (frigid gales, rogue waves, ice formations on and around the boat) and the danger of working with such heavy machinery on a constantly rolling boat deck. Alaskan king crab fishing reported over 300 fatalities per 100,000 as of 2005,[4] with over 80% of those deaths caused by drowning or hypothermia.[5]
Rationalization: derby vs. quota
The series' first season was shot during the final year of the derby style king crab fishery. The subsequent seasons have been set after a change to the quota system as part of a process known as "rationalization". Under the old derby style, a large number of crews competed with each other to catch crab during a restrictive time window. Under the new Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) system, established owners, such as those shown on the series, have been given quotas that they can fill at a more relaxed pace. In theory, it is intended to be safer, which was the main rationale for the change in the fishing rules. The transition to the quota system was also expected to increase the value of crab by limiting the market of available crab. An influx of foreign crab negated some of these gains during the 2006 season.[6] The rationalization process put many crews out of work because the owners of many small boats found their assigned quotas too small to meet operating expenses. During the first season run under the IFQ system, the fleet shrank from over 250 boats to about 89 larger boats with high quotas.[7]
Society of fishermen
One of the series' main features is the portrayal of the harsh life at sea, including the behavior and mannerisms of the fishermen who are engaged in a hazardous lifestyle with little tolerance for low performance or ineptitude. Several of the series' shows have featured "greenhorn" fishermen who are usually the brunt of harsh criticism and sometimes bullying by veteran deckhands. In one case, a new fisherman entered a ship's bridge to berate his captain for what he saw as unfair comments (the fisherman was fired as soon as the ship returned to port). Another filmed incident was a fight on board the fishing vessel Wizard in which a greenhorn sailor sucker punched a veteran fisherman who had been engaged in harassment and bullying.[8] Again, the greenhorn was fired as soon as the ship hit port, leading to mixed reactions by fans of the show.
Production
Technical
The Behind the Scenes special provided insight on how the program is produced. A two-person TV crew lives on each boat profiled. They use handheld Sony HVR-Z5U and HVR-Z7U HDV cameras to shoot most of the series (one on the main deck, one in the wheelhouse). Additional footage is provided by four stationary cameras that are permanently mounted around the ship and are constantly recording. Shots from vantage points outside the boat are accomplished through a variety of methods, including the use of a helicopter for footage near the harbor and a cameraman on a chase boat (in season 1, the main chase boat was the F/V Time Bandit). The crew also makes use of underwater cameras, including one attached to a crab pot for a "crab's eye view" of the pot being retrieved in season 2, one mounted in the main crab tank on the F/V Northwestern beginning in season 2, and one mounted to a submersible watercraft beginning in season 3. The Season 9 "Behind the Lens" special shows two more filming methods: divers near the boats (and on the bottom of Dutch Harbor for the king crab fleet departure), and a helicopter with a belly-mounted turret camera (same as that used to film scenes in Skyfall).
Audio is recorded using wireless microphones worn by the fishermen and shotgun microphones attached to the cameras. Because of a lack of space on the boats, the crews do not have an audio mixer on board. In audio post-production, the sound team attempts to use actual sounds that were recorded on the boats.[9]
Although the equipment is carefully waterproofed, the cameras are routinely damaged by corrosion, ice and accidents.
Captain Sig Hansen of the F/V Northwestern serves as a technical advisor to the series' producers.
Filming
Shooting episodes of Deadliest Catch is a dangerous occupation for the camera crews on board the boats. In the early seasons, when many of the camera crews had little or no experience on crab boats, they frequently ran into dangers not normally encountered when shooting a documentary. F/V Northwestern captain Sig Hansen told talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that he saved a cameraman's life during the first season, screaming at him to get out of the way just seconds before a 900-pound crab pot swinging from a crane crossed the space where the cameraman was standing.[10] In another incident, showcased on the behind the scenes special, an inattentive cameraman had his leg fall through an open hatch on the deck of one of the boats when he unwittingly stepped into the hole, suffering three broken ribs (and, according to the cameraman, having to buy a case of beer for the entire crew as per tradition on crab boats).
Personal and sensitive situations
Interactions between the film crew and the fishermen appear in the show occasionally. During an episode of season 4, Wizard captain Keith Colburn demanded that cameras be turned off when he got into a heated argument with his brother Monte. The cameras were turned off, but the Colburns neglected to remove their wireless mics, and the subsequent exchange was recorded and featured in the episode. Also, in season 4, F/V Cornelia Marie Captain Phil Harris asked the cameraman filming him not to tell anyone else about his injuries, for fear it would stall his fishing. Later on, crew member and later acting captain Murray Gamrath, concerned for Phil's well-being, asked a cameraman to keep an eye on him and to report any problem. During season 5, the camera crew on the Northwestern were requested not to film crew member Jake Anderson being informed of his sister's death, which the camera crew honored.
On September 28, 2010, it was reported that three of the principal captains featured throughout the series' run, the brothers Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand and Sig Hansen, would not return to the show due to litigation initiated by Discovery Communications involving the Hillstrands.[11] On October 8, 2010, it was announced that the three captains had reached an agreement with Discovery and would return for the seventh season.[12]
The death of Captain Phil Harris
On January 29, 2010, as Original Productions' crews shot footage for season 6 of the F/V Cornelia Marie offloading C. opilio crab at St. Paul Island, Captain Phil Harris, who had earlier complained of being excessively tired, went to his stateroom to retrieve pain medicines and collapsed after suffering a stroke. Second-year Engineer Steve Ward discovered him on the floor of his stateroom, conscious but unable to move his left leg or his left hand. Ward immediately got Phil's sons, Josh and Jake, to come to his stateroom while he called for paramedics. According to Thom Beers, producer and creator of Deadliest Catch, Harris insisted that the camera crews continue to film him. "We want to remember Phil as who he was," Beers told Zap2it.com writer Kate O'Hare. "We want to remember all the dynamics, but at the same time, the guy was persistent when we were doing this, saying, 'Dude, you've got to. We've got to have an end to the story . You want to film this, film this.'"[13] Beers said he honored Harris' wishes and continued to shoot as Harris was airlifted to Anchorage, Alaska, where doctors performed emergency brain surgery to relieve the pressure building up in the cranial vault and avoid further brain damage. Harris spent eleven days in ICU before succumbing to complications from his stroke on February 9, 2010.[13]
The Soul Rebels Brass Band performed a New Orleans style Jazz Funeral for the late Captain Phil Harris on After The Catch.[14]
Vessels
Current fishing vessels
| Fishing Vessel | Captain(s) | Season(s) |
|---|---|---|
| F/V Aleutian Lady | Rick Shelford | 19, 20 |
| F/V Northwestern | Sig Hansen | Pilot, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,[15] 10,[15] 11, 12, 13,[15] 14,[16] 18[17] |
| Edgar Hansen1 | 9,[18] 10,[19] 12,[19] 13,[19] 14[19] | |
| Sig & Mandy Hansen | 14,[20] 15, 16, 17, 19, 20 | |
| Sig Hansen & Jake Anderson | 20 | |
| F/V Pacific Mariner | Jack Bunnell & Steve "Harley" Davidson | 20 |
| F/V Seabrooke | Scott Campbell Jr. | 7, 8, 9, 10,[20] 16[16] |
| Brad Petefish | 10[16] | |
| Greg Wallace & Sophia "Bob" Nielsen | 20 | |
| F/V Summer Bay | "Wild" Bill Wichrowski | 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,[20] 20 |
| "Wild" Bill Wichrowski & Linda Greenlaw | 19 | |
| F/V Time Bandit | Johnathan & Andy Hillstrand2 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19[21] |
| Johnathan Hillstrand & Josh Harris | 17[16] | |
| Johnathan Hillstrand | 17,[20] 18, 19,[22] 20 | |
| F/V Titan Explorer | Jake Anderson | 20 |
| F/V Wizard | Keith Colburn | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,[15] 11, 12, 13, 14,[16] 15, 16,[16] 17, 18, 19, 20 |
| Monte "Mouse" Colburn3 | 10,[19] 14,[17] 15,[17] 16[17] |
^1 Sig's brother Edgar occasionally took over as captain for blue king crab or bairdi seasons, and sporadically during the middle of an opilio season up until his removal from the show sometime after season 14.
^2 Johnathan usually served as captain for king crab season while Andy took over as captain during opilio season.
^3 Keith's brother Monte occasionally takes over as captain for bairdi and opilio seasons.
Former fishing vessels
| Fishing Vessel | Captain(s) | Season(s) |
|---|---|---|
| F/V Aleutian Ballad | Jerry "Corky" Tilley | 2, 3 |
| F/V Arctic Dawn | Ole Helgevold | Pilot |
| F/V Barbara J | Jack Bunnell & Steve "Harley" Davidson | 19 |
| F/V Billikin | Jeff Weeks | 1[20] |
| Steve "Harley" Davidson | 18[20] | |
| F/V Brenna A | Sean Dwyer | 12, 13, 14, 15, 18[20] |
| F/V Cape Caution | "Wild" Bill Wichrowski | 9, 10, 11, 12 |
| F/V Cornelia Marie | Phil Harris1 | 2, 3, 4,[15] 5,[20] 6[15] |
| Murray Gamrath | 4,[20] 5[16] | |
| Derrick Ray | 6,[20] 7[16] | |
| Tony Lara2 | 7[20] | |
| Josh Harris & Casey McManus | 10,[20] 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17,[20] 18 | |
| Casey McManus | 17[16] | |
| F/V Early Dawn | Allen Oakley | 3 |
| Rick Fehst | 4 | |
| F/V Elinore J | Sean Dwyer | 18[23] |
| F/V Erla N | Bing Henkel | Pilot |
| F/V Farwest Leader | Greg Moncrief | 3 |
| F/V Fierce Allegiance | Tony LaRussa3 | 1[16] |
| F/V Incentive | Harry Lewis | 5[20] |
| F/V Kiska Sea | Mike Wilson | 9[20] |
| F/V Kodiak | "Wild" Bill Wichrowski | 6, 7, 8 |
| F/V Lady Alaska | Peter Liske | 1[20] |
| Scott Campbell Jr. | 16,[20] 17[16] | |
| F/V Lisa Marie | Wade Henley | 5[16] |
| F/V Lucky Lady | Vince Shavender | 1[16] |
| F/V Maverick | Rick & Donna Quashnick | 1,[20] 2, 3[20] |
| Blake Painter4 | 3[16] | |
| F/V North American | Sten Skaar | 4 |
| F/V Patricia Lee | Rip Carlton | 18 |
| F/V Ramblin' Rose | Elliott Neese | 7, 8 |
| F/V Retriever | Jim Stone | 1[20] |
| F/V Rollo | Eric Nyhammer | 2 |
| F/V Saga | Roger Strong | Pilot, 1[16] |
