Posted on: May 4, 2010 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

I have managed to ignore the seemingly inexplicable pull of the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch up until now. Watching a show about fishing sounds about as exciting as… well, watching someone fish. Man was I ever wrong!

The fifth season of the Emmy-nominated show follows several crews of fishermen endearing hell on the high seas as they go into deep water of the Bering Sea, often in the dead of winter, to fish for crab.

The series follows more than half a dozen fishing boats through two separate crabbing seasons (in October and again in January). Tempers flare when the crabs aren’t coming in, someone’s not pulling their weight or the weather gets rough, but there are still plenty of laughs when the guys try and stave off boredom and cabin fever with practical jokes.

There are even a few ominous moments in season 5, like the episode focusing on Captain Phil Harris’ health problems. Harris, one of the series favorites, died of a massive stroke not too long after the season ended.
The season 5 DVD comes with a separate disc of After the Catch specials, where the boat captains share beers with the series host (Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe) and talk about stories behind the scenes.

Deadliest Catch, which has just started on season 6, is unbelievably addictive, with characters that can only be captured on a reality TV show. I’m hooked (Sorry).

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Deadliest Catch – Season 5 / 5 DVDs / 2010 / Discovery Channel / 588 Minutes.

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