On Deadliest Catch & Voyeurism

[biggrumpy]

One of my favorite, and I believe most engaging, shows on TV right now is Deadliest Catch on the Discover Channel.  The show chronicles 4-6 crabbing vessels as they venture out into the Bering Sea and fish.  The job is one of the deadliest in America.  Every season people die doing this job.  Part of the original appeal of the show was that the job

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[biggrumpy]

I ended up watching the After the Catch to see what happened there. It was really well done, so I watched the episode of Deadliest Catch. I was really surprised at how well they handled the issue. The majority of the episode was about the fleet, and not about Phil. The episode is entitled "Redemption" and it actually was about that. Prior to being hospitalized one of Phil's son's, Jake, admitted he had a drug problem. Phil told him that he had to get treatment. One of the things that happens in the episode is that Jake leaves for a rehab facility. His father is lucid and understands his decision, telling him that he loves him and is proud of him. It was wonderful to know that Phil did not die not knowing if his son would get help. The episode focused on the broken bonds that are created from doing the job and being family, and the redemption of bringing those bonds back together--not just with Phil's boat and family but the other boats as well. It wasn't really about Phil's death, but rather the unity of an often dysfunctional family (when the show even put the lenses on the Harris family at all). The episode ends with Josh calling Jake telling him that they lost their father. So, much of their grief and pain is still hidden and separate from the world.

Still, I'm not sure if I had the right to watch the show. Even though, as David points out below and was confirmed on the After the Catch show, Phil wanted the cameras running. Yet, there is something to be said that the show was focused on the coherence and reunion of a family on the brink of collapse.

I need to give it time to think it over.