We are constantly reminded at the beginning of each episode of Bering Sea Gold (a popular Discovery Channel series about undersea gold miners in Nome Alaska) about the serious dangers of underwater gold mining – and are further warned that people have died in this occupation. Cynics would remind producers of the series that people have died doing a lot of different jobs over the years. Will Discovery Channel’s decision to air and glorify the efforts of individuals making seriously questionable judgements about their own safety ultimately result in multiple deaths on Bering Sea Gold?
High Risk Occupational Drama Plus Big Money Potential Payouts Equals Winning Formula
It is no coincidence that the success of real life occupational drama television shows such as Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers has lead producers at Discovery Channel to search the globe for even more extreme occupations. I was astonished last year when I first watched Bering Sea Gold, a story about gold miners based in Nome Alaska who dive underwater in the frigid Bering Sea and use home-made junk barges to vacuum dirt off the sea floor and wash the gold out of it. Although the barges shown clearly lacked much in the way of sea-worthiness, let alone craftsmanship, Discovery Channel producers thought it worthwhile to film and air the story of the somewhat lovable deranged miners of the Bering Sea. The result: another hit series for Discovery.
Somehow though that success was not enough for the cable channel and they continued to follow the saga of the divers as they proceeded to cut holes in the frozen over harbor and dive under the ice for more gold. Viewers of the father series of the genre, Deadliest Catch could only wonder how the process of diving in the Bering Sea could possibly be safe when the stars of the original Bering Sea show tell their own crew members to do everything they can to stay OUT of the water – let alone diving in the water under the ice.
Viewers Have to Wonder – Is It Only a Matter of Time?
Viewers of Bering Sea Gold got their first taste of the real possibility of the death of a member of the cast. It is the demonstrated unbelievable lack of judgement shown by the (new) cast member which nearly resulted in his own death – attempting to swim about half a mile in the Bering Sea from shore without anything close to resembling proper gear. Although the diver survived his initial bout with death it was purely by dumb luck that he did. Sadly, this incident isn’t likely to be the last if the show teasers are to believed – where show cast members are shown wheeling a gurney in a hospital aisle clearly in tears.
Rinky-Dink Equipment, Haphazard Tinker-Toy Barges a Recipe for Disaster
The cast member who nearly died was a relatively experienced diver and swimmer who probably should have known better, but can we honestly say any of the cast members of Bering Sea Gold (other than the crew of the Christine Rose – which probably ought to be the only barge on the water) are playing with a full deck? Each of the barges (other than the aforementioned Rose – which doesn’t even have a proper propulsion system) is a hodge-podge of components and equipment performing tasks which they are clearly not originally designed for. We frequently see cast member Zeke Tenhoff fighting with his makeshift life-support engine (apparently out of an old Volkswagon) in season one aboard The Clark – a vessel viewers could only wonder how it stayed afloat. The Wild Ranger (another ramshakle barge) showed itself to be no more sea-worthy with a leaking pontoon. Scott Meisterheim (captian of the Ranger in season one) launches his own S.S. Minnow in season two (aptly named Anchor Management) and takes it out into rough seas and promptly swamps all his life-support engines as well. One has to ask who the heck in Alaska is responsible for licensing these unseaworthy hunks of junk anyway?
Should Discovery Channel Have Known Better?
The next sensible question viewers have to ask while watching these people put their lives at risk is, “Should Discovery Channel have known better?” Historians of the original deadly show, Deadliest Catch would know that the popularity of the show along with the allure of big paydays drew many adventure seekers up to Alaska to try their hand at fishing king crab. I think it would be fair to say however that the miserable conditions and multiple gruesome injuries shown on the fishing series definitely reduced the number of pilgrims willing to try that occupation. Bering Sea Gold’s first season however showed the (mostly experienced) divers on calm seas, enjoying themselves in bars and hot tubs, and generally downplaying the serious risk of death while under water.
It stands to reason that the difference in lifestyles shown by the divers and the relatively safe appearance of the dredging activity would inspire more risk takers to journey north to take the plunge into the Bering Sea. The most dangerous incident in season one involved the least experienced diver getting sucked into the vacuum hose – serious enough but not a frequent occurance on the series – and certainly not threatening enough to discourage adventurers from trying it themselves. Should Discovery Channel have known that the allure of a big payday on a relatively safe looking occupation (at least on the surface) – not to mention the possibility of an appearance on the television series itself – might result in the death of individuals who have no business being underwater in Alaska? Only the producers’ notes will ultimately tell. Maybe they should have stopped with the more benign lovable losers of Gold Rush Alaska.
Sources:
Bering Sea Gold. Discovery 2012
Available at http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/bering-sea-gold, accessed 1/13/2013
Deadliest Catch. Discovery 2012
Available at http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/deadliest-catch, accessed 1/13/2013
