Where is he? What's he doing? Most likely, somewhere dirty, doing something gross. You may want to bookmark this questions and answers blog so you can stay on top of his latest conversations.
QUESTION:
I know that I have not seen all the episodes of The Deadliest Catch but I have been watching many of them recently. I heard that you hosted the first season and then did voiceovers after Dirty Jobs started.
Were you actually on one of the fishing boats during the season?
Your narratives are very good. Do you write them or is there a script written for you?
Your voice shows a lot of passion for this program. Is this the kind of life or work that gets you excited or are you just very good at putting feeling into your narrative voice? - plantwhisterer1
ANSWER:
My role on Catch began as that of "host". I agreed to the work because I had failed to sell Jobs, and felt like a little adventure was in order, as well as a little cash. I flew to Dutch, and walked into chaos.
The show as you know it did not exist. It was originally structured as a reality show, with a cash prize offered to the boat that brought back the most crab. This Hollywood contrivance was conceived in the mind of someone who had no real understanding of the actual risk assumed by the men who do this kind of work. For the Coast Guard, who were already risking life and limb to rescue fishermen in peril, this notion of a cash prize was worse than was dangerous, and it very nearly killed the series. Thankfully though, the idea was squashed, and we all went about the business of capturing the work of crab fishing on camera.
My role was not that of a greenhorn, as I am on Jobs. I was more of an on-camera narrator that popped up in a variety of places, usually a helicopter, on a mountain, a shipwreck, a wheelhouse, etc, to share some insight with the viewer. I was imbedded in the show, but not the work. However, I have spent time aboard The Northwestern, Time Bandit, Cornelia Marie, Maverick, and The Bountiful.
In all, I spent 6 weeks in Dutch, shooting Season 1. Six men died while I was there, and the place got under my skin. Removing me from the series was painful, but probably the right call. Like the notion of a cash prize, my presence as host was simply unnecessary, another hallmark of bad reality TV. Catch is much better than that.
As for the narration, I do not write it. And frankly, if I were hired today to record it, I would speak the same way I do on Jobs. The "heavy" read is a throwback to Season 1, when everyone believed the show depended upon a certain production value. Personally, I think the Bering Sea provides enough drama without any manufactured urgency, but reasonable people can disagree. Besides, no one ever feels comfortable altering a successful formula. Out of respect to the producers of the show, whom I hold in the very highest regard, I merely follow orders.
Mike
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