This 10-part series came out about a year after "America's Deadliest Season." It is interesting how the profession is presented in so many different perspectives - from the captains, the crews, and the greenhorns (rookies). Of particular interest are the traditions and superstitions of the various crews. You will be drawn in and will find yourself so concerned about a ship that has gone down or about an injured deckhand, that you almost have to keep watching just to find out how things turn out. You will find yourself rooting for your favorite boat as the crab counts come in.
Once again, we get to follow the dangerous lives of fishermen hunting for Alaskan Crab. You get to see a first-hand account of several boats journeying hundreds of miles from the beautiful Aleutian Islands into the unpredictably treacherous waters of the Bering Sea. These brave men demonstrate unbelievable endurance as they fish non-stop (day and night). They fish "derby style," which means every boat is competing to catch as much as possible in a fixed amount of time. They hope to earn up to a year's worth of salary in one week in what some call America's last great Gold Rush.
This series has the potential to appeal to a broad audience - whether the taste is for action, adventure, sport, drama, documentary, or reality. My friends and family (or even myself) could not understand why a series about crab fishing would be so intriguing, yet anyone who has ever been around while an episode was on always ended up planted on the couch until it ended.