Deadly job shows try to ‘Catch’ the wave

These song choices are quite deliberate: They're trying to make the show's "characters" into a new version of hard-living, do-as-they-please rock stars. It might seem like a stretch to compare an aging logger or trucker to a rock star, but watch the show and then take a look at the Rolling Stones. Their ways of life are sort of eerily similar: They've chosen careers that allow them to live the lives they enjoy without being tied down by normal social mores. And their bodies show the wear and tear of the rough-and-tumble life they've chosen. The show's producers were clearly a step ahead of us on figuring out that death-defying, blue-collar work is the new rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

Of course, each show features a cast of colorful characters. There's always a story line or two evolving around greenhorns and rookies: They're picked on (in "Black Gold," they call the new guy "Peanut" because he's short) and hazed (in the first season of "Deadliest Catch," they duct-tape the greenhorn to a post). Gnarly veterans are also part of the mix, some with missing thumbs ("Black Gold") or hands ("Ax Men").

The personalities can make or break these shows from an entertainment perspective. "Ice Road Truckers" tends to get repetitive because it features a lot of hauling and movement without much of the explosive tempers, firings, fighting, and backbiting in the other three shows. The fairly isolated life of a trucker can only be so interesting for so long (although 20th Century Fox might beg to differ, since the studio is turning the show into a big-screen action film). "Deadliest Catch," on the other hand, has Northwestern captain Sig Hansen, who's been the most consistent presence on the show over its four seasons and whose story lines haven't begun to get tiresome. He runs a family operation that treats its employees well, but won't put up with lying, lack of work ethic, or laziness.

In fact, “Deadliest Catch” is the most successful of this genre so far and if you’ve tuned in, it’s obvious why: Crab fishing is truly the deadliest of the professions featured. The stakes feel higher, the danger closer.  More deaths and near-deaths probably have appeared on “Catch” than on the rest of the shows combined. And, as for sheer terror, it doesn’t get any better (or worse?) than watching guys facing a sea full of waves big enough to swallow them whole, boat and all. That’s the kind of drama you can’t script or re-create with a million other copycat series, no matter how good they might be.

DeAnn Welker is a writer in Portland, Ore.

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