Gold Rush: Alaska

[DTro]

Anyone been watching this show? I enjoyed watching how a mine is set up, the challenges they faced and look foward to seeing them find some gold. Pretty neat show.

GOLD RUSH: ALASKA, follows six men who risk everything in the face of an economic meltdown — their families, their dignity, and in some cases, their lives — to strike it rich mining for gold in the wilds of Alaska. Inspired by his father Jack Hoffman, Todd Hoffman of Sandy, Oregon, leads a group of greenhorn miners to forge a new frontier and save their families from dire straits. While leasing a gold claim in Alaska, Todd and his company of mining rookies face the grandeur of Alaska as well as its hardships, including an impending winter that will halt operations and the opportunity to strike gold. In an effort to keep the operation running, the team takes fate into their own hands with a make or break venture that will change their lives forever.

After watching the steady decline of his aviation business in Oregon due to the stalled economy, Todd searched for new opportunities. With the price of gold on the rise, he came up with a plan to mine for the mineral in southeast Alaska, where there's an estimated $250 billion worth of gold. The mystique of Alaska draws Todd to the Porcupine Creek claim in southeastern Alaska where his father Jack mined for three seasons in the 1980s before he nearly went bankrupt. But the rate of gold discoveries in Alaska over the past two decades has increased exponentially and almost 200 million ounces of gold have been identified for potential recovery.

Todd and Jack look to their community in Oregon for a team of men to work the mines alongside them, knowing dire economic straits have hit those around them hardest. They have no financial means to pay them until — or unless — they find gold. It's a risk, but with high unemployment in Oregon, there's no shortage of interest. The assembled team includes: rookie Jimmy Dorsey, mechanical genius James Harness, foreman Greg Remsburg, and safety officer Jim Thurber. All four men have fallen hard. Sheet-metal worker Thurber is about to lose his house. Realtor Jimmy Dorsey is so broke he lives with his mother-in-law. Mechanic James Harness has destroyed his back in a car wreck and needs money for surgery. Greg Remsburg's last construction job was a year ago.

The mine at Porcupine Creek is located in the heart of one of the last great wildernesses, where weather conditions can change in an instant. The claim is surrounded by the largest bald eagle population on earth, and a nearby river is the site of a year-round salmon run. Grizzly bears and moose sightings happen daily, and the team must be prepared for some seriously close encounters. Armed with the hope and ferocity to rekindle the original American Dream, GOLD RUSH: ALASKA shines a spotlight on this group of enthusiasts. In essence, these are the new "'49ers," going back to the roots this country was founded on: hard labor, blood, sweat and tears. The men put it all on the line in the biggest gamble of their lives, and the hunt is on to strike it rich — or go bust.

[mrklean]

i like the show, i think the father is nuts not surprised he almost lost all his money the second show he was just running around in an excavator digging holes randomly. Be interesting to see what happen

[leech~~]

Cool show but like all the other reality shows less jumping the camera around to try and make it more exciting and less stupid arguing would make it better. Just dig up some GOLD!

[jwmiller33]

This show is very cool and I am a big fan! When we were on our fishing trip in June of this past summer, we did a day of white water rafting on 6 mile creek. When we got out of the water at the end of our run, there were TV crews and a bunch of people around these big trucks and machinery and we didn't really know what was going on. We started talking to the guys and they told us they were filming for a extreme gold rush show that was going to be airing on discovery. We had never heard of it before and didn't know what to think and now after watching the show, it is very cool to have met these guys in person. It was very cool to see their operation first hand

[DTro]

Yeah the scripting is a little transparent in the show, but I found the whole process very interesting and really like the old timer character and his grandson across the river.

[bobbymalone]

i saw a bit of this the other day. not sure how they turn this into season length show. At some point crabs, storms, fighting, crabs, fighting, broken equipment, storms digging, infighting, gold nugget, digging, gold nugget, fighting, broken equipment has to get tired and played out.

Like all reality shows, I think the producers script up and blow up the fighting to make the show more interesting because digging a hole and pulling out a gold nugget would get old right around the hour mark.

[JBMasterAngler]

This show just didn't grab me. After about 10 minutes I was done with it. Alaska state trooper on the other hand, now that is a good show!

[pureinsanity]

I watched a couple episodes, the show is well pretty boring. cool show, but the people are just boring. I usually just flip onto it when there is a commercial break on my other shows

[SFC]

I like this show, it comes across as more of a comedy than a reality show.

[MinnesnowtaWild]

This show just didn't grab me. After about 10 minutes I was done with it. Alaska state trooper on the other hand, now that is a good show!

I agree...I like that show and it is something I would really like to do some day.

The gold rush show is pretty good, it's interesting to me at least. Doesn't keep me tuning in each week though religiously like Storm Chasers.

[pureinsanity]

I like the first episodes when the gator was some what crushed by the trac hoe. But there is no damage to the gator????? the way that bucket hit that thing it had to bend that roll cage like nothing.

also like the guy sleeping in a tent! Put your darn tent on top of the semi trailer or something!!!!!!!

[DTro]

I was pretty disappointed with last weeks show in which for 55 min we watched a hobbled mechanic stumble around and weld the whole time then got to see some gold flakes for the last 5 min.

Mabye they can keep their mine running during the entire show tonight.

[LMITOUT]

They need to put Dorsey in the trommel until all the rocks fall out of his head.

[birdswacker]

I think Dorsey gets the boot on the next show.

[mrklean]

i like to watch the show but man they have no idea what they are doing, i guess if i had no money at all and invested everything i had into striking it rich with gold i would be working night and day to get the stuff to work right like the wave table thing instead of panning gold.

[pureinsanity]

I think Dorsey is the only sane one there. Everyone else is a bunch of @holes

[DTro]

they have no idea what they are doing, i guess if i had no money at all and invested everything i had into striking it rich with gold i would be working night and day to get the stuff to work right like the wave table thing instead of panning gold.

No kidding huh!

At the very least, I'd be walking across the river to see how the old man is doing it.

Looks like maybe a light bulb moment coming for this weeks show, but again we'll have to endure 50 minutes of repairing the shaker.

[LMITOUT]

I think Dorsey is the only sane one there.

Dorsey is clueless and he got the boot alright...to his ribs. Well, maybe it wasn't as bad as that whiny crybaby was making it out to be, but he'd been asking for it all along...and got it. He was dead weight.

Like dtro said, the next episode could be another 50 minutes of fixing their operation.....again. I had to laugh when the previews showed the light bulb moment where they figured out they had been doing it all wrong.

So they are already at the end of summer and only up to episode 5 or 6? They must have done pretty much close to nothing for three months. I bet the camera crew was going insane watching these guys flounder around.

[mrklean]

if they put a group of monkeys up there im sure they would have found gold faster

[pureinsanity]

They are all clueless, not just Dorsey. They just take it out on him. If he was smart, he would have went across the river and offered to work for the other guy for less than what those guys would pay him.

[Farmboy1]

It surprises me that they all decided to mine gold, but it sure seems like they have no idea what to do. I would have been reading every tiny bit of information before going to make sure I knew everything that needed to happen.

I really liked this show when it furst started, but now it just seems like another reality freak show with a bunch of clowns running around like idiots.

[Black_Bay]

If you want a real laugh find the show HSOforum and read the bios. The kids bio, Todd, says he was inspired by his dad's mining stories in the 1980's, but if you read his dad's bio it says he nearly lost everything last time he mined. What a couple of great people to follow into Alaska.

[Johnsonator]

I have been following this show and have liked it so far. I cant believe they had all those buckets to pan on last weeks show and only eneded up with 2-3 ounces of gold. It would be cool if the show would show how the the old guy and his grandson from accross the river get the gold from thier buckets of gold/sand mixture.

I though the best part of the show was when the 15 year old kid came over to show them how to hook up the jig and was laughing at the guys getting excited over a few flakes of gold.

[Crm7290]

The show tries to make so much drama out of it. Did you see that there was a fight? The cops didnt do anything about it because its Alaska wilderness. The one who got beat up was an absolute baby about it also.

I found it hard to believe that discovery didnt manage to catch them fighting on camera at all.

I really like the California Wildlife show, Wild Justice. I didnt see a thread on it, but I think it would interest a lot of you guys.

[walleyehunter80]

im watching wild justice right now on natgeo, great show!!