Just figured it was time for another thread on the lovely show. As usual, another reason I hate Thom Beers, but oh well I understand drama sells. I know nothing about logging but can tell how scripted it really is. I understand its probably the easiest cheapest way for them to make big bucks, but its gotten to the point I don't think a 10 year old from downtown chicago would believe it. Throwing trailers off the landing and a camera happens to be where it landed? A load of logs magically falling off a trailer onto a pickup truck parked at the perfect spot? Now I know IRT, GOld Rush and many of the other shows are dramatized and scripted as well, but Harvest was the one that hit home for me. Its what I do, I know how the operations work and I know the equipment, so for me that one was over the top terrible. I can only imagine what real loggers think of this show. I saw that the one company who quit doing the show made an extra 400,000 worth of production due to not having the cameras there. I hope they make a lot of money from the show because it sure hurts their credibility as loggers, I know I wouldn't hire them. I miss the days of History on History channel, Learning on The Learning Channel and Discovering on the Discovery channel. I have even noticed they start listing history programs as "Real History" on the history channel.
I met Alan Rolland this summer while doing laundry. He didn't have much to say about the deal, but didn't seem like he enjoyed the experience much . My boss was one of the first guys approached at the USCHI convention, and he's pretty happy he passed on the deal.
I do not watch for the drama. I watch for the chuckles and also to watch the machinery at work first and foremost. Cheers LD
was this not part of the reason Brownings got out of it ,too much B/S
Yea, they said it made the industry look bad and like it hadn't evolved in 100 years. THey wouldn't bad mouth the producers but they just said they didn't see eye to eye. I too watch it because its soo bad. Same reason I watched harvest, although my wife would keep all loose objects away so I wouldn't throw them at the TV. Maybe they have gotten to a point where its so bad that its entertaining. aside from the yelling its not always bad. The river logging is boring but the kracken guy is fun to listen to. Shelby may not be the brightest guy but I think he's the only one they didn't have to stage anything with. For those who watched IRT, you may remember Dave. He has a bunch of videos on youtube explaining a lot of the BS they went through and why he quit or was fired cant remember. He explains a lot of the staged stuff (like when lisa hauled dangerous gasoline, it was just water, and how she had to have other people drive her truck for her at times) and how a lot of the people up there were getting sick of them being on the road. Its not all negative in his videos, he said there were plenty of good times, but at the end it was too much drama and politics for little pay. I agree with his statement about the show though, he said he has no issues with them staging everything, they just need a disclaimer stating that the show "portrays" Ice Road Trucking and is based on real events.
I am proud to say that I am a second generation west coast logger. I grew up in logging camps up and down the coast of BC. Well I guess I should say that I am a logging mechanic, have been since 1974. I have worked for the majors and the gypo's, I have worked in big heated shops and out in the forest in the middle of the night, I have been a donkey doctor out with the crew, in the landings fixing the machines while production goes on. I have done LOTS in the forest industry and I have never seen anything like this pile of dung. I have to say that Axe Men is the biggest pile of BULL **** ever to grace the little screen. I have friends that were at one of the sites where they were filming. They refused to sign a release to use them on the series because it was sooooo scripted and sooooo bad, Why any self respecting logger would let themselves be so degraded is beyond me. I got mad and had my cablevision disconnected a few years ago, mainly because of crap like this on television. If this is what it takes to entertain the masses, count me out. I have a box full of good books and another box full of good movies. Hey, I have a great idea for an episode. Lets get Rob Ford, the foul mouthed, crack smoking mayor of Canada's largest city (Toronto) to go logging. Can you imagine the fun they could have with him. The cookhouse scene when cookie asks him if he had enough to eat and he can reply that he has more then enough to eat at home. Just imagine the ratings they could get out of that one. Anybody who doesn't know who Rob Ford is, just you tube his name, the Saturday Night Live skit on him was priceless
I still don't have cable at my house, mostly for the same reason. Nothing good on TV. Dad has it at the farmhouse and when I'm recovering from treatment I'll go in and watch it so I can still be around if needed. I have a bunch of things set to record, but if I didn't there would be nothing to watch. I don't spend enough time at home as it is, but will be getting internet and just watching stuff online. Right now we just buy box sets of shows and watch them. Shows that ended a year or two ago can be bought very cheap. I watch a lot of documentaries too. IIRC some of the crews on Axe Men did it as a last resort because they were out of money. I think those people probably make the best television though because they naturally probably do not know how to operate a business well.
We have been approached by the producers 4 times since the 1st of the year, I don't take the time to return the phone calls. Scott S
i wouldn't mind being on tv
Good call, As my Grandfather who was a real hand faller for Schafer Bros down on the Wynoochee said: Fools name and fools faces always appear in public places...
I quit watching axemen because I couldn't stand listening to all the screaming and the censored words. I couldn't imagine anyone actually working for an employer who yelled and screamed at them nonstop. reality television is just about who can come up with the most drama. just like when American logger was on, I worked in the woods not too far from the pelletiers. I ran a grapple skidder and never once had to stand it up on the rear tires to get a twitch of wood out, and somehow we managed to keep our logtrucks upright day in and day out.
Only saw two shows while stranded in a motel, waiting for the airport to reopen. It looked like just like the S. California idiots had paid enough that the worker were doing what ever they said. That was enough for me, way pass being stupid.
I think one of the Rygard guys has posted on here?!
In regard to these "reality tv shows"; I worked in a prison that the Lock Up series approach us to do a segment in our joint. At the institution (management) level we said no way. Nothing good ever comes from being involved with media. We were told from on high to "do it". The film crew and producer were nice enough folks but they want drama. In our work area drama is exactly what we don't want. Big conflict there. They were there for 2 weeks to get a 1 hour show. I do not know why people watch this stuff except for entertainment. We did not script anything for them but some people just naturally act different in front of cameras and they take advantage of using those people as often as they can. When they put the flick together and put it on tv it was edited to make it more interesting. Things did not happen that way, either sequentially or logically. Then all the film that went on the cutting room floor, not on the 1 episode, was used for the next few years on "the best of" and other shows. Once they get your mug and the signed release they will use it any way they want for as long as they want. All you have to remember is that this is entertainment and somebody must like it or they wouldn't keep putting it on TV. I have lived in Alaska for over 30 years. The shows on tv about Alaska are so far from reality I could not even explain. Just entertainment like the Saturday morning cartoons!
The only reason I watched that show was to listen to their accent haha.
yeah, they got some of the French Canadian accent. I liked it because I could relate to working in the woods, but by season 3 the show focused on the restaurant and the trailer shop and the drama just wore me out.
I wasn't too fond of the Pelletiers either, but the swamp loggers seemed like a good bunch of people with a well-run outfit.
That's because they were Carolina boys.
I could not agree more , I am glad I am not the only person who raises he// at the idiots on tv, Bobby Goodson does seam like a professional, I agree . I used to contract haul logs for a couple of brothers 14-15 years ago, they were real swamp loggers though , 230 timberjacks and 170 franklins dueled up, with pigtails dangling on the back, and an 046 for a cutter, you ever seen a guy waist deep in a reedbrake in January with a sthil on his shoulder, by-gyad that's swamp loggin. Being raised in the dirt and gravel buisnes[3rd generation] my wife wont even let me watch the gold mining show,, she says I cuss at the tv too much. Don't you miss the days when men were men, and left there feelings at home. they said what they ment, ment what they said, stood up for what they believed in, and could give a damn less if anyone didn't like it. When women had class, and curves, and didn't have to be half nakked to be sexy. one more thing STOP, I REPEAT STOP, WITH THE DAMNED ''MAN HUGGING'' ENOUGH ALREADY, Whew,I feel better now.
Gaaa. Makes me cringe every time they do that.
Yeah, I've worked on many a jobsite, without hugging anybody. Oh, and anytime you knock your hard hats together, somebody usually says, sorry, or ouch.
I think i only caught the first season or two. He seemed pretty legit, nothing fancy, got the work done. I read an article about him and he has a pretty rough past so I think thats what keeps him level headed and motivated.
The boss was telling me about attending a logger's conference, where Bobby Goodson gave a short talk. He told them the television crew wanted him to start picking fights with his brother-in-law, "we need more drama", he refused so they cancelled his part in the series. He said that was ok with him, he made a living before they showed up, he would survive just fine without them.
A while back I wrote and complained about all the "fast motion" they were using with the machines. I said kids thinking of getting into that line of work would get the wrong idea. I think they toned it down a bit.
Okay so I'm watching modern marvels and just saw the preview for Ax Men this Sunday. If you all have an hour of your life to waste or 45 minutes with DVR Thank god, you may want to take your blood pressure meds and watch it. Not sure if anyone is following season 7. I record them and watch them when I'm laid up a bit after chemo. It's terrible but it's gotten so bad that I watch it more like a dumb reality show than anything. This whole deal they started with Oakes logging and Rygarrd has been terrible from day one. Now I see they are throwing trucks off the landing with the skyline and such. Conveniently they are not driving their new trucks when this happens haha. I actually kinda liked that they brought Gabes brother in, I think its the reason I dont fast forward through them. Gabe just cries, Jason is definatley his brother but seems a little more level headed with less drama. Craig is a lot different which helps too. Just kind of a quiet old retired guy now. Listening to Joe and Coats gets kinda old. Shelby seems like the producers must have got to him as he seems more scripted really. Still seems like the same crazy guy but I think the producers must be taking advantage of it. The extra oil in the engines was pretty dumb. I Still Dont Get This River Logging stuff. What's so alpealing? I like how they had to add some eye candy to the dread knots. Now captain awesome and kraken split up and there's the old guys with their sonar and swilly. Like I said, it's to the point for me that it's actually not bad entertainment for being a dumb reality show. Better than Jersey Shore, or keeping up with the kardashians or any of the dumb shows TLC and MTV have. Certainly not interesting for the logging side of it. Now that I have Netflix and Hulu at my house I went back and started watching season one of Ax Men. I never watched it back then and like most of these shows the first season is actually somewhat interesting because they just let the people work and do the talking. Once the producers figure out there's only so much to say about cutting wood then it changes. Haven't gotten that far into that season though. Season 4 is on Hulu too and I watched some of that too and obviously wasn't as good. Netflix has Swamp Loggers and American Loggers. I watched most of the first season of American Loggers and there was some over dramatization on the part of the producers and editors but nothing scripted by the actual loggers it seemed. It wasn't a bad season and as I said before their accents always keep me entertained anyways. They don't seem to have brain donors working for them either. Some of the guys may seem rough but actually appear to be good operators unlike what you see on Ax Men. Only watched a couple episodes of Swamp Loggers. Like most on here have said, you can tell Bobby is the real deal but I was surprised at the amount of dramatization in the first season. Overall though I like watching him and reading a bunch of his back story with his struggles in life gives you more respect for him too. The pelletiers haul their stuff back to a nice shop to fix it, Bobby plays in the mud with his old beverage truck tool trailer. I'm more of a fan of a shop myself but have a lot of respect for the guys who can make anything work in any conditions without cobbling it too bad. Plus I never get tired of seeing their nice W900 s. When is real TV going to come back so I don't watch this crap. I think its sad that most of the educational stuff I watch is broadcast on UK channels. Americans must be done learning.
I watched axe men for a year because my dad was a logger and I worked in the woods several summers. Originally we came from the NW corner of Oregon within forty miles of where Rygaard and Browning were logging. The equipment was interesting, but the conflict, the language and the drama was just BS. I couldn't stand to watch it after one year
Watched that episode today, wow. Its like they try to make it look fake. When Oakes pushes one of Rygarrds trucks off the road with a Dozer you can see the truck is obviously from a junkyard and staged as it's missing the fuel tank, driveshaft and a license plate lol. The best part is the camera man and editors screwup, if you watch it slow you can see the entire Rygarrd crew up in the corner of the screen watching it all happen. Later on in the show though they act as if they were working the whole time and never knew it happened. Then majically Kelly Oakes shows up in some old beater Ford instead of his newer pickup and that becomes the one Rygarrds tie to the skyline. Its so stupid. I went and read some comments on their Facebook page and I think this may be their last season. There wasn't one comment on there that was not flaming the show for how fake it is. And these were just run of the mill people that knew nothing about logging. I commented that Thom Beers ruined History and Discovery channel for all of us with his dumb shows.
I couldn't agree more its like my 2 favorite cable tv channels have developed a terminal case a diarrhea.