North To Alaska

Alaska was purchased in 1867 from Russia, it is our 49th State. With as many television shows that have premiered recently, you'd think it was our ONLY State! Has anyone else noticed how many Alaska themed shows were on last season? I counted at least a dozen:

Alaska: The Last Frontier - [link] One of our very favorites. I’m glad to see the show has been renewed this season. It’s primarily about the Kilcher family who live in an isolated community near Homer. They are subsistence hunters. This is one of our favorite shows.

Alaska’s Artic Wildlife - [link] Lots of pretty pictures of wildlife but boring. Until I looked it up for this blog post, I didn‘t realize it was originally aired in 1997.

Alaska Magazine TV - [link] - Never watched it. It appears it was more pretty pictures.

Alaska Marshal - [link] - I haven’t had the opportunity to view it but the website states they “track down dangerous fugitives”. Sounds exciting.

Alaska State Troopers - [link] - I don’t care for this one because it shows the underbelly of living in the far North. Alaska has a lot of ridiculous laws thanks to the criminal tendencies of the Indians and Eskimos.

Bering Sea Gold - [link] - A good show but none of the featured personalities have any admirable traits.

Buying Alaska - [link] - From their website, “ … looks at properties that feature a range of unique offerings, including the ability to hunt and fish from the back deck, to extreme seclusion. But living in Alaska also comes with disadvantages, including no running water, electricity, indoor bathrooms, or access roads, as well as run ins with bears.” Boy, they’re not kidding about the bears either! They are literally everywhere and so are moose (equally dangerous). It’s advisable to always be armed in Alaska. I especially like this one because I enjoy looking at houses and undeveloped land. It’s fun to see how others live. I get ideas for how to improve our little home that way too.

Flying Wild Alaska - [link] - This show featured the Tweto family. The father, Jim, moved to Alaska in the 1970’s, married a local girl and started his own bush pilot business. It’s now a multi-million dollar enterprise. I think he sold the business or was going to sell it by the end of last season. Sadly, the show is off the air but it was one of our favorite Alaska themed shows.

Gold Rush - [link] - A very popular show. This season is especially interesting. We have our favorite ‘characters’, of course, and are rooting for them to get the Motherload. All the guys on Todd Hoffman’s crew seem like decent, hardworking people but my favorite personality is Dave Turin. He works hard and has good business sense. I think they would be lost without his dedication. The worst person on Gold Rush is the 17 year old Parker Schnabel. He’s a foul-mouthed, temperamental, hot head that will either end up murdered or in jail. He was even recorded saying nasty things about the Producer (not a smart move). Mama didn’t spank him enough growing up, in my opinion.

Ice Road Truckers - [link] - The program follows HGV drivers as they cross frozen lakes and dangerously-thin ice in temperatures of minus 30 degrees in Canada and Alaska. This one was good until they dropped Lisa or she left. It’s no longer on my DVR list.

The Alaska Experiment - I never could get the gist of this show. I think someone was dropping select volunteers off in the vast Yukon wilderness and they had to get back to civilization by a certain time. I found that boring.

Yukon Men - [link] - From their website, “In one of the most remote Alaskan villages, every day is a fight for survival.” And that’s what they do: fight for survival by subsistence hunting, while putting up with the BS laws passed by the government. It’s a good show.

I have no desire to live in Alaska, especially after watching all these shows. It must truly be a beautiful place during the very brief summer. They breed mosquitoes the size of Buicks and the seemingly never ending winter (8 months) would be too much for this native Florida girl. I would be on drugs for sure! Anybody else enjoy Alaska based shows?

(For more about Alaska, visit their website: www.alaska.gov)