Thom Beers, Creator of Deadliest Catch
I met Thom Beers while at the televised memorial of Capt. Phil. He introduced himself as the creator of “Deadliest Catch”, but I of course knew who he was. I could tell he took great ownership in the show. At the time of Phil’s passing he seemed to be highly involved in all aspects of the series. By most public accounts, his career was built on the back of “Deadliest Catch”.
The New York Times attempts to profile the genre he created in this article but falls short in their attempt. The reasons they cite for the popularity of the “Deadliest Catch” are more simplistic than what the show deserves. In this passage below, the creation of “Deadliest Catch” is explained.
In 1998, a Discovery Channel executive named Steve Burns approached Beers — at the time barely a year into a new career as an independent producer — about making a one-hour special called “Extreme Alaska.” It was supposed to include a 15-minute segment about Alaskan crab fishing, at the time the deadliest occupation in the United States. That January, Beers and two cameramen set out from the Aleutian Island port of Dutch Harbor, where the Bering Sea crab-fishing fleet delivers its catch. The plan was to spend a couple of days out of port on a crab boat called Fierce Allegiance, get the footage and go home.
Instead, Beers and his crew found themselves stuck at sea for a week as the boat battled an uncommonly ferocious storm. Waves swelled to the height of a four-story building. Beers pitched in with the work on deck, only to fall victim to the fisherman’s ailment known as “the claw,” the muscles and joints in his hands knotting up hopelessly. Still, he was aware of the elemental intensity of the footage: the crew lurching back and forth on the slick wood and steel in their orange and yellow rain gear, the prehistoric strangeness of the snow crabs, the terrifying void of the heaving sea. When he got back to California, he called Burns. “Listen,” he said. “There’s something big here.”
This is a good article on Thom Beers and Deadliest Catch. I recommend reading it if your a fan of DC or other Original Productions shows. I may have to provide my take on why the show is popular in the next blog.
Have I been dreaming or has F/V Cornelia Marie been used in a Red Lobster commercial? If so why do the crabs in the pot look already cooked?
That was not the CM in the commercial. I am sure if the advertising company decided to use a boat that was not seen on DC.The captains name is Jon Forsythe. Yes I looked at the picture and it looks like the colors of the CM but it most likely is another boat.
Michael,
Rocker below is correct. I’ve been getting that question a lot. The scene is really staged, especially the location. The fishing boat in the commercial is being filmed in Southeast Alaska near icebergs from a Glacier – far from the Bering Sea – where nearly all of the crab is caught.
You know, the first few times I saw that commercial, I thought the same thing, though the boat in the commercial is a different shade of blue. But, I work in broadcasting, so I know what a little “color correction” editing can do. I hope the CM has great future success. Any business is tough these days.
Thanks for the work you do, Morgan. I’d like to see her again on DC. But, if she’s not, I still like to know the goings on of vessel and crew, and you keep us very well informed.