Reality job shows hype the drama a bit too much

A couple of cable channels have shows on that show people doing jobs that can be dangerous. The History Channel has Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men while Discovery Channel has Deadliest Catch. The shows are interesting because you get to see a job maybe you never knew existed and the people who do them. Too bad the shows try to create drama more often than it really happens.

The narrator breathlessly describes the scene and then it turns out not to be as dangerous as hyped. On an episode of a new show Deep Sea Salvage, on the History Channel, the task was moving a beached barge back into the water but it was too long for the standard technique – it could sling shot into the canal, slam into other barges and in the words of the narrator – cause a catastrophic disaster…. or words to that effect.

The salvage crew doesn’t use the usual technique and all goes well – no disaster….. DANG!…..

Most jobs, no matter what they are, lacks drama every day but that wouldn’t support a TV show.