The Final 'Catch' Is Done ... And I'm Relieved

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Am I the only one ... uh, glad that Deadliest Catch is done for the season?

I don't mean that in a bad way.

Rather, as a viewer, I'm just not sure I could take one more United States Coast Guard rescue ride-a-long. One more sinking vessel. One more pon-pon distress call. One more empty survival suit. One more rogue wave over the bow of the Wizard. One more lost crewman. One more ship rolled 90 degrees. One more Arctic hurricane

Sheesh.

This season was one big Debbie Downer.

And I say that in the nicest - and most serious - of ways.

True, I'm a late bloomer to the world of Deadliest Catch. As we recall, I caught up on the show during a marathon viewing session LAST year, which was just in time to bring LAST season's trials and tribulations to PTR. However, I cannot recall - in all that viewing - ever feeling as relieved as I do now that it's over.

I felt like we watched more rescues this season than fishing.

Listened to more distress calls over the radio than crew fights.

Watched more weather strangle the boats than the setting of pots.

And studied ice flow more than the crab count.

I'm hoping the Bering Sea decides to have an off season next year. That is, she'll be nice.

Doubt it.

In the meantime, I can now go back to breathing again on Tuesday nights from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Sheesh.

You can catch episodes of Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, the Incentive. You can also catch up with Deadliest Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

'Catch' Goes Second to Last

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Why do I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop on our Deadliest Catch gang?

Oh, wait. I know.

It's this deadly hurricane that is about to rip the grounds apart in what will be the season finale next week.

As Capatin Sig says, "This could be the deadliest end, yet."


Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out: So the Time Bandit fired veteran deckhand Russ because ... well, I'm not sure. He, like, irked Andy an ep or two back by spending too much time in the sauna ...? Or with attitude ...? Or ...? I don't get it. Nobody does. And seeing how quickly Keith snatched him up to come work on the Wizard, I half-wonder if the Hillstrands went off half-cocked on this decision. That said, they are done for the season given they raked in monster numbers in crab. Buy those guys some lottery tickets.

Hurricane Cometh: I'm not sure what was worse - listening to all the radio calls forecasting the mother of all Arctic hurricanes OR actually having the whole "48 Hours Before the Storm" / "24 Hours Before the Storm" countdown that introduced a couple of segments. Like I said, I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. And the previews from next week with what looks like the Incentive on the fraking rocks?!?!?! Egads.

Getting Over It: I have to say Captain Keith looked pretty steady in having his crew ditch 40 pots in the increasingly bad weather before making a run to Dutch Harbor to offload. As in, he did NOT appear to be having flashbacks from his worst.decision.ever moment that mangled up his crew at the start of the Opilio season. Go Keith. He even has a sparkling new veteran deck hand to continue to help get rid of the bad juju. Still, no telling whether those 40-foot seas and 90 mile an hour winds from NEXT week will bring on a relapse.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, the Incentive. You can also catch up with Deadliest Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

Another 'Catch' Loss that Hits Close to Home

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

I realize this post is a wee bit late for my recap of all-things Deadliest Catch, but this past week's episode boiled down to one poignant and ever-so-sad moment: the Northwestern's Jake learning that his baby sister - who suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis - had passed away.

And by "baby sister," I do mean child - not teen, not young adult, not young woman.

It was one of those moments where as a television viewer, I felt as if I shouldn't be watching this young man go so numb with grief and sadness. Lke, I just wanted to let him have his space. But that's the thing about being on a crab boat: there isn't any space. You are right there in the moment with each other. You fight, you haggle, you laugh, you cry, you grieve.

And, in this case, you rally to support your youngest crew member in a time of a devastating family tragedy when you are so far FROM that family.

The way Captain Sig, Edgar, Matt and the rest of the Northwestern gang closed ranks to support Jake, thus, reassuring him he needed to be with his family and/or they'd hold down the fort without him was as touching a moment as we've seen since the Katmai episodes. I loved when Sig said he'd bust through the ice to get Jake into St. Paul Harbor so he could catch a flight home, and when he shared his story about the loss of his own father.

Go.Sig.

This past week's ep was truly a lesson in just how tight-knit these crews - these men - are. And it showcased once again just how much they sacrifice to do what they do. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jake and his family.

I'd also like to congratulate the Deadliest Catch/Discovery Channel gangs for being nominated for four Primetime Emmy awards this week: 1) Outstanding Nonfiction Series; 2) Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming; 3)Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming; and 4) Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, the Incentive. You can also catch up with Deadliest Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

'Catch' Freezes Over

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Is it possible for one to actually get cold whilst watching Deadliest Catch? Like, by osmosis or something?

I know I've made myself sea sick watching an all day marathon. (Yes, true statement. I watched on a Sunday, went to work on Monday, and then felt as if I was swaying back and forth in front of my computer screen. Weird, but hey, that's me).

So, I figure if I could make myself sea sick watching a marathon of the show, then I guess it's not too much of a stretch to get cold while watching it, either - as was the case with this week's ep, where temperatures dropped into crabs-freeze-their-legs-off territory.

Which is somewhere in the way-too-low-below-zero category.


I'm Sorry, Is This Spot Taken?: You mean to tell me the Wizard's Captain Keith did NOT intentionally set his pots on top of Captain Phil and the Cornelia Marie? With all his GPS wango tango, should he not have figured out that even setting CLOSE to Phil's pots would find them moving INTO Phil's string with the tide shift - especially when you can SEE the Wizard right off the back of the Cornelia Marie? I swear Keith is full of hot air sometimes. And, I have to say, I'm with Josh Harris on this one: another boat within several miles of where one is crabbing is too close.

Do You Want That Straight Up, or on The Rocks?: So Captain Sig takes on the enter-at-your-own-risk challenge and inches the Northwestern into frozen over St. Paul harbor so as not to lose his entire load of crab. I have to say he seems to have finessed it in such a way that it almost seemed military battlefied in nature as he performed this strange little series of right obliques. General Robert E. Lee would've been proud. Anyone know where we can get some red paint?

Fart Grounds: Captain Phil of the Cornelia Marie seems to have this ... uh, system whereby he can see little bubbles on the surface of the ocean that are ... uh, gaseous releases from our little Opilio crabs that indicate they are in the area AND in abundance. So far, he's right. Hey, whatever works. Leave it to Phil to come up with this method.

Dirty Crab: The Incentive taught me a thing or two this week about dirty crab. They can't have any little barnacles on their legs and/or body. They have to have that nice reddish pinky shell. And, you don't find them in the southern, calm, warmer waters of the Bering Sea. You have to scoot yourself north, take on the 40-footers, have your boat freeze over in a complete block of ice and see your crew go hypothermic in order to catch them. Well, duh. This IS Opilio season, Incentive. Did you think you weren't going to have to suffer the wrath of the Bering Sea in winter?

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, the Incentive. You can also catch up with Deadliest Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

'Catch'-ing the Midway Point

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

So it is, according to our Deadliest Catch gang, the halfway point of the crabbing season - heavy emphasis on the Opilio part of that season. What have we learned?

- No boat is immune from the ice pack.

- Boats should come equipped with rear view mirrors so as to better watch those Bering Sea 40 footers that sneak up from BEHIND.

- Captain Sig CAN be content; even better, he can actually quit smoking - if only for about three hours.

- Dutch Harbor should be renamed Igloo Bay.

- Captain Phil hasn't lost his touch, but the Cornelia Marie seems to be held together by a couple of packs of gum and some duct tape.

- Captain Keith has made one of the worst decisions of his career this Opilio season (and is still haunted by its repercussions); however, he IS still able to get his s**t together to get on the crab and fill up the Wizard.

- The Time Bandit is still unable to do anything wrong; and, although Captain Andy does have a temper, he uses it sparingly.

- These guys still have one of the most deadliest, most tiring, most mind numbing, most trying, most nerve wracking, most insane jobs on the planet ... and they LOVE it.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, the Incentive. You can also catch up with Deadliest Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

Week's Roundup: The Closer; Raising the Bar; Deadliest Catch; Saving Grace; Royal Pains

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Since I've been completely bowled over by real life this week, I'm dreadfully behind on recapping. Sooo, in the interest of time, space and the final frontier, I'm going to wrap it all up in this post ... and borrow a page from Editor-in-Chief TVFan's "The Good" / "The Bad" Bones write-ups.

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The Closer

The Good: Brenda Leigh Johnson has a history of protecting Sergeant David Gabriel. She also has a history of not taking lightly to other departments butting into her business - whether they have the right to or not. In this week's episode we got both. When Gabriel found himself in an odd mess of wrong place, wrong time, thought-I-saw-a-one-armed-man scenario, she clicked into her protective mode once again. And when Mary McDonnell's Capt. Sharon Raydor, head of the Force Investigation Division (FID), begins investigating Gabriel ... well, that went over like a lead balloon making for some FANTASTIC antagonistic chemistry between the two in-charge female characters. That said, I've always felt BJ's relationship dynamic with Gabriel was one of the show's strongest - there were a couple of eps las season ("Ruby") where Gabriel lost it, and it was only BJ who could really square him away. His botched relationship with Detective Daniels was also something BJ warned against, tried to steer him in the right direction. And yet, that leads us to ...

The Not-So-Good: ... not liking "repeat" kind of storylines whereby it feels as if I've seen it before. Unfortunately, this whole thing with BJ protecting Gabriel has a been there, done that kind of vibe to it. Now, using it as a way to introduce the Mary McDonnell character WAS good; I'm definitely looking forward to how that plays out given the talent contained therein. However, I didn't feel wowed. And ... can I just ask why Jon Tenney's Fritz Howard seems to have been reduced to being a house husband and cat babysitter? I guess that is going to change with next week's ep, but I find myself being a little less-than-impressed with his reduced screen time. Then again, that's just MHO.

New episodes of The Closer air Mondays at 9 p.m. on TNT. For the scoop on the series, head on over to the show's official site.


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Raising the Bar

The Good: The case, which involved determining whether an attack by a group of African Americans on a gay man constituted a hate crime - even when said gay man had somewhat of a history provoking people into confrontation. I have to say I really wasn't sure how this was going to go; and, the fact that one African American man from the group WAS convicted even though he was not the one who actually assaulted the gay man had me thinking about our legal system in a way I normally don't. Then again, this show makes me do that quite a bit - which is a good thing. And ... can I just say Judge Farnsworth rocks? He's so neurotically brilliant that I forget there even is a Judge Trudy Kessler. I have to say his interactions with Jerry are far more interesting to watch - almost like a chess match vs. a bullying contest (which seems to be Kessler's MO). Button anyone?

The Not-So-Good: None.

New episodes of Raising the Bar air Mondays at 10 p.m. on TNT. For the scoop on the series, head on over to the show's official site

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Deadliest Catch



Good Juju: The Wizard's Captain Keith finally caught a break this week, stumbling upon some serious crab and getting back to doing what he does best: fishing. Given the last two weeks of PTSD, it seemed he was due for some good juju. How long it will last will be anyone's guess. However, note to Keith: don't ever do that tarp nonsense again.

Bad Juju: Last week, I wondered what the odds were for the Cornelia Marie to actually make it into St. Paul before being frozen in place by the fast approaching ice pack. Turns out they DID make it, but not before Captain Phil blows an engine ramming the ship THROUGH the ice pack TO make it so as not to spoil his entire load of crab. After five days of being frozen into the docks AND $67,000 in repairs, that circulation pipe leak from last week seems like child's play now, eh? I'm not sure this is the Cornelia Marie's year, and I kinda agree with Phil that it seems the ship is being held together by band aids and crazy glue. Just me?

Did You See My Gear?: The Northwestern's Captain Sig finally lost his gamble fishing so close to the ice pack. As in, it moved in quicker than expected and almost swallowed his gear. I don't even know how they managed to salvage the pots - when the buoys are barely visible, dragged three miles from position. Not to mention having to make sure the hook line doesn't snag on the ice when they DO retrieve the pots. Seriously, these guys pull off what seem to be the most miraculous things to us, the average viewer, but of which for them is just a normal day at the office.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, the Incentive. You can also catch up with Deadliest Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.


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Saving Grace



The Good: Grace seemed to pull a Brenda Leigh Johnson this week in that she kind of went pseudo-undercover in an alcoholics anonymous group (irony?) to find the killer of one of the group members seeing as no members talk about each other or what is discussed in group OUTSIDE of group. Soooo, she befriends one gal, a former sponsor, does a pretty good impression of being a fall down drunk (not a stretch for Grace), and manages to fool said woman into confessing who did what. She also seemed to have no qualms about letting the woman GET DRUNK to tell her this. Hmmmm. I kind of thought it was genius, but probably bordering on unethical. Like, something BJ would do. And ... how about Rhetta? Awww. So bummed she's got to sell her farm. Still one of the best relationship dynamics on the show is Grace and Rhetta, not to mention the ever blossoming partnership between Earl and Grace.

The Not-So-Good: Ham's obsession - make that addiction - to Grace, which thankfully is only being spoken about and NOT acted upon of late given Grace has got other things on her mind. Seriously. Get a life, Ham. Sitting, staring at your phone, hoping she's going to call makes you look like a goob. And this is Grace Hanadarko - she isn't going to be settling down with you any time soon. I've really come to kind of loathe this relationship (gee, you couldn't tell, right?), especially as Grace seems to have turned such a big corner in accepting her role alongside Earl. Ham seems like yesterday's news, and I'm afraid Kenny Johnson is playing it too much on one note for me. Half the time I think the character is drunk, when in fact, he's just slurring his speech around as if he WERE drunk. And the smothering/stalking thing has got.to.go. They need to write in another girlfriend for him or something.

New episodes of Saving Grace air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on TNT. You can watch full episodes of the show anytime over on the show’s official Web site. You can also visit EmbraceYourGrace.com to share your stories of how you embrace your inner-Grace.


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Royal Pains



The Good: Let's just call it everything. Again. I am consistently enjoying nearly every aspect of this show. And can I just get another Amen to the aerials?!?!?!?! The shots are just spectacular. Anyhoooo, it was good to get to see Divya get out on her own (as it were) and handle some things without Hank's supervision. Seriously, she is the BEST thing to happen to him. And she can tell Evan to stick it where the sun don't shine (thank.God.). So can Boris (let's get an Amen for Campbell Scott who is just so quietly powerful in his role). The main patient this week was interesting, having what I'll call and almost-stroke where she lost her memory and had to be administered to in a short period of time to avoid permanent damage. Again, Hank to the rescue, which for me, doesn't play overly cheesy. I even liked the throw back to the fact that he was having to deal with the fact his now defunct wedding date arrived. He confessed to Jill - who seems to have had her own failed engagement.

The Not-So-Good: Evan. Seriously, shut.the.frak.up. This is no disrespect to Paulo Costanzo, but I'm starting to have Trust Me flashbacks whereby Tom Cavnagh's Conner would just ramble on ridiculously - bordering on mumbling - to the point of overkill. We get Evan is supposed to be annoying, pushy, press Hank's buttons, possibly get everyone in trouble by his cockiness. But every other scene? It's starting to detract from the other characters, who for me, have become far more interesting. Evan seems almost like a cartoon at times. My advice would be to dial it down.

New episodes of Royal Pains air Thursdays at 10 p.m. on USA Network. You can join other fans on Facebook; follow Royal Pains on Twitter, or visit the official Royal Pains Web site for the scoop on the series!

'Catch'-ing with the Ice Pack

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Since I've been talking about the moving of cheese this week - a joking reference to the book Who Moved My Cheese?, which was "required" reading at my former job to tell all us cubicle-ites how to deal with change - I'd like to say that our Deadliest Catch team saw their cheese moved this week, too.

Or, I should say, they actually decided to move their own cheese given one big mother of an ice pack decided to jump onto the express lane and close in on the fishing grounds ASAP.

Got to love winter on the Bering Sea, eh?

Don't Make Me Get All Captain on Your Arse: Did you see it? Sorta? Kinda? Almost? I think it was there. I do believe I finally saw Time Bandit Captain Andy Hillstrand get irked. Shocker! Okay ... not really. One of the reasons I like the Hillstrand Brothers is because they are so even-tempered by comparison to ... uh, others. But Andy's brief - and I do mean brief - rant was deserving (can we even call it a rant? it was more like a talking to). His crew DID drop the ball in forgetting to assign someone to monitor the offload weighing, which promptly resulted in the loss of about 5,000 pounds of crab (approx. $8,000). Read: missing. Ooops.

PTSD: I'm wondering how the Wizard's Captain Keith can be back out fishing so soon after his tarp debacle that almost saw three of his guys killed. I'm all for getting back up on the horse after falling off, but he is a bit of nervous wreck, eh? And that energy isn't helping the crew much. Cripes, if it were me, I think I would've crawled into a hole for the winter. Then again, he's got a quota to meet and money to make. Nothing like desperation as a motivating factor to get over your s**t.

Just By The Hair on Your Chinny Chin Chin: So, what are the odds the Cornelia Marie will actually make it into St. Paul before being frozen in place by the fast approaching ice pack? Captain Phil scores HUGE numbers of crab, races to pull up his pots and head for shelter FROM the ice pack cometh only to run smack dab IN to the ice pack cometh. Argh. And with the Murray Replacement Greenhorn (MPG) barely patching the circulation pipe leak back together, the CM needs to not find itself surrounded.

Would the Real Sig Hansen Please Stand Up: So, this is the second week in a row the Northwestern's Captain Sig is happy. Content. On the crab. Just minding his own beeswax. I'm sorry, who are you and what have you done with the real Sig Hansen? (Love ya', Sig, but I've never seen you THIS content).

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, the Incentive. You can also catch up with Deadliest Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

Yet Another Deadly Round of 'Catch'

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

OMFG.

The opening sequence of this week's episode of Deadliest Catch left me somewhat speechless.

Like, loss of F/V Katmai speechless.

One deckhand, on top of a wall of pots, trying to hold down a free flying tarp as a 35-foot wave rears up in the background and comes crashing down on top of the bow.

OMFG.

Is it any wonder viewership for this episode was one of the highest ev-er for the series?


WTF, Keith? Redux: So, it really WAS as bad as last week's previews indicated, when the Wizard's Captain Keith makes arguably one of the worst decisions ever by sending three of his crewmen out to try and put up a tarp over his wall of pots to help prevent freezing spray build up only to have a 35-foot wave come crashing OVER the bow of the boat, nearly wiping out his crew for good. Seriously, Keith. What were you thinking? The first fifteen minutes of the episode, I wasn't sure anyone was going to recover. The guys in shock, the 1000 lbs. pots completely smashed in by the sheer FORCE of the wave. It's amazing the three crew members - including bro' Mouse - were not killed. And while I do feel for Keith, and he was obviously shaken up by the whole mishap, I am still not following the tarp-stops-freezing-spray logic. It's a tarp, not Superman's cape. Yowza.

Crab much?: Just when you think the Time Bandit boys have run out of good juju, they manage to figure out exactly where to set their pots so as to pull almost a 600 average. I don't know how these guys do it. AND ... they are always in good spirits. Never flustered. Amazing.

Yay Phil!: There was a small amount of sentimental pride in seeing the Cornelia Marie's skipper set his first round of pots AND find crab on his first try. I was pulling for him given he's been out of action for almost a year AND is still trying to get back in rhythm. Plus, I'm not sure I could've gone through another round of the CM pulling up half-empty to empty pots as they did on Murray's watch for King Crab season. Speaking of Murray, the deck is missing his steady hand and leadership, but are managing. But if the Harris boys get in one more fight, I think I'm switching allegiances to the Time Bandit. Seriously, boys, just.stop.it.

Digging Ditches: So the Northwestern got the unlucky privilege of having to pull pots in the "ditch" - which means the tide is essentially washing over the side of the boat, making the pulling up of the pots and interesting challenge. But hey, it's crabbing, right? And Captain Sig is ... happy and content with what they've raked in thus far. Is that possible?

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, the Incentive. You can also catch up with Deadliest Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

'Catch' the Opies if You Can

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

He's back, baby.

And would you believe ... nervous?

Not sure I thought "nervous" and "Captain Phil Harris" would go in one sentence, but alas, this week's episode of Deadliest Catch proved that they did.

Phil was understandably a bit ... well, nervous returning to helm the Cornelia Marie after nearly a year away recovering from the complicated health issues caused by a blood clot passing through his heart.

Recall: he almost died, and we weren't sure we'd ever see him again in the Captain's Chair.

But $100,000 in repairs later, Opilio (Opie) season is underway for the Cornelia Marie!

And everyone else.

Murray Calls It Quits: As if the Cornelia Marie wasn't on my mind enough during this week's ep (what with Phil's big return and all), my favorite runner-up Captain/senior deckhand/all-around good guy Murray Gamrath is QUITTING! Whaaaat?!?!?! The CM is just not going to be the same without him. Such a steady, calm presence. And the new guy taking his place ... what's your name, again? You have big shoes to fill ... and boy don't Phil know it.

Paging Captain Sig Hansen to the White Courtesy Phone: So, Captain Ahab - er, I mean Sig - was delayed a couple of days by weather. Meaning those little Horizon Air crop dusters couldn't fly into the ol' airport, and the crew was twiddling their thumbs until Ahab - er, I mean, Sig - arrived. There was something funny in that seeing as Sig is so ... intense? strict? Didn't think being late was possible for him.

Payback is a ...: So, the Time Bandit boys finally hit a snag in their perfect crab season - striking out on their first string of pots for Opies. Now, seeing as they could do no wrong during King Crab season - meeting their quotas WAY ahead of everyone else - this seemed completely fair to me. And the crab gods (or would that be Bering Sea gods? Davy Jones? Poseidon? Somebody? Anybody?) seemed to agree.

WTF, Keith?: So, the Wizard's Captain Keith sets off with what I'm pretty sure amounts to about 8,000 pots. This seems particularly bone headed considering nearly every OTHER boat reduced the number of pots they were carrying given this is Opie season in the dead of winter on the Bering Sea. And the weather outlook seems even more bleak than usual. (You know ... snow. Freezing spray. Ice build up. Top heavy ships capsize. Remember?) But perhaps even more boneheaded is Keith's idea that he can put up a super-duper tarp - yes, a tarp - at the front of his boat to actually PREVENT freezing spray build up on his pots. So, he dispatches his crew to ... uh, hold on for dear life as they struggle to unfold the darn thing AND not get washed overboard. Seriously, Keith? Wow. Even I could see THAT was a bad idea. The giant swell about to smash into your boat not withstanding. I need to see next week. If the previews are any indication, this was one of Keith's WORST decisions as a Captain. He fuxored up his crew big time.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, the Incentive. You can also catch up with Deadliests Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

'Catch' Closes Out King Crab Season

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Another King Crab season is in the books.

And, wow, was it a long haul.

Not to mention a tragic one.

As the crews now prepare to take on the wrath of the Bering Sea in the dead of winter for the Opilio season, the loss of the F/V Katmai still lingers. As such, I remain grateful at the midpoint to have seen our Catch Crews return to Dutch Harbor safely.

I See Dead Crab, But ...: What to say about my beloved Cornelia Marie. Seriously, half a tank of dead loss? Bummer. And yet, I'm confused. Or completely duped by the editing of the episodes. How can the CM's season have been portrayed as so "embattled" when she ended up taking in $2.6 million in crab (about $54K per deckhand) - THE MOST of the ENTIRE Catch FLEET? Episode after episode of pensive, concerned relief Captain Murray Gamrath pulling up moderate-to-half-empty pots turned out to be .... uh, kind of misleading.

Has Anyone Seen the Wind Up Toy?: What in the world happened to Lisa Marie? Did she run out of batteries or something? No final crab count. No final word of where she ended up. Weird. But, I will confess this whole deal with adding her to the fleet seemed half-arsed anyway - she wasn't around for the first part of the season, and what we did see of her was hardly impressive. Thus, cutting her out of the finale was an edit I could live with ... but I do wonder if she'll show up for Opilio.

Is that the Coast Guard?: The Northwestern's fireworks celebration upon retrieving their final pot was a good one. But, I have to agree with the guys (and thus, ignore Captain Sig's paranoia): if the United States Coast Guard can't tell the difference between fireworks and an emergency flare, we're in trouble. And how Sig can keep the guys away for 50-some-odd hours continues to amaze me.

Going with SPF 30: Can I just say the Time Bandit brothers Marlin fishing, drinking and living life in San Carlos, Mexico whilst the rest of the fleet slaves away trying to hopefully-almost-barely make their quotas ... ouch. But in a good way. I wonder how much stick they'll take for seeming to glide right on through this King Crab season - and will the Bering Sea be so kind to them with Opilios? Hmmmm.

Welcome Aboard!: So, remember the greenhorn on the Wizard - the one who decide to put his girlfriend's picture up in the bait area and took an insane amount of flak for it? Turns out he buckled down, stepped up to the plate and is the best - yes, the best - greenhorn to come through the ranks in a while. He got the job - and sometimes, you actually do get a second chance to make a first impression.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, Lisa Marie. You can also catch up with Deadliests Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

Pausing for 'Catch'

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

So, was it just me, or did this week's episode of Deadliest Catch seem ... slow? drawn out? Like, this was really "Part 1" of the end of the King Crab Season but really wasn't being billed as such?

Last week's promo totally fooled me into thinking THIS week would be the end of the first part of the season. And even though me loves my Catch Crew, the ep felt a little repetitive at times - kinda like we were all waiting for everybody else to catch (no pun intended) up to the Time Bandit, which is now happily back in Dutch Harbor. Quota completed. Cash in the bank. Scene.

That said, I feel I have to postpone my write-up because ... well, there wasn't a whole heck of a lot going on that differed from last week.

Considerably less anger, though. Always a good thing.

But do the crab counts at the end of the eps suggest the Cornelia Marie has so much crab when all we see is poor ol' Murray stressing about pulling up empty pot after empty pot?

I know it's all about the editing, but still ... I'm confused.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, Lisa Marie. You can also catch up with Deadliests Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / NorthwesternPR / captjohnathan / northwesternsig / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie) / DiscoveryChPR.

Four Rounds of a 'Catch' Grudge Match

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Bering Sea Grudge Match - Round One.

And two.

And three.

And four.

And you get the idea.

Grumpy is as grumpy does. That about sums up this week's episode of Deadliest Catch. Or, as narrator Mike Rowe kept calling it, a Bering Sea Grudge Match between irritable crews short on crab count, bait and a whole bunch'a other stuff.

Anger Management: So Captain Keith lost it (gee, what else is new) running low on bait. Apparently, the greenhorn needed to read Keith's mind to understand he needs to let Keith KNOW when the bait is getting low. Um, 'kay. Might be helpful if one of the crew - um, like the Captain? - TELLS the greenhorn this BEFOREHAND as opposed to expecting him to know it by osmosis.

Where's the Wind-Up Key - Redux: The new Lisa Marie boat STILL looks like a toy boat to me this week. In fact, how in the world does she even have room for the camera crew? She's not catching any crab, which doesn't do much to make me think she should be out there with the big boys. True, the catching crab part isn't completely her fault. But seriously ... is it time to wind her up, or is there a remote control somewhere?

Just Say No: With the aforementioned Captain Keith low on bait, he puts a radio call out to Captain Sig on the Northwestern to help him out - you know, abide by that help-your-fellow-sailor-in-distress code. Apparently, Sig feels differently. Or, the fact that Keith was low on bait by his OWN fault isn't in the same category as ... oh, how about the Katmai sinking, and thus, doesn't quite warrant keeping to that code. Totally thought Sig's non-reaction was the right one.

Has Anyone Seen the Crab?: My poor Cornelia Marie. Nada mucho on the crab catcho. Bummo. And yet, they remain the most un-grumpy group of the bunch. Not to mention Captain Murray never seems to panic. Love.Him.

Catching on Twitter: On a completely unrelated note ... I've found a smattering of cool Catch folks on Twitter: fvnw_erin / CaptPhilHarris / northwesternpat / DeadliestCatch (which is actually the Cornelia Marie). Shouts out to northwesternpat for giving me the word 'fuxored' to replace 'fraked' in my 'f-uh-cowee' dictionary, fvnw_erin for the follow-back, and to DiscoveryChPR for humoring me most of the time.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, Lisa Marie.

'Catch' Gets Back to Normal

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

And now back to our regularly scheduled Deadliest Catch programming.

Seriously.

After two weeks of death at sea.

Seriously.

Last week's uber-emotional-super-sad-tug-at-your-heartstrings episode had me in a daze for days. I could not get the lost crew of the F/V Katmai - and the emotional recall of the survivors' tales - out of my head. I cried WAY too much.

This week, however, our gang got back to doing what they do best: fishing for Alaskan King Crab.

And we got our first look at the new Mini-Me boat, the Lisa Marie.

I Love Murray Gamrath: Do you think I could get this printed up as a bumper sticker? The man is just too cool. As much as I love Captain Phil (and I DO), part of me is enjoying watching Murray pinch-hit as Captain once again - particularly when he says things like, "I take Mother Nature very seriously, which is why I'm still out here." Amen to that, Murray. Go Cornelia Marie!

Where's the Wind-Up Key?: Is the new Lisa Marie boat, like, a toy or something? Does someone have a remote control in which to operate her? No offense to her crew, but she doesn't even look big enough to be let out of Dutch Harbor let alone be stacked with gear and off fishing for crab. The poor thing looks like 10 knot winds might blow her over - forget 50 knots. And yet there she is ... puttering around with the big boys. As much as I'm having issues with two "Marie" boats in our fleet, I've got The Little Engine That Could visions flashing through my head right now. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

Sig, Chill: We all know the Northwestern's Captain Sig is a little ... uh, let's just say intense. Did we not think his eyeballs were going to come exploding out of his head when his crew seemed a little slow on the uptake? Breathe, Sig. Just breathe.

Dude, Where's My Picture?: So, the greenhorn on the Wizard decides to put his girlfriend's picture up in the bait area - which is where he spends most of his time. Awww. Nothing like decorating one's cubicle. Except it irks Mouse (Captain Keith's bro'), and then turns into a big ol' hullabaloo. Over a picture? Guys, seriously. And yet, couldn't the greenhorn have picked a less gooberish version of her in which to post? Like, if I was the girlfriend, I'd think I'd want to not look like a drunk bimboid who got her pic snapped on a throw-away camera by accident. Ouch. But hey, whatever floats one's boat, right?

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, Lisa Marie.

The 'Deadliest' Catch Yet

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

The sound of people drowning is something I cannot describe to you. No one can. It is an absolutely dreadful sound, and it is followed by a terrible silence." - Eva Hart, Titanic Survivor

This quote is something I cannot get out of my head today.

It has stuck with me since I first heard it years ago, watching a documentary on the Titanic tragedy. And every time I hear of death at sea - particularly tragedies in which there are survivors - I think of it again.

I also cannot quite get rid of the lump that seems permanently lodged in my throat after watching last night's episode of Deadliest Catch.

In truth, this was not an episode.

It was an experience.

A poignant, timeless, chilling, gripping, touching and memorable tribute to the F/V Katmai, who succumbed to the raging Bering Sea last October in the midst of a Typhoon that engulfed almost the entire fishing ground.

Four Katmai crewmen survived.

Seven did not.

As we listened to the survivors recount their tale of survival, it seems impossible they did survive. Their life raft flipped nearly 50 times as they rode out the night, thrashing about in 40-foot seas, 80-knot winds, and existing 17 hours in 40 degree waters that create instantly hypothermic conditions without a survival suit.

And pushes the envelope of being able to survive in one.

Perhaps most touching, though, was not only the haunting video footage the crew shot of themselves some time before they left port, joking that the job they do could cost them their lives, but the subsequent reflection of the surviving Katmai crew in asking the proverbial question: Why them and not me? Or, why me and not them?

It's a question every survivor of every tragedy asks him or herself.

And for which seems no easy answer.

It's the guilt of surviving.

We already know this is one of the deadliest jobs on earth.

We just don't often get to experience the loss of life alongside these guys.

Last night, we did.

And I, for one, will never forget it.

In loving memory of the F/V Katmai and crew members: Carlos Zabala, Robert Davis, Cedric Smith, Glenn Harper, Jake Gilman, Joshua Leonguerrero and Fuli Lemusu

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, Lisa Marie.

A Sobering 'Catch' Reminder

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

I interrupt this blog entry to say I'm so far behind on LAST week's episodes of Harper's Island (and then there were 20 - Abbey is still good, though!) and Tracey Ullman's State of the Union (cult compound much?) that all I seem to be able to manage to do this week is get some homage going with my Deadliest Catch gang. And I'm glad I am - even if this post might seem a bit ... well, morbid. Apologies.

The final 15 minutes of last night's Deadliest Catch left me a bit speechless.

Why?

It's only the second episode of the season, and we already have our first ship sent to Davy Jones' Locker: the Katmai.

Worse, the Katmai crew is nowhere to be found given they were a) 900 frakin' miles out to sea when their distress signal was picked up - like, the outskirts of the fishing grounds where no OTHER crab boats are available to aid in a rescue; and, b) it took the US Coast Guard (USCG) 9+ hours to reach the scene - sailing/flying full speed ahead through a Typhoon in the dead of night.

This does not look good.

And I have to say (correct me if I'm wrong, Discovery Channel), I think last night's ep was actually the first one in which we got to see a deceased crewmen floating in the water AND the USCG retrieve the body into the rescue helicopter.

Can I just say ... goosebumps? speechless? creepy? scary? humbling?

I don't think I blinked.

Something about watching the Katmai crew member floating lifeless in the water whilst listening to the USCG crew guys go back/forth trying to determine if there even WAS a body IN the suit was just eerie. Then, seeing the USCG crew pull him into the helicopter whilst they go back/forth again trying to figure out where they OTHERS are given there is no sign of ship and only a empty life raft ... wow.

Perhaps it was Captain Keith who said it best: "There's somebody every year who doesn't make it back."

We were humbly reminded of that last night - this really IS one of the deadliest jobs on earth.

And the Bering Sea takes no mercy.

We'll have to wait until NEXT week to see if ANY of the Katmai crew manages to survive. I think not, but I will hold out hope.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, Lisa Marie.

'Deadliest Catch' - So Good You're Back, Guys

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Happy Tax Day.

Happy 97th Anniversary of Titanic.

Happy return of Deadliest Catch.

(Okay, technically our boys returned to Discovery Channel LAST night, but the Titanic reference DOES count seeing as the ship struck the iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on the 14th and sank at 2:20 a.m. on the 15th. Um, yeah ... you already were warned about the Titanic history buff side of me).

My biggest question for this season got answered last night: Captain Phil STILL isn't healthy enough to go fishin'.

Can this man ever catch a break?!?!??!?!

Pinch Hitting on the Cornelia Marie ... Again: So, my fave relief captain Murray resumes his pinch hit role on the CM given Captain Phil's blood clot issue still isn't resolved. Basically, if he goes to sea, he might die - with or without the Bering Sea's help. I felt for Phil as he watched his boat sail off without him for the first time in 33 years. But, as I said last year, Murray makes it seem like 50-60 foot seas and 30-35 knot winds are no big deal. He is just so calm all the time not to mention he has the deep respect of the crew. I don't think Captain Phil could ask for a better pinch hitter.

Did he just ...?: Captain Keith (The Wizard) dives IN to the Bering Sea to check the underside of the ship's hull for some stray Zinc metal that is snagging the crab pot rope lines only to banged in the head by the sudden roll of the ship. Holy Frak, folks. Skull fracture much?

Lightning Strikes Twice: We know I love the Cornelia Marie. BUT, the Time Bandit runs a close second, and I do have a soft spot for bros Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand. So, I can't be all that upset they scored the first big catch of the season - in the same spot as LAST season.

Can I Get Some Coffee with that Head of Herring?: I did take some devilish pleasure in Captain Sig (The Northwestern) having drawn the shortest straw, and thus, received the dubious traditional honor of biting the head off a herring fish to ring in the new crab season. Ewwwwwwwww!

Bueller? Bueller?: So where's the new boat, the Lisa Marie? Guess she'll become along later? (Okay by me, since having two "Maries" in the lineup seems ... weird. It's all about the CORNELIA Marie, thank you very much).

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, Lisa Marie.

'Deadliest' Boys are Back

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Does anyone else find it a little bad omen-ish that the new season of Deadliest Catch premieres on Tuesday, April 14th - the 97th anniversary of when Titanic struck an iceburg and ...uh, sunk?

No?

So, just me then (and my obsession with the REAL Titanic, not the Leonardo DiCaprio/Kate Winslet version).

Anyhooooo, I'm thrilled the boys are back. There's a new boat this year: Lisa Marie.

Now, I don't know how I feel about having another "Marie" boat in the lineup. The Cornelia Marie is my favorite, and this just seems like encroachment.

Speaking of the CM, what is going to be up with Phil, eh? Will he be back? Will it be senior deckhand Murray in charge once again?

In any event, mark your calendars to tune in for the fifth season premiere Deadliest Catch Tuesday, April 14th at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American and the new boat, Lisa Marie.

'Deadliest' Final Tallies

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

And so another Opilio crab season goes into the books.

Our Deadliest Catch gang all made it back to Dutch Harbor safe and sound, in one piece, meeting their respective quotas. And those quotas ... wow ... 574,000 pounds here, 850,000 pounds there. The crews cash in at about $1 million or so for their crab payloads, which ends up earning each deckhand anywhere from $47,000 to $52,000 in take home pay.

Sweet.

The Northwestern continued its flaming hook tradition whereby Edgar Hansen (Captain Sig's bro') sets the hook on fire when they go to pull up their last pot for the season. It is for good luck, but as Captain Sig says, they don't know if it works until next season.

Captain Keith did indeed have a hole is port aft tank aboard the Wizard, which explains why the darn thing ended up being a bottomless pit, unable to truly be topped off. As quickly as he was raking in the crab, he was sending them back out to sea. Funny. The boat really does win in the end, says Keith.

The Time Bandit wrapped up a 42-hour marathon session to meet their 574,000 pound quota. Yahoo! I have to say Captain Andy is entertaining. He's funny, goofy, never seems to get overly flustered or angry. I'll miss seeing him at the helm come King Crab season. (No offense to bro' Johnathan - we like him, too).

But I have to say that this season will be remembered for the Cornelia Marie crew's resilience in light of Captain Phil's troubled health - which, in and of itself, is what will mark this season. To face what they faced, yet pull out a 1.2 million pound crab payload worth $1.3 million is a tribute to the true die-hard spirit of this crew. We remember their season got off on the wrong foot given they could not even find the crab in their first strings, then they encountered engine troubles that forced them to return to port. When they finally limped back out into the Bering Sea and started to rake in the crab payload, they were hit with Phil's near-death blood clot health issue, which saw him have to be removed from the helm and take up residence in a hospital. Credit should be given to relief Captain Murray Gamrath for pulling the crew together and doing one heck of a pinch hit job. Captain Phil's health still remains an issue, and it is yet uncertain as to whether his fishing career will be over. We sincerely hope not. Considering only 2 out of 10 people survive a blood clot passing through one's heart and onto one's lung, we'd like to think Phil has already beat the odds.

And though only one tragedy occurred during the actual Opilio season, shortly after all crews left Dutch Harbor, the Bering Sea reminded everyone just how deadly she can be - claiming the vessel Alaska Ranger.

47 people into the water.

42 rescued.

5 lost.

A sobering reminder of just how deadly this job really is.

You can catch replays of Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel throughout the remainder of the summer. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American.

'Deadliest' Rounding Home

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Definition of Bering Sea Dementia (courtesy of deckhand Josh Harris, son of Captain Phil, of the Cornelia Marie):

- You do not think properly
- You run on no sleep
- You have too much work
- You have nightmares while awake


This is pretty much where our Deadliest Catch gang is at right now.

As in, the brutal Opilio crab season is coming to a close, and the crews are scrambling to pull in their final pots, load their tanks and head home after 50-some-odd days of nightmare. Next week is the season finale, but before then:


Rockin' on the Wizard: So, was there a gremlin on board that just would not let the crew get their last tank full? As in, they kept dumping and dumping and dumping and dumping (and wishing) and dumping, and the tank would still not top off. That makes for a cranky crew - especially one who had to chop off six tons of ice. But Captain Keith gets the line of the night: "The clock's tickin', the spray's freezin', the ice is chargin' but the Wizard is rockin'."

Five Man Zombie Crew Aboard the Northwestern: I can't claim credit for that line; has to go to narrator Mike Rowe. But that is just.too.perfect. Captain Sig did rescue his gear from last week's ice pack cometh - a 36-hour marathon session, but hey, what else is new. And all that moaning about having to leave a goldmine of crab behind ...? Turns out Captain Sig lands on it once again. Buy that man a lottery ticket.

Pinch Hitting on the Cornelia Marie: So, my fave relief captain Murray is still at the helm given Captain Phil ain't makin' it back to the boat this season. Phil is still in the hospital, and we'll see how that wraps up on next week's finale. Now, is it just me, or does Murray make it seem like 50-60 foot seas and 30-35 knot winds are no big deal? He is just so calm all the time not to mention he has the deep respect of the crew. I don't think Captain Phil could ask for a better pinch hitter.

Special Privileges on the Time Bandit: As Captain Andy does his best Captain Sig impression - that is, run his crew into the ground with a 4-day pot pulling marathon - nephew Scotty (bro' Johnathan's son) seems to think he can take his own breaks whenever he wants. What's up with that? Especially when they have only 36 hours to catch 190,000 pounds of crab? And didn't he almost kill the greenhorn last week? Time for special privileges to be revoked.


Tune in for the season finale of Deadliest Catch nest Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. You can also tune into all new episodes of After the Catch at 10 p.m. to hear the captains' insights on the season's highs and lows. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American.

Ice Pack Cometh on 'Deadliest'

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

So, like ... how exactly does an ice pack move 30 miles in 24 hours? Jet propelled? Auto pilot? Mother Nature messing with the crews of Deadliest Catch, and specifically, the Northwestern?

Definitely the latter.

Poor Captain Sig.

It wasn't bad enough that he had to park himself in the iced over harbor of St. Paul to offload his recent batch of Opilio crab, then pull some sort of I'm - getting - the - hell - back - out - to - open - water - even - if -I - wreck - my - boat - in - the - process maneuver. Or that his gear was dropped directly in the path of said oncoming ice pack to which he had to race back and retrieve so that it wouldn't be buried, dragged for miles orlost to Davy Jones Locker.

No, it seemed the worst of the funny-ha-ha irony Mother Nature was playing on him was the fact that said gear was dropped on a goldmine of Opilios, which the Northwestern of course had to up and abandon.

Mother Nature was surely laughing her wings off.

Other highlights:

Cornelia Marie's Captain Phil Done for Good?: So in the ongoing saga that is Captain Phil's blod clot ... it's not looking too good that he'll be back out on the boat this season. Worse, he seems to think his fishing career is over. I'm not sure I'm buying that Doomsday scenario, but in Phil's absence, I get the sense the crew is sort of trying to win one for the skipper with every pot they pull. Even working 36-hours back-to-back doesn't seem to phase them. And new greenhorn Dan is likely to get the best.greenhorn.ever award. He rocks.

Death Wish on the Time Bandit: So, the Hillstrand brothers' special "Mr. Magoo" spot is pulling in $270,000 of crab. Sweet. Unfortunately, Co-Captain Johnathan Hillstrand's son, Scott, almost kills their new greenhorn with an errant hydraulic maneuver when stacking the pots at the end of a long day. Oops. But hey ... trifles, right? (Yes, I used that line last week, but it's a good one and coined by another great Captain ... Captain Jack Sparrow).

What the ...? on the Wizard: So, Captain Keith went off the rails this week - pissed off at his bro (and co-captain) Monte for something ... I couldn't exactly figure out what it was. Suffice it to say he got so irritated, he slammed the Discovery crew cameramen out of his face and/or told them to turn off the cameras whilst he and his bro' had it out in the dark. The audio was still running, though. By episodes end, all brotherly love was restored.


New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel (with multiple replays throughout the week). You can also tune into all new episodes of After the Catch at 10 p.m. to hear the captains' insights on the season's highs and lows. Visit the official Deadliest Catch Web site for the latest on the captains and crews of the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, Time Bandit, Wizard, Early Dawn and North American.