Everyone who reads this column knows that I love trailers for Alaska reality shows. They're so dramatic, and they all have the same comforting, deep-voiced narrator. And they generally show everything worth watching for that season in 30-60 seconds.
The latest trailer out is for season two of "Edge of Alaska." It's set in McCarthy and looks auh-mazing, though the show has been met with opposition from locals. The show chronicles the trials and tribulations of a few McCarthy residents and seems to be focused on a conflict between Neil Darish and Jeremy Keller.
Darish believes that "The Motherlode" -- a historic, long-defunct mine -- is going to be the biggest tourist attraction in the state of Alaska. As the deep-voiced narrator explains, the "line is drawn," and there are "two sides." Which seems pretty typical when drawing lines.
We see Keller and his friends standing in front of Darish, blocking his bulldozer, likely trying to prevent him from constructing his tourist attraction. It seems like the classic Alaska story of development vs. wilderness, small town quietness vs. economic development. Dare I say that it actually seems like a real Alaskan conflict…? Only time will tell. "Edge of Alaska" season two premieres 9 p.m. Friday on Discovery Channel.
Also this week, there was an "Alaska Bush People" special called "The Wild Year," where the Brown family and producers answered viewer questions and sucked another week of primetime TV out of the same old footage we've been seeing for a year.
But there were five gems that I will share with you:
1. The segment shows the Browns getting their photos taken with fans in Hoonah. "The fame hasn't changed us, but it has changed the way we go into town," explained Billy. Some of the Browns claimed they were unaware they were famous, but I don't buy it.
2. The oldest son Matt has a "Made in Alaska" tattoo on his butt and sells arts and crafts made of old forks, spoons, etc., at Ketchikan stores. I don't know why anyone would want to know this, but if you are looking for his arts and crafts, there ya go.
3. The most recent song that Bear (the one who likes -- actually, loves -- to climb trees) has listened to is "Little Red Riding Hood" by Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs. This makes more sense to me than anything that's ever happened on this show. That song should actually start playing every time Bear is on screen.
4. "Overboard," the 1987 film starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn is the Brown family's favorite classic film. Again. Obviously. Just Google it and look at the posters and it explains everything. For those who aren't familiar, it's an '80s rom-com that involves a yacht, amnesia and a rich woman falling in love with a poor man and his many children. Of course this is their favorite movie, I can picture them watching it on VHS cracking up at the cheesy jokes for the 100th time. "Overboard": The Brown Family's favorite film as Molly Ringwald: The 1980s.
5. Producers did another lightning round of "The Browns are so out of touch with pop culture it's hilarious," and I totally fell for it again.
When asked what the very popular band One Direction was, Noah said, "Straight forward, the lord's path." Matt said that car-sharing service Uber was Yoda's cousin. And we got to see Bear and Gabe try to use Tinder (a proximity-based dating app) and find a woman 37 miles away. This segment is always gold, pure Alaska gold.
That's all from "Alaskan Bush People" until Discovery can get enough footage of their antics to cobble together another season. "Alaskan Bush People" was actually Friday's top primetime telecast this summer according to TVbythenumbers, with 4.81 million viewers. So everyone out there, go back to enjoying your Friday nights.
Emily Fehrenbacher lives in Anchorage, where she reviews Alaska reality TV. You can reach her at realitycheck@alaskadispatch.com or on Twitter @ETFBacher.