Commentary

TV's Alaska Reality Craze Shows No Sign of Thawing

Finally, someone has found a purpose for the Ice Bar at the New York Hilton.

This is the bar called “Minus 5,” in which most of the interior is made of ice -- the walls, the bar, the seats, even the glasses (but not the floors since that would be too slippery and everyone would be falling down and getting hurt). It’s very cold in the Ice Bar, so gloves and parkas are provided (they’re included in the various ticket “packages” the place offers).

We walked in there late one Saturday afternoon, but left after learning of the cover charges, which we didn’t feel like paying ($45 per person, which included two “ice cocktails” plus parka and gloves). Next week, though, we will get to enjoy the Ice Bar (or shiver uncomfortably) for free, thanks to National Geographic Channel, which has booked the place for a party to promote two of its Alaska reality shows – “Ultimate Survival Alaska” and “Life Below Zero.”

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This seems like a worthwhile use for this Ice Bar, especially because NatGeo intends to fly in a couple of personalities from these two Alaska shows for the occasion. The symbolism is clear: By booking the Ice Bar for this event, NatGeo is sending the message that reality TV shows based in Alaska are still cool, although a casual viewer of these shows might wonder if the nation’s northernmost state is in danger of losing its frontier allure now that it’s being overrun with reality-TV production crews.

It’s not exactly a new trend. We’ve had Alaska-based reality shows on TV at least since the premiere of “Deadliest Catch” in 2005.  Today, that Discovery show is one of at least nine shows emanating from the region that are listed on the Discovery press Web site, including: “Alaska: The Last Frontier,” “Alaskan Bush People,” “Bering Sea Gold,” “Bering Sea Gold: Under the Sea,” “Edge of Alaska,” “Gold Rush,” “Kodiak” and “Yukon Men.”

Co-owned Animal Planet also has an Alaska show, “Alaska Bush Family” (bush “People,” bush “Family” -- what’s the difference?).  And Discovery-owned TLC had the most infamous Alaska show of them all, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” in which the famed “Mama Grizzly” of the 2008 presidential campaign was seen each week gutting fish, shooting caribou, cutting down trees and, in general, wreaking havoc on the Alaskan wildlife she claimed to love.

By contrast, NatGeo has far fewer Alaska shows. In addition to the two being honored with their very own ice-cocktail reception at New York’s Ice Bar, NatGeo has “Alaska State Troopers,” which just happens to be our household’s favorite of all the Alaska shows on TV.

In this series, Alaska’s state finest are seen patrolling icy, snowy, sparsely populated roads, usually at night, and answering calls that comprise three basic categories: An intoxicated person wandering around in the outdoors without a warm coat and in danger of freezing, intoxicated people at home engaged in domestic disputes, and/or an intoxicated person having an encounter with a wild animal (as often as not, a moose that has wandered innocently into this person’s yard).

Most impressive about these Alaska State Troopers: They almost always ride alone, with back-up officers so far away on their own patrols that they’d be no help in a sudden emergency. And despite this handicap, these troopers are very adept at defusing sticky situations, without resorting to guns or nightsticks, with these intoxicated Alaskans -- of which there seem to be plenty.

One reason for all the Alaska shows on TV is a program of financial incentives put in place by the Alaska state government, which has rolled out the welcome mat for TV production.  But that alone would not be enough to sustain the Alaska shows, if viewership didn’t follow -- which means that the Alaska reality-TV trend appears to be here to stay, at least for now. These shows are so pervasive that even HGTV has one: “Living Alaska,” in which people (none of whom are intoxicated) shop for homes to buy.

At the moment, TV’s Alaska craze is hanging in there longer than several other reality crazes that have come and gone in the last 5-6 years -- most notably, the swamp craze (“Swamp People,” “Swamp Loggers,” “Swamp Brothers,” “Swamp Men,” “Swamp Wars,” “Swamp Murders” and more) and the hunting-feral-pigs craze (“Hogs Gone Wild,” “American Hoggers” and others).

These shows came principally from Louisiana and were said to have flourished, in part, because, like Alaska, Louisiana had launched a program to encourage TV production in the state. The fact that the swamp shows have seemingly dried up would indicate that the laws of ratings and viewership trump financial incentives every time.

 

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