Discovery Channel — hoping to score a
few ounces of ratings gold — is airing two follow-on specials
that bring back the irascible crews from Bering Sea
Gold, its reality show about trawling for the precious
metal in the waters off Nome, Alaska.
When producers
reunited the
men from one
of the boats, The
Wild Ranger, earlier
this month
in Santa Barbara,
Calif., accusations
— and then
fists — flew.
“I hired him
to be the captain
on my boat,” boat
owner and retired
military man Vern
Adkinson says
bitterly, indicating
Scott Meisterheim. “And what he did was he lied,
he stole, he cheated and he maliciously damaged my
equipment.”
“F--- off,” replies Meisterheim, just before the two
come to blows.
In one of the Bering
Sea Gold episodes, Meisterheim
punched a generator
in frustration and
bloodied his hand, after
a violent argument with
deckhand Steve Riedel.
According to Discovery’s press materials, Meisterheim’s
motivation for joining the gold-dredging expedition
was that he owes more than $100,000 in back
child-support payments.
The first of two one-hour
specials, After the
Dredge, aired Friday,
(March 23) at 10 p.m..
The second runs March
30. The show was produced
by Thom Beers’
Original Product ions,
which created Deadliest
Catch.
Shepard Smith Gets
Action From TWC
With Wi-Fi Complaint
When Fox News Channel’s Studio B anchor Shepard Smith
complains on the air, it gets attention. Especially when
the lament is a familiar one to the average TV viewer: His
cable company hadn’t fixed a problem with his service.
Last Wednesday (March 21), as Mediaite noted, he
ripped into Time Warner Cable for not repairing his Wi-Fi
service. (The context was a story about the new iPad’s 4G
data charges.) “It’s been six weeks,” he said. “I talked to 10
people. They won’t fix it, and they won’t give me FiOS, and
I’ve about had it!” He called Time Warner Cable a “monopoly,”
which would seem to indicate he lives in a New York
apartment with no other
multichannel-TV options.
Asked on Thursday
if the cable company
had responded, Time
Warner Cable’s Bobby
Amirshahi told The Wire:
“We, of course, immediately
reached out and
left him a voicemail yesterday
late afternoon. He
returned it today, and we
have an appointment set
to see how we can assist
him and resolve all
service issues for good.”
Smith, through a rep,
told The Wire that when
the cable firm called, he
explained the issue and
said he didn’t want special treatment. But by last Wednesday
night, TWC had sent techs over, and he and others in
his building had service restored by last Thursday morning.
DeEtta West Is
A Hidden Gem
In GMC’s Office
GMC has a secret weapon in their employee ranks. The
Atlanta-based network’s longtime director of ministry relations
DeEtta West is also accomplished singer, actress
and evangelist.
The sister of late
actor Cleavon
Little (Blazing
Saddles), she
might be best
known for being
the voice in the
famous Rocky
theme song
“Gonna Fly
Now. “
West, responsible
for the
network’s viewer
services and correspondences,
most recently
appeared on the
silver screen in
2008’s Welcome
Home Roscoe
Jenkins and had
a guest starring role in TBS’s Meet the Browns.
She has also starred in several GMC original movies,
including Trinity Goodheart and A Cross to Bear. Just
two weeks ago, she appeared in GMC’s world-premiere
gospel stage play If You Really Love Me. She also was
featured in the movie’s keyart photo (pictured).
“DeEtta was the first employee that worked with me
and Charley,” Brad Siegel, vice chairman of the eight-yearold
network, told The Wire, referring to founder Charles
Humbard. “I always knew DeEtta was a gospel singer because
she sang at our Christmas parties, but what people
didn’t know about DeEtta is that she was also a platinum
recording artist and actress. She’s the secret sauce in our
[gospel plays].”
How Paul Harvey
Helped Brian Lamb
Maintain Perspective
The Wire may have traced the roots of C-SPAN founder
and CEO Brian Lamb’s humility about the institution he
has helped pilot for more than three decades. He does
not talk “legacy” and is far more willing to talk about the
cable industry’s contributions than his own. (See John
Eggerton’s interview with him and more coverage
in Rules.)
Lamb once had the opportunity to sit with iconic radio
broadcaster Paul Harvey at a hall of fame induction ceremony
in Chicago.
Lamb, who is from Indiana, had grown up listening to
Harvey and jumped at the chance. “I had never met him
and, obviously, he was a giant in the industry, so I said,
‘Hey, that’s terrific.’ “
Lamb went to Chicago, put on his tux, and was introduced
to Harvey, “in all his regalness.”
“Paul Harvey looks at me,” Lamb recakled, “takes
my hand and says: ‘You know, what you have done for
this country is just extraordinary, how you have brought
people together with the founding of ESPN.’”
Lamb figured it had just been a slip, and later told
Harvey he had been trying to get him for an hour-long
profi le interview. “Why would a sports network be interested
in interviewing someone like me?” Harvey asked.
“I was crushed,” Lamb said. “Paul Harvey had no
idea who I was.”
