The Surprising Reason Gold Rush Fans Are Frustrated With The Narrator
If you've ever been flipping channels and stumbled upon Discovery's "Gold Rush," you likely understand the draw of the reality series. The show, which has aired twelve seasons and counting, follows the lives of brave miners who search far and wide for literal buried treasure. The job of a miner is far from average, with grueling hours, harsh conditions, and a whole lot of risk. But for the dedicated, mining for gold can be a lucrative career with massive profits. That is, if you're able to bear the terrain of places like Alaska, Colorado, and more.
Throughout the entirety of "Gold Rush," Parker Schnabel has remained a central and fan-favorite figure. He started the show as an eager teenager with mining in his blood, only to become the boss of the operation. "Gold Rush," in general, has been able to keep fans interested with its real-life suspense and likable characters. It has even found popularity in the U.K., although, as some fans recently noted on Reddit, the show's across-the-pond narrator gets one key thing wrong.
Gold Rush fans have issues with the U.K. narrator's pronunciation
When looking on the "Gold Rush" Reddit page, some fans are not happy with the way the U.K. narrator of the show pronounces the Schnabel family's name. User u/AT61 wrote that the U.K. narrator's take — "Schn-ay-bel" – mispronounces the "A." The original poster states that the "A" in Schnabel should be pronounced like the "A" in "thaw," not the "A" in "play." "Pronouncing anyone's name wrong is careless, but one of the main people? No excuses," the user wrote.
The U.S. and U.K. versions of "Gold Rush" have different narrators, with the U.S. version of the show featuring Paul Christie for the entire history of the series (via IMDb). Unlike his U.K. counterpart, Christie uses the correct pronunciation of "Schn-ah-bel," as opposed to "Schn-ay-bel." This might seem like a minor mistake, but it's one that hasn't gone unnoticed by those who get the U.K. version of the series. Replying to u/AT61's original post, u/nubsauce87 said, "Yeah it drives me nuts as well, and it continues into the current season." Meanwhile, u/68rouge wrote, "So glad I still have the old narrator here in the states."
Considering Parker Schnabel and his family are so often discussed on "Gold Rush," it makes sense that this mispronunciation would irritate fans binge-watching the show.