James Gallagher Reveals This Part Of Deadliest Catch Was Worse In Real Life
"Deadliest Catch" is an intense reality series. Viewers are pulled into the real-life drama that comes with working on a crab fishing boat. They have to deal with perilous conditions on the open sea as well as all of the drama that comes with working in close confines with other people for extended periods of time.
While the show certainly showcases hazardous conditions, it's only natural for some fans to wonder if some aspects of the show are played up for the camera. After all, it's pretty common for reality shows to stretch the truth, if not outright lie, in order to make a scene bigger than it actually was.
As it turns out, "Deadliest Catch" is one of the more real shows that pops up on TV. The dialogue may sometimes be scripted, but the guys are still out on boats at the end of the day. And during a Reddit AMA, James Gallagher explained how the show once held back on some potential drama.
Gallagher said the Lady Alaska had more problems than they let on
On "Deadliest Catch," a crew can only be as successful as their boat will allow. A top-quality vessel is of the utmost importance, which made the Lady Alaska such a hassle for a good deal of its run. It definitely caused the crew problems, as Gallagher was more than happy to discuss on his Reddit AMA.
One Redditor, u/Kirsten137, asked, "Is the Lady Alaska a lemon or was all the mechanical problems with the boat exaggerated at all?" It certainly wouldn't be out of the question for a reality series to try to up the ante by overplaying a ship's viability. But according to Gallagher, they genuinely had problems with the boat. And if anything, they downplayed its issues for the cameras. As he said, "I [wouldn't] call it a lemon, we knew what [we're] getting into. Crab boats were never meant to sit for 20 years. Zero exaggeration. Actually I would say it was even worse [in real life] but of course not everything can be shown."
Lady Alaska has offered its fair share of troubles, including having issues while the crew's on the ocean. Several ships have had to come to its aid while out at sea, and these problems illustrate how not every piece of drama on a reality show is manufactured.