Things You Never Noticed In The First Pawn Stars Episode

For 20 seasons and over 500 episodes, "Pawn Stars" has showcased a variety of the world's greatest treasures. Gifting audiences with spontaneous history lessons in art, culture, sports, and literature, the onscreen disputes of everyone's favorite pawning family have made "Pawn Stars" one of the longest-running reality shows on the History Channel. Meanwhile, the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, in which a majority of the series is filmed, has become a Las Vegas staple for fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars or cash in on the next big deal.

After debuting in 2009, much has changed for store owner Rick Harrison and his crew of wheelers and dealers. Sadly, Richard "Old Man" Harrison passed away in 2018, forever changing the dynamic of the series. Meanwhile, the show has undergone a few significant format shifts, including recently transitioning from half-hour episodes to filling one-hour timeslots and streamlining seasons to 14 episodes from the 40-plus episode collections of years past.

"Pawn Stars" premiered to an unsuspecting audience on July 19, 2009. The episode "Boom or Bust" features a cannon from the 1800s, a replica Roman suit of armor, and the Old Man getting his eyes tested to prove to his co-workers that he still has what it takes. But there are some things that you probably overlooked during your first introduction to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop 13 years ago. Keep reading to catch up on how far things have come for Rick and company.

The World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop has become so popular for tourists in Las Vegas that there are routinely line-ups of visitors around the block. On a daily basis, the store can draw 4000 to 5000 visitors, all hoping to catch some of the dealings in action. Despite the celebrity attention, the store remains a working pawnbroker, as it has been since 1989 when it was opened by Richard Harrison.

Looking back at the first episode of "Pawn Stars," something uncanny is happening at Las Vegas' most-popular pawn shop — it's empty. While the storefront does not appear much in the series premiere, the scenes that do take place in the pawn shop feature a store devoid of customers. General manager Travis Benton told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that bystanders are routinely kicked out for filming. Still, later seasons of the show often feature a store loaded with extras, making the quiet halls presented in the first episode feel almost eerie by comparison.

Austin Lee Russell, better known as "Chumlee," is often the target of the Harrison family's battering ram of insults and jests. In the series premiere, the lovable oaf is degraded by his childhood friend and co-worker Corey Harrison as the "village idiot." Truthfully, Chumlee is far more adept than the show's early seasons portray him to be. While he had been working at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop for five years before filming began, this "village idiot" turned the opportunity into becoming a fan favorite and launching multiple businesses utilizing the residual fame.

More relevantly, Chumlee is no rookie to the art of negotiation. Over the course of 20 seasons, the pawn shop employee has swindled with the best of them, especially when showing off his extensive knowledge of pinball machines, Pokémon cards, and sneakers. Yet in the beginning, as Chumlee explained to the PodKats podcast, he was happy to embrace the role of "whipping boy" to catch the show a few extra laughs. Hilariously, Chumlee doubles down on his dolt character choice in the series premiere by acting particularly terrible at negotiating. When a potential purchase of a replica Roman suit of armor enters the store, Chumlee not only tries on the ill-fitting helmet, but offers the seller his asking price, much to the annoyance of Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison.

The first image that pops into most viewers' minds when they think about "Pawn Stars" is Rick Harrison standing behind the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop counter surrounded by valuable coins, trinkets, and oddities. It is what the series is known for — a customer brings an item in, and stationed behind the counter, Rick or one of the other pawn stars negotiates stakes. Every once in a while, one of the main crew will head out of the shop to inspect a big-ticket item, but for the most part, it is a you-go-to-them situation.

Surprisingly, that is not so much the case in the series debut. The now internationally famous pawn shop hardly makes an appearance in the episode, aside from the Harrisons' desks where they have since spent hundreds of episodes chattering at one another. Instead, the two significant items examined within the premiere both earn an on-site visit from Rick "The Spotter" Harrison. While this is not the standard set throughout the remainder of the series, it is more in line with reality. According to Starcasm, the pawn stars do not spend any of their off-air time manning the counters.

A significant portion of the work typically done at a pawn shop is behind-the-scenes action rarely showcased on "Pawn Stars." Whether stocking shelves, cleaning merchandise, or moving around heavy items, there is a lot of manual labor happening at Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. Although this type of work is obviously necessary for the success of any retail business, the lead cast is not usually seen participating in the hard labor.

Despite Chumlee's ups and downs, including a death hoax and a drug scandal, he has always been a regular fixture on the series. Already showcased as a terrible negotiator earlier in the episode, Chumlee is positioned as an anything-goes employee. This includes being tasked with maneuvering a 3000-pound table saw, much to the dismay of his coworkers. From what we have learned about the lovable comic relief throughout the years, Chumlee is more of a liability than a pawn star under such conditions. 

Aside from the rotating roster of merchandise experts, "Pawn Stars" has given plenty of faces their 15 minutes of fame. Even the under-heralded blue-collar employees of Gold & Silver Pawn Shop are likely to make an appearance at one point or another. Throughout the years, viewers have met some of the most colorful characters who make an honest living working for the Harrisons. Most famously, Olivia Black, who made a splash in her first appearances but was later taken off television after revelations of her nude modeling surfaced.

Still, the earliest episode of "Pawn Stars" made it seem as if the regular employees of the pawn shop would be making consistent appearances throughout the series. The first show introduces two little-known behind-the-scenes personnel, Travis and Johnny. Travis Benton became general manager of Gold & Silver and has explained that his lack of later appearances is due to his responsibilities of holding down day-to-day operations. Meanwhile, Johnny was an in-house mechanic whose knowledge of racing and sports memorabilia later came in handy on the series.

Undisputedly, "Pawn Stars" is an international hit, dubbed in over 30 languages and airing in 150 countries. The series has inspired many nations, such as South Africa, Australia, and the U.K., to create their own "Pawn Stars" variants. And while the driving factor of the show's success is the chance to view rare and unique collectables, the series would not be the same without the tensions and comradery of the Harrisons and their close friend Chumlee.

The realistic family repartee is present in the series premiere when Rick and Corey urge the senior Harrison to get his eyes tested after mistakenly pricing a silver dollar, and it has been a constant throughout the 500-plus episodes. While losing Old Man Harrison in 2018 was a blow to the family and the dynamics of "Pawn Stars," much of the lovable jousting remains a part of the series. As Rick stated in a Fox News interview, as long as the fun remains, he will happily continue to film "Pawn Stars" for another 20 years.