“RIVER Monsters”
For some wackily “wet and wild” reason, we’re getting a lot of TV shows about all sorts of giant fishes and other water creatures this season.
They include “Quest for the Megafish of the Amazon” (!), “Alaska Fish Hunt,” “Wicked Tuna,” “Monster Croc Hunters,” “Big Fish Man,” “Abalone Wars” and “River Monsters.”
We’ve watched some of these shows, and sort of understand why they’re popular with some viewers, particularly those who are plugged into nature and outdoor adventures.
The “megafish,” “big fish” and “monster fish” descriptions say it all—the show’s “unique viewing proposition” feeds off the old and even ancient competition for catching the biggest fish, with all of the macho boasting, one-upmanship, exaggerations and outright lies about “the one that got away.”
True enough, on “River Monsters,” we once saw some women catching really monstrous fish—with their bare hands!
That really made our viewing month—which is what these “extreme” TV shows are supposed to do.
Another showstopper on a more recent telecast of “River Monsters” had for its locale a river in Mongolia, where a “monster fish” was a champion fisherman’s “supercatch” of choice.
Trouble was, the prized fish was craftily elusive, so days went by with nary a bite!
On his last day in Mongolia, the hugely frustrated angler was forced to seek the help of a paranormal medium who banged a drum and danced up a psychedelic storm to persuade the river god to bless him with better luck.
Well, it worked! He did hook his prized monster fish before his time was up—but in deference to the god’s wish, set the big fish free to live and swim another day—or century!
As for “Monster Croc Hunters,” the “extreme” viewing appeal was even more hyped-up due to the heightened possibility of injury or death by gnashing, or getting whipped by the crocs’ powerful tails.
To make the proceedings even more empathetically terrifying, an expert “croc wrangler” even jumped into the river and wrestled with his humongous and toothy prey!
What a relief it was when he was able to subdue the giant crocodile and hog-tie or “croc-tie” his giant trophy, to add to the denizens of his sanctuary for crocodiles, alligators and their icky ilk.
As for “Alaska Fish Hunt,” we learned a lot when we watched it, and were most impressed to see that the US state’s fishing authorities have put so many rules and quotas in place to make sure that fish stocks in its waters are kept abundant.
Our own conservation authorities should take their cue from them and enforce our own conservation and renewal measures with as much force and no-nonsense discipline.