The Setup- The show follows the escapades of the Campbell's and their family business of chasing and trapping feral hogs. Yes this is an actual show. In certain parts of the country these wild hogs do millions in damage to livestock and property. The family patriarch Jerry Dean Campbell has been hunting hogs for forty years and of course is slow to adapt to ummm modern hogging. Robert Hunter Campbell is heir to the hog throne and anxious to run things his own way. Krystal Pistol Campbell wears the girls can do this too chip on her shoulder like a badge of honor. She blends painted nails and pink chaps with bloody hogs and romps in the mud. Lea Penick is a family friend who occasionally joins in on the fun. Pretty much every episode goes like this. Someone calls for help, the Campbell's discuss what a hard job it will be, then they all argue about how to do it, they catch said hogs, and everyone says we were lucky this time but something has to change.
What I love about it- I appreciate being alerted to the growing hog problem in this country. This is a subject my advisers had left out of my daily briefings. The hunt and capture part of the show sucks you in. It's not just good editing that makes this job look like a real chore. They chase the hogs on horseback and by ATV and it feels like a modern day western.
Krystal Pistol is entertaining and puts up with more chauvinism than any woman should have to endure. Lea was in the background more in the earlier episodes until someone realized she was attractive. I am craving a behind the scenes episode so I can watch the thought process of the production team.
What I hate about it- If you have seen one wild hog hunt you've seen em all. The show tries to be Dallas with hogs but it misses the mark. The old man is a first class pain in the ass. Jerry is a little too old and hobbled by time to get out of his jeep let alone wrestle hogs. His beard looks like Don King's hair turned upside down and he needs subtitles for every sentence he utters. Robert Hunter doesn't score so high on the likability meter himself but he does do the lions share of the work. They whole family just needs a sit down with Dr. Phil. They tried to introduce a rival family in the last few shows to liven things up but this just seemed a little forced.
5 out of 10 couch potatoes- Great fun for three or four episodes then the acidic family dynamics start to get old. It's a pretty cool job and the Campbell's are heroes to the farmers they help but that's not enough to keep me watching. This is the one time bringing home the bacon may not be a good thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment