I've watched all of ChicagoRon's video's (hey when the ground is frozen in Michigan, you have to do something!) and he and Mark aren't usually like that in their home video's. For the most part Ron and Mark work hard, find some good stuff and congratulate eachother. They return rings, they make video's showing techniques for less experienced detectorists. They only prankish or jovial stuff I have seen them do is they have a gold competition each year, and loser has to buy the other a steak dinner. Cigars after a day of detecting. And throwing a squishy ball at eachother when they get a gold coin in England. Not too over the top. I'm guessing the producers have asked them to go over the top. Check out his blog regarding the "Reality of Reality TV"
Chicago Ron | The Detecting World
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I'm glad you posted that Talon! I was just going to post about Ron's blog, as I was just reading it myself, on which he address's some of the issue's and the realities of filming the show that are beyond the control of the detectorists. I enjoy the show even if the sound bites are not perfect for the detectors and prop*ointers and Ron mentions on his blog that he and the other detectorists are aware of it and hopefully the show will address the issues. The show is for entertainment, I'm all for having a show on metal detecting as I enjoy watching them, and hopefully the folks being filmed will have enough input to get the producers to do it the right way! As far as the "war" part, in my opinion it is just to add a bit of suspense. I hope the show continues and improves over time.
Here is a quote from Ron's blog, hopefully he will not mind my using it here so that others will see it as well, and thanks for posting the link to it Talon!
"The first 2 episodes of Dig Wars aired last Wednesday at 9pm CDT on the Travel Channel. Over 100 people were in attendance at the premier party, and the response was awesome! There has been a huge response to the show through email and social media, and the overwhelming majority so far has been very good. However, there will always be some who are not happy no matter what you do!
The cast of Dig Wars are all concerned with showing the real side of detecting. The truth is, we were not chosen to do a show on metal detecting instruction or ethics. We were chosen because we are each good at what we do, and we have personality. We also happen to abide by the rules that govern this hobby…which is good for the hobby.
Contained in the 100′s of hours of video shot for the first 6 episodes, we all talked about getting permission, covering holes, removing trash and all the other rules that apply. Once done with filming we had no input on editing or content. The editors, in their discretion, may have used a few too many over the top clips, but they did show us covering our holes, and land owners giving us special invitation to hunt their private property. Episodes are only 21 minutes long, they simply can’t cover all the rules, or even all the good finds we made, let alone all the garbage. Yes, there was garbage!
My hope is that people interested in detecting will look up Dig Wars and find my website chicagoron.com where they will get useful and helpful information about detecting the proper way. If the show is picked up, the editors may include more of the helpful / informative stuff in each new episode.
We are very proud of the show, aside from some editing and sound mix ups which hopefully will be addressed. I think the first 2 episodes were fun, shared some history of the sites and relics, and showed our passion for the hobby.
Stay tuned, and keep swinging."
