The Idiot Box: Storage Wars Season Three
Third Eye of the Tiger
“The third season begins at the crack of dawn in La Verne, CA, and finds “The Collector” in training. Dave Hester enjoys bidding, and bidding people up. Darrell Sheets shows up alone and quickly detects a find of his own. And Jarrod and Brandi start the new season with a system…but will it help them find zen?“- From A&E
As you know we at Shandeh are huge fans of Storage Wars and feel it’s still one of the best shows on TV, but as the seasons go on the show’s entire premise seems less and less plausible. You can certainly find countless articles arguing whether or not the show is “real” so I won’t belabor the minutia here. For those interested, here are a few articles on the topic:
Is Storage Wars Fake, Staged or For Real?
I personally think Storage Wars is “reality TV” but as Bill Clinton might say it depends on what your idea of “reality” is. Instead of classic “reality TV” what happens, happens and we, the viewers, simply watch as the story unfolds (i.e. A&E’s shows like the First 48, Intervention, and Hoarders). It seems A&E is now experimenting with something of a high-bred reality show.
This new type of reality tv is a so-called high-bred in the sense that it’s not scripted, per se, but not completely off the cuff either. The central concepts are real; however there are multiple takes and some dialogue maybe pre-written. As in a director saying to the actors, “Here is the basic concept of this episode, here are a few lines, stay in character and just improv the rest.” **I’m looking at you Duck Dynasty. As a believer in Storage Wars, I am not yet ready to lump it in to this category but….I do mentally debate it from time to time.
The highly stylized promo alone should be a warning that the production crew on the show have the ability to make anything happen. The other tip off might be Barry. I mean seriously, who consistently has that many good lines? The guy is amazing week after week with zingers!
Anywho, I digress; back to the season premiere. All and all a solid season opener. The Barry schtick that I usually love was a bit too zany (rocky’esque) but it was a great outing. None of the lockers really yielded anything amazing and Barry made a little money on a fluke find with some Star Wars memorabilia. The producers are setting a back-story with Darryl and Brandon Sheets for an upcoming blowout. The normally good natured Darryl was unusually harsh with “Brando” . Brandi and Jarrod doubled their money and had some great lines.
All and all: solid …I’ll keep watching. What did you think?
