"Deadliest Catch" Back on Track for 2011 After Hillstrands and Sig Quit

Millions of dedicated fans held their breath wondering if Discovery Channel would be reckless enough to try to pull off the 2011 season 7 of "Deadliest Catch" without the Hillstrands on the Time Bandit and Sig Hansen on the Northwestern. When Discovery Channel dropped its $3 million lawsuit against Johnathan and Andy, it was terrific news. Apparently, everyone broke fish, kissed, and made up. Now it is full speed ahead for the 2011 season.

The "Hillstranded" Lawsuit

Whether or not Captains Jonathan and Andy Hillstrand and Sig Hansen would return in 2011 to season 7 of "Deadliest Catch" was a bit of a nail biter. Bet there were a few people at Discovery Channel chewing their nails as well.

"Deadliest Catch" would be disaster-prone without these three energetic show grabbers. Especially with the January 2010 death of Phil Harris, which is already a huge deficit going into the 2011 season. For the show, losing even one never mind all of these fishing captains would prove to be as ill-fated as a rogue wave on the Bering Sea.

So what happened anyway? Well, Discovery slammed the Hillstrands with a lawsuit for $3 million -- evidently for not concluding a spinoff called "Hillstranded." The robust brothers, both salty dogs with a ton of backbone, in turn walked out of the limelight. They certainly do not come off as being easily intimidated.

Why Did Sig Hansen Quit the Show?

Why did Sig Hansen turn his back on Discovery when he did not have a beef with the show? It was a demonstration of solidarity for his seafaring friends Jonathan and Andy. Sig simply supported the brothers and quit. Show over.

Moving forward, though, now that everything is cool again between Discovery Channel and the Hillstrands, Sig will return. Sig's no-nonsense and aggressive approach to getting his point across about how he feels, is as real in life as it is when he captains the crew of the Northwestern.

Josh and Jake Harris Will Shine in Season 7

What will life on the Cornelia Marie entail for Josh and Jake Harris without their dad and mentor? Realistically, season 7 will be emotionally difficult. There is no way these kids cannot feel the pain of their loss while crab fishing on the isolated Bering Sea.

On the other hand, there will be no place on earth they will ever feel as close in spirit with their father. It should also be the boys' supreme time to excel. Fans will certainly get to see what the two learned over the past years from Capt. Phil Harris.

Josh and Jake will be back in season 7 as deckhands on the Cornelia Marie. Even though they always thought, they were all that, especially Jake, who constantly grated on his father's nerves - they have a long way to go before taking on the mammoth responsibilities as captains.

To be fair, Jake had a lot of personal stuff to push through smack dab in the middle of his dad's final hospitalization and ultimately his death. The poor kid was coping with a drug problem and the law was on his tail. No matter. Phil adored Jake and Jake adored Phil. It was all good.

Here's hoping we see Jake return a healthy and more mature son. It will be terrific if he goes the distance to honor and imitate his dad's life of hard work as a fisherman and captain.

Sources:

"Deadliest Catch" Discovery Channel

"Trio Quits "Deadliest Catch," The Clicker on Today