Discovery's Deadliest Catch: The Five Best Blogs, Forums, and Fan Sites

The Deadliest Catch is a series on the Discovery Channel that chronicles the lives and difficulties of crews fishing during the Alaskan King crab and Opilio crab seasons. It's readily apparent why the show is so popular: it's full of real-life drama, pranks, and the danger of nearly 75% increased fatality risk (relative to pilots and loggers) working on crab fishing boats. Want to know more? Here are the top five best resources you can visit to learn more about the Deadliest Catch.

Discovery's Deadliest Catch Forum

Sponsored by the Discovery Channel, it's no surprise that the first place Deadliest Catch fanatics will flock to is its forum. With nearly 60,000 posts, the forum ranks in the top ten of most activity among all of the Discovery Channel forums (out of over 100 others). At the forum, you can read about the episode you missed last week, talk with other members about the series itself, and hear stories from people who had similar experiences as those on the show. You can also post in the "New Season Suggestions" subforum and possibly have your idea appear in the upcoming season. If you bought the game, Deadliest Catches: Alaskan Storm, you can talk with other members about how to play and learn tips to be successful. When looking for your first destination for additional Deadliest Catch material, this forum should be the place you head to.

Deadliest Reports

As a blog on WordPress, this is probably the most dedicated fan site out there. Updated regularly, you can scroll down "opilia's" posts and read about the Deadliest Catch's award nominations, recent deaths of crab fishermen, and the men who work behind the scenes like photographer Ben Zupo. Despite the numerous ads that crawl up the right-hand side of the webpage, you'll be interested in the several ads that line the top of the page. There, you can read the main information and facts that occurred in seasons one to five. Above that, you can view the calendar, which logs not only past events, but future ones that you can prepare for in advance, like Season Five previews which come out on April 14th, 2009. If you're truly a devoted fan, you can stop buy the "Deadliest Shopping" link to purchase items, like coffee mugs, or click on the "Deadliest Music" link to find samples of music featured in recent episodes. Whatever you choose to do, the "Deadliest Reports" website is a great way to catch up on related information and become more involved in the show.

Discovery's Deadliest Catch Blog

Updated once a month, this Discovery Channel-hosted blog reminds viewers of upcoming seasons, throws in fun videos of the crew, and gives sneak-peaks into what will be on the show next. On the blog, you can find a video showing Captain Sig and the Harris men playing the game based on their show, Deadliest Catches: Alaskan Storm. Or, you can watch the video of the Hillstrands discussing the popularity of the show in New York City on a radio show. You can also look forward to the newest addition to the fleet in April, the crew of the Lisa Marie. Though the posts generally lack substance relative to some of the other webpages, Discovery's Deadliest Catch Blog is certainly not a bad place to start when learning more about the series.

The Deadliest Catch: Production Diaries

Written by the producer and director of photography aboard the North American during Season 4, Doug Stanley describes the life of the crew behind the scenes. From May through late July, 2008, Stanley uses elaborate imagery and details to illustrate life aboard a crab fishing ship. Life is filled with ups and downs. While the crew may be overjoyed about a catch, the captain will not reveal his smile, knowing that the worst still has yet to come. Stanley does an excellent job of exploring the emotional side of the crew members throughout his writing. Whether or not you're still interested in Season 4, Stanley's "Production Diaries" are a powerful way to learn more about life aboard the ships at sea.

The Deadliest Catch Wiki

Despite this wiki being owned by the Discovery Channel, it lacks the same finesse as the other pages. Nonetheless, it's a place for Deadliest Catch fanatics to meet, discuss, and basically do whatever they want as long as it's related to the show (except for the numerous pictures of Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe). On the Discussions tab, you're greeted with a forum with thousands of replies on topics ranging from future additions to ratings of seasons to fan introductions. Besides the bustling forum, you can go to the Videos tab and watch a few videos of Deadliest Catch excerpts and additional material. Though not the first webpage you go to learn about the series, it will certainly be the last because of the vast community awaiting.

Sources:
"The Deadliest Catch." Wikipedia.
"The Deadliest Catch." The Discovery Channel.