Record Numbers for Deadliest Catch TV Series

Television

The Deadliest Catch series portrays the lives of a commercial fisherman as they seek Alaskan king crab in the Bering Sea.  Each captain has to overcome their own obstacle with crew members as they fight to catch the most Alaskan crab in the depths of the terrifying sea.  Last Tuesday night over 5.4 million viewers tuned into watch the “Blown Off Course” episode, which honored the late Phil Harris.

In the previous episodes leading up to the first episode which aired, we saw Captain Phil Harris show signs of sickness, but was not sure how serious it really was.  When the news broke that Phil had passed on February 9, 2010, the show was in the middle of filming this season.  As you begin to watch the season unfold, you will see the tragedy events that take place and the final days leading up to the death of Harris.

As you may have heard, Phil Harris suffered from a stroke while unloading his catch of crab at the port of Saint Paul in Alaska sometime in late January.  He spent his last days with his family and friends.    As the new episodes air, you will see Phil’s health deteriorate as his condition worsens.  Phil’s two sons, Josh and Jake are the first on hand to witness their father’s health problems and in a few episodes, you will be able to see the hour-long tribute with individual interviews of Phil’s sons describing life with and without their father.

As heartbreaking as it may seem, Captain Phil Harris was an amazing man and the support he has received is like no other.  Letters have been pouring into the Discovery Channel, the Deadliest Catch and the Harris family.  Phil’s crew and other cast members hope to let Phil’s legacy pass through the show’s episodes and live on forever.   The captains will show their own experiences and the way they have coped with the loss of Captain Phil Harris.

Phil Harris was known as one of the youngest crab captains to ever fish in the Bering Sea when he was merely 21 years old.  He had been fishing with his father, since he was 7 and knew that this was the living that he wanted and really the only thing he ever knew.   He later became the Captain of the Cornelia Marie.  At the time of his death, he had operated the vessel for 20 years with the help of his crew, which included his two sons.

Each episode that airs is going to be harder and harder for the Harris family to watch.  I could not imagine how difficult it would be to have to relive everything over again.  Usually time heals all wounds, but that does not seem true when you or your family is a part of a television reality series and Harris and his two sons were a huge part of the show.

After Captain Phil passed, his younger son Jacob came clean about his on-going drug abuse and decided to get medical treatment for the drug use and the death of his father.  It is now a little easier for him to deal with the loss from the help of professionals and family.  Phil will be extremely missed, and I am sure that when all the Captains are in the Bering Sea, they will feel Harris’s presence.