Pawn Stars, Pickers, and Sturgis!

                I'd like to share my thoughts concerning history as entertainment in this blog.

                Who am I to write such a blog? I’m a lifelong student of history with a Masters Degree in the subject, a veteran teacher and the author of LONG LIVE THE KING: BOOK ONE OF THE CHARLEMAGNE SAGA. I am also the author of six screenplays, one of which is currently in pre-production to become a feature film.  

               The History Channel is one of the highest rated cable networks. Numerous movies, television, songs and video games are inspired by history. In short, history pervades our media and I thought readers might enjoy my thoughts on the subject.

               And away we go…Last night, I watched The History Channel’s cross-bred trip to Sturgis, South Dakota. For those of you who are unaware of what happened, The History Channel sent its two highest rated reality shows (American Pickers and Pawn Stars) to Bike Week in Sturgis, while also sprinkling in characters from two more of its reality series, American Restoration and Counting Cars. The cross-promotion began with an episode of American Pickers in which Danielle bought the frame of a 1935 Indian motorcycle for $8,000. Mike and Frank realized that the only way they could get their money back would be to hire Rick Dale from American Restoration to restore the bike to its pristine condition. They then took it to Bike Week in Sturgis, where they sold it for a profit. The guys from Pawn Stars ended up in Sturgis because they bought Chumlee a motorcycle for his 30^th birthday and decided to take it on a road trip to Bike Week. The road trip included Danny “The Count” from Counting Cars. While the others rode motorcycles, Rick Harrison drove an RV that he filled with antiques for his business along the way.     

I enjoyed The History Channel’s Sturgis experiment and appreciate their efforts to mix things up and give these shows a theme. Ironically, it’s the addition of a theme that also dispels some of the illusion of these reality series. We want to believe that what the boys in American Pickers and the guys in Pawn Stars purchase are real and not coordinated simply to generate ratings. The truth, however, is that they are carefully selected. How else do you explain someone trying to sell a fully functional Cold War fighter jet to a pawn shop in Las Vegas? The stuff that passes through that shop could rival the Smithsonian’s collections.

So my evaluation of The History Channel’s Sturgis cross-promotion is neither totally lauding nor fully applauding. I like my reality shows to make me believe they are real, but I also enjoy divergences away from the same old, some old. And I LOVE Sturgis!!