This is going to be the most first-world problem in the history of problems: Watching TV in the summer is haaaard.
For years I've made fun of the people who say "I don't even own a TV" over brunch, while talking at length about "True Detective" and "Orange is the New Black." Mysteriously, these people take pride in not owning TVs, while they stream endless hours of "non-TV" on their iPad and computer. Generally, these same people buy Taylor Swift's 1989 on vinyl from a Barnes and Noble, and "don't do Facebook anymore" but are all about Instagram.
But in these long summer days I find myself annoyed that I have to sit down with my pimped-out cable package to watch whatever Alaska crap is on, when I'd much rather be streaming "Catastrophe" from Amazon Instant Video on an iPad, in an REI hammock, while drinking a cold-brew coffee. Watching almost two years of Alaska reality shows has turned me into the people I make fun of.
There is one bright spot. "The Last Alaskans," a show about the people who own cabins in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, had a marathon where they decided to add "Behind the Scenes" information to explain what was happening during production. For example, as one of the characters was collecting water on a partially frozen river, a bubble popped up that said two of three production assistants fell through the ice while they were filming. Another time a title card told us it was only 4 p.m., which was helpful because it was dark outside for most of filming.
It reminded me of VH1's "Pop Up Video" from the mid-'90s, which is the second-greatest thing VH1 gave us. The first is obviously "Flavor of Love," a show in which dozens of women competed to find true, lasting love with Public Enemy's Flavor Flav. Anyway, "The Last Alaskans" has grown on me, mostly because of the genuinely interesting cast and their lack of a dramatic narrator.
There is a new show called "Land Rush" airing on the Discovery Channel on Tuesday nights. The show follows four people who purchase land through the state's Remote Recreational Cabin Sites program. Based on the promo it looks like they'll be racing against winter to build remote cabins on land they got for "pennies on the dollar." What an original idea that we haven't seen before on TV. More to come on this one next week.
Alaska got five minutes and 18 seconds of fame on the "Daily Show with Jon Stewart" when correspondent Jordan Klepper interviewed Evon Peter, the vice chancellor of UAF, about the Denali vs. Mount McKinley naming controversy. Peter got a shockingly good edit from the "Daily Show," unlike the poor woman from the William McKinley Library & Museum.
Finally, word on the street is that "Edge of Alaska" is filming a new season in McCarthy. Whether or not it's that show, I'm sure it's something from the Discovery Channel about pioneering Alaskans fighting harsh conditions to survive.
Emily Fehrenbacher lives in Anchorage, where she reviews Alaska reality TV. You can reach her at realitycheck@alaskadispatch.com or on Twitter @ETFBacher.
* Note: In the original article this was mischaracterized as "pennies." Either way, Alaska's Department of Natural Resources would like everyone to know that it's not true -- the state sells the land for fair market value and homesteading programs in Alaska were discontinued many years ago. To learn more about the State of Alaska's Remote Recreational Cabin Sites program, visit their website.