One of the most addicting shows on Discovery, Gold Rush keeps you on your toes and biting your nails waiting for the big find. While rooting for the Hoffman crew as well as Parker Schnabel, an intelligent, witty 17-year-old high school senior, you just can’t seem to get enough! While most shows may be same old same old, Gold Rush offers rivalry, drama, compassion, and an edge to keep you watching week after week.
The rivalry begins when the Hoffman crew is mining in the Porcupine Creek claim when Fred Hurt, aka “Dakota Fred” appears in an episode and was asked by Earl Foster to help the crew mine for gold. The Hoffman crew, overseen by Dakota Fred, made it near bedrock before the mining season ended but were unable to strike it rich after many equipment failures and inexperience in their first season of mining.
Todd Hoffman, a 41-year-old who gathered up equipment and some unemployed friends and headed to Alaska in hopes of an American dream of striking it rich, missed a payment to Earl Foster and Dakota Fred pulled the claim out from under the Hoffman crew. Suddenly you have a crew who did all of the hard work digging out the glory hole at Porcupine Creek in the prior season, returning after the cold Alaskan winter scurrying to find a new claim to mine while Dakota Fred is able to get his crew in and take right over where the Hoffman crew left off.
The Hoffman crew heads north to find a new claim and lands one in the Klondike. Their new claim, Quartz Creek, looks promising after drilling and finding gold in their pan. In the meantime, Dakota Fred’s equipment is failing and he falls further behind while the mining season is quickly closing in before the winter season. This makes many viewers in my household very happy. We eagerly wait for Dakota Fred to fail miserably while rooting for the Hoffman crew to make it big, especially after only finding $20,000 worth of gold last season.
Parker Schnabel, who mines his grandfather’s Big Nugget Mine is trying his hardest to find gold and keep it a profitable season. While his gold find has been hit and miss he doesn’t want to lose money and is learning quickly that it isn’t an easy task. He is a hardworking, funny, loveable kid who very much loves what he does. He’s quite amazing and is a great addition to the show.
Between the Big Nugget, Porcupine Creek and Quartz Creek mines, the show has become a family favorite in my household. My son watched it once and he was hooked. How could anyone possibly watch the show and not wonder what is going to happen the following week? I hope Gold Rush will continue on for seasons to come as it is a great show to watch and educational at the same time.