Deadliest Catch Mate Found Dead

Show keeps it real—but doesn't exploit

(NEWSER) - Deadliest Catch is the realest of reality shows—“in the documentary sense of the word, as opposed to the corrupt facsimile associated with the so-called ‘reality TV’”—and in its coverage of unscripted television’s first death, it maintains that gritty grace. A string of episodes showing Captain Phil Harris’s last days will culminate with tonight’s finale. His death, from complications following a stroke, has been presented throughout “with intelligence and taste,” writes Matt Zoller Seitz for Salon . More»

Deadliest Catch captain spent time with family, friends

(NEWSER) - Deadliest Catch captain Phil Harris spent the days before his death saying all “the things that he had to say to the people he had to say them to,” says his best friend. “I got five days to actually talk with him,” son Josh tells People in a piece detailing the captain’s last days. At the hospital, “we had our closest people there and it was awesome,” he says. More»

James Hibberd explains why we love them

(NEWSER) - Sure, some reality shows are undeniably awful (Keeping Up With the Kardashians, anyone?) yet ridiculously popular. But there are other, less trainwrecky shows that manage to succeed—in spite of the fact that they really sound like they shouldn’t. James Hibberd offers up the top five in the Hollywood Reporter, courtesy of Reuters :

• Undercover Boss: “This show has been like some kind of media relations magic trick—corporate PR porn during a recession.” Well, everyone loves a “cathartic feel-good resolution.”

Ocean of grief greets fierce skipper's passing

(NEWSER) - The surprise death of popular Deadliest Catch skipper Phil Harris triggered an ocean of grief among fans who fell hard for the rascally, lion-hearted captain. The gritty fisherman who stared down danger seeking crab in the most treacherous seas in the world became the public's new all-American cowboy: fierce, proud, independent. But his love for his two sons who worked with him also made Harris, 53, a viewer favorite among the captains featured on the hit reality series, notes the Christian Science Monitor . More»

Popular Cornelia Marie skipper Phil Harris dead at 53

(NEWSER) - Affable captain Phil Harris of Discovery Channel's hit reality series Deadliest Catch has died at the age of 53. The man often called the toughest skipper in America suffered a stroke while offloading his catch from his boat the Cornelia Marie in Alaska last month and never fully recovered, AP reports. More»