Whale Wars

[Bones]

I know there was a thread about this earlier in the fall, but a search did not turn it up.

Yesterday, I watched a bunch of episodes in a row to get a feel for what they are portraying since every time we go out on a call, someone will ask us about the show and to educate myself on what they are putting out there.


I'm very interested to know what the general viewing public thinks about the show and the people that are involved on both sides.

Please keep it civil :messedup

[Bones]

Nobody is watching this?

interesting.

[devilrob1979]

Nobody is watching this?

interesting.

I saw the first episode. I respect what they're doing. The "research" the Japanese have been doing is pretty pathetic on the whole and could be done without a lot of that slaughter. If there was no commercial viability to all of that whale meat I think there'd be a lot less demand for "research." I don't see how those guys on the Sea Shepherd get away with doing a lot of what they do. Having a camera crew around certainly doesn't hurt their cause I'm sure.

[Rock Johnson]

I haven't watched the show, but I saw the preview.

How is it that what they do is not piracy, thus placing them completely outside the law?

The Japanese do not appear to be breaking any laws, however distasteful we may find their actions. I wonder what'll happen when one of the whaling crews opens up on the Sea Shepherd with a 30mm Bofors.

[Solomon]

Some laws are made (need) to be broken. Not saying whether or not that is the case here though.

[BigViolin]

Good cause, weak crew.

Anyone that thinks the Japanese are doing pure "research" is fooling themselves. IMO the laws need to be better written and enforced, uhh, let's say in a bit harsher manner.

[Seditious]

I've only seen the preview and it just seems like a way to get their cause out there with sensationalism a la Deadliest Catch. It might be a good cause and it might even be a good show, but I probably won't ever watch it. I'm too busy watching How it's Made.

[Zilmo]

Watched some last night. I think the captain is an idiot. The whole thing with putting people on the Japanese ship, and then screaming to the press that they were kidnapped was absurd. Kind of "entrapment".

While I appreciate their cause, their tactics are assholish.

[FlyingDutchman]

The captain is an asshat in my opinion. No wonder why he got booted out of Greenpeace. Im sorry but human life is worth more than a whales life. Some of his crew is pretty weak. The only guy that really has his shit together is the helicopter pilot. Other than him the crew is seriously flawed and their tactics are nothing more that button pushing. I think the captain eventually gets shot by the Japanese. I remember it in a preview when the season started.

[UndergroundVint]

The moral dilema of the show is interesting but the shows themselves are not. I'm impressed by how dedicated the crew members are for their cause. Living on that ship must completely suck and there's no payoff in the end like that of a commercial fisherman. I'm completely against whaling but antagonizing the Japanese like that will only result in more trouble. The more laws there are against whaling the more money they will be worth. And therefore more the whalers will risk to kill the whales. I don't see this problem going away, just activists getting hurt.

[Stew]

I like the cause but don't like the show, the cast, or tactics at all.

[pat]

Given that it is a TV show that is edited to tell a story and be dramatic, there is a certain degree of skepticism that must be maintained as we're only getting one viewpoint.

That said, the portrayal of the captain, and sometimes the crew, is certainly less than flattering in many cases. Rather than appearing as serious, thoughtful, conservationists with a professional approach to solving a problem they seem more like self righteous amateurs who pull childish pranks.

By pulling stunts as was shown in the show where the two crew members jumped on the Japanese boat, and then the Sea Shepard crew gleefully cried that they had been kidnapped to anyone who would listen, while taping the whole thing for a TV show that showed that they had in fact NOT been kidnapped but instead voluntarily boarded a vessel of another country without that vessel's permission, certainly doesn't do much for the credibility of any other claims they may make.

The captain certainly comes off as a self-aggrandizing ass in most of it, down to the faux Jolly Roger pirate flag they fly.

If the Japanese ARE illegally whaling, why are the governments of the affected waters not enforcing their own laws? If the anti-whaling guys can document this and then publicize it I would think that would be a more credible way to handle it. The Japanese very well may be in the wrong here but I would think that the money spent on running that boat and playing savior would be better spent in some sort of negative PR or legislative lobbying to affect the issue.

Finally, it somewhat bothers me that the boat was named after Steve Irwin and the group seemingly relishes this. I realize Irwin's wife approved of this but after seeing their tactics I wonder if he would have approved of the association. I would think a TV show where Irwin explained the issue and why the Japanese were wrong would have a much better chance of getting public opinion to affect some change rather than people chucking stink bombs.

I'm sure there is plenty I don't know about the issue, although I read a bit about the foundation after seeing the first couple of shows, but at this point I think it may be doing more harm than good as the portrayal of the "good" guys isn't that great.

[MOJO]

I like the cause but don't like the show, the cast, or tactics at all.

ditto..in my book 2 wrongs still don't make a right
and i agree with Pat, Steve Irwin would not approve of their tactics either

[soulohio]

there are whales that are really meant to be eaten...cows of the ocean. they are plentiful, taste great and feed many Norwegian peoples and in turn the take their responsibility very seriously...

[Teleplayer]

Research my @$$.......

[devilrob1979]

Given that it is a TV show that is edited to tell a story and be dramatic, there is a certain degree of skepticism that must be maintained as we're only getting one viewpoint.

That said, the portrayal of the captain, and sometimes the crew, is certainly less than flattering in many cases. Rather than appearing as serious, thoughtful, conservationists with a professional approach to solving a problem they seem more like self righteous amateurs who pull childish pranks.

By pulling stunts as was shown in the show where the two crew members jumped on the Japanese boat, and then the Sea Shepard crew gleefully cried that they had been kidnapped to anyone who would listen, while taping the whole thing for a TV show that showed that they had in fact NOT been kidnapped but instead voluntarily boarded a vessel of another country without that vessel's permission, certainly doesn't do much for the credibility of any other claims they may make.

The captain certainly comes off as a self-aggrandizing ass in most of it, down to the faux Jolly Roger pirate flag they fly.

If the Japanese ARE illegally whaling, why are the governments of the affected waters not enforcing their own laws? If the anti-whaling guys can document this and then publicize it I would think that would be a more credible way to handle it. The Japanese very well may be in the wrong here but I would think that the money spent on running that boat and playing savior would be better spent in some sort of negative PR or legislative lobbying to affect the issue.

Finally, it somewhat bothers me that the boat was named after Steve Irwin and the group seemingly relishes this. I realize Irwin's wife approved of this but after seeing their tactics I wonder if he would have approved of the association. I would think a TV show where Irwin explained the issue and why the Japanese were wrong would have a much better chance of getting public opinion to affect some change rather than people chucking stink bombs.

I'm sure there is plenty I don't know about the issue, although I read a bit about the foundation after seeing the first couple of shows, but at this point I think it may be doing more harm than good as the portrayal of the "good" guys isn't that great.

That's taking place in international waters. The Japanese have a loophole for research which they of course use to harvest a rather large amount of whales which is sold on the commercial market at a hefty profit. As long as that loop hole exists there's really nothing that can be done to stop them.

[Zilmo]

That's taking place in international waters. The Japanese have a loophole for research which they of course use to harvest a rather large amount of whales which is sold on the commercial market at a hefty profit. As long as that loop hole exists there's really nothing that can be done to stop them.


Couldn't they illegally board them and then claim kidnapping?

[devilrob1979]

Couldn't they illegally board them and then claim kidnapping?

Heck yeah they could they'd just have to ditch that pesky camera crew. My guess is the Japanese have cameras of their own to counter any such silly claims. That show seems a lot like a Monty Python skit a lot of the time. I could see a sketch where Eric Idle's claiming to be kidnapped while Michael Palin is trying desperately to get rid of him. John Cleese could play the hapless constable right up until the point where Graham Chapman bursts in claiming that the sketch has to be ended because it's far too silly.