River Monsters

[HumanBean]

Hello everyone

Hope everyone is having a great Friday. I am sure everyone is aware of this tv program River Monsters by Jeremy Wade.

Some of the fishes Jeremy caught , we love to keep them like Arapaima Polypterus Gars Cat fishes etc.

What do you think was it egg or chicken first ?
Program made these fish popular or fishes were popular and they picked these to film the show ?

 

[krichardson]

Well as far as the membership of this forum most of the fish featured on Wade's show were quite popular long before his shows aired.

 

[tlindsey]

Hello everyone

Hope everyone is having a great Friday. I am sure everyone is aware of this tv program River Monsters by Jeremy Wade.

Some of the fishes Jeremy caught , we love to keep them like Arapaima Polypterus Gars Cat fishes etc.

What do you think was it egg or chicken first ?
Program made these fish popular or fishes were popular and they picked these to film the show ?

I think the episode about the Piranha was before the species you mentioned.

 

[esoxlucius]

A certain fishes popularity in the aquarium hobby has got nothing to do with his choice of fish for each episode. For example, he doesn't do a show on the alligator gar just because he's heard some guys keep them in big fish tanks.

His choice of fish, in the most part is determined by some kind of legend passed down by tribesmen in some jungle, or tales of monsters, usually saw, never caught, by anglers.

There is always an air of mystery and menace about the species he seeks. We're led to believe in some cases that the "monsters" he seeks could even new to science. But as the story unfolds we know all too well that they are just big fish that, by word of mouth, over a long period of time, have become some kind of almost mythological creature. It all adds intrigue to the show and is designed to hook the viewer.

So, in short, the fish definitely became popular a long while before Jeremy decided he was going to do a show on them.

 

[Caveden]

Hello everyone

Hope everyone is having a great Friday. I am sure everyone is aware of this tv program River Monsters by Jeremy Wade.

Some of the fishes Jeremy caught , we love to keep them like Arapaima Polypterus Gars Cat fishes etc.

What do you think was it egg or chicken first ?
Program made these fish popular or fishes were popular and they picked these to film the show ?

Polypterus? R u sure? What season and episode?

 

[HumanBean]

Polypterus? R u sure? What season and episode?

He was in Congo guest of a tribal chief. Chief showed him a bucket fill of lower jaw bichirs .
Sorry didn't fish for polys but did mention what it was.

 

[Caveden]

He was in Congo guest of a tribal chief. Chief showed him a bucket fill of lower jaw bichirs .
Sorry didn't fish for polys but did mention what it was.

Do you know which episode?

 

[HumanBean]

Do you know which episode?

Polypterus species is called Makunga in Congo. I only remember that.

 

[jjohnwm]

I love the guy and his show, but it is pretty obvious that they dramaticize the subject matter pretty heavily. Can't get away from that nowadays, it's just marketing. Look around; we have TV shows that do their best to show tow-truck drivers as death-defying daredevils, and others that portray tax-evading hillbillies as freedom fighters and visionaries. Drama sells!

So, seen through that lens, for Jeremy Wade to even mention the fact that this or that "monster" is popular as an aquarium fish might not fit in with the marketing of his show.

 

[esoxlucius]

they dramaticize the subject matter pretty heavily.

Yeah, to the point of annoyance at times. Like you say it's not just the river monsters shows either, though I must admit I'm a little more forgiving of his style of delivery simply because it's about fish, lol.

Some other more irksome shows are "ice road truckers" or "the deadliest catch" or "goldrush" to name but a few. The emphasis is always on getting that delivery from A to B no matter what, or they've got to fill those crab pots or everyone's families are going to starve to death or if they don't reach their gold target per clean down everyone's doomed.

They lay it on thick, and of course, in the end, the ice road deliveries are made, the hull in the boat is fit to burst with crab and the amount of gold they get is staggering. But don't they just make you sweat along the journey, lol.