Gold Rush

Reality TV

Reality TV

Although the state's mention in the title was dropped after the first season, Alaska still plays a major role in Discovery Channel's top-rated show. It follows gold miners, inexperienced as some may be, hoping to strike it rich in the wilds of The Last Frontier and beyond. It began with a crew led by Todd Hoffman and his father, Jack, who sunk $250,000 into their dream and came away with just $20,000 worth of gold. Some dismal summers followed, filled with injuries, malfunctioning equipment and constant fighting among the greenhorn miners, yet serious cases of gold fever always trumped any talk of giving up and led to dreams being salvaged. The series now keeps tabs on the efforts of such miners as brash youngster Parker Schnabel and longtime Yukon resident Tony Beets, as the quest to hit the mother lode at separate sites never stops.