Two Shows I love, but some people Hate. Star Trek Discover and Alaskan Bush People.

Star Trek Discovery

I love Star Trek Discovery, but if you follow the Star Trek page on Facebook, you will find that many people hate it. Some say it's not "Star Trek." Others say they will not watch the next season. To me Discovery has really good plots with twists that you don't see coming. I consider that to be great writing. It also brings in new creative ideas like the spore drive. However, I wonder about the reasons that some people don't like it. 

It is kind of a big change compared to Star Treks of the past. For those who cling to the TOS, it may just be too much at once.  For one, women have more leading roles than men. Including, the main character Michael Burnham. However, there are still men in leadership roles. Then you have two gay characters in a relationship. There are a few others that could be gay or bisexual. I'm not entirely sure, nor do I care. To me, it's no big deal. However, I know some people who just aren't comfortable with those characters.   

Just recently I watched "The Wrath of Kahn." I hadn't seen it in years. I found my self laughing a lot. Mostly at the acting, but there were other issues too. However, back in 1982 it was considered a good movie. At that time, I thought it was good too, but now, it's just out of date.  

The thing I truly believe is if Star Trek wouldn't have evolved over the years, it would have died out. It's only because of the new ideas that it continues. It's just a like a business. A business has to change to keep up with the competition. If not, it goes out of business. The ability to adapt and innovate means life. 

Alaskan Bush People

Okay go ahead and laugh. Yes, I like Alaskan Bush People. However, there is even a Facebook group dedicated to hating them. The main reason is they say they are fake. Such as....they don't really live in Alaska or have as many problems as they claim to have. Those are fake just to get ratings. Some people seem jealous that they make money from something fake. They don't believe the danger is real because the TV crew can step in and save them. Some people didn't even believe that the mother had lung cancer because it went into remission. The family members are rather odd and these haters just love to make fun of them. So in a way, they still get some entertainment from the show. 

One complaint I agree with is that most of the episodes have recycled content to fill in the blanks. The film editors are rather skilled at taking old comments and scenes from previous episodes and blend them in with some new stuff. It seems they struggle with getting new scenes from the family. Most likely because of the poor health of the parents.  

As for the fakeness, most reality shows have to inject conflict at some point or it wouldn't be interesting. So I feel that this show has a mix of both real and exaggerated problems for the family. Regardless, there are people who really love the show. This seems to be because no matter what tragedy comes along, the family "Never gives up, never surrenders." They try to be positive no matter what happens. 

So why do I like it? First it's the characters. They make me laugh because they are different. I like to see the ideas they come up for living in the bush. There is a part of me that would love to live off-grid. In general, I like the outdoors and often feel cooped up working inside all day. 

Also, I understand the difficulties. The health of their parents made it impossible to live off-grid. Recently the father, Billy Brown, died of a seizure. A problem he had been struggling with for years. Some people would accuse him of making his kids do everything. Well, it's because he couldn't do it because of health reasons.

They try to live off-grid and that's the important thing. I believe it's real that they have done it before on and off. Also, I tend to learn things from the show (like how to make a bear proof storage room) and the Discovery Channel is about learning new things and this show does fit in with learning. In general, I have learned a lot about Alaska and their new location Tonasket, Washington State. They couldn't stay in Alaska because the mother (Ami) had lung cancer, which is in remission. The family is still trying to live off-grid. I want to see them achieve it.