New TV Scuba Show- Tank'd

[Tank'd producer]

We are doing two North America shows. Seattle/ Vancouver - Monterey - Channel Islands
Florida, keys - will visit dan and dive a wreck N carolina.
Yes we will do more and you will see cave diving, fresh water manatees all sorts of local stuff.
Don't worry its coming

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Chris I hope this venture really takes off. What I like is you show divers having FUN. You and your co-host have easy smiles and you showed divers laughing during surface intervals. Nevermind the "oooo, we dove a deep wreck that has killed lots of divers", it's recreational and fun

 

[driftin' by]

Looks cool.... I can't wait. I think the concept will work. I'm not sure why so many think you need a hero/villain. Recently, on the big screen, a couple of diving movies have done well solely base on their authenticity and cinematography (Jessica Alba notwithstanding )... Open Water and Into the Blue. I think HD and the music will be big pluses. I hate underwater footage overlaid with some psychedelic new age music. It's not that you can't tune elsewhere for music but you wouldn't want a specific target demographic to tune away because of it. Only problem I'll have is that Dish Network doesn't broadcast local PBS HD in my area so up goes the aerial.

 

[ClayJar]

If the show's around long enough (and I do so hope it will be), it'll eventually get to the point where the fun opposite-the-expectations episode would fit in. You know the ones. In a fictional series, it might be the episode that basically ignores the major characters and instead shows you a day in the show from the perspective of that janitor who has been in the background without a line for 35 episodes. The fun episode leaps away from the normal to highlight the normal and provoke you to think about a different perspective. (In Good Eats, the two-part episode on *water* was a good example of a jaunt outside the normal format.)

I would raise a glass of OJ to Tank'd if the outside-the-lines episode (or even two parter? ) was a Cliff's Notes "homage to the ordinary". Taking a step away from the glamorous, the famous, and the unique to take a look at the "drab", the mundane, and the ordinary would be a creative way of both highlighting the wonders of the usual episodes and also tipping your hat to the lakes and quarries and other sites that are available locally almost everywhere. I'm certain the ordinary could be shown to be engaging, especially with a bit of extra fun thrown in. (The paddlefish, fresh water jellies, and other interesting things would give a nice educational side to go with joking around about the school bus population or the glaringly dangerous waters, as illustrated by the vastly higher number of sunken wrecks per area compared to even the most dangerous seas.)

Anyway, like I said, if such an episode were ever made, you would have my sincerest thanks for showing everyone just a little of what we quarry wierdos enjoy. :biggrin:

Note: To the extent that anything contained in this post may constitute an original idea, story, or writing, I hereby disclaim all ownership thereof and release it into the public domain. It is my intent that anyone desiring to use such be free to do so with no obligation to me whatsoever, and I am willing to sign papers to that effect should such be deemed necessary. (I wouldn't want to derail such an episode by having suggested the idea, as has happened before at least in fictional series. Frankly, the idea's probably not worth an air fill; it's the execution of it that's worth anything.)

 

[b1draper]

My wife and I have been talking about doing something like this for years only centered around diving in Florida.

The show would be first produced as webisodes. Each episode would focus on a different dive site here in Florida and start off with a couple minute briefing on the site and include the depth, location and suggested experience level needed.

But until recently I've shelved it because I thought I needed to have some more experience before I went trotting off to a dive site and started telling people about sites. I figured that I needed to be at least a master diver and at least 70 or more dives.

Before the fire balls start being thrown, I'd love to be in the position of being an instructor with 1000's of dives but at this point that's not what I am. I'm planning on starting out like Bear Grylls or Steve Irwin using the internet to get the word out and hoping that one day some place like Discovery Channel or Animal Planet will notice. One day I will be that instructor with 1000’s of dives

 

[drbill]

Just a quick comment -- travel shows like this are a real pet peeve of mine. Most people can't afford to go off on some tropical vacation to go diving. Plus, there's a LOT more diving locally than most people realize.

Many people think they can't dive, because they equate diving with tropical locations. A show highlighting "diving in your own backyard" or something along those lines would be good. Think outside the box -- rivers, lakes, shore dives (think California 55ºF water temps), offshore coastal dives, etc.

SparticleBrain, There is another thread here on SB (started by yours truly) where several of us including John Williams of SEA-Inside talk about what we are doing to meet your interest. Hopefully we can get our programs that feature regional diving experiences and local marine life both into regional cable networks, as well as work in a collaborative fashion to package each of the regional show series together into a more comprehensive package that could reach a national audience.

I look forward to seeing what Tank'D will look like (I have yet to view the trailer, but will) on PBS. Nothing wrong with a number of SCUBA-related shows that look at our activity from different perspectives to appeal to a broader audience. After all, how many CSI's, NCIS's and other similar shows are on network TV already. Let's do the same for SCUBA and for the marine world relatively few get to see first-hand!

 

[kayakguy]

I for one am looking forward to the show.

To comment on what Sparticle said... I think the show will do much better with the more exotic locals. People want to see something they are not used to. Truthfully when most folks think of fun they don't think of donning drysuits and turning blue from cold, or barely being able to see 10 ft. ahead.

I think the show is a hook. I know I never would have convinced my wife to dive, and therefore start again myself, if she thought she would only see a quarry. Now that she is hooked on the idea of diving, anywhere is more appealing to her. (Though I doubt she will ever cave in to cold weather diving.)

Although I do like an idea of a show, like you mention (and you too Drbill), about more local dives. It just seems to me that a show without palm trees and sharks would only interest divers and would have too small an audience on national tv, but I hope not because it sounds great!

 

[caymaniac]

Just a quick comment -- travel shows like this are a real pet peeve of mine. Most people can't afford to go off on some tropical vacation to go diving. Plus, there's a LOT more diving locally than most people realize.

Many people think they can't dive, because they equate diving with tropical locations. A show highlighting "diving in your own backyard" or something along those lines would be good. Think outside the box -- rivers, lakes, shore dives (think California 55ºF water temps), offshore coastal dives, etc.

I think that there are alot of people that CAN afford to do tropical vacations. If I were wrong then you would see "apple", and a host of other travel type businesses ie: cruise lines, all in-clusive resorts go out of business. Since the oposite must be true, I think there will be appeal to many for a show like this, but one will realize if you are diving, it isn't a great idea to be partying all nite long then go diving....this will deter many people. Also if my wife started divng in the places that I first started, she would not be diving today. My wife finished her cert in Bonaire. The last time that I got her to dive in the cold water was Lake Mich., we had about 3 to 4 ft. visibility, she said she never dive again in that and she hasn't....that was about 10 years ago. People want the visibility, they prefer warm water, they prefer to go to tropical places and that's been my experience.
I've dove in "0" vis, and been scared a few times in low viz. Once when diving off from a pier (2 to3 ft. viz) in Lake Mich I came across the torso of a mannaquin....that will scare anyone for a couple of seconds! This is not something most people desire, to dive in low viz rivers and lakes.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I'm keeping an eye on this one, can't wait to watch it.

 

[pcdiver19]

couldnt find it on this thread... maybe im blind, but when does this show start?