Bering Sea Gold (2012– ) User Reviews

Great personalities, fascinating work

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 21 April 2014]

It's a group of ragtag group of miners who are trying to find gold off shores off Nome, Alaska. There are the Pomrenkes father and son team who has a massive dredge. Scott Meisterheim is a perpetually angry drunk. Zeke Tenhoff is an obsessed driven young guy. Steve Riedel is the flake with her opera singer daughter Emily who is an amateur in this whole thing. While Vernon Adkison is an old guy who spends more money than he makes.

What I love about this show is two folds. I love the amateur and in many case experimental jerry-rigged equipment. There is no standard equipment for this type of work, and there's more duct tape than reasonably safe boats should have. I find the home grown science absolutely fascinating. The other is the distressed relationships of these people. There are some crazy personalities in this show. The only drawback like all 'reality' show is any faking. I can see some fudging going on especially with the money being discussed. The fact that so many of them do so badly seems to point to limited padding of the results. As for the dysfunctional relationship, the death of one of the divers also point to limited faking. It doesn't mean that something isn't being faked. 'Reality' isn't always reality nowadays.

Obviously scripted, but pretty good

[Spadezz · 8/10 · 16 May 2014]

I really enjoyed this show. With all shows like this, drama is scripted in. For the most part, this show is realistic. The characters are rough, tough, high tempered individuals all looking to get that gold fix. The directors took time to share the stories (whether they were real or fake) of the characters. One of the better shows on gold mining I've seen. I also really enjoyed the camera angles that took you into the ocean right with the characters. If you want to learn about how gold dredging works, this is a great informative, but dramatized show. I would definitely recommend watching this, but don't expect it to be the best show in the world because it's definitely not.

Shawn the Crook

[johnbrandt-61369 · 7/10 · 26 September 2017]

In the beginning I thought Shawn and his dad an crew were the best and honest . Till season 5 when i seen how much Shawn and his creep of a dad was short changing their own crew.Paying them 50 ounces of gold when they got over 1300 ounces that season.I understand they're just employees but they did all the work when the creep was hiding in the cabin on the C.R. and Shawns in jail. And he leaves his employee to argue with the land owners but comes out like a big shot with a gun after they leave ! CREEP. And when its time to pay the guys it's like the employees should get down and kiss their feet. Creep and Shawn I thought they were going to start to cry when they handed over their employees wages.but what really lost my respect was Shawn buying the Kellys equipment out from under them .Are the that afraid of the Kellys? Shawn looked like he was holding his cheeks himself walking back to his shack.Shawns such a chicken afraid of his dad the big mouth Creep. i think he's more then just a gold miner i think he probably owns a white van?

Riedels???

[jtanfla · 13 July 2018]

We are amazed that you have ruined this show with the most irritating pair of father and daughter morons, slappable ,pretentious, hard to look at or listen to, ferret faced, big beaked worst excuse for entertainment possible jerk offs!!!

Chris Kelly and his brother Andy are sketchy AF

[larrydmjunior · 6/10 · 19 March 2024]

The Kelly's have no clue how to run a successful business , karma will get you every time , grifters. They need to be barred from doing business in nome I can't believe they have not been run out of town by now most communities in this country would not put up with them you can spot their grift fro a mile away they think they are gonna fake it til they make it but ain't gonna happen , it's like watching the tax and wily coyote chase each other trying to get gold in the process , @#$& &$#@ man old man get it together boys and leave the pomeenkes alone you can't steal there knowledge and expertise that is earned through sweat equity boys.

Brilliant, bare bones, upfront

[sikdave-286-1455 · 9/10 · 7 February 2012]

Love this show, enough to sign into IMDb and leave a review for the first time.

Bering Sea Gold features real life gold miners with a difference - dredging the ocean floor for gold, from home made punts (small boats) and super dodgy equipment.

Better than Gold Rush Alaska, Black Gold and Deadliest Catch. If you're into these kind of reality "man" shows, you will rate this highly.

Only up to episode 2 and it's got great story telling, actually quite suspenseful in parts, real characters from all walks of life and operating all sorts of equipment.

It's very similar to Gold Rush Alaska but has better content.

Editing is good, not a lot of that American "fast forward/rewind" technique like in Gold Rush & Dr. Phil...

Give it a crack and rate it. Easily a 8-9 for me.

Rednecks diving for gold, can it be more epic?

[nicks_stars · 9/10 · 16 September 2012]

I have followed a few of these reality-shows the last couple of years, and this show i have to rate No3 after Pawn Stars and Auction Hunters.

It has drama, stupidity, odd fellows and fellas, fun dialog and GOLD. I'd say it is way better then Gold Rush Alaska, but i guess that is a matter of taste.

Only thing i can object too is the difference in materials they use for getting the gold up, i mean, how can the others compete against a Land-based mining-facility converted to be on the sea?

I hope that they keep the "psycopath" another season, makes it more interesting as long as he doesn't get into another fistfight.

Just silly now

[andyquigley · 4/10 · 29 September 2021]

Was great to watch but this last season has become silly, same views as others I fast forward the silly bits, producers are now killing what was a good series.

In LOVE with Mr. GOLD, but Brad Kelley and his tweaker ways are the worst part of this show.

[torie-67860 · 10/10 · 6 February 2022]

I personally love this show. But Brad Kelly and his tweaker ways ruin it a little bit for me. Especially because he steals and rips his kids off and then he acts proud of himself for it. I really like Chris, he's the only one of the Kelly's that acts like a decent human. Andy probably wouldn't be as bad if his dad wasn't around. Andy seems like he's been beaten down pretty bad and Brad has taken the opportunity and molded this poor guy out to be his little lap dog. My favorite is Mr. Gold. More people should be like Shawn. He's kinda, smart, innovative and Dude finds the gold! Mr. Gold proves that you don't have to act like a tweaker dingbat to be successful as a miner. I like his dad too but man if we all don't wish his dad would give him more credit for being the badass that he is.

Was great, now silly

[kandtford · 3/10 · 26 June 2021]

I started watching this from season one and have watched every episode. This was a very entertaining show until the last 2 seasons where it has just become silly, childish and at times just stupid. I now fast forward through the side interviews and other silly activities. Zeke and crew have lost their mind. The beavis and butthead "laugh" highlighted by the shows staff is one I fast forward through. The Steve Riedel episodes, Chris Kelly secrets to mining,,,,,, and others have all made this show really stupid. Now season 13 episode 9 started out with Disney type characters.

PLEASE get back to the scripting that made this show really good and not the kiddy antics now seen.

I give up on this after 10 seasons

[ubdb-85089 · 19 June 2018]

Every episode is the same stuff. Repetition of the same footage over and over and over and over and over again. Flashbacks and "now on's" every other minute. For some reason the makers must think I am stupid to fall for these fillers. Well, I might have been, but not any more. Goodbye.

A really good account of a community making ends meet

[paul-15242 · 10/10 · 24 May 2016]

My TV dinner is coupled with recorded episodes of Bering Sea Gold. Not that I am always in front of the TV when I'm enjoying a meal, but for those nights when supper is a pizza and some TV, this show fits perfectly and it's been that way around here with Bering Sea Gold for a while, we love it in my house. It's incredible what these folks do in real terms and I feel that we've seen a good balance from the producers... The deal is simple, people risk their lives even before they dive by taking those little vessels out on the ocean (and get this! The ice too!!!!) and we get to see it all kicking off, nothing is hidden. The cast is awesome and there's something for everyone in the pot in terms of characters to warm to, The Kelleys are my favourites and I'd love to see them do well! Keep up the great work with this production, I'm not sure I'd survive without my fix of the Kelleys and the on and off friendship of the rest. Brilliant!

pretty sure that producers are running the show

[zro-3 · 9/10 · 25 July 2021]

Love the show but as time goes on, looks like its more like discovery version of geordie shore in alaska, there are pros and some cracckheads heading to dredge with sailboat, but running with the engine >DDDDD, its not sailing, if you run your sail boat with enhineDDD. Nevertheless, its fun to see bunch of ppl trying to do honest lining than other the cracheads in there.

Reality or just fools gold

[lloyd1018 · 4/10 · 7 February 2013]

FIRST IMPRESSION (seasons 1 and 2)

Yes I'm hooked on this latest reality offering. BSG is a must see if you enjoy seeing a disparate group of quirky characters struggle to get rich quick. Many are up to their eyeballs in debt and need a mini El Dorado to put them back on their financial feet. Most people contemplate panning or digging for their gold. Not this group of adventurers. They all go out to sea on dinky little barges and dive for their gold. Sucking up the booty from the sea floor using industrial strength vacuum hoses. All except the Pomrenkes who mine from a massive barge using a dredge to scoop up gold bearing silt.

I love the contrasts of characters in this show. The aforementioned Pomrenkes exhibit the classic father and son schism that makes for good drama. Zeke lusts after Emily to no avail. Emily has aspirations to be an opera singer. Yeah right! And Sarah Palin had aspirations of being president. Emily's dad is a complex character who drives his boss Vern crazy. And then there's Scott, an anti hero if ever there was one. I was amazed to see him return for a second series. Not only that, he had 'friends' working on his boat. Although I don't know how long they'll last as friends.

All in all it's a very entertaining show. I doubt whether any of them will become rich but they are on an interesting journey.

LATEST IMPRESSION (seas0ons 3 and 4)

Sadly BSG has now become a farcical soap opera. Little time is now spent focusing on gold dredging. Season 4 is more about the antics of featured 'personalities' such as Brad Kelly, Shawn Pomrenke and Emily Reidel. I find none of these people particularly appealing and personally question the authenticity of this show. Some say it's scripted and I wouldn't be surprised if that was revealed to be the case. Call me cynical but I smell a rat. I now find this show hard to watch and sincerely hope the producers return the focus of the program to gold digging adventurers trying to make it big.

Season 15 Has this show finally jumped the shark with a pathetic fist fight taking place on the pier? I just laughed at what I saw.

If you also feel jaded by this version of 'reality' then you could do a lot worse than watching Yukon Gold, a show without the gimmicks that BSG feels is necessary to chase the ratings.

Best show in a long time

[littleflower-93547 · 10/10 · 10 June 2021]

Every week my husband and I wait for this show to come on TV. It's amusing, heart rendering, brutal, cut throat, and sometimes, depending on the miner exasperating.

I would like to know what happened to the mamath dredger Shawn was building. Why wasn't it finished and put to sea?

The Emily Riedel Show, dude.

[NostalgicMom · 1/10 · 11 March 2017]

This show has always been intensely, obviously fake to anyone with eyes and ears and half a brain, and you'll never learn anything about gold dredging, but it's become all about a scantily clad Emily Riedel, with producers contriving ridiculous situations to play on her gender or supposed sexual appeal, such as creating an "all girl" dredging crew filled with women who do nothing and quit, or having a romance with some guy named Zeke. Really, who cares? She's actually quite ugly inside and out. Not to mention that this is an insult to anyone who finds men attractive. They could have focused more on the obvious sexuality that men have with each other when stuck on a boat for long periods, rugged, real men and the sex that they have... but this suffers from "head and hands" syndrome, where you'll see no male skin other than their heads and hands. Everything else is covered up in layers of clothing because it's freezing cold out there in Alaska. Sometimes, even that is covered in gloves and airmasks and diving suits that wrap up and around the head. The exception would be Zeke, for whom producers obviously hired a nutritionist and fitness trainer so that he could look more muscular in a black T-shirt and strain to have chemistry with his on-screen girlfriend Emily, as she dives into the frigid water in a bikini, saying "dude" after every sentence, acting like a dramatic B-word or trying and failing to act like she knows what she's doing.

My recommendation is to watch porn. It actually has nudity and penetration with prettier, smarter women.

The best gold show on TV right now!

[startortoise · 10/10 · 1 June 2017]

If you are tired of the Hoffman's debacles but still enjoy watching shows that take place in Alaska and deal with hunting for gold, this show is a gold mine! (pun intended). I like all the characters on this show, especially Zeke, Emily, and the Kelly's. There is a lot of danger in the show and it keeps your attention all the way through. I'm really hoping there will be a season 9!

Redneck drama rather than gold hunting

[umbrex · 9/10 · 6 January 2014]

My version of gold fever is gold TV show fever, which i have recently acquired.

I started out with gold rush and ran out of shows fast and moved onto Yukon gold. Then i started this show and had high hopes, but was soon disappointed.

I heard critique that gold rush was more about the drama, than the hunt for gold. If you in any way agree with this, don't start watching this show. The nature of the Bering sea is, that there aren't many days on the water. Due to this, it seems like they fill the show with conflicts between and within the crews. If this is entertainment value for you, go ahead. If not, don't. The nature of these crews are way more dodgy than the other gold shows out there, and really, it's the characters in this show that puts me off.

The Pomrenkes: father son conflict. The son seems to be a massive alcoholic.

The edge dredge: who in their right mind brings a crush who wants nothing romantic to do with you to live/work with you 3 months straight, 2 seasons in a row.

The Meisterdude: What a fricking a-hole. He deserves nothing

The blue boat: risking his retirement by hiring incompetent, half blind Steve with massive authority issues 2 seasons in a row on a boat where there by default is a captain is probably the dumbest move of any. When i found out the girl was Steve's daughter, her opera aspirations instantly fell into place and thought: u'd do good by settling for Zeke.

I felt a bit more stupid after watching. Worst gold show i've seen.

Do Not Watch This. Unless You Want To Be Depressed.

[ravensteals · 1/10 · 6 January 2013]

Do Not Watch This. Unless You Want To Be Depressed. These People are so very depressing. Not a single nice person in sight. I guarantee you that none of the people in this program will ever be happy or successful. They moan and whine and complain and get each other killed and are just incompetent and boring and greedy and ungrateful. There is no heart or soul to this series. This is the Complete Opposite of GOLD RUSH - where the show is filled with Warm Human people. Bearing sea gold is a nasty collection of rather unpleasant people trying to grab gold and failing miserably. You do not warm to any of the players. They all suck. They are all very negative people! Don't bother watching this rubbish. It will depress you rather than entertain you.................

Could be a real winner but for the focus on bickering

[mountainmanrick-49298 · 3/10 · 25 February 2018]

I guess the reality TV "formula" dictates that couch potatoes with no life of their own want to watch low-lifes squabble and bicker. This series has plenty of that.

The premise of ocean gold dredging in the most remote corner of Alaska has a lot of potential, but I have already seen enough chain smoking trailer trash, cursing at one another as a normal means of communication to last me a lifetime.

Throughout the episodes, producers dangle the hope that we will get to immerse ourselves in the beauty of the outdoors, cobble together makeshift gold-getting equipment by our Yankee ingenuity and realize the American dream of striking it rich by the sweat of our brow. After all, isn't it every man and woman's dream to flip off the boss, sell the house and live off the bounty of this great land? That is the fantasy we want to watch; not transplanted white trash tweekers running amuck to the constant "beep- beep" sound-over covering their foul mouths.

In the end, it is all just scripted, boring low-brow "drama" and completely misses the mark.

It's not great really

[drfcx · 4/10 · 7 June 2019]

Well into the 8th season, the show becomes more and more dribble. at the start I was thinking if these folks just stop bickering they might actually get some gold. But they don't, stupid decisions follow and the amount of gold you see the guys get, dives after season 8. The content of each episode crashes and the endless recaps begin. If you do embark watching this trash do it on a platform you can skip along quickly.

great if you don't pay attention

[howboutthisone_huh · 4/10 · 9 January 2022]

I was watching the last episodes of season 13, fell asleep and woke up something like sp 9 of season 14 and I didn't even realize for about an hour it was a different season. And what's up with D+ anyway that I need a special app to watch the first half of 14? I want my money back. Anyway, this is one of the dumbest but most expensive non-reality shows on D. It must cost a fortune to assemble all the props on this show but maybe they're making it off the product placement. Whatever, it's a great radio show. If you're working on building your own sluice box this show is great because you'll never miss anything if you've not paying attention. I only watch this intently when I'm bored and I'm looking for gaffs or goofs that show this up for the scripted vr that it is. E.g. S14e05, the light goes out on the divers mask and fat verson says, "it could be dangerous because if the light goes out he may not be able to find the hole". Good one, vern. Next shots the diver is going back in with a busted flashlight. I guess gold miners don't carry extra flashlights. And we get to see this brave hero dive back in the dark and carry on. Wait, where's that light coming from? Oh, yeah, thanks to the production cameraman and his big underwater spotlights, we get to see exactly what it's like to mine under the ice in the dark.

Straight in the dumper

[bitbucketchip · 3/10 · 12 January 2023]

The first couple seasons were passable entertainment, but the show went downhill quickly. The premise is a rotating set of four or five mining teams looking for gold in the ocean off the coast of Nome. What's not to like about a treasure hunt? A lot, as it turns out.

What should be an exciting treasure hunt is dragged down by a collection of most unlikeable people on earth. Shawn fights with his father. Emily fights with her boyfriend and father. The Kelly's fight with everyone and everything. Vernon fights with his crew. This type of family drama may appeal to some, but to me it's just annoying filler exercising my fast forward finger.

Another failing of the show is none of them are good at their jobs. None. Shawn finds a lot of gold, but then forms a partnership that goes bankrupt. Emily spends more time parading around as a Nome 7 New York 3 sex object than she does actually accomplishing anything. The Kelly's couldn't find gold in Fort Knox and seem to exist simply to make the audience feel superior. Vernon is another who "spent his life's savings" finding nothing. Yet he's back each season. Zeke is seemingly educated, the only one in this lot, but has crippling emotional issues and can't find anything either. It's clear without the show salaries propping them up these people would be flipping burgers somewhere.

While each team is individually failing to be successful miners they find time for inter-group conflicts of the most tedious sort. There are hundreds of boats out there mining each season, yet our handful of groups manage to run into each other constantly. The net result is even more yelling and manufactured drama.

Ultimately all you come away with the impression Nome is hell on earth, people by individuals who belong there and no where else.

Three stars for the first couple seasons. No stars after that. How a show this depressing has survived to today is sad mystery. Three stars.

Mixed bag

[Superdupahorn · 5/10 · 19 March 2022]

Some of the personalities on this show are really good. Shawn knows what he's doing and always seems to be grabbing huge amounts of gold The Kelley's I find super annoying. Kris just shouts about his amazing plans yet it keeps failing. I liken his clan to the burglars from home alone. Just useless.

Zeke and his crew I find an intresting bunch. They just seem these free sprits that are doing good stuff

Vernon I cannot stand. All he does unlike the other captains is sit there, shout and keeps barking orders to his crew.about screw ups yet never seems to offer solutions or help.

Why only work 3-4 hours a day!

[johnbrandt-27777 · 2/10 · 15 December 2023]

First thing is why if they're so hungry for gold that as soon as they have a breakdown and they get it fixed right away they call it a day? Or they're have 2 divers down and they work 4 hours and they call it a day cause they figure with 2 guys 4 hours equals 8 hours? And they have other divers standing around. Isn't in Alaska in the summer it doesn't get dark till 3 in the morning. Any little thing happens it's a day? I don't understand. I hope someone could comment on that. I know the show is edited but they start at 12 noon and go home at 4 in afternoon. If I was hungry for gold and had divers standing around wanting to get in the water I'd let them. And another thing I hope Shawn and his dad are watching cause when it comes to showing them I fast forward. The first and half way through the second season I thought they were good people but I find out they hadn't paid their employees and one of them that hadn't been paid in 3 months costing him alot im sure to live out there and he asked for some pay and the Pomrenkes look at him like we don't even have it cleaned yet but they had already over $300000 in gold cleaned out. So what if they have bills that's not on the employees. You should pay the employees every week or two but out the id say every week just cause it's so expensive out there. And then they both the pomrenkes go off on him like he's dog for dare asking for his pay cause they have bills! And Cody I thought what a good guy ! He's just a suckle. Working 6 months of back breaking work for 50 onces of gold worth at the time under $60000. And Shawn calling most of the miners out there crooks and thieves. While he's the biggest one. Paying more for equipment than it's worth just to get the Kelly's out of business. The bluff isn't owned Shawn. And don't even get me started on Emily. She's no miner or captain all she does is buggers things up. Like one example getting diesel instead of gasoline. And she wasn't a rookie. And she has a very bad case of bipolar that I've ever seen and her father too. The only ones i watch are the Wild Ranger and Zeke, and the Kelly's which are by a long stretch the best out there. But why call it a day after a couple of hours if you need gold so bad is boggling my mind. Which I don't know how much I got left. And how Shawn and his dad borrow a spud from Hank and then they try and but him out of business. Crooked . And so much more but that's all the space I'm getting.. and in season 12 episode 1 Shawn says he and the old man would have to sign off on it too! I don't know why they would have to sign Christine Rose and the dredge and his tugboat if the guy was just working on that new wash plant they're were putting together. Do you really think Shawn and dad are that leave naïve to sign everything over without and collateral. Shawn's dad is so tight he'd never sign everything over when the Christian roles, and his other boats weren't even involved in this deal. It was just the new wash plant he was making. Why would he have to sign over everything he was just working on the barge the guy.