The world needs better treasure-hunting TV shows. And I believe Netflix delivers with Pirate Gold of Adak Island.
Last night my wife and I finished the final episode of season one. It's safe to say: we both loved it. Without spoiling any major plot points, I wanted to provide my honest review of the show.
Here's what you should know before watching Pirate Gold of Adak Island.
The premise of Pirate Gold of Adak Island (without spoilers)
Pirate Gold of Adak Island is a Netflix docu-series that follows five individuals on a real-life mission to find a lost pirate treasure worth over $300,000,000. The cast flies to a remote island where relics from WWII are scattered across the terrain. Their mission is to find the lost treasure of pirate Gregory Dwargstof, which has been missing for over a century.
Along the way, the cast faces setbacks and threats that put their mission at risk. Viewers also get to learn about pirates, WWII history and weaponry, and some of the technology that goes into modern exploration, metal detecting, and treasure hunting.
What I loved about Pirate Gold of Adak Island
Honestly, there was a lot to love about Pirate Gold of Adak Island. The show reminded me of why I fell in love with National Geographic, History Channel, and Discovery Channel as a kid (and why I still love these channels and publications today). The show combines history lessons with real-life treasure hunting, the possibility of striking it rich or making the find of a lifetime.
The show also does a great job of portraying real-life risks without overplaying things. One critique I have of many treasure hunting shows is that they make things sound more perilous than they really are. As a viewer, giving a false sense of fear tends to steal from a show rather than add to it.
On that note, I thought the producers of Pirate Gold of Adak Island didn't over- or underplay the dangers that the cast met. The cast faced considerable risks filming this show. Still, I never got the impression that these risks were fake or overblown. The situations felt, for the most part, real.
The cast is likable. I enjoyed seeing how the challenges of the treasure hunt drew on the unique strengths of each person. The show did a good job bringing together a mix of amateur treasure hunters with professional scientists, technologists, and other experts. The result is a strong team that plays off one another's strengths.
What I disliked about Pirate Gold of Adak Island
The show is overall a great viewing experience. But there were a handful of elements from the show that made me roll my eyes.
First, it's easy to tell where real conversations differ from scripted ones. Obviously, real life doesn't unfold in a clean-cut story. It's understandable that commentary and a few scripted scenes would be necessary to fill in some gaps. The producers filled a few logic gaps and added some filler conversation scenes to make the show flow.
The problem is trying to make non-actors look convincing in scripted settings. There were several points in which conversations felt overdone. People said and did things that seemed unnatural, and you can just imagine the producer requesting these things from behind the camera.
Secondly, and on a related note, the cast could have used a little bit of camera training before the show. You could tell when people were talking for the camera versus when they were having normal conversations with one another. And I'm not talking about scriptedness here. The cast would regularly annunciate words and sentences as if they were daytime television hosts. Then they would revert back to speaking in their natural tones. It made things feel stilted and scripted and like they were trying too hard, even when they probably weren't scripted.
Obviously, these points are quite nit-picky. I'm grateful that the cast doesn't consist of actors or reality stars. Still, if I were to pass any advice along to the cast for season two, it would be to speak on camera like they would in real life.
Conclusion
It's a great show. It's bingeable and not too long. The characters are likable and the adventure (and stakes) translate well to the screen. If you enjoy real-life treasure hunt stories and history tales, Pirate Gold of Adak Island will be right up your alley.
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