Swamp People Season 1 Episode 1

Swamp People on History Channel debuts with a graphic description of just how hard of a life it can be in the swamp. The show takes place in the swamps of Louisiana and follows alligator hunters commonly referred to as “Swamp People”. These people are descendants of the Cajuns and rely solely on themselves and mother nature for their livelihood. The show builds then on the anatomy of the alligators that plague the swamp and just how these alligators came to be. The perks of this being that in one month swamp people can earn half of their yearly income hunting alligators. The state gives out tags that once filled cannot be used again. Each gator killed must be tagged. Alligators are sold for meat and their skin so the bigger the gator the better. Alligators feed mostly at night which is why the lines are set a day prior to the hunt. They use rotting chicken and set around 30 lines hoping to snag their prey. The swamp people place their bait in a downwind of alligator territory.

TROY, JACOB AND CLINT

Meet Troy Landry, a lifelong alligator hunter, and his son Jacob. These two are experienced alligator hunters that have a history with the swamp due to their family lineage. Their family was swamp people and so are they. Troy is well known for catching some of the biggest alligators in the region which makes him a big contender this season.. Troy’s nemesis Bighead is a daunting alligator that is the main target of his alligator hunting endeavors. Troy has hired a gun named Clint to do the heavy shooting for him as they go looking for alligators. They find a gator taut on their line hoping its Bighead. To kill this gator Clint had to shoot him in the back of the head, the only spot this gator is vulnerable. Troy finds another gator that almost snaps off his hand as Clint goes in for a kill shot, unfortunately this small gator nabbed will get 3 times less than their average alligator. Troy and his team’s main focus is Big head. They spot this beast and do nothing more than scare him away with their missed shot. I guess Go Big or Go Home is his motto and by the end of the season Troy caught his treeshaker Bighead.

JOE AND TOMMY

Trapper Joe and Tommy “his step son” carry on the profession of Joe’s deceased father, one of the original swamp people. Joe and Tommy aren’t having much luck catching anything until they find one of their lines down. This gator lures them out of the boat which poses a problem for Joe and Tommy seeing as these alligators can run up to 30 miles per hour which is faster than any Swamp People I know. They find the gator near the shore and need to kill him with one shot. Unfortunately Tommy misses his mark and the gator comes at them full force. Tommy’s gun keeps on misfiring which could pose quite a threat to Tommy and Joe. After a few shots fired they manage to kill the gator. These two swamp people aren’t having too much luck in finding gators as mistake after mistake plague their hunt. Tommy isn’t doing so hot firing an unloaded gun and forgetting the gator bait back at shore. These two take most of their hunts on land in this episode that is plagued with awful misfortune.

JR. AND WILLY

Jr. Edwards is another Swamp People and Troy Landry’s greatest rival. He and his son Willy are trying to beat his last years catch of gators of around 180. The thing that makes this gator hunter different than the others is a three prong hook he uses to snag gators in the open water. These modified hooks made by Willy can withstand over 2000 lbs of force. This homemade treble hook can be snagged right in open water without the use of a bait line. This method is rarely used and has been perfected by this team. After a few unsuccessful attempts by Willie to snag a big gator and a lot of waiting he finally gets a snag. The gator gives the swamp people quite a run as the alligator flips and flails to break free from the hook as Junior tries to snag him with another. The flailing gator in an act of desperation lunges toward Jr.’s gun as a shot blasts into his skull.

REFLECTION

This series looks like it holds a lot of potential as far as reality TV goes and with the success of deadliest catch I would hope that Swamp People on History Channel will be around for a long time. The show introduces most of the characters in the intro but not all which leaves me confused as to why they focused so much on only a few of the cast members. Troy sounds like he’ll be a one heck of a character to follow throughout the series. I can already predict he may have a few taglines that may become quite popular during the show. Another interesting character is Willy who kind of reminds me of the stereotypical swamp person. It’s really quite interesting at how these swamp people manage to be so resourceful in such a uninhabitable place. The action scenes and camera work on Swamp People on History Channel is just amazing and I hope that this continues on into the near future. I do hope that the rest of this season 1 of Swamp People is as good as this debut episode. Face it…I’m hooked.

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