Denville NJ 01/26/2010 1/27/2010 4:26:12 AM
Pawn Stars Is a Smash Success
Pawn Stars Show On History Channel
Hailed by viewers as a really “cool Antiques Roadshow,” Pawn Stars is one of the most popular TV shows on the History Channel, which is part of the American Cable TV network. The show is produced by Leftfield Pictures and shot in and around the Las Vegas, Nevada area. Pawn Stars chronicles the activities that take place inside a Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. The first episode was aired back in July 26, 2009. Today, Pawn Stars is telecasted every Monday at 10 pm (Eastern Time). Each one-hour block features two episodes. This show has a loyal viewership that tunes in every week to see the latest events happening in the pawn shop.
Until the 1950s, pawning was actually one of the most popular form of consumer credit in the USA. Even today, you can still find pawn shops that have an extremely large customer base. You will find them all over the United States. Over the years with so many objects changing hands, it's not unusual to find that several artifacts of historical importance have found their way to the many pawn shops in America today. Tracing the history behind such artifacts is undoubtedly be a wonderful walk down memory lane. It is precisely this feeling that each episode of Pawn Stars manages to bring into the home to the average viewer.
The show revolves around a Pawn Shop owned by the Harrison family. The shop was opened by Richard Harrison (“The Old Man”) and his son Rick Harrison (“The Appraiser”) back in 1988. The youngest Harrison, Corey (“Big Hoss”), is being trained by his father and grandfather to one day run the entire operation of the Pawn Shop.
Customers enter the shop with artifacts for pawning and interact with the staff is inevitable. Discussions and a lot of talk ensue; there is always much haggling over the prices as well as good old fashioned talk amongst all. These are punctured by knowledgeable narrations usually led by Rick and Corey on the historical value of the objects in question.
The charm of the TV show lies mainly on these deeply historical, yet extremely interesting historical narrations. Doubts regarding the authenticity of the object in question are settled by the wide variety of experts (on armory, handwriting, automobile restoration, early American history and on pretty much anything you can think of) called in by the shop. No wonder the show has completed more than 25 episodes and there is no end in sight.
As a pleasant diversion from the deeply historical thread of Pawn Stars, there is also much focus on the interpersonal conflicts between the Harrisons. Differences of opinion arise regarding the overall operation of the shop. Corey, being the youngest, often finds his management decisions questioned by his father and grandfather. An employee of the shop Austin “Chumlee” Russel, a friend of Corey’s, is also a major topic of conflict between the Harrisons. The obvious sentiments harbored by Chumlee for Danielle “Peaches” Rainey (another employee of the shop) is yet another entertaining diversion.
Both reviews and ratings of the show are very encouraging. Christopher Long of DVD Town finds the show “addictive.” He praises the cast and considers the educational value of the examined artifacts above par. He even goes as far as to describe Pawn Stars the best show on History Channel. April McIntyre, who writes for Monsters and Critics, disapproves of pawning and pawn shops in general. But she was the one who described Pawn Stars as a “cool Antiques Roadshow.” The Pawn Stars was awarded an awesome 8.9 out of 10 by TV.com (ranked by the votes of 30 viewers). Further, Common Sense Media (who provides program reviews for parents) found it to be suitable for viewing by children above 13.
