Last year, shortly after the arrest of Reality-TV star Duane “The Dog” Chapman, we ran a story on the outpouring of support that Dog and the Chapmans were getting from fans of the show. Having not seen an episode of the series, I was amazed at how many people were extending their support, prayers and money to Dog and his family. Aren’t the Chapmans just another reality-TV family? Why are people so distraught over his arrest? As I learned more about the circumstances of the arrest, things became a little clearer but it wasn’t until I started watching the series that I truly began to understand why people love The Dog.
Dog, his son Leland and “blood brother,” Tim were arrested in September of 2006 for illegally capturing convicted rapist, Andrew Luster. Luster, heir to the Max Factor fortune, was wanted for the rape of a number of women. He fled to Mexico to avoid trial and had it not been for the efforts of Dog, Tim and Leland, he would probably still be down there, living off his family’s money and avoiding the conviction he inevitably received upon being captured and delivered to US authorities. Luster was convicted of 86 counts of rape. Unfortunately, because bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico, Dog, Leland and Tim were arrested and now face extradition.
I knew all of the above already, having reported on it a number of times since the arrest. While I can understand why many would commend the Chapmans and express outrage over the fact that they will be punished for making Luster face justice, it didn’t fully explain why people love Dog and his crew so much. That part I didn’t get until I decided to sit down and watch the show, recently.
The fourth season of ‘Dog The Bounty Hunter’ began on April 10th and picked up by briefly recapping the events that followed immediately after Dog, Leland and Tim were arrested. His wife Beth was devastated over the ordeal but by the time her husband, son and Tim were released on bail she was ready to shelve her own emotions and do her best to get her husband back to work.
In the episode titled “Rusty Cuffs” we find Dog still reeling from everything that has happened to him since the night he was arrested. Getting back into the swing of things wont be easy for him and the rest of the Chapmans. He and Beth visit with their pastor, who reminds Dog that he is a hunter and in order to “find ‘em and fix ‘em,” he has to fix himself. Though they get off to a rocky start when trying to capture a fugitive they do manage to pull it together and get back on track.
After watching the “Rusty Cuffs” episode, followed by the next episode of the fourth season, titled “The Mystery of Mona Lisa,” I really started to understand why Dog and the rest of the Chapmans have so many fans. Unlike many other reality shows that focus on different types of people often engaging in ridiculous behavior and making fools of themselves, the Chapmans have achieved the adoration of their fans by being decent, compassionate people. Beneath their tough exteriors, they’re actually a pretty emotional group with a strong sense of family and a devout faith in God. It is their willingness to share these sides of themselves in front of the cameras that makes them so easy to support.
The Chapmans’ appeal is only part of the reason why ‘Dog The Bounty Hunter’ is such an enjoyable series. Between the occasional touchy-feely moment, you’ll find the Chapmans doing what they do best – hunting down bail-jumpers and other fugitive-types. This often involves some ‘Cops’ style chase scenes mixed with great music from a variety of genres. Hunting fugitives isn’t all chasing and tackling though. A lot of the work they do involves working with the families and friends of the fugitives. Beth and Dog both have a real knack for communicating with different types of people. They often get those closest to the fugitives to help them by speaking with them in a calm, non-threatening, non-condescending way. The only time either of them let their feisty sides out is when they’re lied to.
When they’ve captured the fugitive, Dog or Beth will often give the person a brief but mild lecture on how it’s not too late for them to turn their life around. You would think in their line of work that they would feel these conversations were a fruitless effort but this is truly what makes the Chapmans stand out as human beings. They genuinely believe that many of the people they bring in (who are often substance abusers) are redeemable if only they believed enough in themselves to turn their lives around.
As a group, they get along and work well together for the most part but on occasion, Beth and Dog will disagree on something and bicker like, well, an old married couple. Disagreements aside, their love for each other, their children and the work they do is very apparent.
All in all, as far as reality shows go, ‘Dog The Bounty Hunter’ has a great blend of heart and action. Dog, Beth, Leland, Duane Lee, Tim and Lyssa are a great team and so much fun to root for in any given episode of the series. If you haven’t gotten around to watching ‘Dog The Bounty Hunter,’ I highly recommend checking it out.
New episodes of ‘Dog’ air on Tuesdays at 9 PM EST on A&E
’Desperate Housewives’ (ABC) 9:00 pm
God, That’s Good (New!)– Susan calls off a wedding while Gaby goes forward with another. Someone on Wisteria Lane is suspected of murder.
’Drive’ (Fox) 8:00 pm
No Turning Back- (New!) – The season premiered last week with three episodes. In case you missed it, a group of seemingly random people were brought together in a race across the country in the hopes of winning a large sum of money. Some of the racers are motivated by more than just the money. It’s a fun show but some serious suspension of disbelief is necessary.
’24’ (Fox) 9:00 pm
12:00 am – 1:00 am- (New!) – Jack continues to put the country at risk to save a girl. Drama ensues at CTU.
’Heroes’ (NBC) 9:00 pm
.07% - (New!) – ‘Heroes’ is back with an all new episode! Hiro reaffirms his vow to save the world while Nathan is forced to make some tough decisions. Sylar pursues more people on the list. Hopefully we’ll find out whether Mohinder and Peter survived Sylar’s attack. Things didn’t look good for either of them when the last episode ended.
’American Idol’ (Fox) 8:00 pm
(New!) – The long awaited “Idol Gives Back” week is here and will start out with the final six contestants singing “songs of compassion.”
’House’ (Fox) 9:00 pm
House Training (New!) – The group works together to figure out whats wrong with a con-artist patient with brain-freezing issues.
’Dog The Bounty Hunter’ (A&E) 9:00 pm
Make A Wish (New!) – Dog makes a group of physically challenged children honorary members of his team. In the second half hour, A&E will air the episode of “Take This Job” that aired in 2003 which featured Dog and is considered the unofficial pilot of the series.
’American Idol’ (FOX) 8:00 pm
(New!) – In this two-hour “special” episode of ‘Idol,’ one of the final six will get eliminated. The rest of the episode will be dedicated to the “Idol Gives Back” special which will feature a number of guest performers including the original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson. There will also be oodles of celebrity appearances which include Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Radcliffe, Forest Whitaker, Rowan Atkinson and Keira Knightly.
”Lost” (ABC) 10:00 pm
D.O.C. (New!) – Sun learns the identity of her baby’s father after she allows Juliet to examine her. Hopefully we’ll also get more information on the mystery woman that dropped in on the island last week.
’Ugly Betty’ (ABC) 8:00 pm
Petra-gate (New!) – After last week’s episode in which Daniel told Betty off for being too motherly and Christina disappointed Betty when she admitted what she did for Wilhelmina, the fall out should be pretty dramatic in the latest episode. Not to mention finding out how Daniel is going to deal with the sticky situation he’s gotten himself into involving an underaged girl and her pimpish blackmailing mother.
’The Office’ (NBC) 8:30 pm
Product Recall (New!) – A batch of paper gets shipped out with an obscene watermark. Michael ends up having to deal with the press after the paper is used for the invitations for a high school prom. Oops.
’30 Rock’. (NBC) 9:00 pm
Hiatus (New!) – The fictional show ‘TGS’ is about to go on hiatus and so is ’30 Rock.’ This is the series’ first season finale.
’Grey’s Anatomy’ (ABC) 9:00 pm
Desire (New!) – Things start to get steamy again between Alex and Addison. Burke is on his own with the wedding plans and Derek begins to question his relationship with Meredith.
Painkiller Jane (Scifi) 10:00 pm
Pieces of Mind (New!) – The team searches for a neuro that can manipulate people’s memories.
School of Rock (TNT) 8:00 pm
Jack Black stars in this funny and charming movie about a slacker musician who poses as a substitute teacher then gets the genius idea of turning a bunch of young private school kids into a rock band.
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