Having been, basically, in bed for a week with a bout of truly horrible influenza,I have not had a great deal of sensory input with which to influence this blog. However, I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in Pawn Stars. Yes you read that right 'Pawn' stars; Pawnshop people not adult entertainers.
The History Channel is currently showing multiple episodes of Pawn Stars, a Las Vegas a sort of Antiques Roadshow CSI Crossover and it's been around since 2019 accumulating a plethora of episodes
Richard ‘Rick’ Harrison is the Owner of The World Famous (well it is now) Gold And Silver Pawn Shop on the Las Vegas strip. His sidekicks are his son Corey Harrison and Coreys long suffering friend Austin “Chumlee” Russel. Chumlee’s relationship to the family is somewhat like Tom Hagen’s was with the Corleones, although his counsel is generally far from wise
The premise is simple, members of the public saunter into the shop with a variety of items ranging from the desirable to the dismal and the beautiful to the bizarre. The items in question are evaluated and a price arrived upon. But it's not that simple of course, otherwise it would be somewhat boring.
What I guess people watch this show for two main things; remarkable finds that are of interest and make the viewer think about exploring their attics and then there are the ludicrous asking prices and bubble bursting experts that rock up to scrutinise the authenticity of everything from autographs to toys
Pawn Stars finished airing with Season 23 and is on an indefinite pause but Rick and Chumlee have kept going with the Pawn After Dark podcast and a variety of spin-off shows.
It was easy for me to go down the Pawn Shop rabbit hole as there is something quite hypnotic about it. The format is simple, repetitive but endlessly interesting. Punctuated by "witty" interchanges between the primaries and appearances by experts who know about virtually every item that is bought in, the show has a roster of characters all with starring roles, albeit briefly.
The interchanges between Rick, Corey and Chumlee are the heart of the show and the viewer almost feels like part of the team as we grow familiar with the shop's day to day process.
This is not high art, it's am American reality TV show set in a pawn shop in Las Vegas and those elements alone may very well put people off, but, and here's the thing, it still manages to fulfil some of the the high aspiration for television as envisaged by Lord Reith the first director of the BBC:
"To inform, Educate and entertain"
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having said that;