I posted this on the Garrett forum previously since they seemed to be "showcasing" Garrett products.
I just watched the two episodes of Diggers and I must say it exceeded my expectations...it was worse than I thought it could be. Now I hope we all have fun while we detect, I know I do but to have our hobby represented by a couple of guys who humor is slightly less than a fart joke makes me shudder. I understand it is all a put on, exaggerations for effect. Just like so many of these "reality" shows they have nothing to do with the truth. We all saw their techniques and heard all the "cute and cloying" nicknames for their finds enough to make anyone with a modicum of experience feel a bit queasy. Have you noticed everything has to be a "contest" now, cooking shows, storage wars, clothes designing, and even the Trump saying "Your Fired." The real gist of so many of these shows is that anyone watches can say "At least I'm not that stupid!" Now I don't think that this show will have a real negative impact on the hobby, I don't think it will last and I don't think it will be watched by many people. It is just the attitude that everything has to be "juiced" up to use their vernacular makes me understand the wisdom of the iconoclastic newspaper man H. L. Mencken when he said "No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." Now this is another of my avocations that is getting trashed by entertainment media, as a Master level Chessplayer I always paid attention to how Chess and Chessplayers are portrayed in the media, generally it was two ways either as some brainy champion, who was playing absurd moves with the pieces incorrectly set up, or as some nerdish twit who seems social inept and barely above a hyena in manners. I do not know which is worse being portrayed in such a manner or as in this Diggers show as buffoons.
I am not casting aspersions on the detectorist, I am sure they are being paid a goodly sum to play their japeish roles no more or no less than any other actor. Andy Warhol may have been quite right that everyone has their 15 minutes of fame, I sincerly hope that is all that is coming for this show.