Category: TV Reviews

2013

There are some shows that I have a real love/hate relationship with and "Moonshiners" is certainly one of them. Focusing on the story of the small band of rebels still making illegal moonshine is a bit of genius. It's a compelling part of Americana and there's a romance to moonshining that makes it a great subject for a TV show.

Producers also did a good job finding the right moonshiners to build the show around. The taciturn Tim and his partner Tickle were a great Mutt-and-Jeff combo that really worked on camera. Tim is the brains of the operation and while many moonshiners claim to be doing it as a way to make some extra money (in the same way every stripper claims to be working her way through college), taking care of his family seems to be Tim's main reason for moonshining.

On the other hand, Tickle is this drunk goofball who seems to be moonshining in part for financial reasons and also because it appears to be a way for him to get hammered without having to pay for the liquor. He's the party guy of "Moonshiners," and one of the wonders of the show is that he hasn't managed to get himself accidentally killed.

But as much as I've enjoyed the show, there have been always been questions about the level of reality in the show. From the beginning, state officials have claimed much of the moonshining footage is staged. And season one included footage of iconic moonshiner Popcorn Sutton which was take from a documentary originally released in 2003. The fact that Sutton killed himself more than two years before "Moonshiners" even premiered made for a jarring mix of new and old stories.

The third season of "Moonshiners" comes on the heels of a season of the spin-off series "Tickle." While "Moonshiners" at least is edited in a way that keeps it feeling real, "Tickle" came off more like an odd sketch comedy than a reality show. So much of the show's events seemed staged and/or over-rehearsed that I bailed a couple of episodes into the season. Even though I wrote an overall positive review of the pilot. But that lack of honesty in "Tickle" can only have exacerbated the feeling many viewers have about the production honesty of "Moonshiners."

It's fair to say that "Moonshiners" is at a creative crossroads and maybe that's why the season three premiere plays it so very straight and "real." There aren't any wacky moments or segments designed to "entertain." And as a result, the episode was both compelling and reasonably believable.

Season two of the show introduced several new groups of moonshiners and they comprise the lion's share of the premiere episode. In season two Tim decided he was going to start a legal moonshining business and the season three premiere shows him packing up to move his operations to Kentucky. He plans to turn over his illegal business to Tickle, but based on the little we see in episode one, it seems like that move is at best a huge risk.

The potential danger is also amped up by introducing several segments of moonshiners and police discussing the dangers of moonshining as they practice with their weapons. Based on that footage (and the snippets shown in the season preview at the end of the episode), those guns are going to be used at some point.

I like "Moonshiners" a lot when it stays on point and doesn't stray too far from its advertised purpose of highlighting the struggles of moonshiners. But I also find myself watching every episode wondering how much of it is true and that's not a positive for any show.

"Moonshiners" is a must-see reality TV show, though in this case "reality" may be a bit of a moving target.