Review: 'Yukon Gold'

Anytime you watch an "unscripted" or "observational reality" TV show, you have to assume that some of what you see in the final cut doesn't quite accurately reflect what happened. Maybe some scenes were edited out of sequence in order to heighten the conflict or maybe one of the producers suggested that some of the show's cast do something that would look great on camera. While those practices make me uneasy as a viewer, they are moves I can live with as long as I feel the show isn't so manipulated that it loses all sense of what is real and what is fabricated.

For instance, I was an early fan of Discovery's "Gold Rush," but the past couple of seasons have become difficult to stomach. It's clear that a lot of what is happening on camera is at least suggested by outside parties or that scenes take place that bear little resemblance to what would happen in real life. Some of those problems are a reflection of the fact that the show is successful, but part of it seems to just be an effort to keep a lot of moving parts going all at the same time. But the result is that I've found it difficult to watch the show this season and it's certainly not a show I've been watching live.

If you're like me and you long for the early storytelling days of "Gold Rush," let me offer up an alternative show I suspect you'll really enjoy: National Geographic Channel's new series "Yukon Gold."

The series is a no-frills program that follows the struggles of four families trying to strike it rich mining gold in the Yukon. If you've watched other shows about gold mining, you'll find some of the scenes familiar. But what makes this show shine (so to speak) is that there isn't a lot of time wasted on backstory or off-topic personal conflicts. It's all about mining for gold and even the conflict you see at some of the camps is driven by the hunger to strike it rich.

The teams include Karl Knutson and his demanding father, Marty; novice "Big Al" McGregor; ornery Bernie Kreft and his two sons, Justin and Jarrett and best friends Ken Foy and Guillaume Brodeur. Each team has their own challenges and their own reasons for deciding to try their hand at one of the most challenging jobs in the world.

"Yukon Gold" works because it's sort of the Chevy S-10 of gold mining shows. There aren't a lot of frills and extras and you're not going to get all that glitter and hype you'll find on some of the shows that have similar topics. But what "Yukon Gold" does well is show what it's like when you're struggling to find enough gold to buy food for the upcoming winter. The show isn't trying to do anything beyond what is promised in its title and that's a simplicity I really appreciate as a critic and a viewer.

"Yukon Gold" premieres on the National Geographic Channel on Thursday, September 5th, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT.