got to draw the line about what is scripted and what isnt.
the drama might be pushed up, the dialog suggested. But (take axe men) they were following a forwarder on a different track and the guy cut into a dead pine and a 4" branch let go and fell from like 40' up and pierced the bullet proof window above the operator and came to a rest about 3" above the guys shoulder. you dont script that kind of stuff.
Same for deadliest catch. The drama might be pushed up, but when a captain dies of a heart attack on camera, you dont script that. When a guy gets toss overboard (in season 4?) and the film crew boat picks him up, you dont script that kinda sh*t.
People said for years that Paul Jr and Paul Sr fought like dogs "on camera" because it made good TV. Bull.... you dont script splitting up your family, sueing your son, not going to his weding, 2 years of court battles etc. Shure the directors may try to setup SOME conflict, or illicit reaction by suggesting stupid stunts, but when you have real customers paying 100's of thousands of dollars for custom bikes, you dont script bad powder coat or wheels that dont fit 3 days before you have to deliver the product. I mean you could, but then when its "fixed" 24 hrs later when it took them a week to do it the first time, you know it was setup simply building 2 ahead of time...
still plenty of the discovery style reality shows that arnt just 100% staged TV.