tom-456 Review of Below Deck

Below Deck (2013– )

Unrealistic reality where too much drama is contrived for the show

[3/10 · 21 October 2021]

There's enough drama in one episode of this silly show to last the real thing for several years. Too much of the conflict among the yacht crew is created for the benefit of the camera, in order that people will watch the show. And Captain Lee, to say it plainly, behaves perpetually like a jerk. He is not a leader. I dislike the fact that his conduct is portrayed by the show as leadership, while the truth is that his conduct is perpetually a very good example of poor leadership. His favorite trick is to put direct subordinates between himself and the working crew, when he knows that the working crew are screwups and that his direct subordinates have little if any experience in managing people. Then when the screwups screw up, he gets to rake his subordinates over the coals. This is all a big setup for the benefit of the home viewer. It would be nice to see an above-board documentary of how the crew on a small chartered yacht operates when it isn't all put on for the home viewer.