‘Duck Dynasty’ review: Are the Robertsons being forgotten?
It’s been a while since we’ve written about “Duck Dynasty,” and thanks to the Olympics, it feels like it’s been a while since the show was even on the air in any form other than the typical massive marathons.
But what has been particularly interesting to us especially over the past several weeks is seeing the way in which the show has vanished from the cultural landscape. Did the Phil Robertson controversy have to do with that somewhat? Without passing judgment one way or another, we see it almost like this: Before all of the Phil controversy came out, you could talk about the show online and most people would communicate back with glee; not, there is a fear of arguments among some, and it’s not the same hot topic of internet conversation.
Another reason for the waning interest? The show is just starting to feel stale itself. In a vacuum, we could still see tonight’s paintball-themed episode as entertaining. The show does many things right when it comes to its editing, and Jase and Si Robertson in particular are great TV characters.
We personally feel that this all comes back to something that we have long held as a TV theory when it comes to the reality genre in particular: Doing more than two seasons is often a mistake. Had the Robertsons stopped then, they would have created some of the most entertaining episodes in the history of the genre. However, what happens is that you start to become famous, and your show doesn’t reflect that. They continue to portray their life as being by and large the same. This is the same problem that “Jersey Shore” ran into; we’re not accusing the show of being scripted, but the reality it presents is an altered state. This is only a fraction of the Robertsons’ day-to-day life, and likely a much smaller percentage than when they started.
Let this be a lesson to future reality producers that there can be too much of a good thing. “Duck Dynasty” is objectively a good piece of entertainment, but it’s gone from being something you love to watch and talk about, to something you just watch because it’s on. The hunt just doesn’t have that same luster anymore. Grade: C+.
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Photo: A&E