Danger, hard work and a huge payoff lie under the ground in second season of the truTV series called Black Gold. The setting for this series is the oil fields of West Texas. Tough men called “roughnecks” have 50 days to drill 4 back-breaking holes. If they can do this in that short amount of time they can make good money. This show comes from the creators of Ice Road Truckers and Deadliest Catch. A true life documentary/reality series about men in the oil drilling business where mistakes can cost jobs at the least and lives in the most extreme cases.
The show’s second season premiered on truTV on August 19th so you have time to catch back up on what has been happening. You can catch new episodes every Wednesday at 10p/9c too. What is compelling about this show and the ones like Deadliest Catch is that we are watching people do jobs so extreme and so dangerous that most of us could only imagine.
So let us imagine for a moment what it would be like to work in this type of job, I just watched truTV’s Black Gold trailer and it was intense. You have long days where things can kill you in a hurry. There are manly men barking orders at each other and tempers running real hot. Roughneck isn’t just a term, it is a way of life and crude isn’t just describing the oil. I think that shows like this one allow the average everyday nine to fiver an escape to wonder what life would be like if they worked in these high danger jobs. That is why the shows suck you in, at any moment someone could get seriously hurt or even killed. We certainly don’t want to see it but the element of danger being there constantly does give the average viewer a thrill and the suspense also is a huge hook.
After also watching this video about truTV’s Black Gold drilling I thought about the on the job training that a roughneck gets. There are no sit downs where you talk about your feelings and team building exercises either. You bust your ass, be careful, act fast and work efficiently. You work HARD all day and you do not dog it for a moment because if you do you or someone you work with can get hurt. You make a mistake and no matter what you do not make it again because you could either hurt one of the people on your crew, or even kill yourself or someone else. The on the job training comes down to what are the essentials, you do that and nothing else matters. Here is an example of some on the on the job training.
In my job I have to write my employee performance review at the end of the year. I look back over the past year and see if I accomplished my goals or not. My boss and I read over the review and we talk about it. That is not the way things work in the world of truTV’s Black Gold . No, in that world if you are not doing your job well you get instant feedback from your boss in the form of someone in your face telling you exactly what you did wrong. While it is harsh and very raw it is done to keep the men motivated as well as safe. If I were a roughneck I wouldn’t make it that long. I couldn’t take someone screaming in my face and not getting angry myself. I think I’d be angry upset and distracted by being chewed out for making a mistake. I’m pretty sure it would not motivate me to be a better worker even if it was for my own good. Here is an example of an employee review on truTV’s Black Gold
If you are looking to watch some Real-Life television then Black Gold is a show for you. What Real-Life television means is that this unscripted program has such true drama that it is very compelling. There is real danger and there are real rewards, triumphs and failures. Catch the show tonight at 10:00pm on truTV.
