It’s Tuesday, which means it is time for another episode of Top Shot on the History Channel. We’re making your Top Shot Tuesday even better by running a Twitter contest during tonight’s episode (10/9c). We’re going to be giving away some History Channel merch, so you don’t want to miss it.
We’ll be tweeting out a question about the show during tonight’s episode, so follow us at Twitter.com/GreatSatanInc and tweet us back with your answer (make sure to use @GreatSatanInc and the hashtag #topshot in your tweet). If you win, we will send you a brand-spankin’ new History channel t-shirt.
Good luck and may the red mist stay clear of your favorite contestant tonight!
Note: Merchandise provided by the fine folks at the History Channel. Thanks!
Top Shot 3 is right around the corner, premiering on Tuesday, August 9th at 10/9c. Even with the somewhat lopsided ratio of drama llama to actual shooting, I’ll be watching (and hoping the drama llama goes on hiatus for season 3). I’ve already got my favorite shooter picked out for the season – Sara Ahrens. I had the pleasure of co-manning the WOMA booth at SHOT Show this year with her, and she is funny, beautiful and knows how to shoot. I will be looking forward to watching her kick some tail this season.
If you’re not familiar with Top Shot Season 3’s cast of characters, here’s the “exclusive” cast intro video:
In other exciting news, we will be having a Top Shot contest with some great prizes, courtesy of the fine folks at the History Channel. As they say in the TV business, stay tuned for details!
I also wanted to take a minute to give a big thanks to all of you (including the Top Shot producers) who provided me with awesome support over the last couple of months as I made my way through the application process for Top Shot Season 4. Sadly, I did not make the cut, but no worries – I will be back with bells on (and some bigger wins under my belt) when next season’s application comes out.
History Channel’s Top Shot put out a slick video that answers the question that hundred of thousands of competitors around the world and myself already know. If for some odd reason, you’re still on the fence regarding this question, watch and learn:
h/t to one of the most amazing competitive shooters in the world, Julie G for sharing this video on Facebook
The highly anticipated second season of Top Shot premiers this evening at 10/9c on the History Channel. A while back, I made some comments about the casting for season 2 of Top Shot, and I am very pleased to see that it appears the powers that be at Top Shot listened to those of us who begged for more shooty and less “personality”.
Watching the teaser promo video for Top Shot 2, it appears that we will be getting our wish:
As a female competitive shooter, I’m especially excited about the two female competitors, Athena Lee and Maggie Reese. Not just “chicks with guns”, these ladies are two of the top female USPSA competitive shooters on the planet (so good, they were both just chosen to represent the USA in Greece for the 2011 IPSC World Shoot). To learn more about these lovely ladies, check out the interview with Top Shot’s Athena and Maggie on the Women of USPSA blog.
A couple of days ago, I wrote a snarky post about the casting call for Season 2 of Top Shot . It seems that the folks at Pilgrim Films, the casting company for Top Shots, have been dropping their press release on the comments section of several gun bloggers websites (Stuff From Hsoi’s blog, Say Uncle and In Jennifer’s Head), and as you can see at the bottom of the original post, we were also paid a visit.
Since Mr. Aboud from Pilgrim Films was kind enough to leave a personalized comment on our site, I decided to reach out to him to thank him, as well as provide him with some of my own comments about Top Shot. Mr. Aboud promptly respond to my email, and I’d like to share it with you, along with my original email to him:
Hello Mr. Aboud,
Thank you very much for taking the time to comment on our blog at https://www.greatsataninc.com/top-shot-2-casting-call/13/ this afternoon. It appears that my post was taken with the grain of salt that was intended, and I appreciate your professional response. Despite what it may look like, Top Shot is one of a select few shows I make time to watch each week. I do enjoy the shooting aspects of the show and I wish there were even more challenges for the contestants.
The entire shooting community was excited about the prospect of positive national coverage of the shooting sports. The show appears to be shifting to emphasize personality conflicts and strife, which is a shame, as I believe this is the best crop of shooters you will be able to attract if the trend continues.
As a 2nd Amendment advocate, I am concerned that the personality conflict aspect of the show will only perpetuate media driven caricatures of shooters as volatile and dangerous people. This negative image will harm the shooting sports and the shooting community. If interpersonal conflict is the driving force of the show, then I fear that you will only attract marginal shooters from the ugly fringe of possible contestants. I understand that drama is an important and necessary part of a successful reality show, but I question the focus of that drama.
Shooting is a dramatic sport in its own right. Biting personality conflicts and “crises” have already become a distraction from what has made Top Shot uniquely interesting and exciting. Some of the current contestants are outstanding shooters who would probably elicit strong emotional responses if pushed to shoot well beyond their abilities. Shows like “The Deadliest Catch” and “Dirty Jobs” have continued to reign because of the organic nature of the drama, and I believe Top Shot would do well to capture some of that essence, rather than become “Rock of Love” with Firearms.
That being said, I hope my opinion does not disqualify me from being considered as a contestant in the future. After all, I’ve got the big opinions and personality part covered. ; )
Sincerely,
MzVRWC
Mr. Aboud’s response:
By all means, (MzVRWC), apply this season! The one thing we’ve maintained about this show from the very beginning is that it’s a “reality competition” show. Top Shot probably wouldn’t have the exposure and popularity that it does if we didn’t focus on the personalities as well as the skill. Folks looking for coverage of speed shooting and multi-gun matches can find them on the web. But we think this format has broad appeal. These people are real shooters with some real skill, and these are their real personalities. There will always be critics who think your average gun enthusiast is too “stoic” for television, and there will always be critics who think that anything beyond the stoic professionalism of the average shooting competitor has no place in a shooting competition. I’d like to think Top Shot strives to strike a solid balance in order to educate, entertain and put a human face on the community.
Enjoy the show and best of luck!
FYI, I expect fair royalties when and if Rock of Love: Floozies with Firearms goes on air.
Looks like the new and improved second season of the History Channel’s Top Shot will be focusing more on “Big Personalities”, and less on shooting.
According to the Top Shot Season 2 casting call website, you may not have to be a “master shooter” to become Top Shot 2, instead, it looks like they will be focusing even more on conflict creation and BIG personalities (You know, jerks):
Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, a resident or citizen of the United States and reasonably proficient with shooting and marksmanship. Further eligibility requirements are listed in the casting application.
Not sure if you’ve got what it takes to become the next “Top Shot”? Here’s a short list of additional requirements to help you decide if Top Shot 2 is for you:
Do you know which end of the gun the bullet comes out of?
Are you always the loudest person in the room?
Can you find the bang switch?
Do you have a long list of enemies?
I understand that I’m not the target demographic for the show, but I would think that more shooting and less faux drama would be a more effective way to increase the popularity of the show.
P.S. How did Caleb make it on to this show? He is the polar opposite of all the above.
