Twister sisters storm chase show on WE

[Scott McPartland]

Woops, lol. I was just informed that the ticket scene involving Eric and Beau was totally manipulated, and that the Beau as it turns out, never said any of that stuff. Once again proving that the powers that be at the networks still like to twist things around. Had me fooled. So nevermind then! lol..

 

[Eric Whitehill]

But I know that many times production companies force this practice to make things more "interesting" to the general public, much like stringing together multiple chase days to seem like one long one. But in the end, no one has control over what happens in post production, only the editors and big wigs of the network have any control over that. For me personally, I like this show much better than the Storm Chasers show on Discovery.

With that being said, there was one "you've got to be kidding me" part in one of the episodes I saw last night where two of the chasers are pulled over by the cop for speeding. One of them says to the other something to the effect of "dude, tell him we're in the middle of a chase and are in a hurry". Yeah, there's a good idea. I think the cop already figured out that they were in a hurry, the fact that they were clocked at 79 mph in what was probably a 60 zone gave that away, lol.. And then right at the end where the cop gives them the ticket, one of them says again something like "sir, we're chasing a large meso up the road...". The cop cuts him off at that point and then it's pretty much over with. My point being, why in the world would you say something like that to a cop? At the point that you're pulled over, the cop is in control, not you. It stinks, we've all been there...but let the man say his piece, and maybe if you're lucky he'll let you go with a warning. But telling him in so many words "dude, I'm in a rush here, can we speed this up" in my opinion will only make matters worse. They're lucky he didn't make them sit there for another 30 minutes, lol. Anyway, just my 2 cents

Hey Scott:

Thanks for your comments about the show! I'm glad that you and other chasers are enjoying the show, and we welcome the comments.

A little bit of clarification on the whole "Hey, guess what, Eric just got pulled over for speeding!" bit.

The part where I say "Well, here we go, I'm getting pulled over again."
Reason was, we had just gotten pulled over because our cameraman was hanging out the vehicle trying to shoot some footage. We were warned to not do that again or else it could be a fine. Then, we go after the Radium tor, and get pulled over.

The person who said "Tell him we have a storm to chase." was said by our cameraman. It was not said by Beau or myself.

The comments Beau made about me getting pulled over were cut and snipped by the production crew. Beau made additional comments about how we were part of the problem by getting pulled over. Needless to say, I learned my $120 lesson.

I was doing 79 in a 65. The ticket was $120. It happens.

Chasers speed, raindrops fall. Any chaser who says they never speed is lying through their teeth.

It should also be noted quite a bit of the tors were shot by Cullen Doms, Bill's son. Yes, there was some footage of Timmer's tors interjected in the show. None of us on the cast have any control over how or where Original gets their extra footage.

Again, thanks for watching the show and all the comments, both positive and negative! If you have any questions, or comments you would like to be kept personal, please feel free to drop me an email/message.

Thanks again,

-Eric (WX-Geek #2)

 

[Jerry Prsha]

Eric,

I watched the show with the wife and a couple of friends and the whole time I was explaining things to them that perhaps might be able to be added to help with understanding.

Have you ever watched the show Ghost Hunters on SciFi? Every so often, they film a side note that is external to the footage, that explains a term or why they're doing what they are.

It could become a very educational experience without much of a distraction and you could use the side note in other episodes when talking in technical terms.

Just a thought..

 

[Edward Ballou]

I enjoy the show - actually a bit more than the one on the Discovery Channel. Of course you're going to get more tornados with the Discovery channel because they're hooked up with the DOW - a research vehicle that HAS to be out there in the thick of it.

Having chased with Eric a couple times, I found it to be more realistic of our chases. Plus my wife and I had a few good laughs about the similarity between Beau & Eric, and Eric & I chasing.

I'm looking forward to more episodes/seasons Plus I'm comfortable with my sexuality enough to watch WE and be okay with myself. Although you probably won't find that channel being viewed casually the rest of the day. If it is, I'll just blame the wife...lol!

 

[Shane Adams]

Television has finally realized that chasing, in it's actual, true form/self, is boring to anyone not interested in that very narrow niche. So what we have now are these new shows, where chasers are creating characters/situations to make it 'interesting" to John Q. Public. I guess that's great for television, but for chasing purists who actually think chasing is interesting itself, it's pretty much the end of anything we'd want to see. It's become pro-wrestling, but instead of the Free Birds and the Executioner, you have the TS WE "soap opera" and the Outlaws Court TV "bad guy" characters/situations. Both fabricated for one thing - television. American TV audiences are obviously loving it, so it's not going away anytime soon.

If I wasn't a chaser, I'd probably love this stuff. For example, I love that show "Ghost Hunters", even though I know the show itself is an over-dramatized version of what paranormal investigation actually is. But, because I have no firsthand experience/knowledge of what the activity is really like, it's easy to just get drawn into the TV drama they create and enjoy the show. With chasing shows, I see through all of the BS, and it just ruins it for me.

 

[JIM SELLARS]

I'm glad that the string was resurrected with my open comments in an earlier post...I'm sure that John Q Public is having a blast watching and really enjoying the shows (I do too or I wouldn't watch)....I guess we can all be critical of the editing and "SCRIPTING" of the show knowing what we know about the subject...I can feel Melanie, Peggy, Eric, Beau and the rest of the chase team "CRINGE" at how some of the scenes, interactions and chases are portrayed....Like Eric's explanation of the traffic stop and Beau's comments...We as readers of this string accept the explanation but it's possible that any Law enforcement officer that saw the comment on the show "WITHOUT" the luxury of reading this string may not only see any chaser but one driving a gray Tahoe or Suburban as a "TARGET OF OPPORTUNITY"....

 

[Eric Treece]

I happened to catch one of the episodes last night and the one thing that ALWAYS catches my eye and the question that I always wonder about.......can they (DISCOVERY, NGC, WE, TLC.......whoever) make a chase show WITHOUT showing the speedometer at some critical point in the chase where it is clearly showing speeding (I think it was pushing 80 in last nights episode that I watched)? Like Eric said, we ALL speed, but do they need to lay the evidence right there for the whole world to see and have just one more person out there saying that chasers are reckless?

 

[Beau.Gjerdingen]

I again just want to second what Eric has said about my comments when we were pulled over. I by no means think we didn't deserve the ticket, nor was I EVER trying to rush the officer (although the scene was certainly edited to make it look like that). We became part of the problem when there were bigger fish for the police to be dealing with (such as the tornado very near the town just up the road). The last thing we want to do is be a drain on local law enforcement in a situation like that. My interview was chopped about completely in half to make it look like I had said the complete opposite. Also, I never said "Tell him we have a storm to get to". That was indeed our cameraman in the back seat trying to get us to create drama for the show, which we were in no way interested in doing. All I know is that when you have a camera or three on you 24/7 when chasing you are bound to do/say something stupid no matter how good of a person you are. At the end of getting pulled over I was trying to tell the officer about the storm up the road (near Radium, KS on May 5) because I was genuinely concerned for the safety of the people in the town and was trying to let him know what was happening. I was not trying to make a cocky statement like "hey buddy we are important and have to get on this thing". Again we were at fault here and neither of us were trying to deny that.

 

[Shane Adams]

All I know is that when you have a camera or three on you 24/7 when chasing you are bound to do/say something stupid no matter how good of a person you are.

That's the chance you take when you sign the contract. I'm guessing the deal was pretty sweet.

 

[Scott McPartland]

Sorry I mistook those statments as yours Beau, as I mentioned in my pervious post, I was certainly fooled! And I think Shane nailed it when he said that storm chasing in it's pure form just isn't interesting to the general public. Which is why these networks will continue to alter events, and dialog to suit their needs. I don't see this stopping anytime soon. But I definitely understand how this process happens, it happens in post production, and it also happens when you have a producer trying to "lead" you into saying things for "effect". I've encountered both of these issues myself in the past.
Since on occasion I will do certain TV shows, I just have to accept the fact that I'm running that risk as well. But the extra money helps me during chase season so I'm willing to accept it

But you are right Beau in that when you have a camera on you as much as you guys had to deal with, something bad is bound to come out once in a while, lol. And with the speeding, we've all done it, and most of us have been busted for it in the past, I know I have. To me though, there is a big difference between going 10 MPH or so over the speed limit, but being cautious while doing so, and flat out reckless driving, but unfortunatley the cops don't see it that way I guess, lol.

Either way, no worries

 

[Tony Laubach]

Jon V and myself have had this discussion numerous times in regards to the edits and how situations will ultimately end up looking. We had a run-in with a cop in one of the towns in Nebraska which was being hit hard with heavy rains and extensive street flooding was occuring. He pulled over Jon for driving through the water saying we were creating waves and making a mess. In truth, yes, we were driving in circles, which isn't something we'd normally do on our own, however our producer was trying to get multiple shots and was asking we do that. Hearing about the ticket makes me wonder how our scene will play out in our episode on the 15th.

I, to my shock, do not have WE. I did at one point, but so did I with the NFL network, so who knows...

As a result, I have not seen any of the shows yet... a bunch of us are getting together to watch all six over a weekend here soon, so that's when I'll see it all for the first time. Until then, I am left to my own imagination of how it'll turn out! Both in good and not so good. I'm more excited to see what they're doing with various other fun stuff we put together! Oughta be great for a fun laugh!!!

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

I just saw them on Leno (I noticed the thread was either deleted or moved elsewhere so I apologize if talking about their talkshow appearance is taboo). Anyone can see them now on Jay Leno's website, which apparently reruns the previous week. They start after the second-to-last "bar" (which represents a short mandatory commercial on the streamer).

They both seemed a little nervous at first, especially Mel, but sounded pretty sharp and gave credit where credit was due when the wrong second film was rolled. I'm beginning to think more and more that the production was due to faults of a virgin TV network and not at all to them. I'm starting to watch their show.

Both of them looked like the radiant, enthusiastic, beautiful ladies they are, and I admire them for their honesty and for raising awareness of the weather radio. I guess I'll make a totally unprofessional comment here and say Mel's an absolute scene-stealer with those eyes and long hair; I think I have a crush

How many people involved in that show post here? I've read them talking about this forum but I guess they've left it behind, but I'm wondering if the accompanying chasers post here. I hope the sisters don't still lurk or I'm going to be ultra-embarrassed if I meet them on the road after the last paragraph

 

[Bill Doms]

I'm beginning to think more and more that the production was due to faults of a virgin TV network and not at all to them. I

WE TV had nothing to do with the production of the show. Original Productions who also does Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Monster Garage, et al did the show. The field production crew on TS included several members of the actual team who does Deadliest Catch. FWIW, the guys who do DC think stormchasing is harder to shoot than the crab fisherman. I don't think they were prepared for the long miles, bad food, waiting, bad light, etc...basically everything we expect.

You can check out more of OP's work at http://www.origprod.com/

Final episode is on tonight at 9 central 10 eastern.

 

[jason kissam]

hey bill loved the chicken on the front of the truck!!!! makes me want to get a "mascot" for my next season.

 

[SteveCarter]

Just finishing watching the last episode now. Yeah, I liked this one a LOT better than discovery's TIV thing. The Twister Sisters show is so much more like REAL storm chasing is...imo. There was far to much negativity and taking every thing so serious in the "TIV" show. Don't have much input really....but did enjoy the show. I just got out my DVD's of my last three years chasing to get me revved up again.....so this show worked for me! LOL I'm READY!
*****roflmao...loved the part of the cops telling you that knocked over the barricades, and you guys respond, "NO, I DIDN'T, I never knocked over one barricade". the cop..."Yes you DID, with THIS vehicle". Priceless....and how realistic too. Remember, the coips are ALWAYS right, even if you have it on tape. SWEET. lol