‘North Woods Law’ debut solid; Your thoughts?

On Thursday night, many of us curled up in front of the TV, tossed an extra blanket on our laps — downright nippy out, warn’t it, chummy? — and settled in to watch the second season premiere of “North Woods Law.”

The TV show, which airs on Animal Planet, focuses on the men and women of the Maine Warden Service, and follows those wardens as they chase poachers, ATV’ers, and Burmese pythons. (Don’t be confused about the pythons. We’ll get to them in a minute.)

Maine Game Wardens featured in the Animal Planet TV show “North Woods Law” pose for a photo in front of the Maine Warden Service mobile command vehicle on April 5, 2012. Pictured are Jonathan Parker (left), Kim Bates, Sgt. Tim Spahr, Kristopher MacCabe and Josh Bubier. (BDN Photo by John Holyoke)

So, what did you think? What were your favorite parts? What did you miss (we’ll get to that in a minute, too.) Share your thoughts here; Consider this your very own “North Woods Law” discussion group.

Some observations — covering both the show and the run-up to the premiere — from my couch:

  • When NWL debuted a year ago, it did so fairly quietly, I thought. This year, as a proven entity, that wasn’t the case. Now the show has its own thriving Facebook page, and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife seems to be having fun promoting its new “stars.”
  • Speaking of Facebook, earlier this week, organizers of that “North Woods Law” page announced that they hoped to receive “Likes” from what would amount to 1 percent of the people who live in Maine: 15,000. I monitored that page last night and the goal was reached before airtime. This morning I checked again: More than 16,000 people have clicked “Like” on the NWL page.
  • I imagine that some female viewers of the show were disappointed with the premiere. Why? They didn’t get to see Wdn. Kris MacCabe in action. In some workplaces around the state (including mine, to be honest), MacCabe goes by another name: MacBabe. I’ll defer to the fairer sex on that label, but can tell you that I’ve dealt with Kris a few times in the past, and he’s a great guy. His wife, it should be noted, is also really cool … and thankfully, she’s got a great sense of humor about her husband’s new fame.
  • Every time I watch Wdn. Alan Curtis in action, I realize more why the folks from Engel Entertainment — the production company that actually creates the show — chose to focus on him. He is one funny dude. I especially liked his reaction to the speeder in Season Two’s premiere. I won’t describe it. You’ve got to watch.
  • Joining Curtis in the debut was Wdn. Sgt. Dave Craven. Craven, as Curtis points out, is a true Down Easter, and he spiced up the show immediately. Here’s hoping  we see more of him in future episodes.
  • I was happy to see the Stud Mill Road, Maine’s unpaved superhighway to the back of beyond, featured prominently.
  • We have Burmese pythons in Maine? And we might have an alligator living in somebody’s cellar nearby? Are we sure we’re still in Maine? Luckily, Wdn. Dan Carroll was on the case.

Your thoughts? Your comments? We’re here to listen.

 

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.