News

Dog returns this week! Monday, July 14 2008

Not since Lassie Come Home has a cinematic canine generated as much enthusiasm and anticipation as the return of our beloved Dog.

Sorta.

The official press release, from Mona Wood, a spokesperson for Dog, says: "Dog the Bounty Hunter, A&E’s hit Real-Life series, is returning with a brand new season beginning Wednesday, July 16, at 9PM ET/PT. Season 5 will pick up where the last season left off - with Duane “Dog” Chapman and his posse capturing fugitives week to week in adrenaline-fueled hunts in Hawaii and Colorado."

Other venues have been less than warm. The normally upbeat TV fan site Procrastination Chronicles says merely "This guy is apparently back with a vengeance." And the St Petersburg Times expressed ambiguous enthusiasm in its TV listings, "A&E Duane's back on the air, N-word free, so now we can rest assured he's a nice guy. Right?"

And a few news sites have expressed outright hostility. One blogger griped, "Yes, they let him come back. Gene Simmons and Criss Angel ain’t payin’ the bills." And a Savannah Morning News columnist wrote, "I see the ridiculous Dog the Bounty Hunter and his repulsive crew are back on TV. I immediately changed channels, but they still stank up my TV set." (Judging by online responses to his column, though, most people in Savannah disagree).

But most are overjoyed to see Dog back and some fan-sites are simply bubbling over with emotion, such as the effusive obsessedwithdog.com, "Ok, the moment we’ve been waiting for is finally here ... I can’t wait I’m so freakin’ excited!!!!"

The show will still face some challenges, the toughest of which is the loss of Tim "Youngblood" Chapman from the line up. Tim is rumored to be taking the season off to deal with the different issues going on in his life. He and his wife Davina split up last fall and he has legal issues to resolve from his arrest in January.

Mona Wood also noted, "Dog the Bounty Hunter has been one of the highest rated real life series on cable since it launched in 2004. The last season of the hit show averaged nearly 2 million viewers per premiere episode. Dog the Bounty Hunter Season 5 will highlight the series 100th episode of the series, a major landmark for television shows."

And this is what is may come down to, A&E cited fan response as a major influence in reinstating the show. Will the ratings continue to hold now that Dog and his pack are back? We think so; let's watch and see!