I have a new addiction. It's a TV show called Pawn Stars that airs on the History Channel. Basically, it's a reality show about the Gold & Silver Pawn shop located in Las Vegas Nevada that's owned by Rick Harrison, his son Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison, and the 68 year old patriarch of the family, Richard Harrison, also known as "The old man". They also have an employee, Austin "Chumlee" Russell, that is a little on the slow side and provides a lot of the show's humor.The basic plot of the show is that people bring items in to the store to either pawn or sell and the owners have to determine the value of said items to put a figure on what to allow for them. That's what makes the show so interesting, like Rick Harrison says "you never know what's going to come in the front door". There's been everything from rifles from the revolutionary war to old Playboy magazines and it all has a price and whatever that price is has to make both parties happy for a deal to transpire.
When an item is brought in they have a description that comes up on the screen that has some bullet points on what the item is and background info that brings insight to what the item might be valued at. So it's educational as well. I've learned a lot about all kinds of things by just watching this show. It certainly makes history more interesting. Many times, people will bring an item in that they think is worth a lot of money that turns out to be a fake. The shop has several expert advisors that they call on from several different fields of expertise that help them determine the true value of what they are appraising.
And then there's Chumlee, sometimes just the look on his face is pure comedy. The rest of the crew pick on him relentlessly and he just lets it roll off his back.
It's a lot of fun and it's also interesting and by all accounts, hugely successful. It's one of the most popular shows on the History Channel. Check it out when you get a chance, I think you'll like it.
Maybe they'll give Chumlee a raise soon, but I doubt it.
