Duane Hicks
Move over “Highway Thru Hell.”
Todd, Roj, “Grizz,” Jimmy, Matt, and Mikey of the Shotgun Exploration crew will be back for Season 2 of “Fool’s Gold” starting with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. on the Discovery Channel.
“Fool’s Gold” hit ratings paydirt in its first season—performing as the “top entertainment specialty program” in its time slot in Canada.
It also was picked up for distribution in the U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and even Africa.
But Todd Ryznar, owner of the Straw Lake Beach Gold Mine and team leader of Shotgun Exploration, whose exploits are the focus of the documentary/comedy series, has even higher aspirations for this season.
“In Canada, ‘Highway Thru Hell’ is Discovery’s number-one show,” he noted.
“We want to pass ‘Highway Thru Hell’ this year and become Discovery’s number-one show—that’s our goal by fall,” he added, referring to the Canadian hit series about a heavy-vehicle recovery company that airs the same night as “Fool’s Gold.”
After starting off on the right foot with its first season, Ryznar said Season 2 will legitimize “Fool’s Gold” as a ratings contender.
“I’m definitely excited about it,” he remarked.
For starters, this season consists of 12 episodes. The first one, which premiered in May, 2014, consisted of just eight.
“It’s longer but it’s also a lot better,” said Ryznar, a former Fort Frances resident who now lives in Atikokan.
“You’ll see a complete difference with Season 2,” he noted.
“I’m not saying the first season wasn’t professional but the second year is like a movie; everything about it is so very professional that it’s unbelievable.”
The episodes in Season 2 also are more self-contained, or “one-offs” as Ryznar called them.
“You don’t have to watch them all in a row to get what’s going on in each show,” he explained.
“Every single show has got a different topic.
“It’s an ongoing thing, of course, like Season 1,” Ryznar added. “But it’s a lot more interesting this year.
“It has a better flow to it all.
“[And] it’s going to be twice as funny—lots of laughs, redneck ingenuity, explosions, arguments, blow-ups, gunshots, and twice as much craziness as what you [saw] in Season 1,” Ryznar vowed.
“If you liked Season 1, you’re going to love Season 2.”
Ryznar said the Shotgun Exploration crew represents a broad range of personalities, including Jason “Roj” Whitehead, Mark “Grizz” Fairnington, Jimmy “Big E” Easton, Matt Wensley, Mikey Strom, and himself.
And “there’s always one character that viewers can relate to or they find funny.”
“There’s such a broad spectrum of fans from young kids up to grandparents who love and watch the show,” Ryznar noted.
“It’s kind of a family show the whole family can enjoy together.”
Whitehead noted the new season also will showcase more “redneck mining” and homemade equipment as first introduced in Season 1.
“We’ve got new equipment,” he said. “We’ve got some new techniques for going after the gold, as well, which will be a lot of fun, I think, for the viewers to see.”
Whitehead added viewers also will notice the job site has new infrastructure and will be visibly different.
“We’ve got a whole new system basically,” he remarked. “We’re not just chasing the tailings this season.
“We’re an exploration company so we’re also going after new possibilities of ways to find gold other than just the tailings.
“But don’t get me wrong, we are still going after the tailings,” he stressed.
While ostensibly about gold exploration, Season 1 of “Fool’s Gold” also featured numerous humourous situations—and viewers can expect even more in Season 2.
“As you know from last
season, we weren’t only chasing gold; we were having fun,” said Whitehead. “And we definitely do that again this season.
“It’s part of what we do up there.
“All work, no play makes for a dull boy,” he chuckled. “And we feel strongly about that.
“We work hard and we want to play hard, and that definitely comes through on the show.
“Some of us play a little harder than others and you see that in the show, too,” added Whitehead.
“It’s going to be fun.”
Ryznar said the episodes in Season 2 build up to a “great ending.”
“We’re definitely going bigger in the future,” he hinted. “There’s no place else to go but bigger.”
Whitehead, meanwhile, said working in front of the cameras was a little easier for him for Season 2.
“It seems like everything you do is recorded—either your voice or actually the video camera on you,” he noted.
“Personally, it’s gotten a little easier but I don’t think a person can ever truly get used to that.
“You’ve got to watch what you’re doing and saying and stuff. But beyond that, it feels a little more natural this year,” added Whitehead.
“And hopefully that will ease up if we get to do this again.”
In association with Discovery Canada, “Fool’s Gold” is produced by Essential Media Canada (formerly 11 Television Canada). Whitehead tipped his hat to those behind the scenes.
Jonathan Dueck and Joey Case are the series producers while Andrew Murray is the director.
“Sometimes we don’t know what [Dueck and Case] are going to do,” Whitehead admitted.
“We are out there living it and doing it, but when we see it on television, it’s quite the experience.
“Sometimes you’re really impressed with how they tie everything together and make a story out of what they saw us doing all day,” added Whitehead.
“It’s neat.”
“Everyone is such a professional,” Ryznar said of the production crew. “And they’re such nice guys.
“It’s just good to hang out at camp.”
Both Ryznar and Whitehead said they’ve enjoyed the “Fool’s Gold” experience, although it’s not quite led to fame and fortune—yet.
Whitehead said it’s changed his life in “small ways.”
“I find all of my friends in town, I’ve gotten nowhere with them,” he laughed. “They still treat me the same, they call me names, just what I expect from them.
“And that keeps me pretty grounded.
“To be honest, I don’t feel that much different,” he added.
“Roj” currently is in Fort McMurray, Alta. doing short-term work for Parkland Pipeline Contractors Ltd.
He said he had a bit of time off from work at Straw Lake while Shotgun Exploration waits on some mineral assays, and decided to do “a little pipelining.”
“I don’t like to sit still, you know?”
Whitehead noted staying in a camp with 1,000 other pipeline workers, he’s probably been spotted half-dozen times and asked if he’s “the guy from that show.”
“It’s great. I have a good time with it,” he remarked. “When somebody does come up to you, it’s pretty exciting.
“They usually want to ask you some fun questions.
“It’s fun to share this with people,” Whitehead added.“ It’s one of my favourite things—to share the ‘Fool’s Gold’ experience with people.
“I just love to sit and talk with people about it, and just share the experience.”
The most common questions include, “Are you rich?” and “Is the Shotgun Exploration crew really looking gold?”
The respective answers, according to Whitehead, are: “No, we still have to work” and “Yes, it’s a documentary series. We’re not actors and it’s unscripted.
“What you see is what you get.”
Ryznar said he doesn’t get recognized often, but for some reason his twin brother does.
“It’s not like I’m on a TV show at all,” he chuckled. “The mayor [Dennis Brown of Atikokan] is a little more popular than me.”
While Shotgun Exploration hasn’t exactly struck it rich at Straw Lake, Ryznar said he still has hope for the future.
“Shotgun Exploration has been in the business over 10 years now and we’re really just getting started,” he remarked.
“The sky is the limit for us.”
If Shotgun Exploration ever does hit the mother lode, Ryznar said the first thing he would buy would be the Winnipeg Jets.
Whitehead, meanwhile, urged everyone to check out the premier of Season 2 of “Fool’s Gold” on Sept. 8—and be sure to let others know about how much they enjoy it on social media.
“Last season, we had a lot of success and a lot of it was based on the grassroots-style of getting the word out there,” he explained.
“The same thing applies this year for us.
“If anyone can go comment on the Discovery page or go on Facebook and ‘like’ our pictures or comment on them, that’s the kind of stuff that really help us continue on,” stressed Whitehead.
“We really appreciate it. It feels good to us to see that support,” he added.
“We’re getting it and we’re loving it.”
Look for “Fool’s Gold TV” on Facebook or visit www.discovery.ca/Shows/Fool-s-Gold
