The Curse of Oak Island - The Good, The Bad and the Cursing

I really wanted to enjoy The Curse of Oak Island on Netflix, I really did. After all it ticked many boxes for me in the 'mining for treasure' shaped hole in my life right now. But after getting into my very first season of it (strangely Season 3 is the only one Netflix is showing right now) I walked away disappointed about how it all came together..

There is lots to like in this show however and that's where we start.

THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND - THE GOOD

The Lagina brothers.  Here are two guys who love each other and the notion of finding treasure on an island after reading an article in Readers Digest. They're both highly intelligent, successful, can see each others points without argument and are more than willing to roll up the sleeves and get into the dirty work to get things done. With these two in charge not once did a fight break out, not once were the camera crews told to take a walk while an argument was settled, not once did either of them use the word 'Fricken.' Gold Rush, are you taking notes? 

Jack Begley - Jack is so happy go lucky with his Minelab metal detector that you could leave him out there for a week and he'd come back with so many more finds that the rest of the team (and none of them would be old wood.) Seemingly incapable of having a bad day, Jack seems like one of those guys you'd happily have a beer with...while running around trying to detect metal. 

The campaign funds - 'We'll need some equipment..' so off the brothers go to buy some brand new diggers. 'We want someone to get down the bottom of this very deep and tight shaft full of water..' and so they hire three separate dive teams. They are so financially prepared here that you don't see anyone trying to fix any rubbish equipment with gaffa tape, some chewing gum and a can of WD40. Look a digger that doesn't spray hydraulic fluid all over the shop when it's need most - that's a novel idea. 
(Of course well into the season you finally realise they own a lot of the island already which explains why they can dig in most parts with mad abandon.

Oak Island is close to other things - It's not a cross country jaunt for some vital part that the search can't go on without. There's a pub across the bridge. And shops and people. No one camps there in tents and you don't have to build your own base. Refreshing!

THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND - THE BAD

Let's add another theory - Every couple of episodes another theory about what could be on the Island somewhere is added to the already rickety pile. The treasure could be from the Knight's Templar. No wait, the Sioux nation. This guy thinks the Arc of the Covenant might be in the middle of the swamp. Columbus might have dropped by for a quick pit stop and left some crumbs under this triangle shaped rock. According to this map, a guitar pick belonging to Jimi Hendrix himself may be down the bottom of 10x. 

And the brothers entertain ALL OF THEM. Even if the evidence is out of pirate story from 200 years ago because the map in the story looks like Oak Island if you squint at it. Maybe they're too nice to say 'No that sounds crazy.' That's okay, I'm saying it for them. 

I can't get excited by wood - I'm sorry, I can't. But it's the most exciting thing apart from some nice looking slate that gets dug up all season. The replica Roman sword? Someone fished that out of the water. A gold cross? Found in the money pit apparently before the brothers even got there. But here's some clay, some triangle shaped stone, blue clay and old coconut fibers. And wood, lots and lots of wood. Boy do these boys get excited by wood though!

 I saw it with my own two eyes! - But of course that was the recall of a treasure hunter thinking back to an event roughly 50 years ago. Looking for whatever they're talking about this time (a wall, a body, gold, anything) proves fruitless time and time again, even if the team are super keen to act on every regained thought from decades ago. 

THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND - THE CURSING 

The show bounces around like a hyperactive puppy - No seriously, it's all over the shop. We start with trying to get the bottom of ten x and then suddenly we're investigating rocks. Then digging a hole here, back to ten x, back to the hole and now we're meeting this guy for lunch for another theory. Jack finds something with his metal detector and lets dive for rocks. We'll hold a memorial for those lost, entertain some more theories, go down ten x again, dig for some rumored wall near the swamp, drill here, drive there, drill further, bury a time capsule and then come back next year. What did we find? Some more wood! Lets get that tested to work out if we need to dig further here or dig further a little more over there. More triangle rocks time! You could wrap up each task easily in an episode or two instead of the mad jumble season three is in. 

The voice over guy who starts EVERYTHING WITH A QUESTION! - I've saved the worst for last because this is absolutely infuriating. (And if the vo guy is just reading off a script, then the script writer really needs to stop doing this because a whole season of it is painful.)

-Someone will make a statement

-The VO guy will repeat the statement as a question and the follow it up with another question asking if this statement will somehow solve the mystery of this infernal island. 

EG:

Jack: We found these triangle shaped rocks...

VO: Triangle shaped rocks? Will these triangle shaped rocks somehow solve the mystery of Oak Island?

Rick: I'm having a cheese sandwich for lunch!

VO: A cheese sandwich? Will this cheese sandwich hold the clues necessary to solve the mystery of Oak Island? 

Oh enough already!

VO: Enough already? Will this help sol-

You get my drift.

So does it get better from here? Can someone let me know below?