Season 1 General Discussion

[Lisin]

Here's your place to discuss the events of Season 1. 

[Maharincess]

Yay! I've been waiting for a thread to open for this show! Thank you.

[methodwriter85]

   I love how "Dude, That's A Dude, Dude" has basically been wiped from existence. I've never even seen that episode before they shuttled off its existence.

 

   Without a doubt, Eddie was my favorite. He was just adorable and hilarious.

[fliptopbox]

I had totally forgotten about that missing episode, and was wondering why they skipped on on demand. But now I definitely do remember seeing it....and I don't remember it being all that terribly controversial. It was a person who may or may not have been a dude in drag. Who cares?

[methodwriter85]

Apparently the charter guest who might have hooked up with the trans person threatened to sue Bravo if they didn't pull the episode. And the title itself might have been criticized for being transphobic.

 

I still get so pissed off at the charter guests who made the crew throw them a wedding and then left what amounted to less than a 10 percent tip. So ridiculous.

 

I loved that Cat would have a weird British accent going on when talking to Adrienne about how much she hated living with her.

Edited July 30, 2014 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

double-post

Edited July 30, 2014 by methodwriter85

[FozzyBear]

I remember the Adrienne v Sam thing being so frustrating. Sam was a horrible, smug, lazy little brat and wrong about everything in life. However, Adrienne may have had good intentions, but she was such a horrible manager. Just the worst. Passive aggressive and ineffectual and so insecure that she had to throw around her authority at the wrong moments. Plus you couldn't even count on her to protect her staff. Like when Cat was being sexually harnessed by guest and something like 3 people told Adrienne that it was getting really bad and she needed to do something and she just sort of sighed and 1/2 blamed Car for not being tough enough. She was just pretty bad at her job, I wouldn't have wanted to work for her either. But Sam the worst thing ever and I would have wanted to throw her overboard so there you go...

Eddie forever! So glad he's back.

[methodwriter85]

I think Sam fell into the same trap that many college-educated Millennials get into- you feel entitled and you feel like the work is beneath you. I get the mindset, and I've been guilty of it, so I could at least get her. Still, I understood why Adrianne was so fed up with her.

 

I do think they brought back the best characters...the only other person that would've made sense being back was David, the low-key gay porn star. I love that they noted he made "4 short films" with his fiancee Trevor after getting back. Gee, I wonder what kind of "short films" they were. Still, he was a pretty lovely person and Trevor seemed like a really nice guy.

 

I still think it's hilarious that CJ said he felt like Sam's older brother yet spent the whole summer trying to get into her pants. I wish we could've seen more of Eddie's reaction to that. LOL.

Edited July 30, 2014 by methodwriter85

[beesknees]

Please tell me they signed the British chef back for S2.  Can't remember his name but he was really pithy.

[ExplainItAgain]

Please tell me they signed the British chef back for S2.  Can't remember his name but he was really pithy.

 

Yes, they did! His name is Ben.

[beesknees]

I saw the new season's promo.  I love Ben but I don't like his hair so much this season.  It ages him.

[FozzyBear]

I'd completely forgotten about the weird little accent Sam would do every now and then. It was this strange British thing, usually when she thought she was being cute. So annoying. I always wondered if she heard Ben's real accent and decided it sounded smart or classy or something.

[technorebel]

I didn't catch this last year, so I'm watching the marathon today. Interesting concept for a show. I do wonder if the crew just applied to be on a reality show or if this is really what they do for a living.

I can't stand Sam so far. What a brat! Yes, kiddo, this is what it's like in the working world. You have a boss, and it's that person's job to tell you what to do.

I wouldn't be able to take those

claustrophobic crew quarters, though. There's not enough Xanax in the world.

[Diane Mars]

I found an (old) interesting article which summarzies pretty well the "reality level" of Below Deck : http://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/news/below-deckr-on-honor-yacht--new-bravo-superyacht-crew-reality-show-1005.htm and another one here : http://www.the-triton.com/article/the-reality-of-below-deck-on-bravo.html

Edited August 13, 2014 by Diane Mars

[methodwriter85]

I'd completely forgotten about the weird little accent Sam would do every now and then. It was this strange British thing, usually when she thought she was being cute. So annoying. I always wondered if she heard Ben's real accent and decided it sounded smart or classy or something.

 

Not Sam, who was the tall man-jawed girl who hated Adrienne, but Kat, the blonde Rhode Island party girl who hated Adrienne. Kat seemed to have a bit of a crush on Ben, which is why I think she decided to mime his accent horribly. I mean, I had a British accent wannabee period when I was 20 after watching a lot of BBC America one summer, so I can't bag on her too much.

 

 

I can't stand Sam so far. What a brat! Yes, kiddo, this is what it's like in the working world. You have a boss, and it's that person's job to tell you what to do.

 

      I had to laugh when Sam called the daughter of the vegan dad a spoiled brat bitch. Gee, Sam, takes one to know one, right?

[FozzyBear]

Not Sam, who was the tall man-jawed girl who hated Adrienne, but Kat, the blonde Rhode Island party girl who hated Adrienne. Kat seemed to have a bit of a crush on Ben, which is why I think she decided to mime his accent horribly. I mean, I had a British accent wannabee period when I was 20 after watching a lot of BBC America one summer, so I can't bag on her too much.

No it was Sam. Kat had an actual accent that would get more pronounced when she was drunk or upset. Sam, who did have a bit of a valley girl accent, would do this strang thing with her voice every now and then. It was more like an inflection. This odd "are you coming, dahling" thing. Very irritating.

[methodwriter85]

   They both did it, then, because I clearly remember Kat speaking in a British accent in the scene where Adrienne confronts her and Ben about switching rooms.

Edited August 15, 2014 by methodwriter85

[lisalionheart]

Sam seemed to use question-asking intonations when she was making declarative sentences, and vice versa. That's the only way I can think to describe it.

[BucFan]

Does anyone remember the name of the guy who Sam said she was teaching some computer program to? That's when Sam and CJ were drinking beer in the water. I liked him, he seemed so good with putting up with the crazy. He wasn't one of the "stars" of the show.

[crabbypants]

Nash.  He was part of the real crew.

[fliptopbox]

I don't even really remember seeing Nash on camera, save for a quick glimpse here and there, just to prove he existed.

[BucFan]

Nash, that's it. Thank you :)

[HumblePi]

 

Captain Lee Rosbach back in the day

[methodwriter85]

I think this season was just in general much more lighthearted and about the scenery than the last season was. Kate is a far more entertaining stew, but to be honest, the constant bitching and ineptitude of season 2 has me missing when it was just Kat, Sam, and CJ that were the problem employees.

 

It's also funny that so many of the charters had shitty tips, even though I'd say their service was probably better season 1 as opposed to season 2, when it seems like they're always getting good tips.

Edited October 1, 2014 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

Bravo has season 1 back on OnDemand again. It's been fun to re-watch, and it's jarring to think about how Eddie and Captain are the only original cast members who stuck through the whole 3 seasons.

 

Adrienne and the lesbians...I get the feeling Adrienne know she could get away with flirting with them because she knew it was safe- you never saw her doing that with male guests because she figured it might lead to a Kat/pervy guest situation. It was a funny bit- they were definitely the best charter guests of season 1.

 

Sam's constant running commentary was both funny and irritating. She was SO smug and arrogant, but she was pretty much a bottomfeeder. It was funny.

[Zena]

Ben made the show for me.  His humour, sexy voice and swag are irresistible.  Call me darling Ben. 

[biakbiak]

Bravo is doing a marathon of this season tomorrow.

[psychoticstate]

I managed to DVR most of the season 1 episodes yesterday.  Having never seen them before . . .wow.

Adrienne really was not a people person, nor a very good supervisor.  Bad enough that she was unprepared for the picnic but her reaction to the news that her good friend Simon was leading the brigade on talking about the female staff's "tits" and calling for a flashlight to see Kat's implants was worthy to get her fired IMO.  She seemed absolutely nonplussed by it and basically victim blamed Kat by telling her that Simon didn't mean anything by it and Kat should just ignore him.   I think the guests, at that point, should have been told they were leaving the yacht at the next stop.  And the girlfriends/wives just sat there with stupid half smiles on their faces.  Clearly this is nothing new to them.  Horrible. 

Doubly amazing too that while Adrienne blew off very clear sexual harassment, she did get angry over Ben telling Kat she acted like trailer trash when she drunk, even hugging Kat.  What?  So no sympathy when her friend Simon harasses her but she gets her dander up when Ben basically tells Kat what everyone else is thinking? 

Maybe Ben shouldn't have said it but holy hell was Kat a hot mess.  She is a perfect example of someone who SHOULD NOT drink.  Ever.  She's a belligerent, messy drunk.  She should have been fired after disobeying Captain Lee's orders to not leave the ship; not only did he catch her but she basically told him she was going to do it.  

As others have said, Sam is just a brat.  She complains about everything.  She's offended by Adrienne, she's offended by working, she's offended by CJ's attention to her (but that doesn't stop her from hugging and kissing on him.) 

The women basically were just a losing trio. 

I like David, Eddie and Ben.  I actually love Ben because he cooks and he has zero fucks to give but he's still fairly tactful about it.  I also like Nash.  Too bad I don't think we see him again. 

Ready for the next season! 

[Rebecca]

Sam was the worst. I want to believe she has looked at the footage since and realized she's an asshole and changed. But somehow I think she's smug enough to never change and she probably thinks it was all justified, still. Wonder what she's doing now? Solving rockets?

[stcroix]

I rewatched Season 1 the past two days.  The guests were more interesting and weird back then.  The deckhands and stews were more interesting and weird,too!

Sam....gah!  What an insufferable person.  I waited all season (both times!) for her to get her comeuppance, but sadly that never happened, mainly because she won't accept it.  The Captain even couldn't gain respect from her.  Her parents must be real gems.

I liked Eddy and Dave.  I liked Aleks until he went back on the punishment for Sam.  What a slap in the face to Adrienne that was.  He had no trouble disciplining EJ but Sam gives him little private smiles and he caves.  Very unprofessional. 

Poor Adrienne....  she just has a 'different' personality and shouldn't be in charge. I feel like she does well when she's the only stew on a smaller boat IF she will do the work herself-- we pretty much saw her make lists and line up the other two stews which I guess was her job here....  It was hard to watch her flirt with the lesbian women guests. All that,"Heeeeyyy..." was so corny.

Love Ben and his cooking!  He's full of himself but funny and makes the food interesting.

Captain Lee seemed very threatened by Aleks.  I feel at this time having a younger, nice looking white boat captain as his direct subordinate (?) was threatening to him.  I think he knew if this show did well in the ratings that there would be a season 2 or more and he wanted to make sure he was cast as THE captain. 

C.J. told me all he needed to say in explanation of his actions and personality when he casually told Ben,'' I feel like a 12 yr old boy."  I think he's emotionally stunted at that age.  No way does he appear as a man in his 30's.  Good hearted, but something missing there. 

I love this show, I blush to admit it.  I want to take a cruise on one of these white boats and be fed wonderful food and wear newly bought yacht clothes with the tags still on some that all still smell of department stores....  What a fab life some rich people have.  Although most of these guests seem odd or seedy.  That's all :)

[methodwriter85]

CJ had a very teenage boy in 1996 vibe to him. The hair, his mannerism, the way he talked...I wouldn't be surprised if he played Dave Matthews Band and Sublime like non-stop on his black 1996 Jeep Cherokee sound system.

People like Sam are always right and they don't learn much. I thought Adrienne tried really hard to be diplomatic despite not having the best social skills herself.

Edited October 17, 2017 by methodwriter85

[Maharincess]

Where are you watching season 1? I missed the first couple of seasons and have been on the look out for them. The only place I've found it was a pay site and I'm not paying for it. Thanks in advance. 

[methodwriter85]

I'm just going off of memory at this point, although Bravo did do a rerun last year.

[Nancypants]

On 10/18/2017 at 4:01 AM, Maharincess said:

Where are you watching season 1? I missed the first couple of seasons and have been on the look out for them. The only place I've found it was a pay site and I'm not paying for it. Thanks in advance. 

Get an Amazon Fire stick...

[snarts]

Bravo aired a marathon today. I forgot about Sam & CJ.  Adrienne was just as I remembered her. Didn't she come back as a guest with the same lesbian women she met on the charter?

Captain Lee was definitely more of a hardass on season one.  The repeated fire drills for instance. The other thing I noticed was their tips were like half of what they get today ($400-500/charter).

[Chalby]

I just discovered the Below Deck, Below Deck Mediterranean series a month ago! Since then I have attempted to record any episode airing. Where can I go to find and watch the past seasons? I am now ADDICTED to this reality/soap opera show, and I believe it's because of the combination of exotic locales with the clients flaunting their wealth. Seriously, a $18,000 tip!? Holy shit, I need to find a different career, lol. (Although the series has proven that money does not equate intelligence or class.) The clients are usually self-absorbed idiots whose monied-arrogance ensures they continue to be an embarrassment to their home countries. I also love how the yacht crew individuals range from neurotic to quirky and fun.

[Chalby]

On 8/1/2014 at 8:54 AM, beesknees said:

I saw the new season's promo.  I love Ben but I don't like his hair so much this season.  It ages him.

What part of Britain is Ben from. I usually LOVE British accents, but found his accent very annoying. It was as though he dragged out some words ( eg: "really") to the extreme where it almost sounded like he was exaggerating the accent. Did anyone else find this? I hope I have the right chef - was he the one who obsessed over a floral arrangement he had bought his flame/ coworker?

[biakbiak]

My DVR recorded several first season episodes. I had forgotten CJ’s fight to go shirtless but I didn’t forget what a smug, snotty asshole Sam was on the show. So 3rd Stews being awful (besides Amy) goes back to season one before Kate. I think the third stew is used to cast for drama because the ship will still function even when they are awful. The reason that Amy got through is probably because they figured that her issues with Kat would bring the drama and they were right.

[HunterHunted]

On 11/19/2018 at 3:37 PM, Chalby said:

What part of Britain is Ben from. I usually LOVE British accents, but found his accent very annoying. It was as though he dragged out some words ( eg: "really") to the extreme where it almost sounded like he was exaggerating the accent. Did anyone else find this? I hope I have the right chef - was he the one who obsessed over a floral arrangement he had bought his flame/ coworker?

You do have the right chef. Ben is from Oxford, but I believe he spent time in Oxford, London, and Cape Cod (his mother is from there). He went to boarding school; he said something about his school being in the same school sports league as Princes William and Harry.

His father is author Patrick Robinson who wrote Lone Survivor.

5 hours ago, biakbiak said:

My DVR recorded several first season episodes. I had forgotten CJ’s fight to go shirtless but I didn’t forget what a smug, snotty asshole Sam was on the show. So 3rd Stews being awful (besides Amy) goes back to season one before Kate. I think the third stew is used to cast for drama because the ship will still function even when they are awful. The reason that Amy got through is probably because they figured that her issues with Kat would bring the drama and they were right.

Kate can be a jerk, but I feel like people are forgetting that in the 7 seasons of this show that they've only cast one good 3rd stew. Sam was so very smug and snotty. Adrienne had this nervous energy that was uncomfortable to watch, but Kat and Sam, Sam especially was obnoxious the whole time and seemed like she was on a holy mission to make Adrienne have a breakdown. It was just awful.

[Booger666]

Sam was an epic fail at being a stew and a decent human being.  Hopefully she has changed a lot since that season.

[txhorns79]

I dvr'ed the first season marathon.  I wonder what Adrienne thought when she saw the episode where her friend pretty horribly harassed Kat during the charter.  I realize that Adrienne didn't see what happened at the time, and there was a real issue as to whether Kat had been drinking, but her reaction, essentially telling Kat to toughen up and doubting that the friend was as bad as Kat made it seem, does not age well.  And yeah, Adrienne seemed like a terrible manager.       

[heatherchandler]

4 hours ago, Booger666 said:

Sam was an epic fail at being a stew and a decent human being.  Hopefully she has changed a lot since that season.

When I think of Sam, all I can picture is her HUGE jaw!

[hisbunkie]

Watching the first season marathon today. I got totally sucked in. I cannot believe how awful these people are. And Capt Lee is a totally different person (sort of). Actually he is the same no nonsense person. It’s just that the crew does not seem to know or understand his power. They needed to be sent home immediately. 

[DrSparkles]

I missed it 😥😥😥

[biakbiak]

Kat and Travis (from BD Med) would be a good match!

[methodwriter85]

On 1/24/2019 at 1:50 PM, heatherchandler said:

When I think of Sam, all I can picture is her HUGE jaw!

I just remember her and CJ's really weird dynamic where he kept trying to get into her pants and Sam teased him with the possibility while looking for something better.

CJ DOES look like the type of guy who thinks he's hot shit but is a horrible kisser.

On 11/6/2018 at 6:19 PM, snarts said:

Captain Lee was definitely more of a hardass on season one.  The repeated fire drills for instance. The other thing I noticed was their tips were like half of what they get today ($400-500/charter).

I feel like a lot of the charter guests were nouveau-riche who didn't realize the shitty tips made them look bad, so the guests that come now don't want to be the one that gets bitch about leaving the shitty tip, especially those that want to say they "arrived."

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

feel like a lot of the charter guests were nouveau-riche who didn't realize the shitty tips made them look bad, so the guests that come now don't want to be the one that gets bitch about leaving the shitty tip, especially those that want to say they "arrived

A lot of the first season charters were also literally a day and a half.

i do wonder about the catamaran captain who offered a spot to Sam and ended up with CJ. CJ probably is better at sailing but I doubt that’s why he asked a random upset woman the trip.  

Edited August 20, 2019 by biakbiak

[Suck It Trebek]

I, too, got sucked into the first season today. Kat was a mess*, but Sam was truly awful. What an entitled, spoiled, smug brat she was. 

Adrienne did seem like a total dud as the chief stew, but Aleks was truly horrible. He lied during that tip meeting and said docking CJ and Sam’s tips was Lee’s opinion, when he was the one that pushed for it! And then, when Adrienne was talking to Sam about her attitude, he went back on that and gave her the full tip! Horrible leadership. 

*The disgusting treatment of Kat by Adrienne’s “friends” was beyond the pale. Adrienne should have listened to Ben who told her it was completely inappropriate. 

[hisbunkie]

35 minutes ago, Suck It Trebek said:

I, too, got sucked into the first season today. Kat was a mess*, but Sam was truly awful. What an entitled, spoiled, smug brat she was. 

Adrienne did seem like a total dud as the chief stew, but Aleks was truly horrible. He lied during that tip meeting and said docking CJ and Sam’s tips was Lee’s opinion, when he was the one that pushed for it! And then, when Adrienne was talking to Sam about her attitude, he went back on that and gave her the full tip! Horrible leadership. 

*The disgusting treatment of Kat by Adrienne’s “friends” was beyond the pale. Adrienne should have listened to Ben who told her it was completely inappropriate. 

I went as far as paying to watch the reunion. The disrespect the some of the crew showed Capt Lee was shocking to me. He made a great point in that they are in the “vacation business” not on vacation. I felt like half the crew thought they were there to party with the guests, not to serve them. Then they were surprised to not get well tipped. It’s the price you pay!  

BTW I didn’t know that Capt Lee is his first name. That is Lee is his first name. Just like Capt. Sandy. 

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, Suck It Trebek said:

He lied during that tip meeting and said docking CJ and Sam’s tips was Lee’s opinion, when he was the one that pushed for it! And then, when Adrienne was talking to Sam about her attitude, he went back on that and gave her the full tip! Horrible leadership. 

I think he just explained himself poorly the first time he tried to explain that it was his decision. He finally said it correctly but neither of them were willing to listen because they were immature brats. The undermining Adrienne and give her the full tip was just complete and utter bullshit. I mean Adrienne was awful in a lot of ways but she mainly asked that Sam work and not mock her to her face.