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chaning counter-suing to suing. A conter-suit is a suit made by the defenent against the plantif in response to their lawsuit. Since Hester was not sued it is not a countersuit.
→‎Criticism: this isnt a critisism and should be under its own section
Line 72: Line 72:
Every episode opens with the narrator, Thom Beers, setting the basic premise for the series: "When storage units are abandoned, the treasures within are put up for auction." In Episodes 2, 3, 4 and 7 of season one, an extra line was added to the opening narration: "because in this high-stakes game, it's get rich or die buyin'." The narration is followed by the preview of the upcoming episode, followed by the opening titles. In the opening titles, the sequence of titles begins at Dave, then Darrell, then Brandi and Jarrod, then Barry, and finally at Dan and Laura. While Laura always appeared in the opening titles, her highlighted face and name were not added to the credits until episode 11 of Season 1. Dave Hester Jr. and Brandon Sheets also appear in the opening titles, but are not highlighted and credited. The show's theme song, "Money Owns This Town", which was written and recorded specifically for the show, plays during the opening.
Every episode opens with the narrator, Thom Beers, setting the basic premise for the series: "When storage units are abandoned, the treasures within are put up for auction." In Episodes 2, 3, 4 and 7 of season one, an extra line was added to the opening narration: "because in this high-stakes game, it's get rich or die buyin'." The narration is followed by the preview of the upcoming episode, followed by the opening titles. In the opening titles, the sequence of titles begins at Dave, then Darrell, then Brandi and Jarrod, then Barry, and finally at Dan and Laura. While Laura always appeared in the opening titles, her highlighted face and name were not added to the credits until episode 11 of Season 1. Dave Hester Jr. and Brandon Sheets also appear in the opening titles, but are not highlighted and credited. The show's theme song, "Money Owns This Town", which was written and recorded specifically for the show, plays during the opening.


===Criticism===
===Critisism===
While some have speculated that some of the units have been stocked by producers,<ref name="USAToday">{{cite news |url= http://www.usatoday.com/LIFE/usaedition/2011-01-28-storage28_CV_U.htm |title='Storage Wars' strikes it rich|first= Marco R.|last= della Cava|work=[[USA Today]] |date= 2011-01-27|publisher=[[Gannett Company|Gannett]] |location=[[McLean, VA]] |issn=0734-7456 |quote= |accessdate=17 July 2011}}</ref> an A&E publicist said, "There is no staging involved. The items uncovered in the storage units are the actual items featured on the show."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/arts-entertainment-living/tuned-in-journal/29347-tv-qaa-storage-wars-directv-e-in-hd |title=TV Q&A: 'Storage Wars' + DirecTV + E! in HD |first= Rob|last= Owen|work=communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com |date= 2011-07-08|accessdate=17 July 2011}}</ref> Executive producer Thom Beers has stated that the vast majority of the storage lockers investigated during production contain nothing of interest and therefore do not appear in the final show.<ref name="channelguide" /> Beers has explained that the series avoids delving into back stories of the lockers' original owners because, "All you see is misery there, and I didn't want to trade on that."<ref name="USAToday" />
While some have speculated that some of the units have been stocked by producers,<ref name="USAToday">{{cite news |url= http://www.usatoday.com/LIFE/usaedition/2011-01-28-storage28_CV_U.htm |title='Storage Wars' strikes it rich|first= Marco R.|last= della Cava|work=[[USA Today]] |date= 2011-01-27|publisher=[[Gannett Company|Gannett]] |location=[[McLean, VA]] |issn=0734-7456 |quote= |accessdate=17 July 2011}}</ref> an A&E publicist said, "There is no staging involved. The items uncovered in the storage units are the actual items featured on the show."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/arts-entertainment-living/tuned-in-journal/29347-tv-qaa-storage-wars-directv-e-in-hd |title=TV Q&A: 'Storage Wars' + DirecTV + E! in HD |first= Rob|last= Owen|work=communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com |date= 2011-07-08|accessdate=17 July 2011}}</ref> Executive producer Thom Beers has stated that the vast majority of the storage lockers investigated during production contain nothing of interest and therefore do not appear in the final show.<ref name="channelguide" /> Beers has explained that the series avoids delving into back stories of the lockers' original owners because, "All you see is misery there, and I didn't want to trade on that."<ref name="USAToday" />


===Lawsuit===
In December 2012, Dave Hester filed a lawsuit against A&E and [[Original Productions]], claiming that the producers staged entire units, planted items in lockers after having them appraised weeks in advance, and funneled cash to weaker teams to buy lockers they could not have otherwise afforded. The suits claims that Hester and other cast members met with network officials to express concerns that those actions were in violation of federal law intended to prevent viewers from being deceived when watching a show involving intellectual skills.<ref name=RadarOnline>{{cite web| url=http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/12/storage-wars-sued-dave-hester-show-faked | title=Storage Wars Sued By Its Star; Show Is Faked And Execs Were Confronted By Cast, Court Papers Charge|first= David|last= Perel|work=radaronline.com|date=2012-12-11 |accessdate=11 December 2012 }}</ref><ref name=WFP>{{cite web|url= http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/aes-storage-wars-reality-series-is-rigged-fired-cast-member-claims-in-lawsuit-183050181.html|title= A&E's 'Storage Wars' reality series is rigged, fired cast member claims in lawsuit|work=winnipegfreepress.com|date= 2012-12-11|accessdate= 11 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.yahoo.com/lawsuit-claims-es-storage-wars-show-rigged-211515226.html |title=Lawsuit claims A&E's 'Storage Wars' show is rigged |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=2012-12-11 }}</ref>
In December 2012, Dave Hester filed a lawsuit against A&E and [[Original Productions]], claiming that the producers staged entire units, planted items in lockers after having them appraised weeks in advance, and funneled cash to weaker teams to buy lockers they could not have otherwise afforded. The suits claims that Hester and other cast members met with network officials to express concerns that those actions were in violation of federal law intended to prevent viewers from being deceived when watching a show involving intellectual skills.<ref name=RadarOnline>{{cite web| url=http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/12/storage-wars-sued-dave-hester-show-faked | title=Storage Wars Sued By Its Star; Show Is Faked And Execs Were Confronted By Cast, Court Papers Charge|first= David|last= Perel|work=radaronline.com|date=2012-12-11 |accessdate=11 December 2012 }}</ref><ref name=WFP>{{cite web|url= http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/aes-storage-wars-reality-series-is-rigged-fired-cast-member-claims-in-lawsuit-183050181.html|title= A&E's 'Storage Wars' reality series is rigged, fired cast member claims in lawsuit|work=winnipegfreepress.com|date= 2012-12-11|accessdate= 11 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.yahoo.com/lawsuit-claims-es-storage-wars-show-rigged-211515226.html |title=Lawsuit claims A&E's 'Storage Wars' show is rigged |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=2012-12-11 }}</ref>



Revision as of 23:42, 19 December 2012

Storage Wars
Title Card (Seasons 1-2)
GenreReality
StarringDave Hester
Darrell Sheets
Jarrod Schulz
Brandi Passante
Barry Weiss
Dan Dotson
Laura Dotson
Bill Archer
Mark Balelo
Nabila Haniss
Jeff Jarrod
Narrated byThom Beers
Theme music composerAndy Kubiszewski
Opening theme"Money Owns This Town"
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes76 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersRobert Sharenow and Elaine Frontain Bryant, Thom Beers and Philip D. Segal
ProducerDolph Scott
Running time21–22 minutes
Production companyOriginal Productions
Original release
NetworkA&E
ReleaseDecember 1, 2010 (2010-12-01) –
present
Promo for Storage Wars

Storage Wars is an American reality television series on the A&E Network that premiered in 2010. The show features the auctioneering couple of Dan Dotson and Laura Dotson, as well as buyers Dave Hester, the usually together but occasionally separated team of Darrell and Brandon Sheets, Barry Weiss, and the team of Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante. Executive producer and creator Thom Beers serves as off-screen narrator. When rent is not paid on a storage locker for three months in California, the contents are sold by an auctioneer as a single lot of items. The show follows professional buyers who purchase the contents based only on a five-minute inspection of what they can see from the door when it is opened. The goal is to turn a profit on the merchandise. Season one of Storage Wars consisted of 19 episodes, 17 of which were filmed at various self-storage facilities throughout Southern California. Two special episodes were filmed on location at a pair of StorageOne facilities in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show has enjoyed ratings success, and its second season premiere attracted 5.1 million total viewers, making it the most-watched program in A&E's history to that point.[1]

A spin-off of Storage Wars titled Storage Wars: Texas made its debut on A&E on December 6, 2011. The series features a new cast of bidders and an auctioneer.[2] A second spinoff called Storage Wars: New York was originally scheduled to debut on December 11, 2012.[3] [4] but has since been pushed out to January 1, 2013.[5]

Storage Wars can be seen internationally as well, as AETN International has sold the series to several channels in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.[6]

Storage Wars was recommissioned for another twenty-six episode season in January 2012[7], with the season officially premiering on June 5, 2012. Only twenty of the twenty-six episodes were aired however, with six of the episodes being held back for broadcast during the second half of the show's 3rd season which began airing on December 4, 2012.[8]


Participants

Main buyers

  • Dave Hester - "The Mogul" (Season 1-4): Hester began the series owning Newport Consignment Gallery in Costa Mesa, California[9] and the Rags to Riches thrift store, until he closed them in June 2011. He now operates his own auction house, Dave Hester Auctions. Hester is also worth approximately 3 million dollars.[10] Hester serves as the program's main antagonist, having had confrontations with the other main buyers on the show, especially Darrell and Brandon Sheets. He will not sell weapons from a unit he has purchased, turning them in to local authorities for destruction. Hester openly takes pride in driving up the bidding to assert his dominance and has a son Dave Jr. who appears on the show working alongside him. Hester's signature move is to loudly yell "YUUUP!" to place a bid, seemingly at the last moment, often maddening the other bidders. He even has this catchphrase imprinted on his trucks, t-shirts, and hats. Barry Weiss gave him the first of such hats with a prominent "YUUUP!" featured on the front of the hat in the episode "Stairway to Hemet" in hopes to "...save us all a little bit of noise pollution, and instead of yelling 'YUUUP!' you just point to your hat".

Recently Dave Hester has been "fired" from the show. He is suing the show for wrongful termination. He claims he was let go after repeatedly bringing up the theory that the show was rigged with the producers placing valuable goods in the storage units for the benefit of the show.

  • Darrell Sheets - "The Gambler" (Season 1-): Sheets, a 30 plus year old man storage auction veteran from San Diego, appears alongside his son, Brandon. He's known for the signature tank tops he wears to the auctions (Darrell and Brandon were dubbed by Jarrod Schulz as "Team Tank Top"), his catchphrase of "This is the WOW factor!" when coming across potentially valuable items, and occasional malapropisms. He makes his living by selling items from his purchased lockers at swap meets, and in season three, Sheets mentioned he previously owned a bait and tackle shop. In the beginning of the series, he lived with his wife, son and young granddaughter, Zoe. He has been divorced, and moved (along with Brandon) to North Hollywood where he works out of his new warehouse. In an interview, Sheets indicated that some of his biggest finds in lockers included a sizable comic book collection, four drawings by Pablo Picasso (Sheets revealed his ex-wife received in the divorce), and a letter written by Abraham Lincoln that sold for over $15,000.[11] In "Unlocked: Sell High", Darrell revealed that he once uncovered a plastic-wrapped human corpse in a storage locker. He was interviewed by police and it was determined that the previous owner of the locker had murdered his wife and left her in the unit.
Jarrod Schulz (left) and Brandi Passante (middle) with interviewer
  • Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante - "The Young Guns" (Season 1-): Schulz and Passante own and operate the Now and Then thrift store in Orange, California and have the least substantial financial resources.[12] They opened the shop after Jarrod's business of buying storage units and selling the contents at swap meets overran their home. Brandi started to attend the auctions when she was not sure if Jarrod could be trusted. Jarrod also is a co-owner of a clothing line, Outlaw Apparel which he prominently wears on the show, and he and Brandi have two children together.
  • Barry Weiss - "The Collector" (Season 1-): Weiss and his brother owned a produce company until he retired. He only looks for a few collectible items to keep and sells or donates everything else. While Weiss is a lifelong antique collector, he had no involvement in buying storage units until his friend and Storage Wars executive producer and narrator Thom Beers suggested he join the show.[13] Barry is the best financed of the group and by his own admission is the only one not in it for financial profit. He is known for the unusual antics he brings to the auctions, such as bringing in psychics to help him figure out a locker's contents, odd disguises and outfits he'll sometimes wear, attaching a camera to a remote control helicopter to look into a locker, and most recently bringing in a pair of fake German attorneys to distract the other buyers. He will not sell any fur articles in a unit he purchases, instead donating them to charity or giving them to another buyer, such as in an early episode when he gave a couple of fur coats to Dave Hester, who then sold them at his retail store.
  • Bill Archer (Season 1, Season 4-present): Archer had recently left his previous job to become a storage-unit buyer at the time of his first appearance. He has been seen in the background since his initial appearance.
  • Mark Balelo (Season 2-present): Balelo owns a liquidation, wholesale, and distribution company, as well as an auction house. He appeared four times in the second season, in the episodes "Enemy of The Enemy", "Fire in The Hole", "San Burrito" and "Buy Low Sell High", and also appeared once in the third season, in the episode "More Like WRONG Beach".
  • Nabila Haniss (Season 2, Season 4-present): Haniss received attention for purchasing a storage unit that contained items belonging to socialite Paris Hilton.[14] She appeared five times in the second season, in the episodes "Smoke Em If You Find 'Em", "The Drone Wars", "Not Your Average Bear", "Hook, Line and Sucker" and "Operation Hobo".
  • Jeff Jarred (Season 3-present): Jared is the owner of the It's New To You antique and thrift store that he runs with his daughter in Burbank, California. He is also a Little League umpire. He first appears in the third season episode "All's Fair in Storage and Wars", before appearing in the following two episodes, "The Fast and The Curious" and "From Russia With Chucks", as well as in the fourth-season episode "The Young & The Reckless".

Other cast members

  • Dan and Laura Dotson: The husband and wife auctioneer team run American Auctioneers, and administer the auctions at the various storage units.[15] Dan has been a professional auctioneer since 1974. He and Laura regularly exhibit a friendly rapport with all of the main buyers, often having to keep peace amongst the sometimes rowdy and hotly competitive bidders. Dan functions as the primary auctioneer, occasionally giving the reigns to Laura. Laura has become known for her own catchphrase on the show where, at the end of every auction she cheerily reminds the buyers: "Don't forget to pay the lady!", meaning herself and her commission.
  • Thom Beers: The executive producer and narrator of the show. Beers provides a quick explanation of the show's premise at the beginning, and does a recap of the featured buyers' profits or losses at the end of each episode.

Production

Opening titles

Every episode opens with the narrator, Thom Beers, setting the basic premise for the series: "When storage units are abandoned, the treasures within are put up for auction." In Episodes 2, 3, 4 and 7 of season one, an extra line was added to the opening narration: "because in this high-stakes game, it's get rich or die buyin'." The narration is followed by the preview of the upcoming episode, followed by the opening titles. In the opening titles, the sequence of titles begins at Dave, then Darrell, then Brandi and Jarrod, then Barry, and finally at Dan and Laura. While Laura always appeared in the opening titles, her highlighted face and name were not added to the credits until episode 11 of Season 1. Dave Hester Jr. and Brandon Sheets also appear in the opening titles, but are not highlighted and credited. The show's theme song, "Money Owns This Town", which was written and recorded specifically for the show, plays during the opening.

Critisism

While some have speculated that some of the units have been stocked by producers,[15] an A&E publicist said, "There is no staging involved. The items uncovered in the storage units are the actual items featured on the show."[16] Executive producer Thom Beers has stated that the vast majority of the storage lockers investigated during production contain nothing of interest and therefore do not appear in the final show.[3] Beers has explained that the series avoids delving into back stories of the lockers' original owners because, "All you see is misery there, and I didn't want to trade on that."[15]

Lawsuit

In December 2012, Dave Hester filed a lawsuit against A&E and Original Productions, claiming that the producers staged entire units, planted items in lockers after having them appraised weeks in advance, and funneled cash to weaker teams to buy lockers they could not have otherwise afforded. The suits claims that Hester and other cast members met with network officials to express concerns that those actions were in violation of federal law intended to prevent viewers from being deceived when watching a show involving intellectual skills.[17][18][19]

Ratings

The first season premiere episode drew 2.1 million viewers[20] and the show was A&E's top-rated non-fiction show for 2010, with an average of 2.4 million viewers.[15] The season two premiere consisted of back-to-back new episodes of the show; the second show drew 5.1 million total viewers and was the highest rating for an episode of a series in A&E history.[1] The combined season premiere outperformed competing original episodes of NBC Love in the Wild and ABC's Primetime Nightline.[21]

Critical reception

Critical response was mixed, with Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times calling Storage Wars "a strangely uplifting show — hope being one of the many things one can apparently find in an abandoned storage unit,"[22] and Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times called the series "an especially entertaining addition to the genre."[23] Brian Lowry of Variety said that "'Wars' should have been left in storage, indefinitely."[24] Writing for Slate, Troy Patterson gave a mixed review, referring to the series as "trash TV" as well as "trivial and magnetic."[25] Ellen Gray of the Philadelphia Daily News suggested "if there's an acquisitive bone in your body, you should probably steer clear."[26]

Episodes

Home releases

Storage Wars: The Complete Season 1
Set details[27] DVD Layout
  • DISC ONE (7 episodes): "High Noon in the High Desert" - "The Old Spanish Standoff"
  • DISC TWO (7 episodes): "Midnight in the Gardena Good and Evil" - "Trouble the Oil"
  • DISC THREE (5 episodes): "Makings of a Mogul" - "Live and Let Bid"
DVD release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
August 30, 2011 June 11, 2012
Storage Wars: Volume 2
Set details[28] DVD Layout
  • DISC 1: "Santa Ana Street Fight" - "Fire in the Hole"
  • DISC 2: "San Burrito" - "FU Dog Day Afternoon"
DVD release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
February 14, 2012
Storage Wars: Volume 3
Set details[29] DVD Layout
  • DISC 1: "I'm The New Mogul" - "Scoot A Toot Toot"
  • DISC 2: "The Empire Strikes Out" - "Operation Hobo"
DVD release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
July 17, 2012

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Sellers, John (2011-07-21). "'Storage Wars' most popular series in A&E history". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles: Tribune Co. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  2. ^ "A&E's 'Storage Wars' Returns with New Episodes on a New Night Beginning Tuesday, November 15 - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  3. ^ a b Harrison, Stacey. "Producer Thom Beers talks 'Storage Wars: Texas'". channelguidemag.com. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  4. ^ "A&E to Open "Storage Wars: NY" on Tuesday, December 11". Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  5. ^ "A&E Bumps "Storage Wars: New York" to January 1, "Be the Boss" to Late-Night". Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  6. ^ October 3, 2011 by Adam Benzine (2011-10-03). "A+E inks int'l deals for "Pawn Stars," "Storage Wars"". Realscreen. Retrieved 2012-01-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ April 12, 2012 by Lesley Goldberg (April 12, 2012). "A&E Renews 'Storage Wars,' 'Storage Wars: Texas,' 'Shipping Wars'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2012-04-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ http://www.aetv.com/storage-wars/episode-guide/season-3/
  9. ^ Venezia, Barbara (2011-02-04). "Venezia: Dave Hester of 'Storage Wars' has O.C. connection". Orange County Register. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  10. ^ celebrity net worth. "dave hesters net worth". celebrity net worth. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  11. ^ Hudak, Joseph (2010-10-22). "Storage Wars' Greatest Finds". tvguide.com. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  12. ^ "Storage Wars - Meet Jarrod Schulz". aetv.com. 2011 [last update]. Retrieved 30 July 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  13. ^ "'Storage Wars' Star Barry Weiss Talks About Being a 'Produce' Man & His Female Fans". Aoltv.com. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  14. ^ "Hilton vs. Persa". citmedialaw.org. 2008 [last update]. Retrieved 14 December 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  15. ^ a b c d della Cava, Marco R. (2011-01-27). "'Storage Wars' strikes it rich". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  16. ^ Owen, Rob (2011-07-08). "TV Q&A: 'Storage Wars' + DirecTV + E! in HD". communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  17. ^ Perel, David (2012-12-11). "Storage Wars Sued By Its Star; Show Is Faked And Execs Were Confronted By Cast, Court Papers Charge". radaronline.com. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  18. ^ "A&E's 'Storage Wars' reality series is rigged, fired cast member claims in lawsuit". winnipegfreepress.com. 2012-12-11. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  19. ^ "Lawsuit claims A&E's 'Storage Wars' show is rigged". Associated Press. 2012-12-11.
  20. ^ "Hasselhoff show axed after 2 episodes". cbc.ca. 2010-12-11. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  21. ^ Collins, Scott (2011-07-23). "Quick Takes: A&E scores with 'Storage Wars' - Los Angeles Times". articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  22. ^ Mcnamara, Mary (2011-02-27). "Television review: 'Storage Wars' on A&E". articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  23. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (2010-12-09). "The Gold Mines Behind Padlocks". nytimes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  24. ^ Lowry, Brian (2010-12-01). "Variety Reviews – Storage Wars". variety.com. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  25. ^ Patterson, Troy (2010-12-15). "Let Me Touch Your Junk". Slate.com. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  26. ^ Ellen, Gray. "Critic Reviews for Storage Wars: Season 1". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2 May 2012. Also, Storage Wars has inspired loads of fan fiction, such as the wildly popular website, Storage Wars Porn,as seen here.
  27. ^ Storage Wars: Season 1. "Storage Wars: Season 1: Dan Dotson, A&E Entertainment: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-11-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ Storage Wars, Volume 2. "Storage Wars, Volume 2: Various, A&E Entertainment: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-11-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Storage Wars: Volume 3. "Storage Wars: Volume 3: Barry Weiss, Darrell Sheets, Dave Hester, Jarrod Schulz, Brandi Passante, Matthew Bennett: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-11-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)