Another man's trash is another man's treasure....or possibly my next career choice!

Chris here, large and in charge. A bit about me. I am a multimedia journalist at The Oakland Press, I focus mostly on editing, building pages (assembling the actual paper), social media (Facebook and Twitter) and shooting video. I live in Allen Park, a city in the Downriver area (we are referenced in the classic Journey song "Don't Stop Believin' as "South Detroit").


I thought I would throw my hat into the ring with my second guilty pleasure outside of Yacht Rock (Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Toto, Billy Ocean, you get it) and that is this new wave of pawn, auction and junk collecting reality shows.

The rough list (and it seems to be growing lately) includes "Pawn Stars," "Oddities," "American Pickers," "Auction Kings," "Storage Wars," "Auction Hunters" and "Storage Hunters." An honorable mention would be "American Restoration" but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Rick Harrison, Chumlee, Corey Harrison and Richard Harrison- the Pawn Stars

So I begin my foray into this topic with the one show that started it all for me- "Pawn Stars." I got into these shows beginning with Stars sometime around December 2009/January 2010. I remember hearing about it for a while and one bored weekend I watched the entire first season On Demand. Something about it stuck with me. Maybe it seemed like a mix of "Antiques Roadshow" and "American Chopper." The fact that people bring such unique items into the shop is what always keep me watching.

A rundown about the show. It airs Monday nights at 10 and 10:30 p.m. on The History Channel. It takes place in Las Vegas (my all-time favorite vaca spot) but it's not located anywhere near the glitz and glamor of the strip. This is the Vegas most people don't venture to when on vacation. The cast of characters include Rick Harrison, the de-facto "boss" of the shop; his son Corey Harrison does the day-to-day; their father and grandfather Richard Harrison is the patriarch of the business and rounding out the motley crew is Austin "Chumlee" Russell, Corey's childhood friend.

The cast each has their own quirks. Rick is well versed in the trade and also a history buff. He seems to always know the background of the items people bring into his shop. Corey, also known as "Big Hoss" is a bit of a bully when it comes to dealing. He seems to always start with a lowball offer before coming to an agreement with the customer. Richard, also known as "the old man", acts very much like his son Rick in that he knows his history well but is always seen sleeping most of the day. Chumlee is the comic relief of the shop. If you're familiar with "American Chopper" consider him the Mikey Teutel of the shop. Chumlee means well but is geared more for laughs.