Tore Hund Klondike is one of those series I picked up because it looks fascinating, with a somewhat unorthodox setting. With gold digging as the historical background, you assume that this is what the series will also be about mostly - aside from all the frauds and the harsh climate. Alas, everything seems to be addressed only once throughout the series, because there isn't time to remind the viewer what's so perilous about the environment, and what's at stake. Instead the show aims to be a classical Western story featuring cold weather. The gold digging itself is also left completely out of the story. While I wouldn't want to watch a 6 hour series about digging gold, it's striking that a 20 page chapter of "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" is more detailed in the process of extracting gold, than a 6 hour series produced by Discovery. At times it's easy to forget that the show is even taking place in Klondike, and not just any saloon in Santa Fe.Despite a good crew of actors, the characters are one-dimensional and there is little room for any character development. Although some of the characters undergo transitions, there's no development - they simply go from A to B while not giving the viewer any credible reason for their transition. The same goes for the relationships between the characters. Some characters that take up a lot of screen time are even completely redundant, and a waste of the precious time of a 6 episode mini-series. I can think of at least two subplots, without which the show would have lost virtually nothing, while gaining both time and coherence. "Klondike" bit off more than it could chew. A mini-series of 6 episodes is not equipped to deal with profound questions on the true value of gold, while also dealing with the position of females, the suppression of Native Americans, the presence/absence of hope and God, and so on. This series could and should have been a lot better.

tahltanmum I sat through all three episodes, and the entire time, I was howling in outrage! I was born, raised and still live in the north, and am a First Nations woman. I am an avid reader and history glutton for anything "northern", especially the gold rush era, it's characters and the effect it has had on the north, and the peoples who lived there. From the very beginning, this show was unbelievable. The guy with the fancy can of nuggets? How did he get there without getting robbed or killed after flashing this around? Why didn't he take it to a bank or gold dealer for Cash? Then Skagway/Dyea; totally inaccurate. Other reviewers have mentioned this as well, along with the Soapy Smith connection. His character should have stayed in Skagway. Where was the border crossing/checkpoint at the top of the pass? Whitehorse and the canyon? All of the other Stampeders along the way? And don't get me started on the clothing, especially the women! Since when did women in the 18 or 1900's ever dress in tight-fitting spandex pants, and pleather! She was supposed to be a respected woman of business? Puuleeze!! Blatant killings, inaccurate costumes, weak NWMP characters who didn't uphold the law, and vigilante Indians? That was the most irritating! The natives lived peacefully amongst the Stampeders, in fact helped many to survive the harsh conditions, with many intermarriages and children. The scenery, while spectacular and definitely Canadian (if you could ignore the ski hill and highways in the background) is NOT the type that is in the Yukon or around Dawson City. Sorry Discovery, this was an EPIC FAIL in my book, and your historical and location researchers should have done a better job. Maybe an actual trip to the Yukon, Dawson City, and the Chilcoot Trail should have been on the agenda. As a northern Canadian and Indian, I am insulted.

Erin To the reviewer Scott1-921-252003, you offered the best review out of anyone. Thank you for supplying the historically accurate parts of the story and offering your other comments.I personally found the mini series entertaining even if it was historically inaccurate. I'm not really sure why so many people expected it to be overly accurate anyway. Sometimes you just need to enjoy something for what it is. Plus, the movie was pretty clear about calling itself a "docudrama". I also don't understand the reviewers who clearly didn't like it, felt that their time was wasted on it, yet sat through the entire mini-series anyway. If you don't enjoy something, stop watching it lol. I thought the man who played Bill Haskel was a good actor and honestly, very hot. I enjoyed Belinda's character but it would have been nice to know a little more about her, such as why she was there to begin with. I guess because she had more freedom there? I don't know. I didn't think the actress who played Belinda was as good an actress as the man who played Bill, even though I found her entertaining, but perhaps it was because of the way they wrote her character. Female characters on film do not seem to receive the same emotional depth exploration as male characters in film do. It's not often we truly get to see strong female characters on TV and she gave a hint of that. I don't think our society is yet ready to see likable female characters explore a wide range of emotional depth and gabble with morality (unless it's regarding sex) yet, unfortunately. I wish they had developed it more to counter the usual female narratives we see.I really enjoyed the scene where Belinda confronted Sabine who got pushed outside by Tim Roth's character. It's not often you see scenes like that between women on TV either. I thought the dynamic of it was very interesting. Although, I will admit I am getting tired of seeing casts of older distinguished men with one or two young women thrown in. I did enjoy the juxtaposition between Sabine and The Superintendient with the way they both "whored" themselves out. Again, it's not often on TV where the way men "whore" themselves out is so clearly defined. Yet, it's often a common story line when it comes to women. So I enjoyed the way they tied their two life experiences together in that and the morality of the Superintendent. Although again, Sabine was considerably younger than the Superintendient. Once again proving that we are only interested in women's stories when they are young and men's stories no matter their age. I thought the bit where Father Judge got measured for his coffin was oddly endearing and was a nice light reprieve. I enjoy Sam Shepard as an actor. Clearly it was not historically accurate, based on almost everyone else's comments, but I enjoyed the mini-series and as someone who doesn't really read books about the history of the Klondike, it did spark my interest to research it on the internet. I think I might go buy some books on the topic even because of how it sparked my interest. And perhaps that's a better gift then simply having something be historically accurate.

crawford-bd I usually love gold rush stories. However, this one is not one I would recommend watching if you want to get an accurate picture about what the Yukon gold rush was like. Inaccuracies abound. Actually it became fun to find them. The Discovery Channel powers-that-be mention that they are proud of the historical accuracy and their valuable educational service. This show illustrates quite the opposite of the type of programming they say they are proud to produce.Having hiked up the Chilkoot Pass twice, it was interesting to see how they treated this part of the story. What was really laughable was the scene at Dyea where you can see the line of stampeders trudging up the "golden stairs". Impossible. You can't see the hill or the pass from Dyea; it's a three day hike to get to the pass. Seeing the ski hill in the background was a bit silly as well. The wolf scene was ridiculous. It seems that no show about the Canadian wilderness is complete without wolves (or bears) attacking the hero. Wolves do not behave like this.Contrary to what is implied by the production, Dawson City was not a lawless town with gunslinging bullies, shootings and avenging Natives. Chaotic yes, but not lawless. The police were strict but fair. They were also lenient in that they allowed prostitution and gambling. Handguns were never permitted, however. Neither were disorderly conduct, obscenity, or cheating. The police did not hang folks or chase down and kill Natives. In general, both the police and the Natives were unfairly and incorrectly portrayed. And, by the way, the Tlingit did not inhabit the Dawson area.The story was somewhat entertaining, and the acting wasn't half bad except for the mumbling in several places (I thought I was losing my hearing). Too bad and sad, however, that the majority of Canadian actors in this shot-in-Canada production about an event in Canadian history were only background actors.Discovery Channel, you are doing a complete disservice to the public you say you are proud to be educating. Let's hope that future similar productions you are involved in are indeed educational and not fallacious fluff. I guess this is a good example of the famous saying " don't let the truth get in the way of a good story". I realize that some literary license is necessary to enable the flow of the story and keep the audience interested, but this shouldn't be to the point of doing a disservice to important aspects of Canada's history (in particular how the police and Natives were portrayed) or to the point where the story panders to the warped misconceptions or expectations of the target audience (e.g. the wolf scene and the wild west gunslingers).