La casa de empeños

I was interested at first, but as I learned that the show is fake and uses actors and items that are from museums, I was set back. Also REAL customers have widely reported that the main characters are usually not there and show up only when the show's been shot.

For me, I am interested to see old items and learn their history, but this show is an anticlimax fest where almost non of the items are real or valuable or even rare. And using items from museums and private collections, it's just pathetic.

I don't like their attitudes and the show is overall sort of vaguely interesting, but its fakeness makes it difficult to watch.

I like reality shows about interesting people going about their daily routine especially when it too is interesting. This show revolves around a pawn shop in Las Vegas and there are apparently a lot of strange things that happen there so there are going to be some interesting things for people to want to sell. So we get to see during each episode some interesting stuff people bring in, some rare stuff, and some just plain strange things. You also get to see people haggle over price, people getting mad when they are told their stuff is not worth all that much money, and people get really happy as they find their stuff is worth a fortune. The show centers around a dad, his father and the son. It also has a guy called Chumlee who I just can not believe he is as stupid as he appears to be. All the guys are interesting, it is fun to watch when one of them buys something not worth anything and then the others pounce. The show is humorous to go along with seeing all the interesting things people bring in. Things that people have sold on the show include very rare coins, hot air balloons, numerous cars and a whole bunch of other stuff. Things they have not bought include a car that was obvious crap that the guy who was trying to sell it got ticked off when Rick (the dad) backed off after a person with mechanical experience looked at it. All in all a fun show to watch.

I have just recently gotten into Pawn Stars and I find it to be a great mix of entertainment and history lessons. The main draw for me is the simple give and take that goes on between the Pawn Store operators and the people who bring items in looking to make quick money. Clearly the biggest draw for this show is Rick, the pawn store owner. Although his dad (the old man) and his son (big hoss) are big parts of the show, it is Rick who makes this show interesting and worthwhile. I don't think that Hollywood could have scripted someone who could make a pawn store owner a truly likable and complex individual. Rick manages to show interest and respect to every person who brings in something for sale while managing to explain his position in understandable terms. The bottom line is that a pawn shop is a place for people in need of quick cash to sell just about anything, just at bargain basement prices. If someone wants to get maximum money for their goods they would have to do market research, team up with a reputable auction house, or go on ebay and roll the dice that someone may make a high enough bid. Otherwise, you can go for the easy money of a pawn shop (albeit much less money.)

A couple of final notes about the characters on the show, as I stated earlier Rick is far and away the star of the show and he is really what makes it watchable. His father doesn't contribute a whole lot other than some standard old man talk. His son (Big Hoss) is pretty much a waste of space and contributes nothing to the show unless you like to watch a very (very) large person walking around in Ed Hardy jeans acting like some kind of tough guy. He is a very simple person, clearly having missed many of the complexities of human nature possessed by his father. Finally, Chumlee is one of the most enjoyable characters ever to grace television, the large man-child with a good heart and a simple mind. All in all I would definitely recommend watching this show to anyone.

Why is everyone in the family obese? 1000s of guns but not one vegetable at dinner?

I thought this show was an inspired mix of Orange County Choppers and Antique Roadshow. That's a bit like mixing beer and milk, but it works.

I Tivo it... near the top of my list actually. But, it is getting stale.

I have a little pet peeve I work around with the fast forward button, and that is any scene with Chumbutt. It kind of gets to me when someone purposely acts stupid and annoying just for the attention. I mean, more power to him getting rich with this schtick. He is clearly stoned and/or drunk in many scenes. Drooping eyebrows, messed up hair, slurred speech.

And you had better believe this is a scripted show. Rick is the only one that can read from a script in a believable way. But, it has to be that way, you can't have a crew sitting around waiting all day for an interesting scene.

I do like the beard of knowledge. I would love to see someone pump something fresh into the show. I'd love to see more outside the shop stuff, like the episode where they did the bar trivia challenge. I'm still watching, fast forwarding around chumplee and I hope they find a way to keep it on the air a few more years.