Chercheurs D'Opale

It's the "opal" version of Deadliest Catch or Ice Road Truckers. And just like in the other series, nothing really happens. The voice-over tries to emphasize some urgency - running out of money or time - and creates some sort of tension: "Have they found a real big opal?" And - of course - they haven't. So the episode soldiers on from location to location, about 3 or 4 in total. At the end of the episode none of the lives has really changed - except for mine since I lost about 40 minutes of my time.

Both my wife and I enjoy following the ups but mostly downs of the various groups of miners. Naturally some you get to like and wish goodluck others the opposite.

The guys have chosen a tough road for themselves but with the odd exception , face the many failures with fortitude.

The buying agents naturally seem not to reward the miners efforts too well but trade on the fact that most miners are desperate for a few dollars to buy food or diesel. All human life is thus on display.

This programe is a small clipse into the lives of people effected by the bug of opal-fever of colour and the potential to get rich quick, as the episodes suggest! But in-the-end, when these people are doing is very dangerous, not too mention the posibility of being robbed for their opal. Note that individual miners will invent there own terminologies to desbribe what they are doing in the process of opal mining. And yes it would appear that the producers are trying to create an atmosphere of dangerous urgency or desperate need to survive either from the mining or life-style. Though Its shows people what takes to mine and in this case aussie opal and practicality of what is needed and science uised but little geologist help not used in the episodes I watched in season 1. Still a great watch if you are like me ans wish you could mine for opal but know that will never happen! DJ

Interesting subject, but way too americanized and overdramatic show. Ridiculous narrator and music, who tries to make everything sound dramatic as F.

Sad to see all these people spend their life doing ...nothing.

Although they produce quite a lot of blood (sometimes), sweat (buckets) and tears (at the end of the day) most of them never get any richer, either physically, metaphorically, intellectually or morally.

Unfortunately an image of scurrying rodents comes to mind when I see them digging in the dirt, breaking every Little Rock into even smaller pieces. Makes you wonder how many of these people commit suicide, become alcoholics or get addicted to drugs.

Like with all similar setups, the real money is made by the dealers and buyers of the Opal, who pay the diggers a pittance and sell the stuff for a fortune. Having lived in Sierra Leone almost thirty years ago and having seen what so-called 'blood diamond' does to a society I am truly appalled by this series.