History Series / GoldRush

Began airing in [[TheNewTens October of 2010]]. Season 6 debuted in October 2015.

A recent RealityTV series on the DiscoveryChannel detailing the trials and tribulations of a group of down on their luck family men who turn to gold mining in the hopes of finding large deposits of precious metal in order to get out of debt. Originally titled ''Gold Rush: Alaska'', the Alaska part was dropped for season 2 due to Todd Hoffman's decision to add a mine in the Klondike, reinforced by the Hoffman crew being kicked off the Porcupine Creek site.

** For season 6, [[SirSwearsAlot Tony Beets]] wanted to produce 900 ounces or 1 million dollars worth of gold with his decades old dredge. He missed that goal by about 100 ounces. But his high efficiency methods gave him a 50 to 60% return on the digging efforts. (Vs 10 to 30% for stationary washplants.) Operating the dredge taught him and the crew how to do the job correctly and Tony plans on buying a send dredge.

* MoreDakka: The very first episode of the series features the guys unloading a multitude of {{Handguns}} and rifles from a trailer. The [=AR15=] best exemplifies this trope even if only mildly.

* [[RoadTripPlot Road Trip Episode]]: Each of the first 4 seasons opens with the miners traveling from their homes to get to the gold mines in the far north.

** More recently, Parker Schnabel has adopted a pet dog named Dozer.

* BadassGrandpa: John Schnabel has been mining his claim for over 20 years. He's in his 90's and has 65 years of experience as a miner.

* CoolOldGuy: John Schnabel is over 90. He still spends time actually working at the mine and survives a heart attack (his third) that happened during filming of the second season.

** Parker wanted 3000 ounces. He got over 3500 ounces. Close to $4 million.
* V8EngineNoises: The sound of a carbureted V-8 engine that doesn't want to stop can often be heard when various large, diesel engine powered machines are shown being shut down. They could not possibly ''all'' make exactly the same noise at shutdown.

** During the first season, the guys frequently lament that they are in danger of going into foreclosure on their houses back home. Failure to find any gold means going home not just broke, but deeper in debt than when they started. Unfortunately, by the end of season one, they have failed to find more than a few ounces of gold valued in the tens of thousands of dollars. They need more than 100 ounces worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
** Although they finally meet their 1000 and 2000 ounce goals by the end of season 5, after the "''final''" cleanouts, we learn that they need more gold to secure mining rights for the next season (Hoffman crew) or afford to buy a new claim (Parker Schnabel).

** Happens again when his mine is temporarily shut down by the Miner's Safety and Health Association for not only having a few safety violations, but for not having the proper documented miner's training. Parker Schnabel got shut down for the same reason though, and the viewers realize that the Hoffman's are just as vulnerable to the same thing.

** Two miners previously seen working for the Hoffmans prior to Season 4 work for Parker in Season 4.

Began airing in [[TheNewTens October of 2010]]. Season 2 followed in 2011, and season 3 in 2012. Season 6, in October 2015.

** For season 6, Parker's Season 5 Mine Foreman went to work for Tony Beets.

* SpinOff: Seems to have spawned the series ''Series/BeringSeaGold'', which seems to be ''Gold Rush'' meets ''Series/DeadliestCatch''. Interseason specials ''Gold Rush: The Jungle'' and ''Gold Rush: South America'' featured the Hoffman crew's exploits prospecting in South America. ''Jungle Gold'' featured a totally unrelated group from Utah mining in Ghana in western Africa. ''Series/{{Bamazon}}'' features yet another unrelated group from Alabama, prospecting in [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/Brazil Brazil's Amazon Basin]].
* StuffBlowingUp: With the near constant association between mining and the use of explosives in the pursuit of mineral extraction, it is surprising that it took until season 3 to feature a large limestone outcropping being reduced to gravel.

** Fred Dodge, a mining equipment professional, consults for both the Hoffmans and Parker in season 4

Began airing in [[TheNewTens October of 2010]]. Season 2 followed in 2011, and season 3 in 2012. Season 4, in October 2013.

* RoadTripPlot: Each of the first 4 seasons opens with the miners traveling from their homes to get to the gold mines in the far north.

* RoadTripEpisode: Each of the first 4 seasons opens with the miners traveling from their homes to get to the gold mines in the far north.

** Although they finally meet their 1000 and 2000 ounce goals by the end of season 5, after the "''final''" cleanouts, we learn that they need more gold to secure mining rights for the next season (Hoffman crew) or find new ground to mine (Parker Schnabel).

** Although they finally meet their 1000 and 2000 ounce goals by the end of season 5, after the "''final''" cleanouts, we learn that they need more gold tosecure mining rights for the next season (Hoffman crew) or find new ground to mine (Parker Schnabel).

* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: The guys frequently lament that they are in danger of going into foreclosure on their houses back home. Failure to find any gold means going home not just broke, but deeper in debt than when they started. Unfortunately, they have yet to find more than a few ounces of gold valued in the tens of thousands of dollars. They need more than 100 ounces worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
** Although the current season seems to be subverting this, so far.

* JitterCam: Any camera attached to the shaker part of the wash plant. The cameras attached to the excavator arm might or might not count.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Dakota Fred gets served with this; kicking the Hoffmans out of Porcupine Creek, only for his home in Minot to be destroyed by a flood later on.

* RoadTripEpisode: Each season opens with the miners traveling from Sandy, Oregon more than 1000 miles to get to the gold mines in the far north.

* SpinOff: Spawned the series ''Series/BeringSeaGold'', which seems to be ''Gold Rush'' meets ''Series/DeadliestCatch''. Interseason specials ''Gold Rush: The Jungle'' and ''Gold Rush: South America'' featured the Hoffman crew's exploits prospecting in South America. ''Jungle Gold'' featured a totally unrelated group from Utah mining in Ghana in western Africa. ''Series/{{Bamazon}}'' features yet another unrelated group from Alabama, prospecting in [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/Brazil Brazil's Amazon Basin]].

Began airing in late [[TheNewTens 2010]]. Season 2 followed in 2011, and season 3 in 2012. Season 4, which began in October 2013, is in progress.

* DistractedByTheSexy: In season 2, the mechanic, James Harness's girlfriend flies in from the Lower 48. Todd call him on this.

* SpinOff: Spawned the series ''Series/BeringSeaGold'', which seems to be ''Gold Rush'' meets ''DeadliestCatch''. Interseason specials ''Gold Rush: The Jungle'' and ''Gold Rush: South America'' featured the Hoffman crew's exploits prospecting in South America. ''Jungle Gold'' featured a totally unrelated group from Utah mining in Ghana in western Africa. ''Series/{{Bamazon}}'' features yet another unrelated group from Alabama, prospecting in [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/Brazil Brazil's Amazon Basin]].

* ClusterFBomb: Tony Beets: Just about every sentence says will have one or two profanities bleeped out.

* DuctTapeForEverything: Not only is this an AvertedTrope, but, the aversion is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by both Parker and Fred.

* StuffBlowingUp: With the near constant association between mining and using explosives in the pursuit of mineral extraction, it is surprising that it took until season 3 to feature a large limestone outcropping being reduced to gravel.

* ClusterFBomb: Tony Beets: Just about every sentence says will have an some sort of profane word in it.

* EpicFail: [[spoiler: Season 4 for the Hoffman Crew. All of it.]]

* HypercompetentSidekick: Dave Turin to Todd Hoffman. As the seasons go by it becomes increasingly apparent that Dave Turin is much more fit to lead a mining operation than the Hoffmans. [[spoiler: And by the end of the disastrous Season 4 for the Hoffman crew, Dave Turin strongly implies that he will run his own mining operation without the Hoffmans.]]

* WildCard/TurnCoat: Two members previously seen working for the Hoffman crew prior to Season 4 work for Parker in Season 4. Fred Dodge, a mining equipment professional, consults for both Hoffmans and Parker in season 4

* BadassBeard: Most of the Hoffman crew and Tony Beets sport these.

* StuffBlowingUp: With the near constant assosciation between mining and using explosives in the pursuit of mineral extraction, it is surprising that it took until season 3 to feature a large limestone outcropping being reduced to gravel.

* WildCard/Turncoat: Two members previously seen working for the Hoffman crew prior to Season 4 work for Parker in Season 4. Fred Dodge consults for both Hoffmans and Parker

* UsefulNotes/{{Alaska}}: The mining was originally only happening in AK, but the Hoffmans' move to the Klondike widened the scope of the show. Season 2 features 3 different mines, 2 of which are still in AK.

* SpinOff: Spawned the series ''Series/BeringSeaGold'', which seems to be ''Gold Rush'' meets ''DeadliestCatch''. Then there's the new series, ''Jungle Gold'', which seems to be a season-long version of the Hoffman crew's attempt to research gold mining in South America. ''Jungle Gold'' features a totally unrelated group from Utah mining in Ghana in western Africa. ''Series/{{Bamazon}}'' features yet another unrelated group from Alabama, prospecting in [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/Brazil Brazil's Amazon Basin]].

* BadassBeard: Most of the Hoffman crew and Tony Dietz sport these.

* BadassBeard: Most of the Hoffman crew sport these.

** And again in Season 4 when he finally gets to the bottom of the "glory hole" he's been digging out for three years. It proves to contain only a few ounces of gold, far less than the hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth he was hoping for.