jennifer-27114 I am not always a stickler about things being "to the book," but when it comes to history, accuracy is important. 1). Where are their belongings? The brutality of hiking the Chilkoot was the requirement to have 2000 pounds of goods, per person + enough supplies to build a boat at Bennet Lake, unless frozen at which point one needed a sled. 2). Soapy Smith never set foot on the Chilkoot Trail, let alone was he ever in Dawson City. He was shot to death in Skagway by Frank Reid. That would have made a great part of this story, had they developed the storyline in Skagway. They could have included Molly Walsh - as well as showing the camps at Canyon City and Sheep Camp to demonstrate how long it took these people to haul 2000 lbs per person to each camp (several trips back and forth). 3). The great Avalanche disaster happened on April 3, not at the end of June. The graveyard at Dyea is quite profound, considering how far away it is from the site of the actual disaster. The least the writers could have done was used the correct date. 4). Though the Pass was difficult, it was the lowest pass, cut through the mountains with a lake on the other side. In this show, they have them climbing up some mountain edge, in an endless mountain range that makes it seem as though these people were mountain climbers. In fact, they were entrepreneurs who chose the easiest route, so the film makers could have focused more on the hardships these people really did suffer, such as sever chafing, frost bite, horses who literally jumped from the cliffs, etc. 5). What about the scales? That was the neatest aspect of the trail. Once everyone got to the scales, if they had more than 2000 lbs, they immediately started throwing stuff away, right on the mountain. Today, it is an interesting garbage dump! Sad that the writers missed just about every aspect of the trail that was significant, important and perfect for great storytelling. Some reviewers have said it was too short and I agree. Someone should make a mini- series out of Pierre Burtons "Klondike" because that was a compelling story.

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.

warrengwonka I was looking at this show with great interest, as my grandfather and his brother first killed a bunch of horses on the White Pass (Dead Horse) trail. Then they hired out as packers on the Golden Staircase of the Chilkoot. Great Uncle Rudy became a popular druggist in Dawson City; Grandpa worked his way through Stanford by taking alternating years as an electrical engineer in the Yukon. One time Uncle Rudy had a shipment of drugs wrecked coming upriver. Grandpa pushed a sled a couple of hundred miles salvaging them because he couldn't get any doge.I liked the first two episodes pretty well, although there were so many howlers ... Bill not freezing to death; people being shot with no consequences, being that the Mounties had the lid on the town; wolves attacking people; I'm not sure that the Mounties were at the top of the Chilkoot enforcing the supply requirements at the very beginning of the Gold Rush. The winter of 97 had the city on starvation rations.Belinda Mulrooney can be googled. She was not lovely. Looks like she could have been a programmer in Silicon Gulch 40 years ago.Father Judge, the "Saint of the Yukon", bought two and a half acres for his St. Mary's Hospital when he came to town from where he had been assigned downriver. After his singlehanded first year, he had nuns for nurses. The show showed his grave marker with an 1898 date. He actually died of pneumonia in 1899. He can also be googled and looks much more refined in his photo than the wild-looking character. The show jumped the shark in the third episode. The Canadians had partnered with the Indians for a hundred years in the fur trade with a lot of intermarriage; The Yukon was not the Wild West with hostiles behind every bush. All of the action was ludicrous. Shooting at an elk with the muzzle right next to a guy's ear. Armed robbery in a tent cabin by an easily identified person. The way they left town ... It would be easier and less dangerous to catch a steamer in the spring.I would have really enjoyed seeing our heroes meeting and coping with the real Soapy Smith in Skagway. He never got to Dawson, and the show version was a buffoon.I watch and enjoy "Reign". Completely unhistorical stories in a historic setting including non-existent hottie royal bastard half- brothers are fun to watch, if the show is actively and openly dealing in piffle. You don't expect it from a Discovery show that touts its verisimilitude.