Duck Dynasty Feature Story

“Happy, Happy, Happy” is the general emotion whenever you bring up the show “Duck Dynasty”. Since it has hit A & E the show’s popularity has grown quite a bit even beating out shows such as American Idol and Survivor in ratings according to an Entertainment Weekly’s website.

            “Duck Dynasty” follows the Robertson family who make duck calls. The company, Duck Commander, was created by Phil Robertson four decades ago and has grown into a bigger empire since Phil’s son, Willie, took over the business. Willie is now the CEO of the company and the boss to his Uncle Si, brother’s Jase & Jep, and friends Godwin & Martin.

But what is it about Duck Dynasty that people love? Is it the comedy, lifestyle, or even one of the Robertson clan? For the most part you could say it’s all three of these. Rebecca Watkins, an avid watcher of the show, says, “I love how much my family and I relate to their activities.” Typically on the show each week the Robertson family take part in various activities and outings such as lawn mower racing and helping Willie’s daughter, Sadie, pick out a Homecoming dress.

On the episode entitled Here Lizard, Lizard we see Willie and Si go on patrol with a local cop of West Monroe while Jase and the rest of the Duck Commander crew are in search for a lizard that has broke lose in the warehouse. The high jinx that Willie and SI get into lead to them pulling a practical joke on Willie’s sister-In-law, Missy. Normally an officer would not pull over a person for going a couple miles over the speed limit. That’s if they don’t have Si or Willie with them. Once she sees Si and Willie is behind her being pulled over she tells them that they’re in trouble. This sounds like something any family that may like to play practical jokes would do with their family.

Another aspect of the show that some people find to be positive is the Robertson family’s faith. At the end of each show as each member of the family is holding hands around the dinner table: Phil always leads the family in saying grace over their meal typically thanking God for the day that they have had. Shonda Powers, another avid viewer of the show says, “This show lets the family talk about other things related to faith and morals.” When talking about her favorite episode, which had Phil talking about premarital sex with his grandson, Powers said, “What he said does not go with the ‘norm’ of what is on TV today. He did not sugar coat it and he did not worry about what other’s would think.” When viewer, Charles Howard, was asked about why some audience members may or may not like this aspect of the show he said, “I don't know why they wouldn't like it. To me it's humbling. It shows the true aspect of Christianity.”

According to Entertainment Weekly’s website “Duck Dynasty” averaged 8.4 million viewers during season three, which just goes to show that there is some aspect of Duck Dynasty that will be interesting. For the season three finale alone they had 9.6 million viewers. Comparing this to the end of the Season one finale, which had a total of 2.6 million viewers according to The New York Times, which shows how popular the show has become over the past three seasons. The reasons behind why the show is so popular to people will vary but the fact remains that there is something about Duck Dynasty that has got peoples attention. Hey! That’s a fact, Jack!