Part 1

Episode 1 - Everything On The Line

The 2008 king crab fishing season opens with life and death stakes before the boats even cast off. The fleet is aging, and so are the captains. The Wizard's skipper Keith and the Cornelia Marie's skipper Phil have ominous health symptoms. Nerves are raw as the two men await medical test results - and their doctors' clearance to fish. As the fleet launches, the captains are under huge financial pressure from costly summer boat repairs; they need to get on crab fast. One skipper arrives on the crab grounds and discovers he isn't able to fish at all - due to a damaged hull. To make repairs, he puts on diving gear and descends into waters few men return from - the icy Bering Sea.

Episode 2 - Red Skies in the Morning

It's week two for the crab fishing show and the boats have encountered low crab numbers, crew tensions and even serious injury. When the fleet wakes up to ominous red dawn skies, the skippers speculate that a severe storm is on the way. But with crab quota to catch, the boats keep fishing. The Time Bandit milks a family honey hole, while the Cornelia Marie strikes out. When 20-foot seas and high winds kick up, even the bravest skippers call in their men to wait out the storm. One boat, with eleven souls on board, sends out a Mayday. In an all too familiar scene, the Coast Guard launches rescue helicopters, and the skippers stay glued to their radios - anxiously awaiting news of the fate of their fellow Deadliest Catch fishermen.

Episode 3 - Stay Focused or Die

The fleet is still dialing into the crab, and already a typhoon has taken its toll. A boat has sunk - and bone-chilling accounts of the fate of its men relay around the fleet. As soon as the weather clears, the skippers of the Time Bandit, Cornelia Marie, Wizard and Northwestern send their men right back to fishing. On a crab boat, there's no time to dwell on tragedy. Hauling and setting pots is treacherous work and if the crews don't stay focused on their work, they could die.

Episode 4 - Put up or Shut up

It's week four of king crab season. Seven souls have perished, but the fishermen soldier on in the hunt for crab. Gruelling hours and vicious hazing test the Greenhorns, and some start to crack. On the Wizard, the rookie fights to maintain dignity as the deckboss shreds him to the core. On the Northwestern, Jake Anderson gets a shot at running the hydro, and learns that operating them puts the lives of the crew in his hands. The 78-ft Lisa Marie also arrives with something to prove. The smallest boat in the fleet has a young crew with some mighty big mouths. For all of these newcomers, it¹s time to put up... or shut up.

Episode 5 - Long Haul, Short Fuses

Crab pots continue to come up empty and the skippers are out of ideas. Low bait and long grinds take our crews to dark places - the smallest infractions from a Greenhorn or fellow deckhand cause tempers and even violence to flare. Aboard the Cornelia Marie the brothers Harris have a war of words, while on the Lisa Marie two brothers resort to a smack down. On the Wizard, low bait forces Keith to turn his back on his brother and reach out to an old enemy: Sig Hansen. While the rest of the fleet fight it out amongst themselves, it¹s a wild, swinging pot that could do fatal damage on the Time Bandit.

Episode 6 - Deadline

A new deadline is set: an upcoming drop in the price of king crab has the skippers rushing to finish their season. But crew battles and a fierce arctic storm block the way. The Wizard and the Time Bandit survive savage weather to haul in gold, while on the Cornelia Marie, relief skipper Murray proves that not everyone is cut out to find the crab. On the Northwestern, greenhorn Jake rages at his mentor, Edgar, and on the tiny Lisa Marie, poor crab and bullying drive a deckhand to the brink.

Episode 7 - Down to the Wire

The king crab season is down to the wire and skippers are desperate to top off their quotas. It’s looking bleak as crews pick through bone-yards of fished out grounds. Some boats dig deep for an end of season sprint, while other boats only scrape by. On the Northwestern, skipper Sig is forced to radio fish in the 11th hour. On the Cornelia Marie, skipper Murray tries to maintain control as simmering crew frustrations boil over. The Time Bandit has already ended their season, but they’re contenders to claim the captains’ wager. In the end, some men will glory in big pay offs - while others will be glad just to have survived.

Part 2

Alaskan crab fishing is one of the deadliest jobs on earth and last season alone six men lost their lives battling the extreme Arctic weather and brutal waves, to bring in their haul. But these determined fishermen are setting sail again, as Emmy-nominated series Deadliest Catch returns for a new instalment of treacherous life or death adventures on the icy Bering Sea.

The Northwestern, Time Bandit and Wizard are docked, stocked and ready to roll from Dutch Harbour; but this season there are new boats and crews joining the fleet, up weighting the competition, and there are some hard decisions to be made. After his health scare last year, will Captain Phil Harris and the crew of the Cornelia Marie return this time round? This year promises more pranks and even bigger rivalries as the new series takes viewers even further into the danger zone, above and below deck, as the fearless captains and crews once again risk life and limb, in their attempt to bring in the deadliest catch.

Episode 8 - Payback Time

It's the start of the 2009 Opilio Crab Season. Anything the Bering Sea held back during King Season is now being paid out in spades. The skippers have their eye on the oncoming ice pack - but it's a lethal, 40-foot rogue wave that's on the hunt. The season opens with Skipper Phil Harris reuniting with his boat, his sons, and the countless headaches of helming a Bering Sea crab vessel. On the Time Bandit the men target the Greenhorn of the Northwestern for some sweet revenge. And on the Wizard, it's the boat itself that becomes a target - of an angry Bering Sea.

Episode 9 - No Second Chances

The fleet arrives on the Opi Grounds and boats struggle with ice, big seas, and bad information to hunt down the crab. A skipper regrets sending his men out in savage weather to save the boat - but there are no second chances on the Bering Sea. On the Time Bandit, old family grounds are barren and Skipper Andy risks moving his pots North, next to the ice. On the Northwestern, Skipper Sig hits big crab and big seas. On the Cornelia Marie the major battles are between crew members. And on the Incentive, a new boat to the show, anger and frustration also reigns. It's a brutal start to a brutal Opilio Season.

Episode 10 - Sea of Misery

It's week three of the Opilio Crab Season. Long hours and inhuman conditions already have the crabbers turning on each other. One skipper needs to deliver his crab but boat-crushing ice stands between his vessel and the safety of harbor. On the Northwestern, the bitter temperatures have the Jr. Deckhand showing signs of strain. While on the Wizard, Skipper Keith is still reeling from the after-affects of a monster wave that banged up his crew. On the Time Bandit the crab is crawling on board, but one old Deckhand wants to crawl off. A sea of misery surrounds the fleet - and the season isn't even half over.

Episode 11 - Lockout

The 250,000 square mile arctic ice pack is barreling South, swallowing the crab grounds one mile per every hour. Now, the skippers are faced with a major gamble: flirt with the icy, fertile waters to the North, or play it safe in the fished out Southern grounds. After some skippers strike gold, the race is on to St. Paul Harbor. But with the canneries in sight, the crab fleet finds a new challenge - one that threatens the value of their crab bounty...St Paul Harbor is frozen shut! The skippers will need to fight tooth and nail to plow their way to shore.

Episode 12 - A Slap in the Face or a Kick in the Butt

Late into the season, each skipper faces his own personal brand of hell. Frozen crab, frozen gear, and a frozen harbor chill the hearts of even the most callous fishermen. On the Cornelia Marie, Skipper Phil gambles on the theory that air bubbles on the water means crabs are farting down below. On the Time Bandit, Captain Andy enters St. Paul harbor-now frozen enough to walk across. Five pack-a-day smoker Sig Hansen tries his hand at quitting the habit. When a huge storm kicks up he takes his stress out on his crew. Aboard the Wizard, Captain Keith demands an answer from his greenhorn: "Are you in or out?" It's a season where very crab has been paid for in headaches-but the rising seas and oncoming ice-pack could make things worse.

Episode 13 - Ends of the Earth

When the fleet gets word of great fishing by the ice pack, the chase is on to the ends of the earth! Two egos collide, when Keith and Phil fight over fishing turf. Sick of hauling mangled, barnacle-ridden crab down south, Captain Harry on the Incentive faces his fears and climbs north to frozen waters. While aboard the Northwestern, Sig pushes his crew and himself to the edge of insanity with a sleepless, 38 hour grind. Hellacious hours and missing pots-a journey to the far north will push these men over the edge.

Episode 14 - Bitter Tears

Weeks into the Opilio Season, the fleet is bone tired and desperate for home. As delirium sets in aboard the Cornelia Marie, deadly, rib-crunching mistakes are made. After weeks of relentless hazing the Wizard's greenhorn gets news from home that could send him packing. On the Northwestern, Jake receives word of a death in the family. These young men will learn that when an ocean lies between a fisherman and his family, tragedy at home spells gut-wrenching, heartbreak at sea.

Episode 15 - Day of Reckoning

The Opilio season is almost over, but an arctic storm front has the skippers on edge. The boats race to plug their thanks with crab and get back to port unscathed. On the Northwestern, Captain Sig drives his crew to fish through sub-zero temperatures and dangerous ice. The men of the Wizard play a game of cat and mouse with the fury of the Bering Sea. And on the Time Bandit, coming home means heartbreak and a fractured crew.

Episode 16 - Shipwrecked

It's the final 24 hours of the 2009 Opilio Crab season. A savage arctic storm causes multiple vessels to send out maydays. The Coast Guard is in a race against the clock to save four men before their boat is pounded into splinters against jagged rocks. It's a game of cat and mouse between Keith on the Wizard and the Bering Sea-as the Skipper repeatedly sends his men out to fish-and pulls them back at the brink of being wiped out. Skipper Sig on the Northwestern is anchored-but still finds himself in a battle for survival when hellish winds push him towards the rocks. The weather raging around the Cornelia Marie tests Skipper Phil Harris and his two sons body and soul. What should be a sprint to victory for the crabbers, as they wrap up their seasons-could become a fleet wide disaster.