The BEST episodes of Deadliest Catch

#1 - Captain Phil Harris Remembered

Season 6 - Episode 16 - Aired 7/20/2010

Saluting Captain Phil Harris, who died on Feb. 9, 2010.

#2 - Sea of Misery

Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/16/2009

It's week three of the Opilio Crab Season. Long hours and miserable conditions already have the crabbers turning on each other. Boat-crushing ice stands between one skipper and the safety of harbor.

#3 - Deadline

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/19/2009

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.

#4 - Man vs. Ice

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/16/2006

#5 - Redemption Day

Season 6 - Episode 14 - Aired 7/13/2010

A power struggle for the captain's chair erupts between Mike and Scott on the Time Bandit; Edgar Hansen schools his greenest deckhand; ominous weather awaits the fleet while Phil Harris fights for his life.

#6 - Storm Season

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/3/2008

The Opilio season begins. A dual storm system challenges a patched Cornelia Marie and almost costs the Time Bandit two of her men. A medical emergency on one of the boats brings in the U.S. Coast Guard, but the dangerous freezing spray puts everyone's lives at risk.

#7 - Man Overboard

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/17/2005

With one boat sunk and its crew missing, several Good Samaritan boats postpone their season to comb the frigid waters of the Bering Sea for survivors. The tragic news travels fast, but captains too far away to help with the search and rescue decide to concentrate on the baiting and setting of pots. As the remaining 170 boats in the fleet turn their attention to fishing, though, tragedy strikes again. A frantic call comes in over the radio from a boat whose deckhand has fallen overboard. The reality of another death strikes a nervous chord throughout the fleet and keeps everyone on edge as they continue to chase America's deadliest catch.

#8 - No Second Chances

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/9/2009

In this episode 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.

#9 - Down to the Wire

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/26/2009

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.

#10 - Friends and Rivals

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/25/2006

The faith of the Aleutian Ballad is relived after being slammed by that 65 foot rouge wave. Meanwhile the crews of the other boats must endure the terrible weather conditions.

#11 - Bitter Tears

Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 7/14/2009

After three consecutive 25-hour shifts with poor numbers, dirty crab, and 400,000 pounds (180,000 kg) left in their quota, the crew of the Northwestern begins to think of home. On deck, a slip by Greenhorn Jake Anderson nearly causes him to be crushed under a pot being brought on board. On board the Wizard, Greenhorn Josh Warner tells Captain Keith Colburn that he will be getting off the boat at the end of this trip so that he can see his brother who is shipping off to Iraq. Captain Keith decides that a distracted Josh is a liability on deck and pulls him off the deck. The Cornelia Marie is back to averaging 600 keepers per pot now that the she is no longer sharing fishing grounds with the Wizard. Greenhorn Ryan Simpson accidentally steps into the crab tank, earning the rest of crew a case of beer when they get back into town. The crew of the Wizard is working a 15 hour grind with big numbers. A radio call alerts them about the approaching ice pack, forcing the crew to stack their pots on deck and move to different grounds. The Time Bandit has returned after two days to the pots she had dropped 2 miles (3.2 km) from the ice pack before running to an offload. However, at the designated spot, the pots are nowhere to be found. After some searching, Captain Andy Hillstrand locates their pots and gets good numbers from them. He decides to set back on the same spot. On board the Northwestern, Deckhand Nick Mavar, Jr's wife calls with the news that Jake's sister, Chelsea Dawn Anderson, has died. Nick tells the news to Jake and the Northwestern heads to St. Paul so that Jake can go home to be with his family. After a 47-hour shift, the crew of the Time Bandit hits the rack. Captain Johnathan Hillstrand is at the wheel monitoring the ice pack that is 5 miles (8.0 km) from their northern pots. When he receives a radio report on the movement of the pack, he rouses the crew so they can move all 80 of their pots before the ice pack reaches them. Unfortunately, the 80 pots do not

#12 - No Mercy

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/6/2008

The seas are rough and they'll only get rougher.The Time Bandit has a dangerous electrical short. On the Cornelia Marie, Phil's health deteriorates. The Early Dawn boats driving with a sleeping greenhorn at the wheel. Fights between deckhands break out on the Northwestern.

#13 - As Catch as Catch Can

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 7/15/2008

The Arctic ice pack descends on the fleet as they make their final runs. Both the crews of the Northwestern and Wizard battle freezing spray. The Cornelia Marie's crew suffers from "Bering Sea dementia" while the Time Bandit's crew is at its breaking point.

#14 - Lockout

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/23/2009

After weeks battling freezing spray, forty foot waves, and sub-zero temperatures, skippers have begun plugging their boats with Opilio crab. As they race to St. Paul harbor for offload, the 250,000 square mile arctic ice pack stands in their way.

#15 - Endless

Season 6 - Episode 17 - Aired 7/27/2010

Tension runs high on the Northwestern, as Edgar Hansen is fed up with the 22 year marathon of pain, confronts his older brother Sig. Josh Harris returns to the Cornelia Marie and the Opilio Season ends with a harrowing mayday.

#16 - Dead of Winter

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/10/2005

Opilio crab season is about to begin, and the forecast is glacial and dangerous. On a cold, rainy January day when sunlight lasts just six hours. 171 boats begin the journey out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, sailing up to 450 miles northwest of the small town in search of crab. But shortly after he leaves port, smoke and heat force one captain to surrender valuable time to turn around for repairs, only to discover that an EIRB, or emergency signal, has rung out from a sister boat. Meanwhile, gale warnings buzz over the radio, alerting captains of treacherous ice conditions that, if allowed to build up on the crab pots, could capsize a boat.Finally, at noon, the Opilio crab season begins, and the fleet is forced to put their emotions aside and begin fishing.

#17 - Dedication

Season 17 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/15/2021

In the Winter premiere, the fleet reels from the loss of Summer Bay deck boss Nick McGlashan. Wizard and Cornelia launch early into a massive Arctic storm. Johnathan can't see eye-to-eye with an old friend and shocking news forces Sig to change his plans.

#18 - Valhalla

Season 6 - Episode 15 - Aired 7/20/2010

Captain Phil Harris loses his battle for life while the boats - unaware of the news - battle the biggest storm of the season. Eventually, eldest son Josh breaks the news to the fleet and reactions are intense and unforgettable.

#19 - Everything on the Line

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/14/2009

The 2008 King crab fleet faces huge stakes - before boats even cast off. Skippers Keith and Phil could be sidelined by life threatening illnesses and all the boats are in debt from summer repairs. A skipper is pressured to take a potentially fatal risk.

#20 - Day of Reckoning

Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 7/21/2009

The Opilio season is almost over, but an arctic storm front has the skippers on edge. The boats race to plug their tanks with crab and get back to port unscathed. On the first boat to finish, a tight knit crew fractures.

#21 - Fresh Blood

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 7/1/2008

When Capt. Phil heads for the hospital for the treatment of his spitting up blood, Murray takes command of the Cornelia Marie and struggles with his new duties. The Northwestern's crane strains to its breaking points and put the boat peril. The Wizard goes through a serious leak and Moi, the boat's greenhorn, gets the axe.

#22 - Big Weather, Big Trouble

Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/17/2008

On the Time Bandit, Capt. Johnathan joins the deck crew and promptly has an injuriy while showing off his deck skills. The Northwestern crew is irritating Capt. Sig. Lenny from Wizard barely escapes a huge wave. The North American greenhorn is hazed.

#23 - On the Edge

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/23/2006

Fights break out on the Maverick and the Rollo, due to fact of fray nerves that is being caused by two factors, bad crabs and long days. Meanwhile the Time Bandit, despite the artic onslaught, presses northward and Sig wakes up from a short nap to find out that his ship is lost.

#24 - Goodbye Jake

Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/28/2013

As King Crab season comes to an end, life-changing decisions must be made. The captains of the fleet pull up their last pots while young Jake Anderson struggles with his decision to leave the Northwestern, and Josh Harris plots to buy his father's old boat.

#25 - Payback Time

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/2/2009

The 2008 King crab season is over with and 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 eyes on the oncoming ice pack -- but it's a lethal, 40-foot rogue wave that's on the hunt.