'BlackGold' spoiler alert: psst .... Mike LaMonica ain't what TV would have you believe

This will come as no surprise to anyone in or out of the oil business who knows Mike LaMonica, but the man portrayed on TruTV's new miniseries "BlackGold" ain't nearly as mean and nasty and surly as the TV folks probably hoped he'd be.

"BlackGold," an eight-episode reality miniseries focusing on roughnecks on three wells just south of Odessa, starts tonight on TruTV, the former CourtTV, with airings of the first two episodes beginning at 9 p.m., our time. The objective is that the workers on one of the rigs be the first rig team to drill 2-miles down.

After having previewed the first two episodes a couple of weeks ago, I found the program to be educational and entertaining. I know little or nothing about what it takes to retrieve oil from underfoot, and "BlackGold" shed light on just how difficult a task it is, what all goes into it, and the kind of people who are routinely assigned to do it. The roughnecks, drillers, tool pushers, etc., on the show are home-grown talent. They are far from actors, which made the whole program even more believable.

The first two episodes reveal a wide range of plotlines from the troubled young father-to-be Peanut who fails to show up for work on time after a night of carousing when he learns he's gonna be a daddy. Other storylines deal with another hand who over-celebrates his 30th birthday and is run off the rig for his behavior and for missing a shift.

The foremen are difficult men to work for, though one treats his men noticeably better than the others, once even leaving the rig to fetch dinner one night for his crew during a long shift. He gets in trouble for his actions by his supervisor, but he is also rewarded by his men with their strong loyalty.

"BlackGold" has the potential to portray West Texans as a bunch of trash-talking, brash-walking, beer-drinking, grease monkeys (and little else) 24/7 and there is a certain risk that we may come off as not looking like the longest sucker rods in the batch. I only hope I'm wrong. After all, that feeling is based on having seen only the first two episodes. Stay tuned.

The roughnecks in the show will hopefully come off looking more like the hard-working, life-loving people they are, and hopefully Hollywood will paint us using the right strokes and not the ones that are all too often  used to fall back on. It may be the biggest danger of the entire eight-episode program: the impression people are left with about who we really are out here.

I will point out that the high point in the first two episodes comes when a worker at a rig that has malfunctioned notices their Texas flag is hanging upside down. "There's your problem," he says, and proceeds to climb the flag pole and re-hang the Lone Star properly. It is handled well by the show's producers which hopefully serves as a sign that future episodes will continue to look favorably on Texas and its working class.

Another scene paints a not-so-great picture. When the workers on one rig go out for some beer and target practice, the rig foreman, holding a can of brew, looks into the camera, and says, "Beer, guns and destruction. Only in Texas."

Not just real flattering.

Mike, in the picture above, is a partner with ExL Petroleum. He's made and spent millions in the business and is a huge success professionally. He is also one of the finest, most decent people I know. We've been friends for over a decade and shared a room at a recent spiritual retreat. He has counseled my family and helped us in our darkest hours. He is, in many ways, my spiritual director; his beautiful wife Maddie has been my daughter's confirmation sponsor, and he is one of the finest homilists of the Gospel I have ever heard. (He told me recently he cringes when he hears the bleeps and beeps in "BlackGold" and insists that his men "don't talk that way around me.")

One of the high points in the first two hours is when Mike goes dove hunting with friend and fellow Midlander Rooster McConaughey, brother of the famous Texan, Matthew. Mike blows through boxes of shells and never downs a dove, and can be heard laughing his infectious, trademark belly laugh. He might be able to shoot something in a video game, but take out a real one? Not a chance.

"I never kill anything I'm not gonna eat," he joked recently. My wife told me Mike missed the doves because they are symbolic of the Holy Spirit and as such, he'd never come close to hurting one.

When I saw the sinister squint in the promotional photo above, all I could think of was how my friend probably just had something in his eye. I doubt he's ever looked menacingly at anyone.

And the hat ... that's, in all likelihood, my favorite story here. I don't know that I've ever seen Mike wear a cowboy hat. Or any hat for that matter. I asked him if the show's producers made him wear it and he said it was their preference that he go with the 10-gallon look. Gotta look like the part, the menacing oil tycoon ala Daniel Day Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" even if in real reality, Mike is as gracious, as generous and as compassionate as human beings come. What you likely won't learn in the show is that away from the office, he is a dedicated servant of God and a deacon in the Catholic Church. For many who make it through the rigors of three-years of deacon formation, that volunteer position can often more resemble fulltime work.

Back to the hat: Mike told me he agreed to wear it on one condition: that whatever cowboy hat he wore, it would bear the logo of his son Jonah's metal arts company, Palladium Arts.

That's just like Mike LaMonica: Always looking out for someone else.

Comments

[Jeff]

Jimmy, I put in my two cents at http://archaeotex.blogspot.com/2008/06/reality-show-really-aint-so-bad.html

[Eric]

I don't know Mike nearly as well as you, but I also wondered about the hat, because I'd never seen him wear one. And on the program, he looked like a guy wearing it under duress.

I guess that's why truTV's motto is "Not reality...actuality." I'm never sure what that really means, but it does imply that we're seeing just exactly what they want us to see.

Still, "Black Gold" is entertaining (and more accurate than not), and worth a season pass via iTunes if you don't have access to truTV.

[madolyn lamonica]

thank you for all the kind words that have been written about my husband, his partnership in business, and the t.v. show he's been on.

[Nichole]

Thank you for the kind things you have said about my cousins Mike and Maddie. The two of them are the most gracious, loving, compassionate people I have ever met and I thank you for sharing your experiences with them as well!
Lil Cuz
Nichole

[Dustin Green]

Well Thats good to know because i work in the oil feild and the show is stupid isnt anything like it really is and if that is how it really is on those rigs then I cant belive anybody would hire them. Ill be real suprised if I dont get coloring books for Christmas after people I know see theese idiots on This show.

[Ali]

Deacon Mike LaMonica is one of the finest men I have ever known. His inspiration and love, together with that of his wife Madolyn (a living saint), have made all the difference in my life. His true success lies not in the oil business, but in what truly makes him a real and holy man: his marriage, his fatherhood, and his friendship. I pray for a future world when this was featured on television.

[Chip McCain]

I happened to come across the free pilot episode of "Black Gold" on iTunes and have been hooked ever since... pleasantly surprised. Just finished watching the 7th episode yesterday. I find myself pulling for Mike and the workers on his two rigs, Viking and Longhorn. He seems like a heck of a guy. Wayne (the Viking driller) is another guy who's easy to pull for. Great reality show.

[Jann English]

I thoroughly enjoyed this article about Mike Lamonica! In my, ahem, older age, I didn't know a whole lot about the workings of getting to oil. I have learned so much from Black Gold! And, I can tell that Mike is like you portray him.

All big business persons should be like him!

As far as the show not being like it 'really' is, as one person says, I bet it is! It is far too dangerous a job to be 'playing' to the camera. IMHO I think the show makes these guys work a little harder to show us how it is supposed to be done!

[Kathy]

I agree with Dustin Green, along with many, many, many other REAL oil field workers that this show very much misrepresents what really goes on. My husband, who has been in the oilfield since he was a teenager, hates it. I always ask him to watch it with me to tell me what they are doing wrong. I am always amazed at how much is always wrong with what they are saying they are doing and what the picture on tv is saying they are doing. It doesn't match up, and it doesn't make sense.
Mike Lamonica may be a nice guy, but I can't believe osha hasn't shut these rigs down.
To me, it just makes people who don't want more drilling on or offshore have something to back up their reasons. It makes drilling look messy and environmentally unfriendly. After tonights show, I don't think I will watch anymore. I can't believe osha hasn't stepped in after seeing that accident. According to my husband, the equipment the driller was using has been banned for years.

[landon]

hahaha thats my uncle...thats tight

[landon]

heyyyy thats my uncle...super nice guy...