Miami Ink and Inked: Worth Watching?

Being a tattoo fan, I was pretty excited when I saw that there were going to be two new shows featuring tattooing. The first one I saw advertised was Miami Ink, which airs on Tuesday at 10:00 pm on TLC. The second one is called Inked and can be seen on A&E on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm. I imagined they would be very similar – so much so that it would become repetitive to watch both of them. 

My expectations were of small parlors with seasoned artists and I hoped that these shows would dismiss some of the negative opinions that people have on tattoos and those that sport them. Although they are both related to the world of tattoos, they are very different shows.

Miami Ink is an hour long show that chronicles the experiences of four friends who open a custom tattoo shop in South Beach. From the beginning you see the close friendship that these men have and how it helps them work so well together. The show shows a little of their off-duty lives, just enough to give you some insight to who they are. 

The artists are Ami James, the main narrator of the show; Chris Garver, a highly regarded artist among the tattoo world; Chris Nunez, who honed his skills as a graffiti artist; and Darren Brass, also with a history of graffiti and the most endearing of the bunch. And lets not forget Yoji Harada, the apprentice of the shop, who can be seen doing various chores around the shop while also learning the intricacies of tattooing.

Inked, which is set in a shop in Vegas’s Palms Casino Resort, has a completely different feel to it. The shop appears to be more flashy and has a view of slot machines outside its glass doors. There are a group of regular cast members for this show also. 

They are co-owners Carey Hart and Thomas Pendelton; Clark, the one-eyed tattooer; Eric Pele, or Big E, who has been in this profession since 2000; Monica, who was the manager of the show, but has taken a leave of absence since her break up with Thomas; Quinn, the ditsy receptionist; and Dizzle, who apparently is an apprentice, but really doesn’t do a whole lot.