I had some downtime yesterday and watched the first three episodes. I also found some of the characters and their behaviors hard to relate to, and I share the concerns that this show is giving offroading and overlanding a bad name. I explained to my wife that it represents largely the opposite of what I like to do and what, say, Andrew St. Pierre White from 4XOverland represents.
On the plus side, I liked
- the scenery and terrain
- the occasional explanations of the technology
- the all-vintage lineup of vehicles, especially the overrepresentation of Toyotas from three decades
- the woman driver and her copilot's laid-back attitude
- how the guy in the Land Rover spoke up against damaging the environment and other irresponsible behaviors
On the minus side, I would have preferred more transparency about refueling, cooking, and other supports provided to the teams.
IMO
here is a great example of an offroad show done right. Its subject is the
SuperKarpata, an annual competition through very challenging terrain in the Carpathian Mountains in western Romania. At each stage, the competing teams have to find their own route through a relatively large corridor; there are time penalties for leaving the corridor. The show is a genuine documentary where TV crews report on the progress and challenges of some of the teams. (Proficiency in Alemannic German helpful.)
Some vehicles from past SuperKarpata events have been mentioned in other subforums.
