tgp1994 Reviews

The Layover (2011–2013)

An interesting and tireless view on local foods, sights, and cultures.

[7/10 · 24 September 2015]

I've never watched any shows starring Anthony before this one, so I didn't know what to expect from him.

He presents various locations around the world with a dry, but likable humor that helps make an entertaining show while displaying an important contrast to the American culture that he lives in. Anthony has a fairly "unrestricted" vocabulary of family-unfriendly language that some viewers may find displeasing. I personally don't mind it too much, although I just hope that's "how he speaks" rather than him trying to use obscene language for laughs.

Each show goes much more in depth than "what to do if you are stuck in X city"; Anthony tours each city, jam-packing your itinerary while discussing cheap and efficient ways to get around town, tips for places to see, how the culture of the area may differ from yours, and so on. In each episode, he seems to know at least one or two locals who usually end up giving him a tour. Sometimes the local in question may take him to a restaurant that they own. Fortunately, Anthony usually doesn't stay there long enough to make it an official endorsement.

Overall, I think each episode is very educational and fun to watch. Now I just need to travel.

Ice Road Truckers (2007–2017)

Could have been good

[6/10 · 24 September 2015]

I marked this post as containing spoilers since I don't know if we consider inter-season changes to be spoilers.

If this show had just stuck to its format of the first three seasons, I would have rated it much higher. After the first one or two seasons, the cast & crew were kicked out of the Canadian diamond minds, and went to Alaska. The following one or two seasons then were good, but steadily went downhill as the the crew moved back to Canada and started moving shipments to small Canadian settlements. Essentially it turned into a drama between two small trucking companies, rather than an interesting reality TV show following the original likable personalities.