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Old 08-27-2009, 11:37 PM   #1
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Cool Anyone watched NBC's "Great American Roadtrip"?

I guess this is just another in a long line of reality shows these days and probably no better or worse than the others. We ended up watching the series and mildly enjoyed it... with one exception.

They plop seven families into seven Class A Gassers (which appeared to be 36 yo 38 footers) and turned them loose through the city streets of Chicago and all the way down the old Route 66 through downtown Hollywood before driving right up the the Santa Monica Pier.

While the entertainment value was marginal, they really made light of rookie drivers nearly playing bumper cars with these rigs in and out of traffic and attempting to gain an advantage over another coach.... driven by an equally inexperienced driver. These coaches are seen being driven in a manner which invites disaster... yet, nowhere does NBC ever offer a disclaimer about closed circuit courses or "don't try this at home". I even checked out their web site and could find no attempt to explain or excuse the comical approach they took to a very serious subject.

Maybe I'm just getting old and that's why these types of things bug me but I was wondering if I was the only one.
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Old 08-28-2009, 02:10 AM   #2
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I watched one show and was not really impressed. I thought they made light of a lot of things and that some were idiots. I don't have much time for TV and I don't care to watch this show again.
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Old 08-28-2009, 05:53 AM   #3
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My tolerance level for most anything has decreased as I have aged. I have always felt uncomfortable around people that are making a fool of themselves. Add Reality TV which isn't reality, it's acting and add to it people acting about making fools of themselves and it's worse than chalk on a blackboard.

The only thing I dislike more is boom box car stereos at a red light!
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Old 08-28-2009, 02:04 PM   #4
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Rick,
We watched most of the show in our house. They were never "racing" in the coaches. There was never any time that any of the families could get an advantage over another by passing them on the road. All the competitions and eliminations took place once everyone was safely parked. So competitive driving in the RV was never part of the game. That disappointed some people that I've talked to since the thought it was going to be Cannonball Run in RVs.

Now, some of those folks had some real bad driving habits, no seat belts, not paying attention to the road, only having one hand on the steering wheel, and on and on. While show only showed one of the gang driving their RV under an awning, I noticed in some of the side shots that a couple of the rigs had duct tape and big scratches on the right side, making me think there was contact with fixed objects that got left on the cutting room floor.
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Old 08-28-2009, 03:14 PM   #5
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Hi CurbCrusher... Yeah, I know they weren't "racing" but in early episodes there were several scenes where a family's "ego" took over and they didn't want to be "behind" any of the other coaches. This led to some unsafe lane changes and served as a source of laughter for them when innocent drivers were cut off, etc.

It just feels like fingernails on a blackboard to me when network television portrays a very serious endevor, like driving a coach, as something which can be taken so lightly.

Sigh...
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Old 08-28-2009, 03:25 PM   #6
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Quote:
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It just feels like fingernails on a blackboard to me when network television portrays a very serious endevor, like driving a coach, as something which can be taken so lightly.

Sigh...
I'm guessing that was exactly the intention of the rental company supplying the RV's . . . driving one of these is so easy that even the Cooties could do it!

Way to go DiSalvatore family!!!
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Old 08-29-2009, 11:10 AM   #7
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Well said, Ken-55!

I was sure glad to see that Coote family go down in flames.
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Old 08-29-2009, 02:53 PM   #8
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Interesting that the odd-ball family won the whole thing. These "reality" shows are set up with people based on entertainment potential of their personalities. Don't think it was accurate depiction of RV touring or even pretended to be. Just happened to be the conveyance of choice for this show.
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Old 08-29-2009, 03:22 PM   #9
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I would be going the other way if anyone around me drove a RV like these people did. The program was somewhat entertaing; nothing more, nothing less.
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Old 08-29-2009, 05:00 PM   #10
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I saw the first episode and while I wasn't sorry I wasted that hour, I had no desire to watch future shows.

The odd ball family - LOL
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Old 08-30-2009, 07:22 AM   #11
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We watched five episodes in ON Demand with cable , didnt have the final one tho' .. For lack of anything else to watch ..

I thought it was kinda silly in the whole , but , lifes too short , to be so serious about everything ..

Couple other hobbies I have that get a much worse rap than some idjits in MH's acting silly , and they dont have any TV coverage ..
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Old 08-30-2009, 08:25 AM   #12
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It was a stupid show which showed lots of illegal driving. The drivers were oftentimes not seat belted in, some families did not stow things that were on the counters, all the passengers were unbelted too and often standing in the aisles. They drove in the far left lane and were surprised when a truck blew by them on the right with its horn honking. They made illegal lane changes, drove in two lanes, tailgated, made a left hand turn inside the turn another motorhome was making. It was a poor way to depict motorhoming to the masses. I'm really disappointed that the network didn't have a disclaimer in small print about all of this. My guess is that the show will not return next year. It was just too lame.
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Old 08-30-2009, 09:07 AM   #13
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It was a stupid show which showed lots of illegal driving.
IMO that was part of the so-called entertainment value of the show. Sort of a "Dumb and Dumber" of reality shows. Look who won - the dumbest of the bunch. I wasn't worried about how they drove because I believe it was all staged. That said - would I watch it again, NO !!
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Old 08-30-2009, 10:43 AM   #14
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You folks have to realize that a lot of the "stuff" that you are talking about has been staged for production. It is a reality show staple. When they actually show them driving down a highway, they were all single file and doing it right. The silliness was just made to happen for ratings. I would be willing to bet that they had a trained driver there all of the time, with them doing a fair share of the driving. Don't get fooled as that is what reality shows want.
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