Race Across the World

It’s funny.  I keep saying I’m not the kind of person who watches reality TV, and yet I’m about to talk about my second team-challenge-style UK TV series in less than four months.

There is a show on BBC where five British couples are plunked down in a country, given some cash, a paper map, and a camera-person, and have to get across the country to a pre-determined endpoint.  Not my usual fare; I wasn’t even aware it existed.  But, ever since mid-March, any time someone hears I’m Canadian, it’s the first thing they talk about, as it seems Season 3 is set in Canada.  Even so, I still really wasn’t paying attention, but after at least half my phone call with the computer help desk was spent discussing the episodes to date, I figured I’d better watch it.  I was clearly letting people down by not being au courant.  (The guy from the help desk kept going on about how boring one episode was, where they just did nothing but ‘go from the top to the bottom’(?).  I’ve now watched all episodes, and can’t figure out which north-to-south episode he means.  I think he meant when they crossed the Prairies.)

It’s quite good!  There are brother-couples, friend-couples, father-daughter couples, and couple-couples.  And again, it doesn’t contain the thing I hate the most about these types of shows: ludicrous & unpleasant challenges where they’re forced to eat things, or touch things, or whatever. The contestants on this show seem quite normal, and their reactions to and knowledge of Canada are entertaining.  They have to give up cellphones, credit cards, etc..  They started from Stanley Park in Vancouver, were handed a huge paper folding map, and were told their end destination was a place called St John’s.  Which took a while to find on the map.  😊   Their first pit-stop was Haida Gwaii, so off they all went.  Three hours later, four of the five teams were at bus or train stations, but one couple was still wandering lost in Stanley Park.  Three hours!  I know it’s big, but I’ve been to Stanley Park many times and I mean, really.  How on earth will you find Newfoundland if you can’t get out of a park?

The views are stunning, wildlife abounds, they are seeing whales, and elk, and bears.  And they simply can’t get over how nice everyone is.

Anyway, if it’s showing anywhere back home, I do recommend it.  Right now they’ve just hit Ontario – I’m looking forward to the next episode.