The Setup- Scott Wilson, Justin Lukach, and cameraman Andre Dupruis are childhood friends who join forces in their mid-twenties to create a travel adventure series that basically comes down to them going wherever they want in the world and getting the show to pay for it.
Scott is the serious film maker who is obviously the engine behind where they go and what they see. Justin is the guy in your frat who whenever someone yelled "Roadtrip!" grabbed a six pack then jumped in the backseat without ever knowing where he was going. Andre mostly stays behind the camera but is occasionally pulled into the fun usually at the behest of Justin.
The locations are unusual. The boys visit Libya, New Guinea, Ascension Island, and even North Korea among a variety of out of the way places. If your looking for a show about the Effiel Tower and the Great Wall this isn't it. Imagine if Rick Steves was young, fun, and traveling the world in search of girls and booze.
What I like about it- It may seem like I'm painting these guys as a bunch of clowns but let me tell you this is a pretty good travel show. The photography is beautiful. It's a credit to Dupruis that you could watch with the sound off and still be entertained. Wilson is knowledgeable, worldly, and at ease in the role of narrator and tour guide.
Lukach is the star of the show. He gets drunk, plays with every animal and kid he encounters, mangles foreign languages, and tackles life altering challenges (Thai boxing, sky diving, cliff climbing, etc) with the ease of a child taking a dare that he has no idea will put his life in danger.
Justin is the first guy you grab for your road trip and Scott is the guy you make be the designated driver.
It's one of those shows that you avoid until one day you give it a shot and it hooks you in. Give any episode thirty minutes and you will be hooked if even only for a dozen episodes or so.
What I hate about it- Eventually like any great road trip your ready to head home. There are episodes where you can tell these guys are bored and you are right there with them. The Ascension Island episode is the perfect example of the show at it's best and it's worst. I never even heard of the place and had to google where the hell it wasand that's a good thing. The photography was breathtaking but almost half the episode is the guys lamenting about almost running out of gas and being so broke all they can afford to eat is spaghetti. The episode also deals with Lukach being dumped by his girlfriend back home and him realizing the journey means more to him than she ever did. It's the series most poignant moment surrounded by some of it's worst.
Scale- 7 Couch Potatoes. You can certainly do worse on the travel show front. The guys make the trip easy and fun but after a while it all looks the same. Take the journey just head home before you get carsick.
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