Filed under: History, Learning, Stories, North America, United States, Hotels and Accommodations, Video
Where does the Travel Channel take us? Rolf Potts embarks on a
one-week gonzo experiment to find out
JACKASS COMMENTATORS AND DUBIOUSLY RANKED DESTINATIONS
Day 2, Hour 17: 9:04 am.
The first Travel Channel show of the day has already begun by the time I wake up and turn on the TV. As the picture tube slowly comes into view I can hear some jackass droning on about the gentle wonder of interacting with elephants in Thailand. When the screen finally flickers on I realize that the droning jackass is me.
The show is 21 Mind-Blowing Escapes, which is the Travel Channel's version of a VH1 clip-show where comedians poke fun at celebrities. Instead of comedians, this show features travel writers; the "celebrities" are places, and nobody makes fun of anything. In addition to Thailand, my commentary pops up in segments featuring Venice, Angkor Wat, the Grand Canyon, and the Greek island of Santorini.
The strange thing about this show is that when I initially did my talking-head interview it was entitled 25 Mind-Blowing Escapes -- which means that at some point four destinations were scrapped. Instead of just lopping off the bottom four places, however, the show's producers seem to have scratched out destinations at random. The country of Bhutan, for example, was originally hailed as the world's fifth most mind-blowing escape; now, for reasons that aren't explained, it's not on the list at all. Hence the inherent arbitrariness of any TV show that ranks destinations like they were NCAA basketball teams. Somewhere in Bhutan, the tourism minister is probably hurling is clipboard against a locker room wall.Continue reading Around the World in 80 Hours (of Travel TV): Part 2Around the World in 80 Hours (of Travel TV): Part 2 originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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