Just caught the second season premiere of Ice Road Truckers on History. They’re entering “a whole new world of ice road trucking,” driving over the Arctic Ocean. This time, tides could create deadly cracks in the ice. The season gets off to a promising start by showing more of the lives the truckers left behind. There’s also a nifty visual of truckers embarking on the Arctic journey with a ship in the background. If that’s not enough, I’m already feeling bad for Drew Sherwood, who’s stuck in the repair shop yet again. It’s definitely worth checking out.
The premiere also included a strange commercial/product placement, an extended Budweiser spot showing the show’s crew building an igloo ice bar for a party.
And if Ice Road Truckers isn’t enough of a tough day on the job for you, I saw ads for Ax Men (loggers) and Black Gold (oil drillers). Could a spinoff about Ice Road Mechanics be far behind?
I’m currently in the middle of Dogfights Season 2 for the DVD side of Verdict and, as usual, loving every CGI-generated commie-nuking moment of it. What an awesome show, thrilling, engrossing and chock full o’ learning; it’s a series that no self-respecting lover of military history should miss.
I was first introduced to Dogfights when I scoped out the first season (review here) and found myself immediately hooked. Using decently rendered computer animation, major air encounters spanning the major 20th century wars are faithfully reconstructed, with interviews from the pilots and personnel that were there, archived footage and tactic analysis mixed in. It’s a great package and compelling from start to finish.
And it’s also the perfect show to check out while you’re in the Memorial Day frame of mind (which, let’s be honest, should be every day). Watching these true stories of stunning heroism and heart-breaking sacrifice floored me and stands a testament to what the bravest of us were willing to give for their country. This show rocks.
For more info about the series check out the History Channel’s website and stay tuned for my forthcoming Season 2 review.
Everything is tougher in Alaska. From earning a living to burying the dead, making-a-go in the far north requires adapting to extreme conditions. Life in Alaska is shaped by severe weather, rugged terrain and vast distances between communities, and the people who live there have a long and storied history of overcoming adversity and standing up to the extreme environment.
Each hour–long episode explores a different, challenging job or location that vividly illustrates how working in Alaska is just plain harder than it is in the Lower 48. Our host, Alaskan Geo Beach, travels from his home in Homer to work these tough jobs at the far-flung corners of the huge state — from remote bush communities in the interior to the western-most point of the Aleutian Islands, and from the wind-swept Arctic tundra to the craggy coastal mountains of the Southeast. Along the way, he’ll find out the hard way that Alaska dishes up lots of real work, real risks and really big fun.
TOUGHER IN ALASKA premieres Thursday, May 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on History Channel.
History Channel viewers who enjoyed last summer’s Ice Road Truckers (and really, who didn’t? In the great ice road trucking show craze of ‘07, this one was easily the keeper) should make sure to watch the premiere of Ax Men this Sunday. Airing @ 10/9C, it follows the lives of loggers in the Pacific Northwest and is produced by the crew behind Truckers. For those of us who really can’t be bothered with reality TV unless it involves actual bloodshed, History Channel has been enticing us with promos showing big chainsaws, big logs, and men bragging about how many fingers they’re missing. Oh, true, some cynics will carp that this series has little to do with, oh, what’s the word, history. To which I can only reply: Missing fingers, people! You won’t see that on The Universe. And we are all the poorer for it.
