Season 1-2
A "clean out" team travels from place to place cleaning out hoards in this reality series. The key premise here is that the owners want the hoard clean more for the space recovery than to optimize dollars. So the team cleans and then sells what they can. This is not about drama, or shaming hoarders, but really about the find of the treasure. This is a background show that I can have on while doing other things.
3 stars (out of 5)
Season 3
Best cooking show around. Friendly, fun, creative, quick hitting. Same format as first two seasons. We get a couple of theme nights (all Iron Chef winners) and even get host Eric Adjepong taking a turn in the kitchen.
4 stars (out of 5)
The fourth installment of the Long Way series with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman taking extended motorcycle trips. This time they start and end in the U.K. with a 17 country European loop in between. This was a better season than the prior, with the focus here being the locations and people (vs the focus on the electric bikes last time). This earth we live on really is a massively diverse place, both environment and people. I particularly enjoyed the trip north, through Scandinavia and the Baltics.
4 stars (out of 5)
Season 10
Another season of good natured building. Happens concurrently with the Italy season, the show is still fun mostly because the people are fun and friendly and the pace of each episode is appropriate. I will say that the projects are much different than the beginning, with new construction about 1/2 of the scope, which loses some of the fun of the dramatic change.
4 stars (out of 5)
A silly reality show where 2nd Tier famous Britons do challenges created by Bear Grylls. The challenge losers are sent into the "bear pit" where they have to escape before being caught by Bear. Sort of fast forwarded through these and the challenges themselves got lame after a bit.
2 stars (out of 5)
A food network competition show based on poker. Three chefs bring cash and make bets. Ingredient and dish and wildcards are dealt so each chef has a unique challenge. A quick hitting show (three cooking rounds of 30 min each) so definitely it keeps going. Also, the competition is friendly as all the chefs know each other and seem to get along. It is a fun version of a competition (not much stress manifested as nasty comments or craziness). The chefs are all well established so it is really a bragging rights show.
4 stars (out of 5)
A 9 episode reality series following a Vancouver BC logging outfit over the course of a logging season. The team has a "float camp", which is a large dorm-barge that operates as their base of operations in highly remote work areas. I love seeing the variety of things that go on with a big operation like this (the fallers, the mechanics, river tug operators, etc.). I get tired of the every episode discussion of money that seems to be used to remind us of the tension. It is not necessary as the rest of the story is sufficient to keep everyone interested.
4 stars (out of 5)
Season 2
It has been awhile since I saw the first season, so I didn't really remember any of the characters. Apparently this season has a few changes, although Scooter and Rabbit still play prominently. Otherwise, the characters themselves only play minor roles in this reality series. The real star this season is that in the 10 or so cars that are restored and flipped, they are all wildly different genres. Without a characteristic style that the team needs to live up to, they can be creative in new ways and make the project fit the car. So in that way, I liked this season.
3 stars (out of 5)
Season 1
A new car restoration series paid for by Netflix. The team takes regular people rides and dresses them up. It is a fun twist on the genre and the team is great. Chris Redd, not so much.
4 stars (out of 5)
Season 6
Back to basics. Burnt in the past season, the team returns to building fun cars that they enjoy and have their stamp on them. Basically pursuing artistry instead of the monster payout. Better.
4 stars (out of 5)
Nine Seasons + Italian Family Season
A reality show featuring a group friends who rebuild cabins in Maine. Partly this is fun because of the creativity in design and construction that Chase Morrel shows. Partly it is fun to see Maine. Partly it is fun because it really is just a bunch of craftsmen that love hanging out with each other. Not an arrogant soul or "heel" character in sight. So overall, just fun.
4 stars (out of 5)
Season 4
Another season in the Blown Away series. The challenges are tougher and everything is bigger. The artists continue to be astounding. This season every artist is a potential winner and it simply depends on performance on any given episode.
4 stars (out of 5)
Season 2
Like the first season, the crew travels around Canadian wilderness looking for old cars to rescue. No real drama or reality tension. Just fun car rescues with a good natured team. Can't wait for next season.
4 stars (out of 5)
A 10-episode series with each exploring some dramatic science demos you can do with "household" items. Mostly, this is a guy and his friend with a slo-mo camera who like to play with fire, etc. The experiments themselves aren't new and the explanations are not slick. Since he is explaining the events to people on the street, there is no opportunity for scaffolding concepts. The result is a strange mixture of too simplistic and too complex. Often the response from the viewer is "... cool". But the slo-mo viewing of some of these is pretty fun.
3 stars (out of 5)
A four-part series following 5 sibling pups through a training regiment to see if they can become cattle muster dogs within a year. Each pup goes to a different trainer/rancher in far-flung regions of Australia. Clearly lots of the hard work is done behind the scenes to condense a year into 4 episodes, but this is both interesting and fun to watch as the dog mature into working ranchers.
4 stars (out of 5)
A car restoration series where a team of mechanics/sales people gets together to take old junkers and convert them into big sales. The hook here is that the cars are purchased in Mexico, brought across the border to El Paso where they are fixed and sold. Part of the story is the acquisition, part is the restoration. Similar to Gotham Garage, this evolves into a "let's get bigger and bigger deals" scenario. Unlike Gotham, this is a mercenary team, brought together for a 6 month project to see if it works, meaning not a local shop feel. Quick watch and I like the car restoration stuff.
3 stars (out of 5)
Season 3
Ten artists compete in weekly challenges in glass blowing. Much like Inkmaster the joy in this series is in watching the artistic process. But there is no drama here, no snippy competition show angst. Just a bunch of artists trying to put out their best work and supporting each other through the process. Some really fantastic work is shown as a result.
4 stars (out of 5)
Season 4
I continue to like this series. Mark and the Gotham Garage crew are entering new territory, gunning for the high end client (getting away from the trade-up model). The feature builds this season include a baja beetle, viper 3-wheel camaro, an army ambulance party bus and a zephyr sedan/panel van hybrid.
4 stars (out of 5)
