"Amazing Destinations"--or "Amazing Distortions"?
 

Do you watch this program on the Travel Channel? We watched the one last night on Brussels and almost became sea-sick with its twitching camera movements, smarmy-sweet dialog, and relentless words of praise. I wish they would cover places in depth, be quiet for at least a few seconds, play appropriate background music (if they must!), and have a point of view. Ian Wright...where are you???

"Depth" and "TV" don't occur in the same place. As for the "cinematography" -- what you and I would like... leisurely pans over wonderful sights with informative but sparse voiceovers won't cut it given the current attention span of most americans [okay flame me] and would result in quick channel switching... <BR>

You won't get any flames from me! And if you think I am dissatisfied with the content and presentation of so-called "travel" programs, you should hear what we think about political commentaries. Mini-packaging, teaser copy, blatantly superficial sound bites.

If you haven't do read Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death."

TV travel docos are the pigs-in-a-blanket of the travel info menu. Cheap, easily recognizable, and you don't have to stop what you're doing to enjoy one. You're right, Al, they fail miserably as well-rounded, nutritional 'meals' <BR>I like the art shows with Sister Wendy; the camera stays on one painting for a long time, slowly moving to different areas or gently panning to the next work of art. Maybe we could get her to do travel docos (she has incorporated some of that in her Florence art programs). I love the Die Hard movies; I just want to see Brussels/Paris, etc. at the same pace...

Darn squirrels got into the keyboard again; I meant "don't" want to see Brussels/Paris, etc. at the same pace.

<BR>I totally agree! Who "are" these people doing these shows now and why do they think I want to watch them eat "worms" or some native type food in outer Magoolagashahana! Or my "favorite" gripe is the one who show me these great $500 a night hotels! Excuse me but if I could afford a $500 per night hotel, my "maid" would be watching and taping the programs for me and I sure would not be searching Fodors and Frommers daily for "budget" ways to travel! No offense to any of you wealthy Fodorites out there but frankly I kinda of "like" my budget travels best! "Like calls to like". <BR> <BR>BTW, does anyone know why they took the travel program off with David Guercio? He at least took you to more of my type European towns and gave details on how to travel within the cities etc. Of course, we now have Rick Steves for this who at least gives us tips and ideas with the scenery and seems to prefer cheese and wine to "worms"!&lt;g No offense to any Fodorite "worm" love

Hi! Finally I read someone mentioned David Guerico. He had probably one of the best travel shows on tv.Rick Steves and David Guerico have had some really very shows. I agree with the people who are unhappy with Amazing Destinations. It has the same pretentions as Conde Nats Traveler, who producers it. Conde Nast Traveler has also been very pretentious lately and I'm not certain how much longer I will subscribe to it. It's fashions and trendy restaurants and hotels are a turnoff. Amazing Destinations is good however if you are having difficuly falling asleep. alan

I think his name is John Gueracio. I taped a bunch of the episodes so I'll run one and get back to you. I thought his programs were excellent. Sometimes budget, and sometimes splurge, but always informative and entertaining. I stopped watching the Travel Channel when the Discovery Channel took it over. Too much adventure, either too budget (sleep in a bus) or too high end for my liking. I taped another series on high end travel, and it was also entertaining and made me want to go places -- Inntimate Escapes. The nn is not a typo. That's the name of the series. A woman named Jennifer travels to some of the Relais and Chateau inns around Europe. I taped about 20 of the episodes. I can't afford to travel in this style, but it certainly gave me a chance to dream. The episodes also focused on the area's crafts, and did a little cooking thing at the end of each show.

He may be God's gift (or revenge?) to Australia, but I am weary of watching Alby Mangels. And listening to Alby mangling the English language. Someone ought to give him a hint to put on a pair of trousers and a shirt. I like his dogs, however. Now, there is one fellow I enjoy although his show is a bit precious. And that is Antoine, the guy who sails his yellow catamaran, Banana Split. A person can't help but be intrigued by his French accent, the great photography, and the out-of-the-way locations. In his world, it's always sunny, the seas are placid, and the beach is pure white.

I think BBC's real-life series "Airport" is excellent (on BBC America in the States). And, I totally agree that Amazing Destinations is a bunch of fluff! Lonely Planet with Ian (who is hilarious I think) or Justine (who is magically babe-licious, I think!) are down-to-earth "real" people who are travellers and not tourists--they make that show interesting and practical. I also second the vote for Rick Steves' excellent "Travels in Europe" on PBS and Travel Channel.

I also agree about the Amazing Destinations show. There are too many "fly by" shots that it makes me dizzy just to watch it at times. Too much focus on architecture rather than the natural scenery and other aspects of the destinations they focus on. This is mostly the case regarding their shows on Asia and Europe in my opinion. I also agree that there are too many adventure shows on the Travel Channel and not enough shows about more "down to earth" travel that most of us engage in.

Don- Justine is my son's girlfriend's stepsister and from what I hear, her trips far from home have disrupted her marriage. You might have a chance there.

Who decided we all like those twitching camera movements anyway? Whenever I see that, I turn the show off. The same goes for nerve jangling "background" music. <BR> <BR>And while I'm at it, who makes all those American car ads that tell nothing about the car but show it blasting, so environmentally unfriendly-like, through the Costa Rican forest?

A couple years back, on the Travel Channel, there were programs on French and Italian cooking. They visited out-of-the way places, poked around in kitchens you could almost smell, and made it all seem a lot of fun. Why were those programs cancelled? Say what you want about Rick Steves, but I think he has done a lot to encourage potential travelers to explore, overcome their fears, and just be themselves. And for that, I give him ****.

Al, PBS has a series of Great Chefs, with a half-dozen of them, in their native settings around the world, preparing wonderful foods and introducing you to local markets and people and places. I especially love the Italian programs--the chef is not only a great cook, but a lover of life, and he verifies why Italy is so special to me. <BR>I also enjoy the PBS bird's eye view programs of Italy and other places, when they are called such and you don't expect more--soothing and sweet overviews which give a different perspective on places we have been and wish to see.

I'm still just staggered that Brussels qualifies as an "Amazing Destination" . . . ! <BR> <BR>You're all right on the money -- bring on the tripod & lose the superlatives, oh TV producer types. <BR> <BR>Burt Wolf is great but a new series of The Flavors of France -- minus the blonde who didn't give good camera -- would be nifty. Saturday mornings with CNN Style and Flavors of France were the best! (Sorry 'bout the superlative...) <BR>:¬) TT

Thumbs up on Burt Wolf -- another good program. <BR> <BR>In looking through my tapes I've come across a series called A Practical Guide to Europe with John Guerrasio. I think this is the one referenced earlier. As much as I enjoyed Rick Steves' series, I enjoyed John's even more.