What’s this show called … Ice Road Truckers?

I’ve heard a lot of good things about The History Channel’s Ice Road Truckers. In the same reality genre as Deadliest Catch, it follows real people as they go about their real jobs … in this case driving big rigs across the ice-covered roads of Alaska (and in some seasons Canada). While I appreciate that that doesn’t sound heart pounding, if you think about the reality of what these guys (and gal) are doing, you’ll come to understand the danger they put themselves in every time they punch into work. At least the episode I caught, titled “Avalanche!” promised as much.

First to the narration. While I found that it over-dramatized things on Deadliest Catch (so too here), the strangest thing about it on Ice Road Truckers is that it sounds very Animal Planet-like, or at least what I imagine the narration there to sound like having never seen the Discovery Channel show. There’s nothing wrong with the history of gold rushers in the area, but was it necessary to explore considering the potential death facing the drivers?

Some of the shots of the trucks driving through a nothingness of white snow were insane. I can’t even imagine getting behind the wheel of one of those big rigs, lugging 15,000 tons behind me and facing nothing but white as far as the eye can see. But if it was just in a vast plain before me it would be one thing. Here it’s also stacked miles high above the roads, just waiting to come crashing down. And sometimes they use frozen lakes as roads. Insane!

I did find it interesting that the Department of Transportation purchased a Korean War-era cannon, using it to bring down the snow. I had no idea it was possible to minimize the pressure that causes avalanches, and in that respect I enjoyed the narration that accompanied the episode.

It’s also telling that the drivers all seemed to know the DOT employee, as they must interact with him and his colleagues on a regular basis. It’s a different world from the one we experience when driving to work.

But then I was surprised that the show employs something it calls the “Dash for Cash.” I hadn’t realized there was a competition aspect to the show, and nothing I can find on the show’s website explains that angle. The “Load Count Leaders” board at the end surprised me as much as it did when it popped up on Deadliest Catch. Do these guys win something from the show (or their company) by hauling the most loads? Anyway, the segments that discussed the dash for cash all seemed to drag.

So when something like Ray heading up Atigun Pass despite the avalanche warning happened, I got excited. And we did get to feel the suspense a bit … but even that was quickly deflated after a commercial break or two. I’m not trying to detract from the adrenaline rush the drivers feel, or the danger that they’re in, but the drama the viewer gets while watching is portioned out, packaged, and as a result minimized.

I was surprised, and extremely turned off, by a “Brought to you by Ford” moment during a commercial break. Obviously shows need advertisers, but I felt a gross commercialization of what these drivers do with the “You don’t need to haul 15,000 tons, but when you have a load that needs to get delivered, you should rely on the best” moment. Yuck.

Very cool catch-phrase potential in “Let’s do some truckin’.” There’s no question that what these guys do is exciting … when sitting in the cab of the truck facing the road. Watching it on TV? I have to be honest and say it was boring. I’m not rooting for any of these people to get hurt, but something about the way in which the episode I saw was edited left the drama on the cutting room floor.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Aug 02, 2010 @ 16:00 EST5EDT