New expedition overland vid
- Thread starter Paragon1
- Start date
shrub1
Member
I only mention it because I think it's relevant in the context of preparedness and them taking it so seriously.
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sn_85
Senior Member
Seriously. We're talking about their health and BMI's now? Lets get this thread back on track.
LawnDart
Senior Member
The voiceover is bad.
shrub1
Member
The comment was made based on the context of other posts and the episode itself. Chill out.
sn_85
Senior Member
Pretty sure you're the one on the high horse commenting about their health when it has nothing to do with anything. I'm the one who needs to chill out..right...
Hell I'm a physician and even I know when to take my white coat off every now and then...
jrandom
New member
Good critiques, I mean really some of them are really good, on point.
The tacticalness/seriousness has always driven me nuts. To me this is something you do for fun, to be enjoyed, have some moments of excitement or hard work and relax after a day of seeing the world. I do enjoy watching the locales and some of the more “real” moments they have caught on tape.
They do have a good thing going for themselves. This stuff is tough, particularly to come up with interesting digestible content.
The tacticalness/seriousness has always driven me nuts. To me this is something you do for fun, to be enjoyed, have some moments of excitement or hard work and relax after a day of seeing the world. I do enjoy watching the locales and some of the more “real” moments they have caught on tape.
They do have a good thing going for themselves. This stuff is tough, particularly to come up with interesting digestible content.
lukeskywalker
New member
I do commend them for coming up with content and taking adventures.
But...these guys don't seem like they are much fun to be around and are most certainly every aspect of the word: GRINGO.
They definitely take themselves way too seriously, especially the narrator and ginger guy. And people who take themselves too seriously tend to be annoying AF.
I think they were trying to go for a "Band of Brothers" or "Saving Private Ryan" feel or something. The narrator narrates as if they just fought off the SS in the battle of the bulge.
OK, I'm done. Good editing and film work. Yay.
STX4Runner
New member
Totally agree. They always talk about introspection, finding/testing yourself, learning what you're made of, blah blah blah on these adventures. Dude, you're driving a convoy of vehicles with $100,000 worth of gadgets/gear/shit in them. You've gone out of your way to plan for everything and have a gadget to save you if you gt in trouble. You're not Shackleton exploring the Antarctic, living in a tent and eating penguins for two years. I'm sure some of this is rooted in jealousy on my part. Jealous that they have found a way to do this for a living, but this is so emblematic of the whole overlanding thing right now. It used to be called car camping and could be done in anything carrying a ground tent, cooler and sleeping bags.
ECUDrummer
New member
I think y'all care too much about something that's supposed to be filed away as "entertainment".
wfo9
New member
I think we care ... or at least vent a little... because we get categorized with these guys as "Toyota overlander's
hoto:" and we encounter newcomers on a daily basis who think that is what owning a Toyota 4wd is all about. The show clearly has some redeeming qualities and does offer some entertainment value.. Just hard to watch at times when you know people are using it as a benchmark of some type.
shrub1
Member
Last comment I'll make on this topic with bit a color from my perspective.
The vibe harkens back to "preppers" and all the extreme measures they'd take to be ready for when the shit hits the fan, but take so little time and discipline actually becoming fit enough to really survive and endure. Now perhaps this isn't an apples to apples comparison, but its where my commentary is coming from.
jrandom
New member
You read to much into it if you think most of us "care" all that much.
It is "entertainment" and entertainment has been critiqued as long as it has existed.
There is the hope that maybe one of them will read some of it and maybe, just maybe, produce something, if even just a little bit, better.
LawnDart
Senior Member
I think very few of us are critiquing the show with the intent of wanting XO to stop existing. I come at it from a professional standpoint in saying, "more of this, but less of this" with the intent of improving the show.
I think the technical barrier for making nice looking shots has lowered considerably. Most cameras and lenses allow you to stumble into good, technically well captured, shots. Same with aerial platforms like Inspires and Mavics.
The DIFFERENCE between a mashup of nice looking shots and hollywood level productions, is capturing stuff for the sake of a story. And there's not much of a compelling story in these latest series.
I think we all agree that the north american series was great because they were going on trips that are all within reach for most of us, and they look like they're having fun. The Morrison Jeep Trail video was great because they completely were unprepared and all their shit, of which was restrained compared to their current setups, worked against them. And ya know what? It was fun to watch!
I think the technical barrier for making nice looking shots has lowered considerably. Most cameras and lenses allow you to stumble into good, technically well captured, shots. Same with aerial platforms like Inspires and Mavics.
The DIFFERENCE between a mashup of nice looking shots and hollywood level productions, is capturing stuff for the sake of a story. And there's not much of a compelling story in these latest series.
I think we all agree that the north american series was great because they were going on trips that are all within reach for most of us, and they look like they're having fun. The Morrison Jeep Trail video was great because they completely were unprepared and all their shit, of which was restrained compared to their current setups, worked against them. And ya know what? It was fun to watch!
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e60ral
Banned
I think we care ... or at least vent a little... because we get categorized with these guys as "Toyota overlander's
The show clearly has some redeeming qualities and does offer some entertainment value.. Just hard to watch at times when you know people are using it as a benchmark of some type.
i mean no one shits on guys here who collect patches for their headliner, or who get full armor to drive down FS roads, or who drive to their local offroad park and call it overlanding. at least XO makes pretty videos.
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ECUDrummer
New member
That's not how shows improve - they aren't going to go reading on t4r, ih8mud, tacomaworld or any other forum about how they can improve the show. Not with how they're structured and how they plan things out, and especially not with the sponsorship hand reaching in from groups like Toyota or General Tire. They've obviously been doing something the right way to have this much of a following - to have trucks at Expo, SEMA, and any other BIG event worth a damn. I've not even been critical of that, and that's not what my post was about.
On the other hand, I'm not trying to white-knight for them either. They aren't my favorite series, and I don't meticulously watch their episodes long enough to get hung up on the fact of whether they opine too much, plan too much, or weigh too much. Perhaps that's just my extremely short attention span, but I stopped giving a damn about what others think of this activity approx. 30 mins after I started enjoying this activity. I do it for me. I don't do it for others, and I damn sure don't do it because someone else things highly or lowly of it. I'd encourage that same frame of mind for all others to try.
End discussion.
On the other hand, I'm not trying to white-knight for them either. They aren't my favorite series, and I don't meticulously watch their episodes long enough to get hung up on the fact of whether they opine too much, plan too much, or weigh too much. Perhaps that's just my extremely short attention span, but I stopped giving a damn about what others think of this activity approx. 30 mins after I started enjoying this activity. I do it for me. I don't do it for others, and I damn sure don't do it because someone else things highly or lowly of it. I'd encourage that same frame of mind for all others to try.
End discussion.
jrandom
New member
Restart discussion 
Interesting, then how do shows improve? Particularly ones that have the opportunity for direct viewer feedback. They, themselves may not visit (which I think is odd to think that they wouldn't, at least one of the bunch), if I produced a show like this I would certainly pay attention to peer comments. Sponsorships are not nearly as heavily weighted on actual production value as you may think. They rely on pretty much two things, negotiations and perceived interest. If you're a showrunner, you better well give a damn what people think of your show, else you're going to lose that interest along with the sponsorships.
Sorry, I am a little slow, what was the point of your post, then?
I watch them, sure, I certainly don't over analyze it, this stuff has literally turned into gear porn disguised as an adventure or vice versa. It could be more sure, it doesn't take a genius or a long or short attention span to see this. There is nothing wrong with enjoying, not enjoying, or whatever. There is nothing wrong with talking about its good points or bad points either.
That was the point of some of the comments, well mine anyway, this is a discussion board after all. :angel:
Interesting, then how do shows improve? Particularly ones that have the opportunity for direct viewer feedback. They, themselves may not visit (which I think is odd to think that they wouldn't, at least one of the bunch), if I produced a show like this I would certainly pay attention to peer comments. Sponsorships are not nearly as heavily weighted on actual production value as you may think. They rely on pretty much two things, negotiations and perceived interest. If you're a showrunner, you better well give a damn what people think of your show, else you're going to lose that interest along with the sponsorships.
Sorry, I am a little slow, what was the point of your post, then?
I watch them, sure, I certainly don't over analyze it, this stuff has literally turned into gear porn disguised as an adventure or vice versa. It could be more sure, it doesn't take a genius or a long or short attention span to see this. There is nothing wrong with enjoying, not enjoying, or whatever. There is nothing wrong with talking about its good points or bad points either.
That was the point of some of the comments, well mine anyway, this is a discussion board after all. :angel:
mrblah
Senior Member
i like their show more than the other overland shows that are popping up all over youtube. I think i watched something on youtube where it was 4 or 5 overweight doods, in fully decked out rigs (snorkels/roofracks/lift/mud terrains/steel FF/FR bumpers) with kayaks and mountain bikes hanging off their rigs, and they spent 99 percent of the time on freeways, and parking lots. 1 percent on paved service road, and they were talking about getting off the beaten trail...are they kidding me.
Don't get me wrong, my 4runner pretty much spends 99.9 percent of its time on concrete too, i just don't want to watch a fatter version of me and my ride on tv on my spare time....
Don't get me wrong, my 4runner pretty much spends 99.9 percent of its time on concrete too, i just don't want to watch a fatter version of me and my ride on tv on my spare time....
STX4Runner
New member
I don't shit on them, but I think it's a little silly. With the amount of gear and armor I see people buying and installing on this forum, the offroad pictures thread out to be getting posted to a lot more often.
