Another rail trip with someone who "used to be interesting"

[JoyintheMorning]

More Cheap TV, New this week end; Sandi Toksvig in sunny South of France.
First we had Michael Portillo who got it right. Then we had a narration by Bill Nighy, he didn't go on the journeys, they filmed it and gave him a script to read.
Now we get Sandi's pension top up.
Are there no new ideas anywhere among the Tristrams in the 'meedja'?

What would you like progs about?

I'm another fan of Michael Portillo and Simon Reeves. Also, Michael Palin has done some good travel programmes. I think they are all good presenters but the programmes are primarily about the places they visit and the people they meet rather than simply vehicles to promote themselves. The same can't be said for every "celeb" programme.

I enjoyed the one off one about Bangladesh with Nadiya Hussain

Its a bit like the cruise programmes. Don’t judge us but during lockdown we loved watching Jane McDonald going to different places, interacting with the other guests and locals and even the cheesy song at the end. Then they tried to recreate it with Susan Calman whose main points of interest appear to be that she is short and chippily Scottish, even right down to her mangling a song at the end.

I like that Michael Portillo goes to the out of the way places that no one else would bother with and always manages to sound incredibly interested. He even came to my home town which is in the arse end of nowhere. Love seeing what he is going to be wearing as well.😁

We've had a rather fraught few weeks culminating in Dmil dying earlier in the week. The weekend the clocks went back, DH said he wished there was a new Michael Portollo series as it's the ultimate comfort TV, especially the European ones and if it's somewhere we've been.

Cannot bear the hotels one with Giles Coren and Monica Galetti

Agreed but we still watch them and actually treated ourselves to a holiday at one of the featured hotels for our joint 60ths off the back of the programme (it did not disappoint).

I quite like Jane McDonald.

Like many pps I love Michael Portillo's railway programmes.
Cannot be doing with all the middle class, middle aged male 'celebs' walking about and saying stuff. See Rob Brydon, Martin Clunes et al.
Portillo has an actual passion for rail travel, which makes it so much more interesting and genuine.
I quite like Jane McDonald's programmes apart from when she is a bit flippant about local cultures and customs. She goes to some really interesting places. And I love a bit of cheesy Cake By The Ocean style singing at the end.

Michael portillo had a different approach which is good, most other rail journey ones are on prestigious routes and fancy services. I do like travel documentaries when done by journalists though, Simon Reeves is my favourite, he really gets under the skin of a place, not just tourism

Michael Palin In Venezuela on C5 now as well

It is Rob Rinder and Monica doing the hotels now probably your worst nightmare 😂

I loved Rylan and Robs first series the second one was rubbish.

Alan Cummings did a good train programme the Royal scot it is a proper fancy tourist train, I liked the ridiculousness of it.

DCs and I enjoy Trek Trendy - he is by no means to everyone's taste - 30 something dude from the home counties in white trainers with an unfathomable source of income. But he is absolutely brilliant on the prosaic details of luxury travel. The size of the bed on Emirates first class, how much the suite on the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul will cost, what's on the breakfast menu at the Singapore Hilton etc. I get frustrated at watching travel programmes where they talk about the history, the hotel and the experience but never get down to brass tacks like cost and whether the Canadian Rocky Mountaineer luxury train experience includes complimentary body lotion and bathrobes.

Ditto. I really hate these cheap "copycat" tv programs with random past it celebrities basically just following a script. At least Portillo knew what he was talking about but the others could be presented by anyone. Same with cruise and travel programs, especially the awful Jane McDonald and that little scottish women who claims to be a comedian. I just tend to turn off the TV for such programs, heaven knows who actually watches them.

Oh yes, Rinder and Monica was just awful and cringeworthy.

The Anton du Beke and Giovanni Pernice show in Sicily was cringeworthy!!! Appalling TV.

Yes, couldn’t agree more. Also she answered an interview question once admitting that she much preferred pottering around at home with her family, to doing tedious tv programmes.

To which I’d say “crack on love. We’re fine here without you.”

She said the same about Bake off, tedious apparently,.

I was so disappointed with Toksvig.
She has no empathy and an awkward and arrogant style of presenting, along with an embarrassing attempt to speak French.
Portillo on the other hand is a natural, engaging personality and has an ability to communicate with local people and bring out their stories.

Agree that the Portillo ones work because he’s passionate about trains. He’s also either interested in the people he meets or does a very well- mannered impersonation of being so.

I managed a couple of Coren/Galetti ones by ff through Coren because Monica Galetti is warm and likeable and he isn’t. <understatement.>

Jane McDonald, I hadn’t seen her in anything previously but am aware that she’s taken quite a knocking. I find her very warm and self-deprecating, if a teeny bit patronising “look, in France they have all these individual shops, it’s not altogether in a supermarket.”

I leave it on if I’m pottering around in the kitchen and don’t have to concentrate .

I agree that somewhere between the extremes that @taxgurudescribed might be worth watching.

my question is: why can’t the people who commission these programmes tell who is likeable and who isn’t, like the rest of us?

I mean Rob Rinder?? I don’t wish him any harm, but how is he on tv?

am not a huge fan of travel shows, I haven’t watched most of these. I did like Timothy West and Prunella Scales on the canal though, very gentle.

Same! Love Simon Reeves programmes, and his way of getting people to speak about the areas they live in. I think the first one I watched of his was set around the equator. His recent one about the Nordic countries was a real eye opener, especially Denmark.
I also didn't think I'd like Portillo, but he is very good, and is game at trying new things which surprised me. We like seeing what brightly coloured combo he'll be wearing during the episodes.

I've really got into a lot of these travel type programmes, especially ones around the UK. During lockdown the celeb walks with the go pro on a stick we're just lovely. It was nice learning a bit more about each of them, most weren't hugely famous imo which helped, and I grew to really like Nick Grimshaw when watching his walk. Prior to that, I wasn't sure about him.

I like the coastal villages ones too, beautiful scenery and a bit of the history behind them

Would that qualify for the Christmas tat threads?

YY to the coastal villages program - the guy who presents it is really good.

Also love Michael Portillo - although with a DS obsessed by trains that’s wholly predictable! Really don’t like Sandi Tostvog so haven’t watched anything she’s been in - same with Susan Calman.