Sam Wollaston savaged By Any Means, the BBC1 series where Charley Boorman travels from Ireland to Australia using any method of transport except commercial flights.
Without wanting to re-hash Sam’s argument (which is neatly summed up as who the hell is Charley Boorman anyway, and why is he on my telly?), it was an utterly baffling and irritating programme.
What is the purpose of Charley’s journey? It would make sense if there was a reason for this adventure. Raising money for charity, an attempt to break some record or other. Something.
But instead it seems it as simple as a little rich kid (well, man) who likes playing with petrol-consuming toys. While he is hardly the first (or likely to be the last) person who has the funds to romp all over the world, does this really justify a commission to make a TV series?
The other infuriating thing about the show is its lack of knowledge that Charley displays about the places through which he travels. Usually, the producer would have given a few facts to the presenter so they could pass on the information in an engaging way to the audience. Instead, Charley says that the English Channel is the busiest shipping lane in the world. Or one of them. Which is it? In this show, it doesn’t seem to matter.
The final point (and maybe this demonstrates the target audience of Top Gear-esque polar bear hating petrol heads) is a sequence on the scallop trawler. The trawlermen dump down dredgers that rip up the seabed, and are viewed by many to have a devastating impact on the environment. And yet, no mention. Rather, Charley says mmm, yummy scallops as he watches starfish, sea urchins and other creatures spread on the deck that have been hoovered up from the sea floor.
My wife bought me “By Any Means” going the to Far East recently. What a load of bull. Paid 17 Euro for a load of waffle. These people are not capable of writing in the English language. I have been reading books for over 45 years and would safely say this is the worst, most amateur attempt that I have encountered. God bless Michael Palin and his brilliiant descripitive accounts of his real ” expeditions”. What does Boorman normally work at or is he trying to make a career from “celebrity”??????????????????
Signed: Waste of 17Euro