The Long Way Round

"I said, "Eve, I want you to look after my wedding ring while I'm away," and she started to cry and I said, "Eve. Eve, I can't wear my ring or I won't get laid on the trip!"."

A while back I saw some random episodes, I quite enjoyed what I saw, but I never watched the whole thing, only parts. My brother got into the show so I decided I'd watch the show too. What a great show it was..

• Title: Long Way Round
• Year of Release:
  
• Directors: David Alexanian & Russ Malkin
• Genre: Documentary/Adventure
• Rating: 8/10

The show is about Ewan McGregor and his best mate Charley Boorman who decide to go on an extremely difficult trip through Russia, Mongolia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, and then finish up flying over to North America where they will go to New York and finish their massive adventure. Throughout the show they struggle, and it is not quite as easy as they thought it would be.

Without Ewan McGregor this show more than likely would not have been made, the only reason I feel it was made, was because McGregor is an A-List celebrity, and to see how he can cope on a trip that could easily be made into a film, he doesn't act, he doesn't try to act like someone else, it is obvious throughout. It's very easy to go through the show and not realise there is more spotlight on McGregor because of his fame, which would generate most of the interest (worked in my case at least), but throughout the show Charley does grow on you and you really enjoy his presence in the show, he didn't just become "the other guy". Once you actually watch the show, neither of them make the sure better or worse than the other, they are equally as interesting in the show.

When the going gets rough in the show, mainly in Mongolia I feel, it was very exciting, and you could just feel their frustration build and build because they would constantly fall off of their bike literally every 20 or so seconds. Though you see them get quite frustrated at their situation, they do become more optimistic and try to keep their cool, which is obviously difficult. Having to go down some tracks that were so difficult only to realise it's a dead end and you have to go back would get quite annoying, and you really begin to feel it. Despite being in the middle of there is quite a few people that show up here and there that are very friendly, people offering a room, assistance, throughout. It looked like such an amazing trip.

The show is great in that it's entertaining to see these two men (and Claudio) go on this epic journey, the scenery they come across is really amazing, and again stacks up with the many different things that make this show so enjoyable. Charley and Ewan themselves picked out the music for the show, and all the songs throughout go perfectly with the show and only enhance the show. The theme is quite catchy and decent as well if you ask me.

So if your even remotely interested in this show at least watch the first three episodes. This show is very enjoyable and by the end you actually feel as if you know the two men on a personal level, similar to what Ewan says about the Orange County guys, you feel you know them because you've not only seen them for several hours, but you've seen them through good times and bad. Those interested in these sort of things, you'll love this.

Click me to view the trailer!