They will of course deny it themselves, but The Expedition: Greenland feels a bit like an attempt to make the winter edition of Over the Ocean. The boat has been exchanged for skis and sleds, the vast ocean has been replaced by equally immense snow fields, the light summer clothes make way for thick suits and Captain Piet is now called guide Henk-Jan. Only the BVs have remained, although there are now two more.
There are eight of them, more or less voluntary well-known compatriots who make a 160-kilometer journey through Greenland led by two experienced guides. Not for the faint of heart, it immediately becomes clear. There is not only the physical challenge – it is not just sledding on skis – but the harsh temperatures also play a major role. At temperatures of thirty or forty degrees below zero you can’t just do what you want. They are soon presented with photos of frozen fingers and toes, just to make the doubters doubt them even more.
Frostbite or not, the desolate snow fields provide fantastic images. No matter how monotonous it may seem, it is difficult to get tired of those white landscapes in Norway – where they first did a test run for a few days – and Greenland. Throw in a drone shot every now and then, and you’ll immediately feel like heading to the Far North yourself.
In thick suits
But is it worth the attention that goes into surviving and enduring the harsh conditions? The conversations that mainly focus on the arduous journey, physical pain and daily practical needs? The Expedition: Greenland – we already saw the first three episodes – fails to create the same wonderful feeling as Over the ocean, where it was more about the interplay of the BVs and you as a viewer also got to know them in a different way. . And above all: there was much more humor in the program. The pleasant conversations always alternated with sharp witticisms and funny scenes.
In The Expedition: Greenland, suffering takes over, and take that literally when Lynn Van Royen is having a hard time or Tine Embrechts talks about her fright during a perilous overnight stay. Survival takes precedence, and that is at the expense of other aspects. And with BVs that are constantly in thick suits, the threshold is also somewhat higher. Occasionally this is highlighted, for example when you see one of the participants cracking along the way. Viktor Verhulst may do his best to maintain the atmosphere, but it doesn’t really make you feel warm as a viewer.
It is an iron law in television land: if a program is successful, derivatives soon appear that hope for the same success in the slipstream of the original. As meritorious as The Expedition: Greenland is, it also feels a bit like reality television that could just as easily have been on TV ten years ago. May the new season of Over the Ocean come soon.
The Expedition: Greenland, now on Streamz, from January on Play 4.
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2023-12-18 16:00:19
#Expedition #Greenland #Ocean #physical #challenge
