Dangerous Drives: Storm Chasers now Online

[Joey Ketcham]

Thought I would pass this along, the Dangerous Drives: Storm Chasers episode is now posted:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/123488/dangerous-drives-storm-chasers#s-p1-so-i0

 

[Jason Young]

Very Cool , thanks Joey.

 

[Adam Lucio]

Thanks Joey, I checked every other day for about 2 weeks and gave up.

 

[Stephen Levine]

Thank you for sharing this great documentary!

 

[Greg Campbell]

Thanks for the heads up.



Ugh - watched it last night. It's no better than any of the other episodes.

Highlights of this train wreck.

- One cool land spout.
- One close lightning strike.
- Several distant Scudnadoes.
- Toxic overdose of hackneyed melodramatic narration.
- Several minutes spent desperately attempting to dramatize driving down a muddy road. (The horrors! )
- Zero tornadoes. (I was scarcely glued to the screen - may have missed something.)

 

[Skip Talbot]

- Zero tornadoes. (I was scarcely glued to the screen - may have missed something.)

That's what happens when you only spend a couple days out with two chasers instead of the entire season. As a result it was also a much more realistic portrayal of chasing including the driving long hours into the night, getting stuck in the mud, and busting.

A couple things that stuck out when I watched is that Simon drives a stickshift, uses paper maps, and his phone for data. Yikes, that's a lot to juggle at the same time.

Extremely sharp hail shredding tires? I guess I need hail guards over the tires too

 

[Greg Campbell]

That's what happens when you only spend a couple days out with two chasers instead of the entire season. As a result it was also a much more realistic portrayal of chasing including the driving long hours into the night, getting stuck in the mud, and busting.

True enough!
Still, for all the talk about "Lethal winds.. " etc. they could have at least come up with a tube headed their way, a healthy RFD blasting them, ANY sort of somewhat scary moment.

If they'd not hyped the 'dangerous mud road' scene beyond all belief, the show's end (stuck in the mud) might have offered some mild "That's chasing!" comic relief.

A couple things that stuck out when I watched is that Simon drives a stickshift, uses paper maps, and his phone for data. Yikes, that's a lot to juggle at the same time.

Yea, it made me sorta nervous watching. I kept expecting him to veer into a ditch at any moment!

Extremely sharp hail shredding tires? I guess I need hail guards over the tires too

So long as producers think that throwaway hype will pimp the ratings....
"Beware the Killer Hail!!"

 

[James Hammett]

These not-so-thrilling shows are great for bringing some reality back to the portrayal of storm chasing. Got to wonder though if the mud slinging was "for the show" since I can't imagine Jim would have otherwise continued down that road without 4WD.

 

[Chris K]

Actually I was wondering the same thing...why no 4wd? You can see when he is trying to get unstuck only the back wheels are spinning.

 

[David Mikulec]

Well, they certainly do get an A+ for being melodramatic! Heh.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Actually I was wondering the same thing...why no 4wd? You can see when he is trying to get unstuck only the back wheels are spinning.

Not bashing Jim, but that's the exact reason I very rarely go down roads like that if at all possible. Of course I do it once in a while (ask Jay McCoy) but I try to avoid it. I'd rather miss a tornado than have to deal with finding someone to get me unstuck, and all the muddy mess that's involved.

EDIT: Yes I do have a 4x4, but even then, you still have to pick your muddy road battles.

 

[Eric Hostetter]

They need to change the title of that show from "Dangerous Drives" to "Ditritous Drivel."

 

[Shane Adams]

Overall I thought it was good, because it was fairly realistic, at least as far as the storyline. No tornadoes, nothing really that spectacular over the entire trip, and lots of driving. I know it's not the exciting, seat-of-your-pants type of show that's been wildly-popular the past few years, but the realism made up for the lack of excitement IMO.

As usual, the editing and narration were low points. It's bad enough anyway, but when you have a voice-over that's trying to add drama where there simply isn't any, it's 10 times worse. Then again, I had to keep reminding myself the show was about the driving conditions, not about storm chasing.

Jim is obviously more comfortable in the role of TV drama, as his dialogue (IMO) co-existed naturally with the overall narration's attempt to build intensity (where there really was none). I thought Simon came off as more genuine, just a guy who goes out with not much and often gets a whole lot. His low-key demeanor and approach was interesting to watch.

So yeah, I thought it was a decent program, but my bias due to experience refuses to allow me to be objective regarding how shows are put together. I could do without the fabrication, especially in a show where 90% of the time there is nothing happening. But...that "dullness" is what makes the show about as close to real as it can get in Hollywood, and for my money, that's a win.

 

[Stephen Barabas]

Awesome. Thanks, Joey. I need to show a few friends this since they don't have Speed channel. Glad to see it's up.