Absolute waste of money and resources
That is not biking, not exploring or adventuring. That's waste of money. Chaps riding with a small army behind them. Why?

Boring TV Production Company promotion
Contarary to othe reviews I have to say this documentary was a HUGE disappointment. Long way ROUND was excellent and more of a story about Charley and Ewans friendship and their love of bikes than the locality of the trip itself.

This documentary was more about the production team. There is never a sense of the trip being in jeopardy as there is a HUGE entourage of production team all over the footage. The producers are really really annoying and seem to love the fact that they have become associated with Ewan - the most annoying is the producer called Russ who is totally unwatchable and spoils everything by being, well - just there.

I would seriously think hard before getting this. I didn't and I was a massive fan of the first series. The new series 'By Any Means' is being broadcast in the UK now (Dec 2008) and is twice as bad as this with our friend Russ now appointed official major contributer (and director!!). Why? I have no idea. It has to be nepotism.

Don't buy it.

Interesting but flawed
Reading the comments here, the consensus of opinion appears to be that this series "Long Way Down" is not as good on the first one "Long Way Round". I agree with this whole-heartedly, however I feel that some of the criticisms are overly harsh.

Some of the criticisms levelled at this series by many commenters are these -

1) There are too much of the producers and support crew - this is definitely one of the problem I have with this show. The adventure is all about Ewan and Charley, not about the producers. They should really try to keep themselves in the background and not trying to hog the limelight, they aren't such interesting people for God's sake.

2) The support crew are with the bikers far too often - this is very true, the sense of adventure is lost when the crew are with them most of the time. In the first series they only meet up with the support crew once in a while, here they are practically following them a few feet behind most of the trip. It's no longer the adventure of two men, but that of a whole convoy. I don't agree however that there is too high a level of support - for example they needed armed guards when going through dangerous area, what is the point of doing this if they get killed by bandits and insurgents?

3) Eve should have stayed at home - again very true. She came across as needy, attention-seeking and eager to share in the limelight when we aren't that interested in watching her. If Ewan or Charley are going to drag their wives and children next time, along with parents, relatives and other friends, where is the adventure in all this? This is supposed to be about just the pair of them.

4) The journey is too rushed - this I only partly agree. The point about watching this is that we get to see all their triumphs as well as their mistakes. That they realised their mistake in making the schedule too tight is part of what makes it interesting, although I do wonder if they really learnt any lesson from this early mistake - they rushed to get to Cape Town in the last episode just so that they can catch a plane, how ridiculous is that when there are many flights and that flight is not even part of the adventure.

5) Some of the charms of the main characters are lost - In this series I find Charley to be somewhat annoying rather than amusing. He was surly at times and appeared to have a chip on his shoulder about something.

The reason the first adventure is enjoyable and enthralling is the whole premise of the adventure is based on the idea of just a couple of friends simply going on a long dream journey around the world on their bikes, we feel like we are on the trip with them, we get to see their trials and tribulations along the journey, and we share in their highs and lows. We accept certain compromise in the first adventure, like having a support crew who would need to help with with certain logistics such as the camera work and transfer of filmed footages. This time round however what were minor sideshows threatened to become the centre of attention of the trip. What made the first adventure compelling is lost in the second. Nevertheless, I enjoy a lot of the journey and found them interesting, for example their trip to Ethiopia, even their hurried dash across North Africa.


Hurry! Hurry!
The atmosphere on this trip seems completely different from the Long Way Round trip.

Although the trip is supposed to be the length of Africa it starts from John O'Groats in Scotland and they ride through all of Europe before getting to Africa. It's no wonder they spent the whole trip trying to meet deadlines. IMO the trip should have started in North Africa.
I suppose hindsight is 20/20 vision.

In fairness the scheduling problems and many personal conflicts between all involved aren't glossed over in the series. You could argue too much time is spent analysing them, rather than showing the continent they were travelling through.

The stars of the series are the people of Africa, helping the travellers when they needed it, inviting them into their homes sometimes. It's obvious that they were treated as "celebrities" on occaisions, with whole communities coming out to greet them.
There also visits to projects being funded by UNICEF,which is the point of the series. It might be a mean thought but you would like to know how much money was raised by the trip as the costs must have been enormous.

Ewan McGregor comes across as funny, moany and definitely NOT an offroad biker! Charley Boorman is quieter but also comes across well.



Why did they bother?
Having seen both Long Way Round and Long Way Down in various incarnations I have to wonder why they bothered. If the idea of an adventure around the world on a motorbike is unthinkable without a support crew and a cameraman to record it, then I must be missing something.

In Long Way Round they meet up with Ted Simon - who McGregor claims was the inspiration for the trip. There they were, loaded up with free bikes, more kit than they could carry, support staff and minders at every corner, and still finding it hard going... all the while gushing at the resilience and fortitude of Simon - the quintessential traveller who always got by with a rickety bike and meagre provisions. The crushing irony seemed lost on them.

Having read both Ted Simon's biking books I can quite confidently say there is more magic, more adventure, more romance, more balls even, in his description of the simple act of making a cup of tea under a starry African sky. He was all alone, had no idea what tomorrow would bring or how long his bike would last. No ego, no tv camera, just self-reliance and guts. Now THAT is adventure. These two jokers make movies, and this series is nothing more than that: two jokers making a movie.

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