Did Ya Know......Do Ya Care

[4wdgoalie]

Not much of a TV guy (unless the Wings are on) but I plan on DVRing this one.

"Alaska Off Road Warriors" Premiers Sunday Nov 30th on the History Channel @ 10:00 p.m.

[Ms.ZJ]

No cable.
We got rid of it when channels like History and Discovery stopped being informative and replaced educational and interesting with garbage "reality" programming.

...six or so years ago.

[fsumotorhead]

i haven't had cable in a few years, but the preview I've seen of that show looks like it is going to paint us in bad light.

[4wdgoalie]

Yea , I'm not sure what this has to do with History and the BRC is prolly not going to sponsor this one. With the word "Warrior" in the title I doubt the words "tread lightly" will be heard..........Still more than curious tho. Should make for some good forum discussion.

I ,unfortunately, have the "Gold" package. The only option if I want to watch the Red Wings. The day after they either win the Cup or get knocked out of the playoffs we pay the fee to change back to Basic. Just another racket.

[Jarhead]

Actually, BRC, Tread Lightly!, UFWDA, and other Four Wheel Drive Organizations have been reaching out to executive producers of this show in an attempt to prevent its airing. The promotional video demonstrates a total disregard for any conscious respect for land use. While they received land access permits through the BLM, they viciously violated the restrictions and several organizations have had their permits (meaning their events/fundraisers) cancelled.

Are you willing to have your organizations event cancelled so that a television show can entertain viewers?

The impact and fallout has only begun and we fear the overall impact this misuse and total disregard of responsible wheeling will have on our land use access.

[hemrides]

So do we know who the folks are that made the show? Can we follow the money?

[4wdgoalie]

I have not seen any of the promo for the series (thus the thread title). My son is home from school for the holiday and filled me in after seeing a preview . I had a feeling it may be controversial from the title but had no idea how deep the ruts were behind this one already.
Once again proves the power of greed. I wonder how many of these other "reality shows" are getting away with blatant on-air violations of the rules of their supporting organizations.

I am aware of some pending legislation here in Michigan related to a large animal Veterinary reality show. I do not know the show or the specifics but apparently they are trying to pass a law that would prevent someone in a reality show from getting sued for their actions after the airing of the show. Apparently the Dr. in the show is quite a pioneer in his treatment decisions and has been called out by other Veterinary professionals.
It may be malpractice............ but it sure sells the advertising space eh. And elected officials going to bat to protect him????? Hmmm
Trace the money on that one also.
Once again , just another racket driven by greed.

[Jarhead]

We are reaching out to every contact we can discover via web searches and the like trying to connect with someone who has some sense of responsibility.

We opted not to distribute the video link in an attempt to not give them a false positive because of the number of times it had been viewed. How this reality show qualifies for the History Channel exceeds our ability to grasp any point beyond an attempt to gain viewers. This year’s schedule (shows) is already filmed and the damage is done. We can only hope the viewership is dismal and they cannot raise sufficient capital to buy someone off to gain permits again.

[WhiteRhino]

I would like to see the link to form my own opinion. Maybe I'll have to go look for it.

Well, I just looked for the promo trailer and to be honest, I don't see anything wrong with it. Let's see.

Crossing a stream. Yep (splashing water? They certainly could have gone through it slower)
Traversing a muddy crossing. Yep, happens all the time in the back country.
Spinning tires in sand. Yep
Climbing a hill. Yep
Broken parts. Yep.

Unless there is more to it than on their promo, I can't get on the negative band wagon. Alaska is millions of square miles with very few roads. Just how does anyone expect to get in the outback without spinning a tire?

[Jarhead]

The original link has been disabled presently and for a couple of days the show was removed from the schedule. The show is back on the schedule and we are hoping some editing changes have been made to the final viewing but we are still working for a solution.

You're right, if the available promo reflects the final viewing, we would be good with it in part. I say in part, because the need for restitution still exists because wheelers are being negatively impacted when they themselves find the first viewing objectionable. Like it or not we are subject to the disregard some have for responsible wheeling; as the ole’ saying goes, “Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.” If organizations weren’t having their events cancelled, we would not have ventured down this path.

I have witnessed far too many trail closures due to presumption of misuse. The best avenue we have is getting those that oppose us to join us and see we have common ground. While it does not always work, we cannot simply standby and allow a television show to misrepresent our sport. We all know, a reality show has nothing to do with reality.

It so reminds me of the times we sat in the ORV Advisory Board meeting and had to watch illegal wheeling videos posted on YouTube.