Comments on: Another critic of “Great American Road Trip”

By: Mark Buric

Mark Buric — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:22:56 +0000

This simply points out again, that the people that made this show know virtually nothing about Route 66, what it stands for nor obviously do they care.

What they do know is U.S. Route 66 just like Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Harleys etc. SELLS with nothing more than a simple image.

This has been gone over before and it’s a shame. People and companies over sell the image of Route 66 for easy $$ and yet still no one gains anything about the real Route 66. And what we found from this failed show is watching a poorly made, ignorant and empty show, supposedly about Route 66, was way too much to sit through for an hour.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:37:40 +0000

This reality show is a travesty to Route 66. By episode 3, very little is on the route. Branson is not on the Route, nor most of the other stops they filmed at so far. The production qualities are terrible and the trumped up challenges are nothing short of stupid. What a waste of a good possible idea and alot of money.

All of the ridiculous “challenges” could have been on the route and moreover route related. Even silly, they could have promoted the old road in a fun way. They could have performed on the stage at the Rialto or the Coleman. They could have cooked hamburgers at the U-Drop. Some historical challenge at the museum in Clinton. Fought over soda at Pop’s. Endless ideas, and so much lost opportunity to be of benefit to the Route 66 community instead of abuse and bypass the opportunity.

I know for a fact that the budget was around 1.7 million per episode. Not even in HD. What did they waste the money on is my question. The pre-production team must have been asleep at the wheel. So many cool opportunities on Route 66 and most of them missed.

Take a look at any map. Branson, central Kansas, The Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas are not on the Route. They bypassed most of Oklahoma which has the most portion of the road than any of the other 7 states.

Where did quality television disappear to?
Jeers to NBC in a BIG way.

By: DynoDave

DynoDave — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:07:25 +0000

Mercifully, I have not wasted any of my already too-short life watching this, or any other, prime time network television. While you may be disappointed, is anyone really surprised that mainstream network television didn’t “get it” when it cam to knowing what Route 66 and a real family road trip were all about?

It sounds to me like Kathleen hit the nail (largely) right on the head.

By: D.Cloud

D.Cloud — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:49:29 +0000

My husband and I haven’t watched the show due to unexpected surgery. I was anxiously waiting for the next show, but after reading all the comments on it, don’t know if we’ll watch it or not. However, we can definitely say there is lots to see in Illinois on Route 66 and so much of what IS Route 66 and it’s Mom and Pop businesses, etc. is Illinois! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip through Illinois on the Mother Road and made sure we saw all the icons it has to offer. People of Illinois, you can be proud, as Route 66 is well represented in your state and us travelers (we’re from Georgia) appreciate your efforts in keeping Route 66 so “upfront” and inviting for everyone. Thanks!

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:41:14 +0000

I also am not a fan of the show. I agree that with the time they have and the skill level of the drivers, I-55 was the better choice. However, they could have made alot more stops in Illinois. So much to see! Why were they in such a hurry to leave Illinois?

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:08:07 +0000

After seeing extended previews on this series, my husband and I made the decision to not watch. It seemed pretty obvious that this show wasn’t about the Road, just about another irritating reality show. It looks like that was a good decision. Anyone who “gets” road trips will know that this is not an accurate representation.