Life on the road is a lonely life and I know nothing more about it than what I’ve seen on television or from interacting with truckers a time or two. Some of them have families and some of them just fly by the seat of their pants and live from city to city. Those with families usually feel the stress more than those without because not only are they lonely, but they know there are a bunch of lonely people back home. Truckers without families feel the stress too because they’ll always miss out on that little piece of normalcy of being married and having kids. When all that is below your tires is a foot or two of ice then the stress level is upped considerably for everyone.
Ice Road Truckers is a reality series that takes viewers and puts them in the passenger seat of big rig trucks as drivers such as Rick, Alex, and Jay make deliveries through the snowy terrains of Canada. They work together to keep diamond mines a thing of the present and the future, and there is nothing keeping them from certain death except for the ice they ride upon. It is insane to think without doubt that the two feet of ice cant crack or melt or cause them to slip and slide right into the trees or mountainsides. But through the cold and the fear and the long nights, six brave truckers risk their lives in order to do the job they were born to do.
This is not a series for everyone because let’s face it: it’s a series about guys driving big rigs from one place to another. It sounds rather simple and contrite, but it’s true because that is honestly what it is all about. There’s more to it, but breaking it down is easy as can be when you see guys get their haul from one spot and have to take it all the way to its destination. One added sense of danger is the terrain that they travel on and the horrible conditions they must drive through. Ice and snow stain their windshields making visibility extremely hard and when the storms build up, almost impossible. Underneath their tires is not a layer of ice covering the asphalt or concrete. No, that ice is the only layer there is covering what is sure to be a watery grave if it were to give way. Those conditions make this series interesting enough for everyone to want to watch, but they won’t because of the assumptions they make of what it is about.
Season two is kind of the same as season one but you get to see new hauls, new struggles, new arguments, and some incredible amounts of danger that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. I do not see how these men would even dare drive over sheets of ice to get one from place to another and in conditions that I wouldn’t even attempt to drive a tank out in. These guys get paid well for their services, but whether it is all worth it is another story. One wrong turn and you could end up in the middle of nowhere in a sea of white and that happens in an episode this season. If you drive too fast then you could jackknife and flip over in an instant. And the worst thing of all that could happen is to hear a loud crack and feel helpless as they plunge deep into the icy waters of the Arctic. All of these things and more are at risk in a series that keeps the tension high and the excitement up in a season that goes on truckin’!
Episodes
Disc One:
Edge Of The Earth: Daring truckers hauling 88,000-pound loads will venture far north, driving over the Arctic Ocean on a highway made of nothing more than ice.
Mechanical Mayhem: A long-unused truck, an irreparably damaged rig, and the aftermath of an ice road accident test the endurance of veterans and rookies.
The Big Blizzard: As a blizzard approaches and safety concerns shut down ice roads, a trucker must rescue a driver whose rig is stranded on the weakest part of the road.
Arctic Whiteout: A dangerous storm that brings whiteout conditions forces the postponement of a huge job: breaking camp and moving a fragile 135-foot, $250,000 derrick.
Disc Two:
Lost On The Ice: A risky loading procedure could tax the ice to its breaking point, and a trucker who has missed a turn-off is lost and in danger.
Hundred Ton Haul: Worsening health problems and the heaviest load of his ice road career bring pressure to bear on a veteran trucker.
Man Down: A driver is medivacked to the Yellowknife hospital, and the truckers must now be on guard against a new lethal danger spotted in the area: a polar bear.
A Trucker’s Farewell: While a grim diagnosis may mean the end of one trucker’s ice road season, another is forced by the weight of his load 100,000 pounds to drive no faster than 16 mph.
Disc Three:
A Rookie Fumbles: A novice driver has a rocky first lesson, and mechanical problems force a trucker to choose between abandoning his rig or continuing on, risking hypothermia and possible death.
Highway Maggots: “Scab” drivers from the south earn a few choice words from ice road regulars, and a trucker volunteers for a dangerous mission: hauling three sled trailers at once.
Man Vs. Ice: With rising temperatures, slippery ice makes driving more treacherous than ever, and crews rush to transport machinery before the roads melt completely.
The Big Thaw: Warmer weather results in overflows and weakened ice and makes the ice roads increasingly dangerous, but the drivers push on in spite of it all.
Disc Four:
Road To The Finale: Drivers who started out as Arctic rookies look back at the challenges, early exits, and favorite moments that made up the unforgettable Ice Road season.
The World Crumbles: It’s a neck-and-neck race as two stalwart truckers fight for dominance over the ice road, but time is running out and the ocean waters are closing in.
The film is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and it looks just as good as it did during the season. Everything looks great and there were no problems in the transfer to DVD. And maybe its good production work or just awesome camera work, but some of the visuals are simply breathtaking so pay close attention to everything.
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound and also comes through with no problems. Every bit of dialogue can be heard loud and clear along with the brakes pumping and the ice cracking.
About The Ice Road – This is an awesome featurette that explains every little detail about the road of ice these truckers risk their lives on everyday. It is even explained how the ice road is prepared before their deliveries begin by clearing out the snow and making sure the weight of the trucks can be held. Broken into different parts, this nine minute and thirty-six second feature also discusses the differences in driving on frozen seas, lakes, rivers, and oceans.
Meet The Truckers – Each trucker gets their own little biography with pictures, clips, and short histories on their careers and who they are. This feature runs twelve and a half minutes.
Life In Northern Canada – In this featurette, a cool look is shown at how life in Northern Canada actually is for the people living there. Explanations are given for how they deal with the cold, electricity and water, full days of darkness, and more. This five and a half minute feature is very cool and I actually wish it had been a little longer.
Road To Season 2 – Wow, what an awesome special feature. This forty-four minute featurette relives season one and gets the world ready for season two. You just need to watch it because it is a refresher course for fans of the show and an introduction for all the new folks just coming in.
Off The Ice Season 2 – This feature gives a bit of the background as to why season two of Ice Road Truckers even happened at all. Some of the best moments from the second season are collected together here to show how wild, strange, and extremely dangerous it all really is. This feature runs just under forty-four minutes as well.
Dangers On The Ice Road – The truckers sit back and discuss the different problems that can come from being on the ice road. A lot of people don’t think about the fact that the ice they’re traveling on isn’t the only danger they face but also the extreme cold, getting stuck, losing power, animals, and so much more. This feature runs for five and a half minutes.
Arctic Animals – Drivers usually need to look out for deer or other such things getting into the roadways, but the ice road truckers deal with different species. Polar bears are the biggest dangers and they are all over the place looking for one of their natural prey…humans. One thing I never even thought of because if the truckers did fall in the water; my main thought is that they’d freeze to death. Never realized they’d also have to deal with the Greenland Shark which dwells in the cold waters. This is a short feature running just over four minutes but it’s still very good.
Ice Road Truckers is an awesome series that really gets your blood moving and your intrigue working at full speed because you never know what is going to happen. It just amazes me what these men go through and what they are willing to endure in order to get their hauls to their locations in time. This is one of those series that might seem so boring just by hearing about it but it takes watching a few episodes to get a true understanding of how good it is and to appreciate it. One of the better things in this set, on top of the great episodes, is the special features. You don’t usually see much work put into that section of television DVD sets, but Ice Road Truckers changes that and big time. With over two hours of extra footage and information to go along with fourteen great episodes, the second season of Ice Road Truckers is a must have because it delivers in more ways then one.
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A&E Home Video presents Ice Road Truckers: The Complete Season Two. Created by: Thom Beers. Starring: Thom Beers (Narrator). Running time: 611 minutes on 4 discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: December 16, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
