After an entertaining premiere last week, it’s time for your weekly Around The World In 80 Ways preview.
Episode two is my favorite episode of the series for many reasons, but particularly because it is the episode in which the show seems to really find its voice. While Around The World In 80 Ways is about the different methods of transportation that can be used to travel around the world, I have always felt like the show truly excels when it focuses on the strange relationship shared between its two hosts.
In tonight’s episode, Boston Rob Mariano and Dennis Anderson must travel 450 miles from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Ipanema Beach.
With nine methods of transportation already in the books after the first episode, the travelers start this week’s adventure by using a scaffolding to scale down 35 floors of a building and wash windows while on their way down.
After that, the pair run into a protest to legalize marijuana happening in the streets which is quite funny specifically because they aren’t initially sure of what is happening. There are some great fish-out-the-water scenes here.
Other highlights to look for include an ostrich race, a hang glider and even an ice cream truck.
The friendly competitions between Rob and Dennis are the aspect of the show that I enjoy the most and the stakes are raised in the second episode. In one of their contests, the loser must push the winner on a cart. Boston Rob fans who remember what the Survivor Redemption Island winner did on The Amazing Race, will definitely see shades of those moves in tonight’s episode.
Another competition sees the loser being forced to get a Brazilian wax.
While there are some elements of the show that I would certainly correct (primarily the fact that it appears to be quite easy to find ostriches or scaffolding lying around), a certain degree of disbelief is always a prerequisite when it comes to reality television. The fact of the matter is that the show is informative, well-hosted and definitely worth a look.
For more on what to expect, check out my interview with Boston Rob for TORO Magazine.
Around The World In 80 Ways airs tonight at 10 p.m. on History Television
