Bucket-list capers as old-timers get to tour Asia
ILOVE travel shows. The sense of adventure, intermingled with craziness is most entertaining. Right now, Janez Vermeiren and Siv Ngesi’s Winging It is one of my favourite shows. When it comes to spontaneity, their no-holds-barred approach is applaudable, as is their cute bromance.
This brings us to, Better Late Than Never. It’s like the senior citizen’s version of The Hangover.
Inspired by a South Korean series, Grandpas Over Flowers, this NBCcommissioned series sees legends such as pint-sized actor, producer and comedian Henry Winkler; actor, producer, author and director William Shatner; former two-time world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medallist George Foreman; and, lastly, former American football quarterback Terry Bradshaw, explore Asia together.
I guess that they can tick that off their bucket list.
And they get MTV actor and comedian Jeff Dye as their sidekick.
The four-part series kicks off in Tokyo. And it’s a comedy of errors from the time Winkler rounds up the old boys for this adventure.
Now, bear in mind we are dealing with four grumpy old men in their late 60s and early 70s. Henry wants to be the alpha in the group – even though he has the sense of direction of a blind person.
William is in a state of being constantly unimpressed and underwhelmed. George is pretty easy going. And Terry is still trapped in a time warp from 40 years ago, flexing his brawn at every opportunity.
Thankfully, there is eye-candy, but Jeff is nothing more than a glorified personal assistant-cum-travel agent.
From the time these guys land at the first pit-stop, the signs of mayhem are written on the wall – more so as they all have conflicting personalities, coupled with stubborn dispositions.
Oh, and William has googled the crap out of all the places they go to. He’s an “authority” on the food, culture and must-see spots.
Meanwhile, Jeff is determined to give them the authentic travel experience, from staying at interesting local spots like a hotel, which drunk husbands normally just check into. It’s basically a small cubicle, with a mattress and a television.
The custom is to sleep naked, which Jeff embraces wholeheartedly.
But William thinks it’s a kennel. Nonetheless, the old geezers embrace the experience.
In fact, they prove to be quite spontaneous and adventurous with their culinary excursions too, chomping down on a “chicken’s vagina” and another meals seasoned with dirt.
Don’t ask, as I’m still trying to get my head around it.
Although they are no strangers to fame, they revel in the opportunity to be guests on PON!, a Japanese game show.
Bizarre doesn’t even begin to describe this outing.
Then there’s the whole Mount Fuji sightseeing trip that wasn’t quite what any of them expected.
Thankfully, these mature travellers got to do a bit of karaoke on the bus. By the way, the Japanese meaning of karaoke is, empty orchestra.
In many ways, this show reminded me of Ricky Gervais’s An Idiot Abroad, except there are four of them in this one.
And there’s plenty of comedy and bitchiness to go with those passports!
Better Late Than Never airs on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) on Saturday at 7.30pm.