Review of "R U Faster than a Redneck"
 

I got the chance to see the premeire of the new TV show called "R U Faster than a Redneck" last night. I figured i would write a review of the show for those who werent there. It debuts on Speed tonite.

What qualifies me to offer such a review?

Nothing, I just decided I wanted to hear myself talk! (or type)

My preconception of the show was that it might be a little like Honey Boo Boo, so I was prepared for the worst. I was pleasantly relieved that the show is several dozen rungs above that, to the point the comparison would be an insult.

John Reep plays the redneck host very well. His antics are a collection of every redneck one liner you've ever heard, but he carrys it off well and it doesn't get tiresome.
The redneck and tuner characters are predictable but still entertaining. The imposed drama is only a a step or two over appropriate (and much less than most such shows). You'll see some familiar faces from this forum on the show...their obvious lack of good looks and natural talent notwithstanding, they do a fine job of representing themselves and our sport.
The car selection is cool because these seem to be real cars, not something thrown together for the tv show. There are no staged stunts...the racing seems real. The segment where Yancy slaps the BMW driver is one of the highlights...you'll have to watch the show to see how that turns out!
Some will watch the show and say "hell, my car's faster than those are" or "that isn't real...it's all staged"
Whatever

It's not a documentary or even a sports event. It's ENTERTAINMENT, plain and simple.

Will it win an academy award? Not likely

Will we be watching R U Faster than a Redneck marathons on USA channel in 20 years? Probably not.

Will the show last more than 6 episodes? I certainly hope so.

It is worth watching? Absolutely!

I've also seen the second one and intend to DVR the rest of them. I'm into it!

It's a relief to hear that this show isn't total crap. Based on the previews I was mildly concerned that they'd ruin it with overdone hill billy bs.

Looking forward to it. Got the TIVO set and a 6 pack of Schlitz in the fridge. :action-smiley-027: Yeee frickin haaaa

John Reep was interviewed on sports talk radio today. Surprisingly good segment, dude lives in SoCal and portrayed the show as legit competition and fun.

I agree if they don't go over the deep end on the hill billy stuff it could be fun.

Speedvision in five minutes for those who want to check it out. :D

Dang, Bill just cut some grass with the Torino! This show is a hoot! :popcorn2:

Little too much play on the redneck for sure.:rolleyes: Also could do without the cursing. Really, I'm watching it with my 3 and 7 year old boys that love that stuff cause they have seen me run around the road course more than a couple times and that is not something that they need to be repeating. :warning:
But other than that, I got them all set to record! :popcorn2:

And what the heck Bill?!?! First time behind the wheel of the Ford?!?!:lol:

Mixed reviews at my house. I liked it. To preserve that I might add it to my "alone time" routine with morning coffee. Post show conversation was more about what constitutes a redneck than the racing.

The old guy that calls the races while Reep heckles is great. Subtle, but I liked the old mans humor while he stayed on task.

It will be fun to see how it plays out.:popcorn2:

I about fell off the couch when Bill hung the ass end in the sand trap. CRAZY Tv right there.
:thankyou:

i agree with Shmoov69. A little over the top with the Redneck behavior. But I watch for the cars and competition.

I agree get rid of a few of the torn flannel cheer leaders and it will definitely improve.

While I was pretty entertained with the sillyness the more I think about it the more I am inclined to agree with you guys. I realize it is just a show and not to be taken too seriously the whole mullet, muscle shirt and t-tops Camaro bit is a little tired...

As it is though the shows are surely all taped and the season will be what the editors made it into. Hollywood has a knack for over doing a lot of good ideas to the point where it is a turn-off to the subject matters own enthusiasts or competitors. Give me a one hour show with more Goldberg than exhaust note while racing and you will get a similar gripe, but that will be another thread.:peepwall:

You should hear me rant at the tv when some actor recites his lines filled with ridiculous ballistics, conflicting facts or any other tech jargon I know a thing or two about.:headscratch: I assume I am not alone.

All that said,
With footage of these cars doing what they were built for I would probably watch even if it was replayed backwards with a Lawrence Welk soundtrack...:rolleyes: Well, maybe not but you get the general idea. I'm really happy to see more and more about our kind of cars on my TV.

saw the pilot and some other footage about 6 months back and it was different... far more tucker presence.

show is cool, but with speed going down seems like a dead end until it gets picked up by another network.


funny thing is that pro-touring is Far from red-neck... typically you have to be more affluent then the average "red-neck" to afford these toys... :D


good for the sport, hopefully more :G-Dub: "red-necks" will want to get involved!
Jason

Jason - Can you expand on this?

word on the street, Speed network is not doing all that great and is possibly going to be morphed into an online network. So in theory no more speed channel. I heard this will happen in AUG. but I could be wrong.

JAson

Ouch! I wondered if there was trouble when they announced the F1 divorce.

Thanks for the input.

Fox bought out the speed network.Fox want's to to more stick and ball crap.Most of the show's (on speed)that Bud B. guy is involved with suck anyway.All he wan't is show's w/drama crap.If there is something good on TV,hollywood will screw it up w/drama.

You said it much more concisely then I did Scott. Well put.

as i said on pt.com

Im not a redneck.. and I know there are more than a few rednecks(respectfully) here at pt.com
but I still wonder wether this show makes our type of builds respectable amongst the other driving oriented crowds.

or does it make somewhat of a mockery of the seriousness most of us put into these old american cars.. the driving, the build quality?.. when was the last time you heard "quality redneck built"

I know I know I know... entertainment.. i get it..

but does it?

It definitely detracts from the top 20% of the builds........IMO

Sadly the mega companies cannot survive on 20%.......

I was hoping "Faster than" would have more substance.

Sadly television has become SO dumbed down IMO that there are very few channels that garner my attention anymore. CNBC for financial, Speed for select events, Golf Channel, and ESPN and Velocity again for select events. Most the major networks programming gets my hackles up.

So I guess driving an American Musclecar automatically makes you a redneck....

Nice driving Bill....:)

^ Exactly the point i am trying to make..

Well I freakin loved it. It's TV, it's gotta be a little over the top. I don't see how it would marginalize our sport or its cars at all. If anything you get to see some metal run in anger. Critics will say the Firebird is a race car driven by en expert-blah blah blah. It's entertainment and more fun to watch than half the crappy build show on TV. The reality is that there aren't very many folks watching the show yet, except for a bunch of guys on forums and folks who saw some of the ads that were running. Speed TV has a bleak future since FOX went to war with the distributing network that carries the package.

Bill was my good friend's Student in HPDE1 a couple years ago when Bill, Yancy and crew came to VIR. I had so much fun busting on him about how he is a crappy instructor!