New to Reality TV: Coolfuel Roadtrip
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10. 5.05
In the last few months we’ve seen a number of television shows that have jumped on the eco-trend like “Trippin’”, “Wife Swap” and “Off the Grid.” Heck we were even pushing for all you TreeHuggers to vote for Kipchoge on MTV. Back in September a new show aired called “Coolfuel Roadtrip.” We wish we brought this to you sooner, but not to worry because they are slated for 18 episodes this season (one per week) so you can still catch show host Shaun Murphy travel 16,000 miles around the United States, with his loyal dog Sparky, exploring a variety of non-fossil fuels. Murphy uses hot rocks, cow manure, garbage and vegetable oil to power the different modes of transportation that he uses to fly, float and drive around to 30 different states. This show is guaranteed to please every member of the family as Murphy encounters many eco-celebs along the way. Via ::Grist Magazine ::Coolfuel Roadtrip
That's the thing... it's always about meeting eco-celebs... NOT about meeting the real folks doing real work in the trenches... We know hundreds of quirky inventors, designers and activists around the country who would make much better candidates for funkadelic eco-solutionist reality TV than the same old & tired green foggies that always pop up in these canned network TV projects... Isn't there anyone out there with a camera who really know how to use it? I haven't seen a single episode of Shaun Murphy's show yet. All I know is that last year, when he was scheduling his pit stops, we tried to contact him, and never heard back. So much for electric vehicles!
That's the thing... it's always about meeting eco-celebs... Never about meeting real folks doing real work in the trenches... We know hundreds of quirky inventors, designers and activists around the country who would make much better candidates for funkadelic eco-solutionist reality TV than the same old & tired green foggies that always pop up in these canned (and ultimately deathly dull) network TV projects... Isn't there anyone out there with a camera in hand who really know how to use it? How about Juliya from Fuse TV? I haven't seen a single episode of Shaun Murphy's show yet. Seems their PR people only let other green media outlets know it was already airing well into its run. No sampler DVDs were sent out for review. So I can't say if it's any good or not. The website for the TV show is not interactive and pretty useless. All I know is that last year, when Shaun was scheduling his pit stops, we tried to contact him, but never heard back. So much for electric vehicles! We weren't famous enough I guess.
I've seen a couple of the episodes and the celebs don't take up that much time. There's a real focus on the vehicles and the folks who've built and designed them. They do a quick review of the energy sources and how they work - without being super educational or elementary. The show's actually pretty funny.