Wim Hof is a fascinating character who has defied many accepted scientific norms about human potential and created a whole subculture of people who push themselves to change through breath work, cold exposure and reframing the limits of mindset. He's remarkable and could carry a TV show by himself.
So, a mainstream TV show on the BBC involving Wim piqued my interest... the more this guys methods are shared with the mainstream the better... right? Surely his vision becoming realised to a broader audience is a positive.... Right?
We'll, not quite....
What we got instead was a tiny fraction of Wim and a majority focus on a set of 'celebrities' you've barely heard of, doing what that type of celebrity does best. Actively try to stay in the limelight by putting themselves in difficult situations that the public desperately hopes they fall to pieces carrying out. This lot wowed us with such insights as "I hate the cold" and "I'm doing this to prove something to myself"... profound stuff.
OK, so pretty much I'm A Celeb but with ice. Nothing original here. Though the USP here is watching every celeb do exactly the same thing... in order.... task by task.
Holly Willoughby is always a crowd pleaser and this show is no deviation, but Lee Mack, dressed in 'comedy' yeti coat and throwing out awkward one liners at every opportunity was puerile, distracting and annoying. It's not his fault, I think, he's just horribly miscast in this.
A show where Wim emotionally shares the story of his wife's suicide as a motivator shortly after Lee Mack asking a 'hilarious' question about shrinking testicles maybe hasn't decided how to pitch itself.
I would hope that the rest of the series focusses more on Wim and inspiring journeys of actual change without the 'light relief' but I highly doubt it.
Quite the wasted opportunity.
So, a mainstream TV show on the BBC involving Wim piqued my interest... the more this guys methods are shared with the mainstream the better... right? Surely his vision becoming realised to a broader audience is a positive.... Right?
We'll, not quite....
What we got instead was a tiny fraction of Wim and a majority focus on a set of 'celebrities' you've barely heard of, doing what that type of celebrity does best. Actively try to stay in the limelight by putting themselves in difficult situations that the public desperately hopes they fall to pieces carrying out. This lot wowed us with such insights as "I hate the cold" and "I'm doing this to prove something to myself"... profound stuff.
OK, so pretty much I'm A Celeb but with ice. Nothing original here. Though the USP here is watching every celeb do exactly the same thing... in order.... task by task.
Holly Willoughby is always a crowd pleaser and this show is no deviation, but Lee Mack, dressed in 'comedy' yeti coat and throwing out awkward one liners at every opportunity was puerile, distracting and annoying. It's not his fault, I think, he's just horribly miscast in this.
A show where Wim emotionally shares the story of his wife's suicide as a motivator shortly after Lee Mack asking a 'hilarious' question about shrinking testicles maybe hasn't decided how to pitch itself.
I would hope that the rest of the series focusses more on Wim and inspiring journeys of actual change without the 'light relief' but I highly doubt it.
Quite the wasted opportunity.