I received a video clip last week from Destination America that the network billed as the “most boring screener ever” (DA must not know just what kind of screeners I get; if they think this is the most boring screener I’ve ever received, they clearly haven’t seen the likes of Truth Be Told).
Anyway, the screener was a one-hour preview of Destination America’s five-hour Thanksgiving Day special, Railroad Alaska: Real Time Train Ride. It’s an ambient video akin to something like the seasonal Yule Log special. Destination America, in fact, also asks in its release, “Is the yule log too exciting for you?” Well, I’ve got news for you, Destination America — I love the Yule Log, and I love the concept of Real Time Train Ride, so all of your backhanded comments about how boring it is are falling on deaf ears when it comes to me, at least.
And I can see other people being intrigued by this, as well, especially as background sights and sounds to Thanksgiving dinner. Based on Destination America’s series Railroad Alaska, Real Time Train Ride chronicles a train’s five-hour, 500-mile trek along Alaska’s critical railroad. From at least the one-hour screener I’ve seen, viewers will get a head-on view from the front of the train as it traverses a seemingly endless, snowy forest terrain, with only mile marker indicators flashing up on the screen as the train passes them; the soft clacking of the train on the tracks are among the only sounds you will hear. To drive home how tedious this has the potential to be, Destination America notes the following: “WARNING: The special is as advertised, so prepare for trains, snow and more trains.” So, it’s not exactly Snowpiercer, despite the snow and trains.
If you’re someone like me who enjoys having the Yule Log and other sorts of ambient programming on in the background, this may be a great complement to your Thanksgiving day, at least for a little while. Combined with the tryptophan from the turkey, and perhaps a little booze, it might be just what the doctor ordered to help get a little shuteye, or to mellow things out if dinner-table political conversations with Uncle Fred get a little too heated.
Railroad Alaska: Real Time Train Ride airs on Destination America Nov. 26 from 9am-2pm ET, with a replay immediately following.