Better Late Than Never - General Discussion

[Ohwell]

17 hours ago, raven said:

There are only two episodes left.

Waaaahhh!  I thought it was going to be six episodes.

[MsJamieDornan]

IMDB lists 6 episodes.

[Ohwell]

Thanks!

[SnarkyTart]

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2016 at 9:00 PM, MsJamieDornan said:

IMDB lists 6 episodes.

 

On ‎9‎/‎2‎/‎2016 at 0:30 PM, Ohwell said:

Thanks!

Variety and wikipedia say 4 episodes.  I really wish it was six, but I don't think it is. 

I didn't laugh as much during the second episode as I did the first, but enjoyed it still.  I love love loved Henry Winkler's Shake Senora samurai conga.  He's very good at physical comedy! 

[amass]

I had DVR'd this and my husband watched it and said it was bad and not to bother... well I let it sit on the DVR as a result and my son turned it on and called me into the room to watch with him because he could not stop laughing. We enjoyed it so much that we made my husband watch them over again with us... so now I've seen each episode twice - absolutely loved them. 

[90PercentGravity]

I wonder if those guys really believed they were in the DMZ. It was pretty obviously fake.

[Ohwell]

Well, if you don't have a clue what the DMZ looks like, I could believe that you'd think it was real.  

I didn't know ol' George had five wives.  I looked him up and he's been married to the last one since 1985 so that must have been a pretty tumultuous period with the first four. : )

Terry was more humorous in this episode, and who knew Henry could dance?

[greekmom]

Agreed about the DMZ.  Looks like the younger guy said he obviously faked it but I just can't believe how Henry and Bill actually thought they were really there and not punk'd.

Where was Bill sleeping at the Korean bathhouse? Looked liked some roped off area were you are not allowed to go.

When Bill was eating the live octopus I was thinking "Captain Kirk is eating gagh!"

[mojoween]

Who knew Henry had those moves?

I like Jeff.  I think he is amusing and is a pretty good old guy wrangler.

[raven]

I thought that was the funniest episode yet.   The dancing was fun and I would absolutely join in even though I'm too much "get off my lawn" about the K-Pop, heh.  They all seem to be enjoying themselves though Jeff was starting to look a little over it a couple of times.  I wonder how long they've been traveling, I missed it if it was mentioned.

I like the little side interviews when there are two of the guys together.  Henry's expressions as Shatner was talking are golden.   It seemed like George talked more in this episode than in the previous two.

I hope this comes back next year as long as they don't mess with the formula.  I'm sure parts are staged but a lot of the reactions seem genuine and everyone looks to be having fun.  Maybe Australia?

[mojoween]

I loved the back and forth where Henry said something and William came back with "don't flatter yourself" and both of their inflections and reactions were so funny.

[Ohwell]

I'm not sure these guys could handle another series with all the travel involved, but we'll see.

[Kromm]

59 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I'm not sure these guys could handle another series with all the travel involved, but we'll see.

I'm sure if needed, logistically a follow could be planned with stops that are close together. Asia isn't the easiest place for that, but Europe and the US would be. Although really the best stuff with these guys is a deeply foreign culture, and putting them in Leiderhosen in Germany, having them eat baguettes in a French cafe, have them provoking a Beefeater in London, or ride a slow-speed Mechanical Bull in Texas, wouldn't be that alien. As for Australia?  I think outside of the Outback it would seem very vanilla, and any parts IN the Outback have probably been done a million times elsewhere.

I mean I'd love to see "The Old Guys on Safari" or "The Old Guys Ride A Boat on The Amazon", if they didn't simply do more of Asia.  Sure they've all been done elsewhere too, but they're SLIGHTLY less weary than Europe, most of America, or Australia. 

[Ohwell]

Ok then, if you say so.

[SnarkyTart]

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 5:44 PM, mojoween said:

Who knew Henry had those moves?

Another Better Late Than Never fan sent me this link from Happy Days.  I had no idea Henry Winkler was that athletic, even back then.  Now I want to see him on Dancing With the Stars. :-)

https://youtu.be/3gvusTsmW9A

Edited September 9, 2016 by SnarkyTart

[stillhere1900]

On 8/24/2016 at 7:58 AM, Ananayel said:

Well, it may only be as deep as a tuna can, or whatever that reviewer linked in the media thread said, but whatever. I loved it. Not everything has to be dark and deep and serious. While I do think some things were staged (like hopefully they all got to film the capsule hotel bits and then go stay in a real hotel, because old) and the food things, for the most part I found it hilarious. If they actually did all those steps, then mad props, because I couldn't do it. I'm surprised Shatner wasn't recognized more, but maybe he was and they just didn't show it.

I agree that they only filmed them in those capsules. No way did they stay there all night. No point in it.

[Maverick]

 Trying not to be totally cynical, they could genuinely be interested in the experience.  Some people like to travel and experience new things--if only for the sake of experiencing them especially as they get older and feel it's now or never.   I know this is a show and there's a least a certain amount of staging, but I don't think any of these guys is hard up enough for cash (well, except maybe some of them need alimony money) to do this if they didn't have at least a passing interest.  And if if they did need some cash they could probably find something that didn't involve trudging through Asia and eating animal organs (that's for the common folk that run the Amazing Race).   I think this was an opportunity to have a guy's trip and get some new experiences on someone's else's dime.  The ratio of interest in experience/money/exposure surely varied for each but there had to be at least a modest amount of interest in the experience itself.

[amass]

3 hours ago, SnarkyTart said:

Another Better Late Than Never fan sent me this link from Happy Days.  I had no idea Henry Winkler was that athletic, even back then.  Now I want to see him on Dancing With the Stars. :-)

https://youtu.be/3gvusTsmW9A

We also said that they should ask him to be on dancing with the stars!

 

 

I love that he's dancing to Hava Negila! I vaguely remember that lol

[90PercentGravity]

I'd love to see them romp around Scandinavia--go ice fishing, eat lutefisk, etc.

[meep.meep]

17 hours ago, SnarkyTart said:

Another Better Late Than Never fan sent me this link from Happy Days.  I had no idea Henry Winkler was that athletic, even back then.  Now I want to see him on Dancing With the Stars. :-)

https://youtu.be/3gvusTsmW9A

Well, the expression is "jump the shark" so clearly he was athletic enough to not fall off. :-)

At last, someone recognized Shatner!  Him riding the mechanical horse was pretty funny.

[Ripley68]

I'm loving this show.  They crack me up. 

[Quilt Fairy]

For some reason, the Korean episode turned me off.  I think it was a combination of them horsing around at the spa where people were trying to sleep and the fake DMZ bit. I deleted it without watching to the end. Maybe I missed something worth seeing.  I will stick around and watch the last episode tomorrow though.

Someone up thread asked how long they were on this trip and I read an interview with Henry Winkler that said they travelled for between 30-40 days (can't recall the exact number).

Edited September 12, 2016 by Quilt Fairy

[90PercentGravity]

I may have gotten something in my eye during the elephant encounter.

I do hope this comes back. 

[GreatKazu]

On 9/9/2016 at 4:19 PM, SnarkyTart said:

Another Better Late Than Never fan sent me this link from Happy Days.  I had no idea Henry Winkler was that athletic, even back then.  Now I want to see him on Dancing With the Stars. :-)

https://youtu.be/3gvusTsmW9A

Oh my. I feel old. I knew Henry could dance because of that episode I remember so well.  It is one of my favorite HD episodes. Notice actress Charlene Tilton in the background. This was becore her DALLAS days.

[SnarkyTart]

On ‎9‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 8:26 PM, raven said:

I hope this comes back next year as long as they don't mess with the formula.  I'm sure parts are staged but a lot of the reactions seem genuine and everyone looks to be having fun.  Maybe Australia?

 

On ‎9‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 4:22 AM, 90PercentGravity said:

I'd love to see them romp around Scandinavia--go ice fishing, eat lutefisk, etc.

 

On ‎9‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 6:10 PM, Maverick said:

 I think this was an opportunity to have a guy's trip and get some new experiences on someone's else's dime.  The ratio of interest in experience/money/exposure surely varied for each but there had to be at least a modest amount of interest in the experience itself.

There's a Vanity Fair interview with Bill Shatner that answers these questions, at least from Bill's perspective:

His motivation for doing the show, confirmation that NBC has talked about doing another season, and some of the places that Bill would like to go:

Quote

“I’ve never been to Asia,” Shatner said of his motivation to appear on the show, respectably not even attempting to construct a pretentious actor-y reason for taking a reality gig. “It was literally a bucket list [item]—I’ve got to get to Asia. I’ve got to get to Japan. I’ve admired Japanese art. I love Japanese food. The Japanese culture. Chinese. Thailand. Thai kick boxing. I’m into mixed martial arts. I wanted to go to Hong Kong, and here, a major network was saying, ‘We’ll pay for everything. . . . We’ll carry your luggage. We’ll renew your passport.’ I mean, everything.” (He even convinced the network to fly his wife out, though she never appears on-camera.)

Quote

The experience overall was so positive that he would consider a second go-round with his ragtag tribe of Tommy Bahama–clad cohorts, and he says NBC is “already talking about it.” Fortunately, he has a few other parts of the world that he has been longing to visit, including India, Bhutan, Cuba, South Sea Island, the Caribbean, and the Antarctic.

The rest of the interview was interesting too

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/08/william-shatner-better-late-than-never

[Jodithgrace]

An interesting place they could go next..not at all Asia related is Brazil. There's a resort consisting of giant tree houses in the Amazon rain forest. And the Iguazu Falls  where you take a ride under the falls and it is so cold you literally cannot breathe. And there are tribes to visit and exotic foods to eat, followed by a little R&R in Rio. That's the only country I've been to in South America, but there are many others and a trip down the Amazon and fishing for piranha and swimming with pink dolphins would be a perfect trip for these guys.

[Ms Lark]

In normal times, Brazil would be interesting, but with the Zika virus, it would be difficult to 1) convince them, 2) convince the crew.

I like the idea of Australia best.

I was glad Terry mellowed a bit and was less of a hick toward the end. Bill was a good influence on him. I liked the show and hope it comes back next year.

[tpel]

I found the boxing scene a bit hard to take -- one of those situations where you know the show wants you to suspend disbelief, but you don't want to, as doing so would make you not like the people on the screen. No matter how annoying Bill Shatner is acting, there is no way George Foreman would actually punch him hard, because doing so could literally cause Bill's death. Since watching former heavyweight champions pretend to slug octogenarians is not all that fun, I kind of wonder why the writers went with that pairing.  George vs. Terry or George vs. Jeff might have been funny, or letting George and one of the Thai kick boxers demonstrate the differences between their approaches might have been interesting.

Other than that, I thought the conclusion of the show was sweet. For the viewer, it might seem a bit maudlin to be reminiscing fondly about stuff we just saw a couple of episodes ago, but it makes sense from the perspective of these guys, who have been on an extended adventure. I would enjoy seeing more.

[saber5055]

I loved this show and am so disappointed last night was the final episode. The first one made me laugh so many times. The second ep wasn't as good. But last week was a hoot, with Bill "riding" the horse (he is an accomplished equestrian, he owns/breeds/shows Saddlebred horses) and the DMZ part caught me totally off-guard. Jeff revealing it was all fake cracked me up. Then Jeff jumping out of the birthday cake made me LOL again. The whole series was fun, fast and so clever. I am so sorry it's over, and hope it continues for another season with more eps. AND, best of all, Bill made it through Thailand alive! (And yeah, Henry and the elephants ... what's not to love about that.)

[rcc]

I'll miss this show. Hopefully NBC will renew it and give us more episodes with them. The ratings have been pretty good too.

[tpel]

It's nice to see a bunch of guys being openly enthusiastic about stuff. No ironic regard. No "I'm too cool to get excited about elephants." No worrying about looking silly. That makes them fun travel companions for the viewer.

[Ohwell]

I 'd like to see another series, provided the guys are in good health (Shatner is 85 even though he looks good) and they keep the same guys together.

[walnutqueen]

The visit to the elephant sanctuary was magical and enchanting.  The men playing with the little kids in the village during the rainstorm was also quite endearing.

[90PercentGravity]

Wow, I had a dream about this show. They were all traveling in a motor home.

[SnarkyTart]

8 minutes ago, 90PercentGravity said:

Wow, I had a dream about this show. They were all traveling in a motor home.

Cool dream, and that would be an awesome premise.

(I like your dream better than the one I had about going to a concert with Vladimir Putin as my date)

[raven]

19 hours ago, 90PercentGravity said:

I may have gotten something in my eye during the elephant encounter.

I did as well...must be my allergies. 

3 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

The visit to the elephant sanctuary was magical and enchanting.  The men playing with the little kids in the village during the rainstorm was also quite endearing.

These were my fave bits as well.    I liked how they split up a bit too - Terry & Jeff with the tattoos; Henry and Shatner with the massages and George sleeping, heh.   It was a little uncomfortable to watch George spar with Shatner. 

Glad to hear the network has interest in a new trip.   This was a fun few episodes; just don't mess with the formula.

[mojoween]

I don't watch FOX NFL Sunday so I wonder if the guys have been talking about this with Terry.  He wears a suit so I don't think he'll be showing off the tattoo this week.

I'm a little disappointed that he got the tat with a regular gun and not the single needle they showed for other people.

When Jeff started waxing rhapsodic about his 12 tat I knew he was leading up to Tom Brady and I wanted to hit him.  To hell with Brady.

I didn't think the last show was as funny as the rest, it was kind of linear.  But the Thai massages did make me giggle.

[Ananayel]

According to Reality Blurred - renewed!

[Ohwell]

Yay!  Can't wait to see where they go next.

[SnarkyTart]

Great news!

[jumper sage]

Just caught this on Hulu.  Loved it!  I thought the 4 episodes was perfect for binge watching.  Loved Jeff.  Had no idea that Terry was such an ahole but he grew on me.  Henry and George were superb and Shatner was Shatner.

I'm all in.

[raven]

We have dates!

Some info (more at link) - sounds good, I am really looking forward to it.

Quote

Henry Winkler, William Shatner, George Foreman, Terry Bradshaw and comedian Jeff Dye - set off on a wildly entertaining journey to Munich, Berlin, Lithuania, Sweden, Barcelona, Madrid and Morocco.

The two-hour season two premiere will air Monday, Jan. 1 (9-11 p.m. ET/PT) with a special preview episode slated for Monday, Dec. 11 (10-11 p.m.) following "The Voice." The series will move to its normal 9-10 p.m. timeslot beginning Monday, Jan. 8.

Their international travels also include moving and heartfelt moments as a few cast members reconnect with their pasts, from Winkler retracing the path of family members in Berlin, some of whom were killed in Auschwitz, to Foreman's emotional meeting with the Lithuanian family of the man who launched his legendary career.

[ahisma]

OMG, the lederhosen! 

[SnarkyTart]

It feels like it's been years since season 1 ended.  I am so in for season 2!

[mojoween]

I thought I heard an ad for this the other day while sweeping but didn’t back up the TV to check.  How exciting!

[rcc]

I just saw a commercial for the show this coming Monday. Yay!

[MissT]

Did any one watch this tonight?   I didn't see a topic for the show and I'm not sure how to create one.     

THESE GUYS CRACK UP!!!!!   I smiled through the whole show.   They are too funny.   

Its so much better than the crap on tv.    They are all funny in their own way.    I'm in this season.  

[Ananayel]

So happy to have this back. I hope Shatner loosens up - I think it took him a bit last time as well. Terry sometimes makes me cringe super-hard, like when he told Henry not to be so "feminine" in his celebrating. George seems perkier than last time, which makes me happy, and Henry gave us a "woah!"

Edited December 12, 2017 by Ananayel

[walnutqueen]

I love these guys!  

George was so funny at the nude park : "I knew Terry was going to get naked.  That's why I brought my terry cloth" (pulling headband over his eyes).  And : "Terry, your wife is going to have a difficult time finding a nursing home for you".

That Bavarian Alps scenery was spec.fucking.tacular.  

[rcc]

Terry Bradshaw is a nut. Shatner is a curmudgeon. The young guy is annoying. George and the executive producer Henry are okay.

I am glad there is a second season. They make me laugh. Beautiful scenery shots.