REVIEW: The Great Escapists, Series 1 Episode Four 'Fireworks'

 REVIEW: The Great Escapists, Series 1 Episode Four 'Fireworks'

After the disaster of the previous episode, I was concerned going in that this series had returned to making the worst aspects of its format front and centre. The spoof segments, simply put, do not work on any level, and too often verge into the realm of self parody.

After watching The Great Escapists' fourth episode, however, I'm happy to report that this instalment is more in line with the show's decent second instalment. Like the second episode in the series, the spoof material is, thankfully, toned down, and we have a greater focus on the creation of methods to help them leave the island, or simply provide them with some much-needed entertainment. The basis of the episode centres around Richard Hammond trying to cheer up his pal from the states. Tory Belleci is looking glum, and everybody's favourite hamster comes to the conclusion that he needs cheering up. And what do Americans love more than anything else? Why, the Fourth of July and fishing, of course. And so Richard Hammond constructs an automatic fishing line for Tory, and this creation is really clever. I love the way it uses the water wheel from the second episode to bring in the fish. It's quite a novel device, and feels like something that would feel right at home in The Grand Tour.

Also impressive is the way Tory Belleci uses urine to create pyrotechnics. These pyrotechnics are to be used for flares, to create flares, in the hope that they will be seen by a passing ship and rescued. This, perhaps, feels like the most authentic dessert island creation out of everything featured on this series so far; you could easily imagine Bear Grylls providing this same tip on one of his survival shows.

The resulting 4th of July party certainly looked like quite a spectacle. The booze mill, coconut shy and test your strength booth are certainly quite the feat, and the swing ride made me gasp in amazement. As did the fireworks, which appeared to be a very pretty display. What I was less impressed with, however, was Hammond TV. These diversions from the episode's creations came across as forced and unfunny, falling more within the realms of the cringe-inducing spoof territory than the more sensible aspects of the series. Overall, this was a great episode of Amazon Prime's desert island series. This series seems to benefit when the focus is on the creations rather than the silly and predictable spoof angle, and this episode wisely takes advantage of that notion. By concentrating largely on the constructions and toning back on the comedy, the show provides an enjoyable forty five minutes that allows you to marvel in the presenters' expertise, rather than frown at their clear lack of acting talent.

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What are your thoughts on The Great Escapists' fourth episode? Let me know in the comments.