Sue Perkins is an intelligent, insightful, witty presenter with a deservedly long media career.
This series however places her front and centre at almost every moment sidelining the State and its people. By episode 3 Alaska is almost a backdrop; "Look at this! Roaring rapids.." the camera instead stays on Sue. And "This is true silence..." on arriving in McCarthy only to cut to the next scene. Even during a guided walk the silence is mentioned again, and again interrupted with chatter and background music.
This travelogue needs re-editing to bring the locals and land much more front and centre with Sue's contributions supporting rather than detracting from the subject.
There are some nice observations, such as the toilet breaks montage, that deliberately puncture the travelogue illusions such as "roughing it" and revealing her own culture differences.
I'd appreciate more travelogues from Sue Perkins with more disciplined editing; less of Sue on camera, more of the locals and landscape, less of her detracting humour, more of her insight and interviews.
