Departures

The hosts, the way they present it, the direction of photography. Everything about this show is perfect.

For those who aren't familiar with this show, here's a little summary.

Three guy crew, best of friends, running around the world, going places just because they want to the world before it loses it's beauty. Two of these guys, Scott and Justin are on camera while Andre is behind the camera. They don't travel on a remarkably high budget. They just take the paths that most people wouldn't and end up showing the most beautiful sights that I've ever seen on TV.

This show should've been on for longer. It simply made me love the world more.

The main complaint I have seen from people is the inclusion of Justin in the show. They completely miss the point of him being there. We have Scott who is a seasoned traveler, who lives and revels in the hunt for new sights, he does his best to learn the culture and keywords of the languages he encounters. Justin on the other hand is the counterweight to it, too many travel shows have two or three perfect travelers exploring a city marveling at how amazing it is. Justin though adds an interesting point of view from what most people would be like as a tourist. So unlike some, I see his inclusion as one of the main reasons I watched the show. Some of Scott's scenes even went a little too far into the stereotypical travel show until Justin got him back on track.

Departures is a television series that turns the traditional approach of the travel-show genre into a cinematic adventure. The show follows the two interesting, comedic and charming hosts Justin Lukach and Scott Wilson as they take a year off of their average lives to travel to exotic locations around the world in search of unique experiences. The cinematography is absolutely inspirational,(courtesy of the brilliant creator and camera operator Andre Depuis) and has won the series a Gemini award for best photography in an information program or series. The experiences that these three friends encounter during their adventures enthrall viewers and encourage them to visit the thousands of amazing "off-the-path" locations that are all over the world. This series is definitely worth watching.

When it comes to Tv shows and especially travel shows, I can be super hard to please. Most seem fake and scripted, and it's painfully obvious that the presenters have a massive crew of staff behind the camera.

Departures is one of the few exceptions. This is a show about two normal guys and their cameraman (who is also one of their friends). They aren't massive Hollywood stars or comedians, feeling pressured to make jokes at every point. Their reactions are genuine and the relationship between Justin and Scott feels so natural. This show makes it abundantly clear that these are real people.

I have never seen a show that so perfectly captures the experience of traveling. They don't just concentrate on the good things, but instead will present to you the problems alongside them, which makes the whole thing feel more genuine.

It kind of reminds me of a travel vlog, but Departures was created before the whole YouTube travel scene took off (to the best of my knowledge). Maybe it partly inspired it. I'm not sure.

Anyway, I don't have much more to say about this show except that you should watch it and experience it for yourself. This could easily be my favourite tv show of all time and I would recommend it to everyone I know.

I thought this was a refreshing change to your typical travel documentary. I originally just watched the New Zealand and Australia episodes because I am planning a trip there, but I ended up going back and watching the rest of the episodes because I enjoyed it so much. I think a lot of people are quick to criticize because they don't understand that this is about experiencing new cultures from the outsiders point of view. There was a lot of growth throughout the seasons and I thought Justin, Scott, and Andre had great chemistry, traveling together can be exhausting unless you have that. The drinking was shared with the locals and sometimes encouraged, so I think some of the other reviews exaggerate that a bit. Overall, very entertaining!