Pop Vultures

When I first heard that Charley Boorman, of the famous Long Way Down and Long Way Round travel shows, was doing a new series by himself, I was extremely dubious. The Long Way shows, starring Ewan McGregor and chum getting up to lots of good blokey fun while travelling around the world on motorbikes, have been hugely popular. But Boorman is, after all, the ‘and chum’ of the dynamic. And let’s be honest, most of us were only tuning in to the previous shows to see if Ewan McGregor was going to do his diary cam segment shirtless (which he frequently, and gratifyingly, did).

Still, I decided to give Charley’s new show, By Any Means, a chance. The premise is simple, and unusual. Charley plans to travel from his childhood home in Wicklow, Ireland, to Sydney, Australia, by any means possible. Any means, that is, except commercial flights.

The first half of the first episode focuses on the huge amount of planning such a trip involves, with lots of pushpins in wall-maps and footage of people flicking through guide books in a serious manner. Throughout all this Charley himself seems gratifyingly nonchalant, and is quite taken aback when his producer tells him that travelling through Pakistan and Afghanistan isn’t going to be possible, because, turns out, they’re kind of bomby.

Eventually, a workable route from Ireland to Sydney is decided upon, and there follows the obligatory montage of Charley learning how to bind a rib fracture with two bits of string, how to drive a steam train, how to sail a dinghy, how to ride a horse…. He learns a lot of stuff, basically, and I begin to realise just how epic this journey was going to be. Clearly Charley does too, as he shows his trembling hands to the camera in the run up to the trip.

Then, they are off! Motorcycles from Wicklow to Dublin, a scallop trawler to the Isle of Mann, a passenger ferry to Liverpool, a train, a red London bus, a lifeboat and a Landrover to Dover, and then a dinghy to France. The first episode ends with Charley and his hapless producer Russ about to capsize into the English channel, so now I have to tune in next week just to make sure they make it to Calais unharmed.

I was dubious about this show, but I ended up really enjoying it. Freed from his roll as ‘famous movie star’s comedy sidekick,’ Boorman really comes into his own, with charm, humour, and gleeful enthusiasm aplenty. Of course the show could only be improved by the odd Ewan cameo (and he did pop up, briefly, to wish Charley good luck on his trip) but my concerns that Boorman couldn’t carry a show on his own were unfounded. Give By Any Means a whirl. I reckon you’ll have fun.