At a friend’s house the other night, I was introduced to probably the most anxiety-laden television show I have ever seen… Deadliest Roads.
Apparently a spin off of something called Ice Road Truckers, hearing the premise led me to suspect that I would perhaps find the show diverting for a few minutes, but quickly lose interest. Well, I was wrong. I sat, enthralled, watching as a group of North American truck drivers competing in tasks that are transformed from idiotic to absolutely gripping by virtue of the fact that they are negotiating a perilous, crumbling road that we are told in the credits claims an average of one life every four minutes. In one task, two of the truckers have to transport statues of Kali safely to a mountaintop village, being told that if it has “even one crack, it will not be worshipped”. It was, however, a deeply unpleasant television experience, as I felt nothing but anxiety while watching it, and the anxiety seems so pointless.
This is in distinct opposition to the anxiety I feel while watching Game of Thrones, which has only been increasing with each episode. My friend and I have decided that it’s nearly unbearable to watch only one episode, so we’re forcing ourselves to take a week off, and watch them in two-episode bundles. This show is truly shaping up to be the best thing on television in ages. What more can you ask for from television? Well… maybe next time, less body shaving.