Stranded with Cash Peters
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Stranded with Cash Peters was a reality show/documentary on the Travel Channel where British travel writer Cash Peters would get dumped in an unfamiliar place with no money, food, or room for the night. He would rely on the locals to show him around town, buy food for him, and give him a place to stay for the night. Each time-slot consisted of two 22 minute long episodes. It first aired on June 6, 2005, and got cancelled after two seasons
[edit] Theme
"It'll be fun.", they said. "Travelling the world. We're gonna dump you in a faraway place, in an unfamiliar culture, with no money, and see what happens." "Oh, Great!", I said. Now look at me! Where am I going? And when I get there, will I be welcomed, or get kicked out of town? Well, I guess I'm about to find out. I'm Cash Peters, and I'm stranded. Next, viewers hear the chorus of I Know You're Out There Somewhere, by The Moody Blues.
[edit] Criticism
Though the show portrayed Cash as being "stranded in mostly unknown or foreign areas of the world", several observations seemed to negate that idea:
- Cash was almost always placed in or near a human population.
- Cash would invariably end up in an area of his "stranding" where well known or more obvious aspects of the surrounding culture may be filmed.
- Cash was never shown as being totally alone or in a disorienting, nondescript place.
- There was never a time where Cash had to rely on survival techniques to help him out of his stranding.
- A stranded person would (within a matter of a week) most likely be unwashed, dirty, disheveled; and probably aimlessly wandering around or hiding from attackers. However Cash was always clean, well dressed, and healthy; and his attitude was always upbeat and sociable.
- The fact that a camera crew was with him removed the sense of urgency and/or helplessness one would normally feel if truly stranded.
- Cash was seen as always able to get food, and never failed to find an English speaking person who helps him.
It can be said that Stranded with Cash Peters was less a show about a man being stranded, and more about a man traveling the world under the guise of being stranded. Stranded with Cash Peters could be somewhat seen as No Reservations, but instead of "searching for good food", the host is "encountering the peculiarities of the locals".
[edit] Demise
The show moved from its time-slot of 9 p.m. on Mondays to 8 p.m.. Fans failed to spot it and thought it got cancelled. It was taken off the air for three weeks, and then started airing on Wednesdays. Meanwhile, the Travel Channel's website insisted it was still airing on Mondays. The show finally moved to Saturdays, but the Travel Channel's website insisted it was airing on Wednesdays. Fans gave up looking for the show, and the ratings dropped. Many fans also got annoyed by Peters' "Tell it like it is" style of travel reporting.
While the promise of the show was to be a fun look at new places, the editing and production of the show never caught on with viewers. The ratings of the show dropped until the show was put into other time slots to see if it could find an audience. When no audience could be found, the show was canceled.
