I got this e-mail today from Kathleen Miller, a longtime member of the Illinois Route 66 Association and co-editor of the association’s The 66 News magazine:
Is the Great American Road Trip on Route 66 really that great? Over the past two weeks NBC broadcast a television show called “The Great American Road Trip.” They tout it as “a wholesome show the whole family can watch!” And it is just that, I can say that after watching it I agree, it is a wholesome family show! On the NBC website it says this about the show, “Adventure and competition prevail as seven families begin their journey across America on Route 66, beginning at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.”
I wondered why they chose Wrigley Field. The ballpark has nothing to do with Route 66 in Illinois. Couldn’t they have met in Chicago on Michigan Avenue or on the steps of the Art Institute? That is closer to where Route 66 starts in Illinois, not Wrigley Field. I watched with eagerness to see our wonderful historic sites, the icons of the road revealed as the families made their way to Springfield, IL.
They left the ballpark and made their way to the Mother Road, we saw the Sears Tower and then we saw I-55. Ok, I thought they’re waiting for Joliet, and then they passed Joliet. What about the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, they have to stop there. Nope, instead they showed I-55 and farmland and barns. Did I see the Odell Station? Nope, instead I saw I-55 and heard comments like, “All Illinois has is farmland and barns!” Did they at least stop at the Meramac Cavern Barn, which was a preservation project in Cayuga? Did they stop in Pontiac to visit the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum to learn the history of Route 66 in Illinois? Did they make their way to Atlanta to visit Paul and the Palm’s Café? How about Ernie Edwards and the Pig Hip? Nope, they continued on I-55 and talked about how boring Illinois is. They spent the night in Springfield, performed their challenge and left to continue on I-55. When they left Springfield a sign flashed that read “Monee”. For those who don’t know, Monee is located on Route 50 approximately 35 miles east of Route 66 at the closest point. We saw more farmland, then they magically appeared at “The Chain of Rocks Bridge”, so much for Illinois. I was devastated!
In one hour this show has done more harm to the tourism on Route 66 in Illinois than I-55 ever could have. Everything that the Route 66 Association of Illinois and the Preservation Committee, the cities, towns, and villages, the Mom and Pop businesses and the people on Route 66 have worked for years to promote and preserve was invalidated in one hour.
How many hundreds of thousands of people saw that show? How many hundreds of thousands of people now think there is no reason to visit Route 66 in Illinois? How many hundreds of thousands of tourism dollars did Illinois just lose? All in one hour!
The promotion for upcoming episodes boasts about visiting “Branson, MO.” Is Branson on Route 66? Heck NO! They are using the Mother Road to lure viewers to see “Route 66” and I feel all they will see is I-55 and all the other super slabs from here to California.
I wish associations, cities, villages, towns, Mom and Pop businesses and the people of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California better luck than Illinois had. I fear especially, with the economy the way it is now, we just lost more revenue potential than we can recoup this summer.
I urge everyone who has seen this show to write to NBC and complain about their misrepresentation of Route 66 to the American public!
Miller has made her views known. Now it’s time for mine.
I don’t begrudge the show’s producers for stopping in non-66 places such as Wrigley Field in Chicago and Branson, Mo. Side trips have long been part of the Route 66 experience, and both of those very popular destinations qualify. If I didn’t think side trips were relevant, I wouldn’t have news about the Grand Canyon and other sites that are inextricably linked to the Mother Road.
Miller’s complaint about the families doing a lot of interstate driving may have merit, on the surface. Then again, you’re talking about people who are inexperienced in driving large RVs. The show’s producers probably thought it would be safer — and less troublesome logistically — to stick mostly to the interstates. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on that.
As for Miller saying the show “has done more harm to the tourism on Route 66 in Illinois than I-55 ever could have,” that’s giving “Great American Road Trip” waaaaaaaaay too much credit. The show saw such abysmal ratings in its original Tuesday night premiere that NBC moved it to Monday nights. There, it continued to flounder for viewers in Week 2, finishing a distant fourth of the four major networks.
Sure, the show may not have presented Illinois Route 66 is the most flattering light. But, with ratings lower than a snake’s belly, few ultimately are going to care. And I can attest from Route 66 News’ traffic that people are far more interested in the three-year-old “Cars” movie, not the current “Road Trip” TV show.
Frankly, I’m more offended that NBC squandered a great opportunity and made a bad show. If you still feel the need, you can give your opinion to NBC on “Great American Road Trip” here.
After seeing extended previews on this series, my husband and I made the decision to not watch. It seemed pretty obvious that this show wasn’t about the Road, just about another irritating reality show. It looks like that was a good decision. Anyone who “gets” road trips will know that this is not an accurate representation.
I also am not a fan of the show. I agree that with the time they have and the skill level of the drivers, I-55 was the better choice. However, they could have made alot more stops in Illinois. So much to see! Why were they in such a hurry to leave Illinois?
My husband and I haven’t watched the show due to unexpected surgery. I was anxiously waiting for the next show, but after reading all the comments on it, don’t know if we’ll watch it or not. However, we can definitely say there is lots to see in Illinois on Route 66 and so much of what IS Route 66 and it’s Mom and Pop businesses, etc. is Illinois! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip through Illinois on the Mother Road and made sure we saw all the icons it has to offer. People of Illinois, you can be proud, as Route 66 is well represented in your state and us travelers (we’re from Georgia) appreciate your efforts in keeping Route 66 so “upfront” and inviting for everyone. Thanks!
Mercifully, I have not wasted any of my already too-short life watching this, or any other, prime time network television. While you may be disappointed, is anyone really surprised that mainstream network television didn’t “get it” when it cam to knowing what Route 66 and a real family road trip were all about?
It sounds to me like Kathleen hit the nail (largely) right on the head.
This reality show is a travesty to Route 66. By episode 3, very little is on the route. Branson is not on the Route, nor most of the other stops they filmed at so far. The production qualities are terrible and the trumped up challenges are nothing short of stupid. What a waste of a good possible idea and alot of money.
All of the ridiculous “challenges” could have been on the route and moreover route related. Even silly, they could have promoted the old road in a fun way. They could have performed on the stage at the Rialto or the Coleman. They could have cooked hamburgers at the U-Drop. Some historical challenge at the museum in Clinton. Fought over soda at Pop’s. Endless ideas, and so much lost opportunity to be of benefit to the Route 66 community instead of abuse and bypass the opportunity.
I know for a fact that the budget was around 1.7 million per episode. Not even in HD. What did they waste the money on is my question. The pre-production team must have been asleep at the wheel. So many cool opportunities on Route 66 and most of them missed.
Take a look at any map. Branson, central Kansas, The Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas are not on the Route. They bypassed most of Oklahoma which has the most portion of the road than any of the other 7 states.
Where did quality television disappear to?
Jeers to NBC in a BIG way.
This simply points out again, that the people that made this show know virtually nothing about Route 66, what it stands for nor obviously do they care.
What they do know is U.S. Route 66 just like Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Harleys etc. SELLS with nothing more than a simple image.
This has been gone over before and it’s a shame. People and companies over sell the image of Route 66 for easy $$ and yet still no one gains anything about the real Route 66. And what we found from this failed show is watching a poorly made, ignorant and empty show, supposedly about Route 66, was way too much to sit through for an hour.