The Victorville (Calif.) Daily Press has an article about California Route 66 booster Jim Conkle and his efforts to film a TV pilot tentatively titled “Mother Road Chronicles,” which is loosely patterned after the late Charles Kuralt’s “On the Road.”
“The road is a road of color: color of people and color of sights,” he said.
Sitting in Richie’s All-American Diner on Route 66 in downtown Victorville, the 66-year-old Conkle laid out his vision for the show.
“What better reality TV than getting to know and meet the people that live and work and travel the road?” he asked. “We’re going to go to places that have been restored and places that have not been restored.”
The show will focus on places like the Wigwam Motel in Rialto, whose owner Manoj Patel restored it and brought it out of the “rent-by-the-hour” realm.
Or the couple from Latin America who own Route 66 Memories in Rancho Cucamonga.
The article is well-done. Go read it.
This series is long overdue. I think from reading Jim’s Caravan experiences a few years back, this type program from the road would be a breath of fresh air. There is nothing on TV for all us road warriors and with Jim’s knowledge of Route 66 and his ability to meet/talk to people, would make a fantastic show. What better way to promote the road than having one of it’s most dedicated roadies tell the story with those that have made the Mother Road what she is today and remember those ghosts from the past. With the resurgence of interest in Route 66 due to the movie “CARS”, it’s the perfect time for such a program. Go for it!