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Destination X… another TV gameshow, with staged conversations between the contestants, as a group of supposedly random bods are sat next to each other in the airport, trying to guess whether or not they’re all on a TV gameshow, even though the producers of the TV gameshow have sat them together and told them what to say.
Like Gogglebox.
It’s based on the US series, which aired from May this year, and hosted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Sadly, we get the bargain basement version in Rob Brydon (Gavin And Stacey), who’ll turn up to the opening of any envelope.
They begin with 13 contestants, but soon whittle them down to ten who are getting on the actual plane, and they’re told that for each place they visit, they have to guess where they are. Whoever’s furthest away from the fact is the one who’s going home next. Hopefully, it’s Brydon.
Those remaining are a diverse bunch of ages, sexes and races, since that’s what’s important in 2025, as the last two series of Doctor Who would attest.
Add in pointless pieces-to-camera where no-one cares what these oddballs have to say, a guessing game round that may as well be Mike Read’s Runaround, and for whichever country in which they end up first, it takes over 30 minutes to get to this point!
Plus, if one flakes out, who will replace them? If anyone??
There’s no subtitles on the preview episodes, so whenever care assistant Dawn speaks, I have no idea what she’s talking about. Similarly, Saskia is a self-confessed social media-addicted Gen Z individual. So, she can be safely ignored. Elsewhere, Ben claims to be 42, but with a beard, it makes him look 62. Shave it off!
You also have to stretch credibility to accept that an entire box-full of people was lowered into place in the first town centre. Realistically, they’ll have been bussed in, albeit with blacked-out windows, and then put in the box.
As for where they ended up, I had to suffer the full duration to discover this, so you do, too. And even then, the actual ‘Destination X’ was cut off at the end of the episode!
Watching the end live on BBC1, the location was… my cellar. I guess I’d best let them out… Not you, Brydon! You STAY!
Overall, Destination X was not for me, but I guess the BBC are playing to The Traitors viewing crowd. That wasn’t for me, either.
Destination X continues tomorrow night on BBC1 at 9pm, and ten each Weds and Thurs weekly. Following each broadcast, you can watch on the BBC iPlayer, although episode 2 is already on there. It’s unlikely to be released on Blu-ray or DVD.
Director: Ben Archard
Writers: Scott Bennett, Christine Rose
Presenter: Rob Brydon
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.