So, instead of watching a long-haired old man crashing into a solid rock wall in a submarine base, why not watch a long-haired old man driving through Italy and sampling all the wonders that it can offer?
James may seems to have become the wildcard of the trio as far as their standalone content. Sure, he did Toy Stories and Man Lab back in his days of hosting a pokey motoring show on BBC2 as a regular gig. But the increased budget and visibility provided to him by Amazon seems to have unlocked for other people what oldtimer fans knew; For all that we enjoyed him playing a colossal bore on Top Gear, he’s the most likely to be interesting when speaking about any subject.
The second “Our Man in” series builds upon the first in a very subtle way…mostly. The first shot of the special features a return of a friend from Japan, but apart from that, the series are completely self contained. Tom Whitter, who has been working with James on his solo programs for over a decade, really knows how to get the most out of James; placing him in uncomfortable situations without it being cringy or feeling forced. Impressive, when you remember last time around he placed him on a Karaoke party, an Ultraman costume, and providing the voice of a dog for an anime.
When not focusing on James providing a more nuanced view of life in Venice; or getting flashbacks to his old job and driving a Ferrari on the Fiorano test track, the camera crew gets to flex its muscles. And they doso capturing the splendor of the country in magnificent takes that one feels should be called something other than B-Roll. From the breathtaking view of Lake Como, where a short man in an Alfa Romeo raced against Mr. Darcy, to panning shots of a Parmesan cheese bank. Though that latter is rather spoiled by the realization that at some point they’ll remember what James May is most famous for these days and work it in (Spoiler: they did)
And, of course, there’s the matter of companions. No. None of them are as memorable as Yujiro from Our Man in Japan but that’s a bit like saying that a Hawaii eruption is not as memorable as Krakatoa. As the country, so are the guides. And here we have them teaching James about the proper way to blend into Italy, scaring the hell out of him, or teaching him how to drive in Rome.
The best thing that I can say for it is that I’m amazed at the amount of content that they managed to cram into six episodes…and that I wish that they would’ve done ten. Back when the pandemic was in its cusp, it was reported that they had been considering a series filmed in the United States. It should be more doable nowadays.
They may want to do a double-length season if they want to move forward with that.
