This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"Sarah Palin's Alaska" tries to be a lot of things. A travelogue. A wildlife adventure. A family reality show. A political statement. And it doesn't do any of them well.
More than anything else, Palin's new show (Sunday, Nov. 14, 10 p.m., TLC) is dull.
If you haven't already fallen asleep by the time they go rock climbing at the end of the hour-long episode, that scene itself is a sure cure for insomnia.
She tries to be funny, and Palin does have her moments. Like when she qualifies her self-deprecating comment, "You can see Russia from here — almost."
But this show won't transform her detractors into supporters.
Even if "Sarah Palin's Alaska" tried not to be political, it would be. She is, after all, a potential presidential candidate who just criss-crossed the country campaigning for GOP candidates.
And the show doesn't try to be apolitical. Palin talks to Bill O'Reilly, talks about tax policy and expresses political views.
She compares the 14-foot fence her husband, Todd, and his friends built to keep author Joe McGinnis from seeing into their yard to "securing our nation's borders." And they make much of McGinnis' presence next door.
"Our summer fun has been kind of taken away from us because the new neighbor next door who's writing kind of a hit piece on my wife," says Todd Palin. (For the record, he has no idea what McGinnis is writing.)
Sarah Palin drags her kids into it, telling them, "See, we one-upped him, Piper. We had a good day, and he's stuck in his house." The comment seems childish.
Ironically, they invade McGinnis' privacy by taking video footage of him — and he doesn't seem to be paying any attention to them at all.
And there's the enormous irony that the Palins have put all their children and their grandchild in this TV show. This after Sarah Palin has made it clear she feels her children are off-limits to the media.
You can't have it both ways but, apparently, that escapes the Palins.
There are moments in "Sarah Palin's Alaska" that seem like something right out of "Jon & Kate Plus Eight," right down to scenes of Palin baking in the kitchen and the bouncy music, which, TLC formula aside, are weird choices.
One bit in which 16-year-old Willow's boyfriend tries to sneak upstairs to her bedroom is apparently supposed to be funny, at least judging by the accompanying music. But it's odd that it was included, given the fact that older sister Bristol Palin got pregnant when she was 17.
The most interesting scene in "Sarah Palin's Alaska" is when she and Todd take daughter Piper salmon fishing and they view several bears. But we've seen all the nature footage done better elsewhere.
Look, if you're a Palin fan, you may like "Sarah Palin's Alaska." And you'll probably see any criticism as political.
But, politics aside, this family reality show is just a snooze.