The Climb on HBO

Tradibanwrote:

Lmao!

Someone talked him into this, probably Momoa. Sharma is not “hollywood” and I don’t think he even graduated from a real high school.

People have been latching onto Sharma’s fame since the beginning and directing him to do this or that, remember the Ralph Loren purfume??? He’s just along for the ride and the “ownership” he has in any business is simply investment, he’s not the one running it.

That said, he’s a wonderful man and the greatest stoke in climbing but people take advantage of him, sucks that this TV show will be his legacy to the general public.

In his defense, when I visited his new gym in Barcelona for my honeymoon, he was talking with suppliers and him and his wife seemed pretty owner/operator to me

Watched all three episodes last night, and oof...it's about as bad as the trailer makes it seem. My biggest complaint is that the competition format makes no sense and doesn't even try to make sense. It just feels lazy. 

Critiques:

• There is no explanation at all given for how these climbers were selected. Given that, it seems like this competition is a total lay up. I’m guessing the producers selected the competitors based on two things: how interesting their story/background is and where they want that person to fall in the competition. There’s at least one 5.14 climber in a competition with climbers who can’t make the first clip on a 5.12.
• The manufactured drama is awful. Sharma publicly berates a competitor for “not trying” when he jumped off a deep water solo route because he got past the high point needed to progress. Chris (and others) tell him that climbing isn’t about “giving up” and that he was a bad competitor for “bailing.” Jumping at the high point is a tried-and-true tactic for competitors at Chris Sharma’s own climbing competition, Psicobloc. Never been an issue before so the drama felt incredibly scripted and stupid.
• When it poured rain on a route halfway through the first competition, the second half of competitors were told “well that’s climbing, you can never predict the conditions!” and forced to compete against the climbers who did a dry route. Everyone slipped on the same wet hold and the hosts (Megan and Chris) pretended to be surprised by this.
• The first competitor on a challenge (sometimes random, sometimes not) has to onsight and everyone else gets to flash. Makes no sense. They should just have Chris or Megan preview the route which would be fun to watch and level the playing field.
• The scripted conversations between Aquaman and Sharma are not good.
• The amount of tears is ridiculous.

Good stuff:

• Megan Martin was made for TV. 
• The climbing is legitimate and it’s fun to watch non-pros figure out 5.11-5.12 routes. So much climbing media focuses on 5.15/V17 that seeing more attainable climbing is novel.
• The footage is beautiful.
• It’s a little corny, but it’s nice to see all the competitors cheering each other on.
• The competitors are kind and articulate which represents our sport well.

Alissa Dohertywrote:

Watched all three episodes last night, and oof...it's about as bad as the trailer makes it seem. My biggest complaint is that the competition format makes no sense and doesn't even try to make sense. It just feels lazy. 

Critiques:

• There is no explanation at all given for how these climbers were selected. Given that, it seems like this competition is a total lay up. I’m guessing the producers selected the competitors based on two things: how interesting their story/background is and where they want that person to fall in the competition. There’s at least one 5.14 climber in a competition with climbers who can’t make the first clip on a 5.12.
• The manufactured drama is awful. Sharma publicly berates a competitor for “not trying” when he jumped off a deep water solo route because he got past the high point needed to progress. Chris (and others) tell him that climbing isn’t about “giving up” and that he was a bad competitor for “bailing.” Jumping at the high point is a tried-and-true tactic for competitors at Chris Sharma’s own climbing competition, Psicobloc. Never been an issue before so the drama felt incredibly scripted and stupid.
• When it poured rain on a route halfway through the first competition, the second half of competitors were told “well that’s climbing, you can never predict the conditions!” and forced to compete against the climbers who did a dry route. Everyone slipped on the same wet hold and the hosts (Megan and Chris) pretended to be surprised by this.
• The first competitor on a challenge (sometimes random, sometimes not) has to onsight and everyone else gets to flash. Makes no sense. They should just have Chris or Megan preview the route which would be fun to watch and level the playing field.
• The scripted conversations between Aquaman and Sharma are not good.
• The amount of tears is ridiculous.

Good stuff:

• Megan Martin was made for TV. 
• The climbing is legitimate and it’s fun to watch non-pros figure out 5.11-5.12 routes. So much climbing media focuses on 5.15/V17 that seeing more attainable climbing is novel.
• The footage is beautiful.
• It’s a little corny, but it’s nice to see all the competitors cheering each other on.
• The competitors are kind and articulate which represents our sport well.

Spot on critique. The average viewer is not going to understand anything that is going on or why and the visuals, while appealing to actual climbers, are pretty dull. One of the biggest fails IMO is the lack of comic relief. They need someone to counter the overly serious vibe, maybe like what is done with the British baking show because yeah the Sharma "you just gave up" talk sounded fake and preachy.

The whole setup makes no sense and it seems weird that the first two eliminated were women. Pick different routes or test different skills related to climbing.

Producers at HBO are not going to be happy with the viewer response is my prediction. Climbers (not affiliated with the show or its sponsors) seem lukewarm at best so far.

It seems to me like these people got to go on the climbing trip of a lifetime, payed for by HBO!

I’m assuming they film for a day then spend a couple days climbing at a world class destination before moving on to the next to repeat. 

In general it’s not a bad show. I think a lot of the weirdness comes from trying to produce a climbing show for the General public. I’m not sure it will be very popular with the general public because it’s a more realistic portrayal of climbing than most Hollywood shows, which can be boring to watch if you don’t know what’s going on.

I do wish the editing of the actual climbing was a little better, and they showed more of it rather than showing them in the hotel. But that’s how they make it a reality show to bring in the general public.

Peter Bealwrote:

Climbers (not affiliated with the show or its sponsors) seem lukewarm at best so far.

The show is not directed at climbers.

Michael Abendwrote:

It seems to me like these people got to go on the climbing trip of a lifetime, payed for by HBO!

In the credits, it also states that the participants were paid to appear. To me, it almost feels like they are paid actors. The scene where everyone dogpiles on the guy who "bailed" on DWS would never happen in real life because 1) most of them are former competition climbers and know this is a normal strategy, and 2) they are so incredibly supportive of each other in every other scene. It looked like everyone was fed lines and then the guy gets a redemption arc after. 

Also maybe this is too "conspiracy theory," but Alice Hafer is a 5.14 climber and she fell on the first 5.11, putting her up for elimination. That's not overly suspicious (5.11d DWS is legit) but the visual of where she fell was weird. She was bumping between two monos and no one else was shown on moves that hard. In my mind, this was scripted to establish her as the underdog and set her up as a dark horse later in the competition. I guess she could have gotten off route but since everything else feels so fake, I'm just not buying it. 

I agree that this feels too fake for the climbing community and too confusing for a broader audience--and yea, way too serious. But who knows, it seems like most people are able to maintain the suspension of disbelief better than I am. My critique isn't a dig on the climbers or even Sharma, glad they got a cool opportunity.

Alissa Dohertywrote:

In the credits, it also states that the participants were paid to appear.

To borrow from a meme I posted: Reality TV Isn't. 

Alissa Dohertywrote:

In the credits, it also states that the participants were paid to appear. To me, it almost feels like they are paid actors.

You've just described pretty much every "reality" show.

In my mind, this was scripted to establish her as the underdog and set her up as a dark horse later in the competition. I guess she could have gotten off route but since everything else feels so fake, I'm just not buying it. 

What don't you understand about reality TV?

Tradibanwrote:

Someone talked him into this, probably Momoa. Sharma is not “hollywood” and I don’t think he even graduated from a real high school.

Haha - well there's certainly many different types of intelligence. I never said that Sharma helped launch the James Webb Telescope. But if we want to use high school as our benchmark, 

There are people that couldn't graduate high school, 

And then there are people who didn't ever need to graduate high school 

Alissa Dohertywrote:

In the credits, it also states that the participants were paid to appear. To me, it almost feels like they are paid actors. The scene where everyone dogpiles on the guy who "bailed" on DWS would never happen in real life because 1) most of them are former competition climbers and know this is a normal strategy, and 2) they are so incredibly supportive of each other in every other scene. It looked like everyone was fed lines and then the guy gets a redemption arc after. 

Shit, considering I signed up for a month with HBO Max to watch this (I was too impatient for my friend to find this on the torrent sites and throw up on his plex) and the first thing I see is a pre-show ad - "The Climb: presented by Chevy" - featuring one of the climbers, I tend towards agreeing.

But isn't that part of being a 'pro' climber? Being personable, attractive, good enough at acting to show up in commercials and be good optics for your sponsor pimps? Seems like they're just being more obvious / out about it.

• The competitors are kind and articulate which represents our sport well.

Ha! Good one.

Marc801 Cwrote:

The show is not directed at climbers.

I know. My point is that neither demographic is going to be psyched on this show. It's too climber for the average viewer and too average viewer for the climber.

Marc801 Cwrote:

You've just described pretty much every "reality" show.

What don't you understand about reality TV?

Is that true? I guess I don't know much about reality TV.  The closest comparison I can think of is Ninja Warrior. The participants do not get paid to appear and I think that add an element of authenticity that's missing from The Climb. Ninja Warrior is super entertaining because viewers understand the competition and the stakes and are thus invested in the outcome. We believe the competition is fair and unscripted, so we follow along and cheer for our favorites. No viewer (climber or non-climber) understands the stakes or rules in The Climb and that's my biggest gripe. Add in what appears to be a script, and I just don't think it will be successful. 

Peter Bealwrote:

I know. My point is that neither demographic is going to be psyched on this show. It's too climber for the average viewer and too average viewer for the climber.

Here's what Alex just posted about it on his FB page:

Sanni and I watched an early version of The Climb and enjoyed it a surprising amount. Overall, Chris Sharma and Meagan Martin did a great job of hosting and helping to share the spirit of climbing. And the competition unfolded just about perfectly - great contestants and dramatic till the end. 

Obviously there are some cheesy moments since it’s reality TV, but we still got pretty into it. I may be biased since so many friends worked on it in various ways, but I couldn’t help but get psyched.

Marc801 Cwrote:

Here's what Alex just posted about it on his FB page:

I wrote above "Climbers (not affiliated with the show or its sponsors) seem lukewarm at best so far."

Alex Honnold isn't going to criticize this show, nor anyone else hoping to get at least gravy-train-adjacent to it, its creators or its sponsors. I would like to check the NDAs for loopholes as I believe the honest impressions (on background if need be) of participants would be way more interesting than anything this show presents to the public.

To me, it almost feels like they are paid actors.

I'm curious and mean you no disrespect but what did you think "reality" tv is?

I lost respect for Sharma and the other competitors for shaming the Brazilian by employing a smart tactic. $100k is life changing money for most people and risking that by taking an unnecessary, uncontrolled 45' fall and risking injury is stupid. Sharma saying that he would always just go for it and criticizing others for not is ridiculous. He's taken thousands of DWS falls so he knows how to orient his body correctly to prevent injury. I understand they want good TV by encouraging huge wingers and injuries but it came off as toxic frat boy shaming. 

Peter Bealwrote:

I wrote above "Climbers (not affiliated with the show or its sponsors) seem lukewarm at best so far."

Alex Honnold isn't going to criticize this show, nor anyone else hoping to get at least gravy-train-adjacent to it, its creators or its sponsors. I would like to check the NDAs for loopholes as I believe the honest impressions (on background if need be) of participants would be way more interesting than anything this show presents to the public.

Not to show too much of how the sausage is made but Sharma and Honnold also use the same talent agency so it's probably just a loosely organized cross promotion. 

Long Rangerwrote:

I never said that Sharma helped launch the James Webb Telescope.

Sharma? That was Jimmy Webb who helped launch it of course

Noah Betzwrote:

 It’s definitely the most realistic and relatable representation of climbing that I’ve seen in any mass-market media; compare barely squeaking an on-sight of an 11d DWS versus Free Solo. Give it a shot, it’s probably better than you expect.

I just watched the first two episodes and would agree with both this and Alissa's outstanding assessment. The climbing sequences are surprisingly accurate.

I was really hoping to see the 53-year-old Scottish woman get on a handcrack and school everyone, but alas.

Overall, I don't expect the general public to sustain interest throughout nine or ten attempts in a row on the same route.

I was quite pleased to see the contestants wearing helmets for the sport climbing episode.