I’m
not going to mince words: this is one of the most bizarre specials you’ll see.
I don’t just mean roller coaster specials. I mean any special. Ever.
In
a nutshell, Coastermania an hour of
interviews with coaster fans/nuts/crazies, with musical interludes that are an
inexplicable combination of Thus Spake
Zarathustra from 2001: A Space
Odyssey, the Vangelis synthesizer soundtrack from Bladerunner, and feeling of cosmos-level expansiveness as we watch
a train slow-mo through a cobra roll. There are interviews with priests and
psychologists. There are interviews with people who got married on roller
coasters. In case you couldn’t tell, there couldn’t possibly be more
interviews.
One
of the highlights of the show is the emphasis on Blackpool Pleasure Beach in
the UK, a Cedar Point-level thrill park on par with the Cedar Fair parks and
Magic Mountains of the world and is usually summarily ignored by the
American-dominated cable media. This show must have been made in the 1997/1998
time period (perhaps 1996), so the Pepsi Max Big One is the real BIG NEW THING
for this special. Another unsung relic from the mid-1990s coaster wars, a hyper
on par with the Steel Phantoms and Desperados of the age.
I
know we are all obsessed with roller coasters, but this special really gets you
thinking why the living heck are we
so obsessed with roller coasters? Believe me, you’ll meet plenty of people in
this video who have your obsession licked. Well, at least the UK bus tourist
group isn’t obsessed with Cedar Point’s Iron Dragon. They “boo” the ride on the
bus on the way to CP.
Anyway,
I could go on a bit about humanity’s quest for companionship and connect it to
the forming of coaster clubs, or talk about the need to be challenged/need for
danger/excitement/fear and adrenaline rush and everything else and how roller
coasters are a form of safety valve for this desire. But, you know, filling up
blog column inches with psychological analysis would somewhat legitimize this video, which is something that simply
shouldn’t be allowed to happen.
--ParkScopeJeff (@ParkScopeJeff)
Our Last Ten YouTube Tuesday Features:
#15: Billion Dollar Fun: Creating the Film-Based Attractions at Universal Studios
#14: Amusement Parks: The Pursuit of Fun
#13: Extreme Rides 2000
#12: Thrill Rides: Designing Fear
#11: Inside Disneyland Paris
#14: Amusement Parks: The Pursuit of Fun
#13: Extreme Rides 2000
#12: Thrill Rides: Designing Fear
#11: Inside Disneyland Paris
**Send Jeff a line at HamGamgee@gmail.com. We appreciate your feedback!
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