Latest news with #GuyMartin
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Our Guy in Vietnam, review: Martin is wasted on this feather-light tourist stuff
There is no one else like Guy Martin on British television. And there is no one else who can do what he does. So, to be blunt, why have Channel 4 sent him to undertake a job that Sue Perkins could do? Our Guy in Vietnam (Channel 4), a two-part series to mark 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War, is not the usual Guy Martin gig – a daredevil challenge or an engineering geek's adventure – it is a bog-standard travelogue. 'We're in full tourist mode here,' says Martin. Yep. 'We don't normally do tourist things.' You do now, Guy. 'Yeah, Vietnam,' says Martin at the top of the programme, as if the audience had just shouted 'Vietnam?' at seeing the programme title. He's here, he says, because he's keen to get to the bottom of this 'Communism job' and we are treated to some GCSE-level potted history about Ho Chi Minh, the French occupation and central planning. The programme leans gently into Martin's strengths – vehicles, engineering, war history – and, as you witness him trying to pull a wheelie on a motorbike and sidecar, create some homemade napalm, zip down the Ho Chi Minh trail on a dirt bike, and detonate an unexploded cluster bomb, it feels like you are watching someone on a stag-do itinerary put together by a blokey amateur-history enthusiast. Even his patter is war-buffs-down-the-pub: 'It's not a point of debate. Vietnam won the war. Simple.' Yet there was nothing here that Sue Perkins wouldn't do – tai chi down the park, hawking at a floating market, riding an overladen moped – and even the segments that should hold some weight, such as speaking to a man who was born with deformities because of Agent Orange, are gossamer-thin and over in the blink of an eye. Some moments are just plain daft. 'Bus travel is quite a common form of travel in Vietnam,' says Martin. The voice-over teems with inane generalisations about the country ('The Vietnamese admire wealth') and some moments plumb depths of meaninglessness that even Inside the Factory and Gregg Wallace would fear. An electronic-vehicle factory site is, we're told, 'twice the size of Monaco'. We're not told how big Monaco is (about half the size of Central Park, since you ask). It is arguably Martin's first misstep since he roared onto our screens in a cloud of exhaust fumes many years ago, and if the programme has merit, it's simply in spending time with him. There is something undeniably charming about watching a mechanic from Grimsby pottering about Hanoi, calling everyone 'duck' or 'big man', but Martin is wasted on this feather-light tourist stuff. Occasionally, we get a glimpse of his unique appeal, such as when he notices that the thousands of lights in a gaudy temple are 'filament not LED' and frets about the cost, or when he visits Hanoi's famous Train Street and brings a tape measure so he can find out the track gauge. Martin has an idiosyncratic view of the world; Our Guy in Vietnam had everyone else's.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- General
- Scottish Sun
Moment TV daredevil Guy Martin makes savage war weapon napalm as he tours Vietnam 50 years after fall of Saigon
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LEGENDARY motorbike racer Guy Martin tried his hand at making napalm as he headed to Vietnam to mark 50 years since the end of the war. For the latest "Our Guy in…" Channel 4 series, Guy travelled from Hanoi in the north of the country Ho Chi Minh city in the south and saw first hand the legacy of a war that claimed more than 1.3million lives. 11 The US deployed terrifying weapons such as napalm - a fearsome mixture of chemicals used to burn through miles of thick jungle 11 Mixing a small amount of its components, Guy was able to see the weapon behind some of the most horrific imagery that defined the Vietnam War Credit: Alamy 11 South Vietnamese forces follow terrified children after a napalm attack Credit: Instagram Speaking exclusive to The Sun, Guy said: "They're all looking forward, they're not dwelling on the past, and they're not letting the war define them. It just blew me away." The war between the communist North and western-aligned South intensified in 1965 when the US committed serious force over fears that Soviet influence was spreading in the region. After eight years of intense fighting, the US finally withdrew in 1973 and in 1975 evacuated the country once and for all, when Communist forces surrounded the country's embassy in the country's capital of Saigon, since renamed Ho Chi Minh city. In total, 58,000 American troops were killed - over half of whom were aged just 18. Guy took a Soviet-era motorbike down the route of the legendary Ho Chi Minh trail, a supply route used by the Viet Cong communist guerrillas. It proved crucial in giving them the upper hand over the much more technologically advanced Americans. More than a million tonnes of supplies were transported via the trail, often using nothing more than pushbikes and improvised bridges to cross rivers. But limited resources and a deep knowledge of the landscape made the Vietnamese skilled engineers, and experts at creating boobytraps that would prove devastating to the Americans. In response, the US deployed terrifying weapons such as Napalm - a fearsome mixture of chemicals used to burn through miles of thick jungle. Mixing a small amount of its components in a jar, Guy was then able to see for himself the weapon behind some of the most horrific imagery that defined the war. He said: "That is the worst weapon. Absolutely horrible. "The fire would be that intense, it'll drag oxygen from wherever it can get it, so it'll suffocate whoever's in the building. "The heat would be a thousand degrees. You're not lasting long." Another weapon used with devastating effect by the United States was a herbicide called Agent Orange, designed to destroy vegetation in an attempt to deprive the Vietnamese of cover. 11 Guy paid a visit to Son, a lecturer who is battling the devastating impact of a herbicide called Agent Orange 11 A helicopter sprays Agent Orange on a dense jungle Credit: Instagram/Chloe ferry 11 Guy visited Vietnam to mark 50 years since the end of the war Like the millions of bombs dropped, its legacy can still be felt today. Guy paid a visit to Son, a maths and computer programming lecturer who is one of those battling the effects today. His father was in the north Vietnamese army, and at one point during the war found himself soaked in the liquid dropped from an American plane. Tests conducted years later confirmed he had been poisoned, and he passed away from cancer in 2006. The genetic damage caused by the chemical has left Son born with birth defects and unable to walk. Guy said: "They used the same weed killer than they use to kill the weeds on the side of the road, but it was 20 times stronger. 'And the landmass that they covered was bigger than Wales.' 11 Phan Thi Kim Phuc, 9, bearing the scars of a napalm strike two months earlier in 1972 11 Nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc is comforted by her mother in 1972 two days after a napalm attack on her village 11 Dao Van Loi, 69, holds his daughter who suffers from disability problems as a result of Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War An estimated 3 million Vietnamese are still affected by its aftermath. In one month alone, the US dropped as many bombs on Vietnam as it during the entire Second World War. Many of them failed to explode on impact, meaning that acres of the country remain highly-dangerous no-go zones. In total, more than 100,000 people in the country have died since the end of the war as a result of left-over explosives. Guy joined the frontline of the effort to clear the countryside as he headed out with a team of charity workers. 'People are still getting killed because of unexploded mines and fields,' Guy said. 'They've been at it for 30-odd years, just working their way through the fields, using the metal detectors to find the mines and bombs, and then doing a controlled explosion,' Guy added as he reflected on joining in the operation. 'It was great to be part of.' After heading out into the field with metal detectors, Guy and the team came across three unexploded bombs in the small area they were sweeping. A controlled explosion is then performed once the device is wrapped in sandbags, the detonation cord dragged out to a safe distance, and locals warned to clear the area. Guy was then shown how to use the detonation switch, and after a countdown from ten, triggered the explosion. 'There was muck and stuff flying everywhere,' he said. 'And this was a daily occurrence.' Our Guy in Vietnam airs on Channel 4 at 9pm, Sunday June 1. 11 Bombs with a mixture of napalm and white phosphorus jelly dropped by Vietnamese AF Skyraider bombers explode
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Moment TV daredevil Guy Martin makes savage war weapon napalm as he tours Vietnam 50 years after fall of Saigon
LEGENDARY motorbike racer Guy Martin tried his hand at making napalm as he headed to Vietnam to mark 50 years since the end of the war. For the latest "Our Guy in…" Channel 4 series, Guy travelled from Hanoi in the north of the country Ho Chi Minh city in the south and saw first hand the legacy of a war that claimed more than 1.3million lives. Advertisement 11 The US deployed terrifying weapons such as napalm - a fearsome mixture of chemicals used to burn through miles of thick jungle 11 Mixing a small amount of its components, Guy was able to see the weapon behind some of the most horrific imagery that defined the Vietnam War 11 South Vietnamese forces follow terrified children after a napalm attack Credit: Instagram Speaking exclusive to The Sun, Guy said: "They're all looking forward, they're not dwelling on the past, and they're not letting the war define them. It just blew me away." The war between the communist North and western-aligned South intensified in 1965 when the US committed serious force over fears that Soviet influence was spreading in the region. After eight years of intense fighting, the US finally withdrew in 1973 and in 1975 evacuated the country once and for all, when Communist forces surrounded the country's embassy in the country's capital of Saigon, since renamed Ho Chi Minh city. In total, 58,000 American troops were killed - over half of whom were aged just 18. Advertisement Read more on Guy Martin Guy took a Soviet-era motorbike down the route of the legendary Ho Chi Minh trail, a supply route used by the Viet Cong communist guerrillas. It proved crucial in giving them the upper hand over the much more technologically advanced Americans. More than a million tonnes of supplies were transported via the trail, often using nothing more than pushbikes and improvised bridges to cross rivers. But limited resources and a deep knowledge of the landscape made the Vietnamese skilled engineers, and experts at creating boobytraps that would prove devastating to the Americans. Advertisement Most read in News TV In response, the US deployed terrifying weapons such as Napalm - a fearsome mixture of chemicals used to burn through miles of thick jungle. Mixing a small amount of its components in a jar, Guy was then able to see for himself the weapon behind some of the most horrific imagery that defined the war. He said: "That is the worst weapon. Absolutely horrible. "The fire would be that intense, it'll drag oxygen from wherever it can get it, so it'll suffocate whoever's in the building. Advertisement "The heat would be a thousand degrees. You're not lasting long." Another weapon used with devastating effect by the United States was a herbicide called Agent Orange, designed to destroy vegetation in an attempt to deprive the Vietnamese of cover. 11 Guy paid a visit to Son, a lecturer who is battling the devastating impact of a herbicide called Agent Orange 11 A helicopter sprays Agent Orange on a dense jungle Credit: Instagram/Chloe ferry Advertisement 11 Guy visited Vietnam to mark 50 years since the end of the war Credit: Damien Storan/PA Wire Like the millions of bombs dropped, its legacy can still be felt today. Guy paid a visit to Son, a maths and computer programming lecturer who is one of those battling the effects today. His father was in the north Vietnamese army , and at one point during the war found himself soaked in the liquid dropped from an American plane. Advertisement Tests conducted years later confirmed he had been poisoned, and he passed away from cancer in 2006. The genetic damage caused by the chemical has left Son born with birth defects and unable to walk. Guy said: "They used the same weed killer than they use to kill the weeds on the side of the road, but it was 20 times stronger. 'And the landmass that they covered was bigger than Wales .' Advertisement 11 Phan Thi Kim Phuc, 9, bearing the scars of a napalm strike two months earlier in 1972 11 Nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc is comforted by her mother in 1972 two days after a napalm attack on her village 11 Dao Van Loi, 69, holds his daughter who suffers from disability problems as a result of Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War An estimated 3 million Vietnamese are still affected by its aftermath. Advertisement In one month alone, the US dropped as many bombs on Many of them failed to explode on impact, meaning that acres of the country remain highly-dangerous no-go zones. In total, more than 100,000 people in the country have died since the end of the war as a result of left-over explosives. Guy joined the frontline of the effort to clear the countryside as he headed out with a team of charity workers. Advertisement 'People are still getting killed because of unexploded mines and fields,' Guy said. 'They've been at it for 30-odd years, just working their way through the fields, using the metal detectors to find the mines and bombs, and then doing a controlled explosion,' Guy added as he reflected on joining in the operation. 'It was great to be part of.' After heading out into the field with metal detectors, Guy and the team came across three unexploded bombs in the small area they were sweeping. Advertisement A controlled explosion is then performed once the device is wrapped in sandbags, the detonation cord dragged out to a safe distance, and locals warned to clear the area. Guy was then shown how to use the detonation switch, and after a countdown from ten, triggered the explosion. 'There was muck and stuff flying everywhere,' he said. 'And this was a daily occurrence.' Our Guy in Vietnam airs on Channel 4 at 9pm, Sunday June 1. Advertisement 11 Bombs with a mixture of napalm and white phosphorus jelly dropped by Vietnamese AF Skyraider bombers explode 11 Le Thi Nhon (right), 24, and her younger sister Le Thi Hoa, 15, both victims of Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War Credit: Instagram
The Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Moment TV daredevil Guy Martin makes savage war weapon napalm as he tours Vietnam 50 years after fall of Saigon
LEGENDARY motorbike racer Guy Martin tried his hand at making napalm as he headed to Vietnam to mark 50 years since the end of the war. For the latest "Our Guy in…" Channel 4 series, Guy travelled from Hanoi in the north of the country Ho Chi Minh city in the south and saw first hand the legacy of a war that claimed more than 1.3million lives. 11 11 Speaking exclusive to The Sun, Guy said: "They're all looking forward, they're not dwelling on the past, and they're not letting the war define them. It just blew me away." The war between the communist North and western-aligned South intensified in 1965 when the US committed serious force over fears that Soviet influence was spreading in the region. After eight years of intense fighting, the US finally withdrew in 1973 and in 1975 evacuated the country once and for all, when Communist forces surrounded the country's embassy in the country's capital of Saigon, since renamed Ho Chi Minh city. In total, 58,000 American troops were killed - over half of whom were aged just 18. Guy took a Soviet-era motorbike down the route of the legendary Ho Chi Minh trail, a supply route used by the Viet Cong communist guerrillas. It proved crucial in giving them the upper hand over the much more technologically advanced Americans. More than a million tonnes of supplies were transported via the trail, often using nothing more than pushbikes and improvised bridges to cross rivers. But limited resources and a deep knowledge of the landscape made the Vietnamese skilled engineers, and experts at creating boobytraps that would prove devastating to the Americans. In response, the US deployed terrifying weapons such as Napalm - a fearsome mixture of chemicals used to burn through miles of thick jungle. Mixing a small amount of its components in a jar, Guy was then able to see for himself the weapon behind some of the most horrific imagery that defined the war. He said: "That is the worst weapon. Absolutely horrible. "The fire would be that intense, it'll drag oxygen from wherever it can get it, so it'll suffocate whoever's in the building. "The heat would be a thousand degrees. You're not lasting long." Another weapon used with devastating effect by the United States was a herbicide called Agent Orange, designed to destroy vegetation in an attempt to deprive the Vietnamese of cover. 11 11 Like the millions of bombs dropped, its legacy can still be felt today. Guy paid a visit to Son, a maths and computer programming lecturer who is one of those battling the effects today. His father was in the north Vietnamese army, and at one point during the war found himself soaked in the liquid dropped from an American plane. Tests conducted years later confirmed he had been poisoned, and he passed away from cancer in 2006. The genetic damage caused by the chemical has left Son born with birth defects and unable to walk. Guy said: "They used the same weed killer than they use to kill the weeds on the side of the road, but it was 20 times stronger. 'And the landmass that they covered was bigger than Wales.' 11 11 11 An estimated 3 million Vietnamese are still affected by its aftermath. In one month alone, the US dropped as many bombs on Vietnam as it during the entire Second World War. Many of them failed to explode on impact, meaning that acres of the country remain highly-dangerous no-go zones. In total, more than 100,000 people in the country have died since the end of the war as a result of left-over explosives. Guy joined the frontline of the effort to clear the countryside as he headed out with a team of charity workers. 'People are still getting killed because of unexploded mines and fields,' Guy said. 'They've been at it for 30-odd years, just working their way through the fields, using the metal detectors to find the mines and bombs, and then doing a controlled explosion,' Guy added as he reflected on joining in the operation. 'It was great to be part of.' After heading out into the field with metal detectors, Guy and the team came across three unexploded bombs in the small area they were sweeping. A controlled explosion is then performed once the device is wrapped in sandbags, the detonation cord dragged out to a safe distance, and locals warned to clear the area. Guy was then shown how to use the detonation switch, and after a countdown from ten, triggered the explosion. 'There was muck and stuff flying everywhere,' he said. 'And this was a daily occurrence.' Our Guy in Vietnam airs on Channel 4 at 9pm, Sunday June 1. 11
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Guy Martin has a great time exploding old bombs in Vietnam
9pm, Channel 4 'Xin chào! How we getting on boys? You all right?' Guy Martin has a great time bobbing around Hanoi – the starting point for his two-parter in Vietnam, to mark 50 years since the end of the war. He explores plenty of its communist history and explodes two leftover bombs, but there are also lighter times to be had at a pre-dawn public workout session for retirees and at a 'train street' where cafe-goers can touch a train passing through on the narrow track. Hollie Richardson 6.25pm, BBC One A stressed new father wants to take his kids out for a meal. But this is Morocco 100m years ago so drive-through is not an option. As this slick reboot of the immersive prehistoric series continues, Sobok the spinosaurus – a crocodile-snouted, sail-backed predator bigger than a T rex – strives to keep his hungry young family safe. Graeme Virtue 8.15pm, BBC One A new murder case in the upbeat comedy drama, and Timothy Spall is still having a ball as retired TV star John Chapel who teams up with super fan/detective Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth). A woman dies on a hike in Wales, and the only thing anyone knows about her is that she was 'new to the walking group, too thin by half and had stubborn eyes'. HR 9pm, ITV1 A conflicted Alison (Rose Ayling-Ellis) uncovers Liam's particularly personal betrayal (surely, he's off the Christmas card list now?), forcing her into a high-stakes race against time to stop the gang's jewellery heist. Meanwhile, Braden's ruthlessness knows no bounds, leaving Alison to face the devastating consequences. The Pink Panther it ain't. Ali Catterall 10pm, Channel 4 'Your friends, your trauma – you, you, you!' As the TV bleakfest nears its final episode, June (Elisabeth Moss) and Moira (Samira Wiley) embark on an audacious undercover mission ahead of the planned Mayday attack. But tensions erupt as they clash over who has had it worse in tyrannical Gilead. Hannah J Davies 10pm, BBC Two The BBC is making a big fuss of Pulp this week, with a full concert at 10.45pm after they've played a couple of new songs for Jools in Alexandra Palace. Also on the lineup: snazzy Swedish rockers the Hives making a comeback, and emerging Milton Keynes neo-soul singer Nectar Woode. HR Mountainhead, 9pm, Sky Atlantic In Jesse Armstrong's squirmingly funny satire, four tech moguls gather at a retreat called Mountainhead (a wry nod to Ayn Rand's paean to individualism The Fountainhead). When the launch of a deep-fake tool by Cory Michael Smith's billionaire Venis plunges the world into financial and social meltdown, he and his alpha male peers – Jeff (Ramy Youssef), Randall (Steve Carell) and their host Souper (Jason Schwartzman) – insouciantly ponder exploiting this 'moment of creative destruction' and taking over the world. As in Succession, Armstrong has a keen eye for the supercilious world of the super-rich, where people are expendable and petty grievances can be dressed up as utopianism. Simon Wardell Inside Out, 3.30pm, BBC One Pete Docter's relentlessly inventive animation spins a touching yarn out of the competing emotions that swirl around a child's brain. Joy (a chipper Amy Poehler) is the controlling voice in the head of 11-year-old Riley. But when the girl and her parents move to a big city, San Francisco, the other feelings – Anger, Fear, Disgust, but principally Phyllis Smith's Sadness – come into play. An error in the handling of core emotions sends Joy and Sadness on a desperate quest into the weirder recesses of Riley's mind to save their charge in a bitter, sweet tearjerker. SW The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, 9pm, Great! Action Tommy Lee Jones always appears most at home on screen with a stetson, a horse and a noble purpose. For this rare 2005 foray into directing, he gave himself a plum role as Texas ranch foreman Pete, who is determined to honour the last wishes of his friend and colleague, illegal immigrant Melquiades (Julio Cedillo), shot dead by trigger-happy border patrolman Mike (Barry Pepper). A modern western with a social conscience and a dose of mordant wit, it also has time for those genre staples of self-sufficiency, friendship and loyalty. SW Men's One-Day Cricket: England v West Indies, 10.30am, Sky Sports Cricket The second ODI from Cardiff, with Harry Brook captaining his first series. The last match is on Tuesday at 12.30pm.
