Ice Road Truckers - The Complete Season 5 - DVD

Content: They are rolling again, the truckers on the Ice Roads of Alaska and Canada. The new season also marks the start of the fifth season of the popular documentary series Ice Road Truckers, which has a few small innovations to offer in its fifth year. This time, for example, not only the drivers on the Dalton Highway in Alaska are accompanied as in the past two seasons, but also those in the Canadian province of Manitoba. In addition to drivers known from past seasons such as Hugh Rowland, Lisa Kelly, Alex Debogorski or Rick Yuan, a second woman joins the Ice Road Trucker team in season 5. New Yorker Maya Sieber is a very different type than Lisa Kelly, though, which makes this new addition quite interesting.

Other than that, though, it's business as usual. For the riders, it's once again about who can complete the most rides and thus collect the highest paycheck of the season. And as in previous years, ice, snow, cold, storms, technical failures and, of course, the competition among themselves and their own egos make life difficult for them. Dave Redmon in particular, who is completing his first season on the Ice Road in Alaska this year, keeps getting in his own way. On his first trip, for example, he gets into such a fight with his driving instructor Tony, who is only supposed to give him a few helpful tips on how to conquer the Ice Road, that Tony unceremoniously dumps him at a rest stop. When he's finally allowed to drive on his own, Dave finds himself repeatedly dealing with material damage to his truck, which, given his hot temper, means that there ends up being even more damage.

newcomer Maya is much more affable and laid back in this regard. Despite having driven in New York for a few years, giving her experience with difficult roads, she knows that the Ice Road will be a whole new and more dangerous experience. The infamous roller coaster in particular commands her respect the first time around. But she is not deterred by it. While she relaxes in hot springs before her first big ride in sub-zero temperatures clad only in a skimpy bikini, she masters the tasks that follow, despite a few minor setbacks.

The rivalry between Hugh Rowland and Alex Deborgorski that has been going on for years, the transportation of entire airport buildings, each module weighing 39 tons, accidents, storms, melting roads, frost heaves and the wonderful scenery despite all the hardship, all these aspects make this fifth season of Ice Road Truckers extremely worth watching as well, even if the format and its implementation has hardly changed compared to the previous seasons. Therefore, if you liked the first seasons, you can't miss this box set!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation corresponds exactly to what was already seen and heard in the last seasons. The sound, dominated by the dialogues, is well understandable and coherently mixed. The largely clean image is on a good TV level and pleases with a consistently decent level of sharpness and satisfying contrast. The rugged beauty of the Ice Roads of Canada and Alaska comes through well as a result.

Extras: The box set offers fans just under 20 minutes of additional scenes. Here, newcomer Maya is observed a little longer on her visit to the Hot Springs, Lisa Kelly is accompanied on a visit to the car museum or shopping, or Tony Moleski is shown on a cozy family evening. Nothing really spectacular, but well worth watching for fans!

Conclusion: Also in the fifth season of the popular documentary series Ice Road Truckers can score with exciting tours, great landscapes and the beloved characters as well as some new additions. If you liked the first seasons, you will be entertained again. The DVD is technically well implemented, the bonus material is not particularly spectacular, for fans of the series but well worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp