Review : Banged Up Abroad

Watching Banged up Abroad, you will become amazed at the sheer stupidity and naivety of the people who describe their seedy drug dealing pasts. No matter how candid a person who was once Banged Up Abroad is you can’t help but feel their story lacks aspects of the truth – why is it that they appear to be at ‘the wrong place at the wrong time’? The million dollar question that can at times be unresolved is what on earth will lead you to ‘smuggle drugs and think you will not get caught?’

These questions run through my mind when I am watching the drug smuggler episodes, containing down and out people who feel there are no other sources of income to lift them out of their debt. Whilst the episodes on families who have been held captive by foreign warfare while living overseas are interesting, the drug smuggling ones are the most engaging as they depict the story of an individual or sometimes partners in crime with such realism that you really do become engrossed in the thought processes of these people. Early on in the seasons, episodes have involved the personal accounts of people who claim to have been offered over £10,000 to smuggle drugs from one country to another. Such episodes provide immense suspense as you watch the actors (who recreate the person’s account  for the viewer) go through customs and wondering whether they will get caught this time, it’s no wonder the show has been running since 2006 with seven successful series.

Many also claim that they had no idea they were going to have to smuggle drugs. There have been many episodes where people’s accounts have blamed someone else for tricking them into going on all expenses paid trip where they will be working or bringing back legal items. That’s where you stop and think ‘really’? But you never know if you were in a certain context and of an age where you could trust people easily (especially a ‘friend’) you might fall into the same trap as these people. It’s funny how watching this show can make you feel sorry for the people who get themselves into such a mess, as the actors, locations and atmosphere tell the visual story and you realise the punishment they supposedly had to endure was not equal to the crime they committed. If you enjoy personal stories, self-development, drama, suspense and action Banged Up Abroad is the one to watch every Wednesday without fail!

Banged Up Abroad is screened on National Geographic, Wednesdays 9pm.

Posted by Davina.Odebunmi on October 4, 2012. Filed under Reviews,Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.