Reviews

It's funny how a car show revolving around restoring cars for less fortunate people has less drama than its American counterparts.

From the many 'restoration' TV shows out there, and yes I put that in quotes since the majority barely touch the technical aspect, Car SOS feels like a true car show without any dumb exaggeration. The chemistry between the host (Tim Shaw) and mechanic (Fuzz Townshend) feels natural and authentic and it's nice to see their passion about various types of cars which feels genuine as well.

Although mostly focused on the story around the car's owner, the show does provide plenty of insight into what's involved in a full-on car restoration. The small sketches in between where the host goes out to gather parts and always persuades the shop owners in the most ridiculous ways adds a fine amount of humor as well without overdoing it.

The best thing is the genuine response of the owner when the car is revealed which is often touching. And I guess that's what I like most about this show, it's that many of it is real and not over- dramatized with shaky camera's, cursing and other nonsense. It's down to earth and I like it.

If you want a feelgood TV show about good deeds being done in the spirit of car restoration, then I'd certainly recommend it. It does not have the technical depth as -say- Wheeler Dealers, but only a few shows go into such a detail as this one does.

Trying to keep the rating rather neutral. If you are going into this season expecting the same engaging story as the former ones, you might become disappointed. Although it is certainly not as bad as some people make it out to be, S05 unfortunately failed to capture the same emotions that the first two seasons managed to deliver. S01 could easily make me shed some tears, while S05 didn't, even when some scenes really showed potential for it. Also the whole breaking out part of "prison break" didn't feel as tense as the first, or even the third one did.

That said however, I did enjoy every episode of it and considered this more of a trip to memory lane. The characters still felt the same -though I'd have loved to see more of the old T-Bag- and the whole plot still felt like it belongs in the same universe with its inaccuracies, flaws and all. The action scenes entertained me and I thought the pacing was fine as well. The only thing that did get a little old was the "guy gets stuck in corner, villain goes toward it, and when he looks, guy is gone" kind of scenes. Again, not unfamiliar from the previous seasons, but with this one it just became a little too predictable. Also Scofield's intelligence and planning wasn't as impactful or thought out like in the former seasons, and sometimes even a little far-fetched, though it was still entertaining to watch and had some good moments regardless.

All in all, if you just like seeing more of Prison Break and you liked season 3 & 4, I'd say go for it. It's certainly not bad and you'll like seeing the old cast again. However, if you expect the same level of how season 1 & 2 were, or perhaps even higher, I figure it's best to let this one pass.