Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

t_atzmueller I must admit, I remain a skeptic when it comes to amateur-shows, which usually end up on YouTube or similar channels, be it traveling-, cooking- or whatever-shows. There's usually a good reason why few of those shows or participants will remain on these channels for evermore, because not everyone has what it takes to work for BBC or National Geographic. However, there are always exceptions to the rule. Such as "VICE News" or "Madventures", which are capable to compete with the big names and seem just fine to have kept their artistic freedom at the price of remaining relatively obscure.When one thinks about Mondo-documentaries, one automatically thinks of Italy, the late 60's and early 70's and of course a rather seedy reputation that this genre has gotten. Not undeservedly, I might add. Not that most Mondo-material wasn't authentic, (even if there have been instances of fake- or staged-footage), but the patronizing tone, often bordering on racists and the voyeuristic approach made sure, that the Mondo-trend soon died off, or at least disappeared into obscurity. Finland isn't exactly the first place that comes to mind when thinking about Mondo and we would do "Madventures" a disservice, if we'd merely write them off as pure Mondo. But the main elements are present: Two average guys, presenter Riku Rantala and his camera-man Tuomas "Tunna" Milonoff, are vagabonding around the glove, armed only with a camera, always searching for the exotic, shocking and unusual. In one episode they may be dining on platters of penises and dog-meat in China, visit a rather friendly tribe of headhunters in Papua New-Guinea or witnessing a ritual of a cannibalistic sect of Gurus in India. They travel along rather care-free, without making pretensions of deeper, anthropological observations, something like a mix of Mondo, backpacker-travel-show and a home-made version of "Jackass". One of the trademark of the show is the "Mad Cooking"-sequence, which would make Andrew Zimmern blush and turn towards vegetarianism (an example would be Tunna frying and eating his sister-in-laws placenta in one episode that that focuses on cannibalism).While, as said, the shows lacks the depth of more "professional" travel-documentaries, but compensates with a fresh, tongue-in-cheek approach and a keen eye on the obscure and shocking, that many other shows may shy away from. Another downside may be, that Riku often comes across as slightly annoying and chatty, rather unusual for Finns, which prompted a friend of mine from Finland to speculate, that Rikus ancestors may be Swedish. Indeed, it is this kind of show that makes you want to throw a few shirts and underwear into a rucksack, stick a needle in the globe and take off to some place without bothering about hotel-reservation or googling for tourist-attractions. An 8/10 might seem a little low, but those two points are solely deducted for small technical flaws. As far as travel-shows go, "Madventures" is rather unique.

triggersplace Madventures became a you-tube hit in Finland with the first 2 seasons only available in Finnish. The 3rd season is in English and once I watched it I became an instant fan. Tuna and Rico look and behave like they just stepped out of a bike gang but their comments are fascinating and insightful. Their quest for the bizarre and the strange know no bounds. The mad cook segment is masterful with rock/paper/scissors determining who eats. Episode 5 in Japan in a standout with their trip to the love hotel, and the episode in India where a priest starts to eat the diseased, rotting corpse of a dog, has to be seen to be believed. My only criticism is the episode in New Guinea which is a little contrived, but ends in a mad cook cannibal meal (I'm not joking).I spent 4 years traveling to the far flung ends of the earth and these guys put me to shame. They make all other travel shows look like they are on Valium.

opique04 This is for both seasons. Though Madventures is best watched in the Finnish language, English subtitles are available in the DVD -version.After watching both seasons in a marathon for several times I still hunger for more. There's something compelling, touching and mind-blowing about this Finnish masterpiece. Two seasoned travelers head out to conquer the world. Destinations include: India, Japan, China, Africa, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Tonga, Sansibar, Jamaica, Cuba you name it, Madventures has been there.Hiking, biking, culture, people, stories, interviews, history, food (especially the disgusting ones), prices, information, best tips, drinks, excellent choice of music, dialogs full of slang, and so much more in 33 episodes makes this easily the best Finnish show ever. It makes you cry, think, laugh. It makes you wanna quit your job. There are no other shows quite like this one and perhaps that's the reason I like it so much. I sincerely recommend this show for anyone interested in independent traveling.

kavu This just has to be the best travelling document ever. Tunna and Riku are really getting out from the ratrace and setting themselves free. Although they make travelling look a bit too easy, cheap and careless, they show what travelling is all about. Not the crowded holiday spots, but the countries as they really are. All this and great hosting guarantee a 5 star experience. If you liked this, you'll like Madventures 2 even more.I'm not sure if this has been translated to other languages, but I hope the soon-to-come DVD will have foreign subtitles too. At least every Finn should watch it. Some people may be offended by the socialist attitude of Rantala, or the coarse language they sometime use, or the disgusting meals in mad cook sections, but even that can't steal the value from this show.