Animal Planet pretty much has something for everyone – if you assume that everyone likes animals. And while it may be a division of the Discovery Channel, it doesn’t have the strong features that the station has become famous for (i.e. Shark Week). Instead, Animal Planet has become its little world with less-than-spectacular programming that does little to catch the attention of newcomers. The introduction of Jockeys, a reality show following the lives of jockeys as they race atop their noble steeds, seems inclined to reach out to a new audience subsection by substituting the focus of animals for people who interact with them on a daily basis. In short, Jockeys is watchable but it does little to distinguish itself or make clear why it’s on Animal Planet or why anyone but horse enthusiasts should give it any time.
There are a variety of reasons why one may tune in to watch Jockeys. The first and foremost of which is that you’re a faithful viewer of the channel and tend to trust the channel’s selection with little discretion of your own. That’s no jab against any person or channel, but rather an unfortunate commentary on the casual TV viewer who’s far too forgiving of subpar programming. The second most likely rationale for why you’re watching Jockeys is that perhaps you’re a horse lover or gambling enthusiast. You spend your day riding horses or at the track and want programming that reflects that interest – and that’s perfectly valid. But that leaves an impossibly large percentage of viewers to stumble across and maintain an interest in Jockeys by sheer chance and merit alone.
Is the merit there? Not entirely.
Jockeys works in as far as it sets up its 5 (or so) chosen personalities and sticks with them; but with a 21 minute runtime for each episode and lots of downtime between races, the show struggles to give each character enough coverage to get the audience invested in their trials. Yes, it’s unfortunate that a rider who comes in last may only walk away with $100 in their pocket, but it’s hard to drum up sympathy for them when it becomes so painfully obvious how little of the race depends on them as it does on the horse and a bit of luck. Pair that factor with a jockey’s ability to walk away from a single high-level race with over $50,000 for less than two-minutes of actual activity and all sympathy comes to a grinding halt. Even if these athletes are risking life and limb at times (1 jockey in the U.S. dies each year from an accident – if you trust the opening credits), their experiences atop a horse don’t make their stories all that compelling. When you have a cocky 18-year-old (Joe Tallamo) earning $4 million dollars in a single racing season, why should we care about them? Brief moments of intense physical exertion versus a 9 to 5 job in an office seems a fair exchange until you add the annual salaries into the mix.
The impossible demand of sympathy goes both ways though. Just as I can’t seem to drum up any love for Joe Tallamo and his disappointments on unluckier days, even older racing vet Mike Smith, a jockey hall of famer, fails to command my interest. It was a good idea having a feature with a new generation facing off against an older one, but the sport in question doesn’t help matters. Interest in horse racing is such a niche sport only further isolated by its limitations on who can participate. Just as basketball and playing giants in films is easier for the tall, the short lay claim to being jockeys and playing ewoks. It might not be fair, but that’s how it is. The show does a decent job attempting to conjure up empathy from the audience, but unless you’re a horse lover or derby enthusiast you’ll be hard-pressed to care all that much about the characters of Animal Planet’s newest show.
DVD Bonus Features
Once you finish the first season, you’ll find a collection of “minisodes” examining certain aspects of life as a jockey and the horses they ride upon. Like the series, their appeal is limited to a very small niche of TV viewers; for everyone else it’ll be very hard to care about the information therein.
"Jockeys: Season 1" is on sale June 30, 2009 and is rated NR. Documentary, Sports, Television. Directed by John Chester. Written by N/A. Starring Eric Head, Trevor Denman.
