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In Branson, Missouri, life is about loving your family, having good times and making boatloads of money – and Branson cab king Scott Thompson excels at all three.
In the never-ending stream of reality TV shows, we have yet another one to add to the list: “Branson Taxi.” The issue I have with the majority of reality TV shows, is that they are supposed to be unscripted but as most people know, it has become almost impossible to watch any of them and believe that the events unfolding on our TV screens, are totally spontaneous. That’s not to say that the show can’t be enjoyable though, on the contrary, there are some out there that while at times they feel orchestrated, the characters and settings within the show, feel genuine, and that can more than compensate for any pre-arranged scenarios.
In “Branson Taxi,” we are introduced to Scott Thompson, the owner of Branson Cab Service and his employees, from his assembly of crusty cab drivers who are set in their ways, to Dawnell, the company’s Marketing guru, Tessa the intern and Jade, Scott’s daughter. After a seemingly unhappy incident where one of Scott’s drivers left a bad impression on one of their customers, Scott and Dawnell decide that it’s time to change things up and form a focus group where they have the opportunity to talk to customers and ask them what they would like to see implemented in the future. Naturally, this doesn’t go down too well with the drivers who are very uncompromising.
And thus, the stage is set, for a battle of egos and a clash of personalities. As an indie filmmaker for over 30 years, it’s not difficult for me to detect unnecessary drama but this show is filled with it. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If the cameras weren’t in these people’s faces, their normal day could be considered boring so in order to appeal to a national audience, naturally, they have to think up ways to make it more interesting and that’s fine, as long as it doesn’t border on excessive fabrication. In order for a show to succeed, the characters have to be likable and that’s the one main ingredient this show gets right.
Series Premiere tonight at 9:30pmET/6:30pmPT on REELZ Channel
