Thoroughly modern Yeti
Yeti review
Production company – BBC
Rating – 
People have hunted monsters since the days of “here be dragons” appearing on the edges of maps. I can’t say I blame them, the field of cryptozoology is a fascinating one, depending on your worldview. Of all the strange beasties said to lurk around the world, there are two that surely stand head and shoulders over the rest. This is about the other one (I mean, you can see that from the title).
So what’s it about?
Andrew Benfield has been on a mission for decades. After reading a book about the Yeti (should that be capitalised?), he decided that he was going to be the one to discover it. Since then he has travelled all over the Himalayas in search of the elusive cryptid. The term “Yeti” is far from a catch all term. The area is so vast, and the descriptions are so varied, that if you ask the wrong question you could never find what you’re looking for. Most cases don’t involve giant bipeds with shaggy white hair wandering the snowy mountain peaks. A lot of these new sightings are in remote woodland areas, and the creatures themselves are more like brown haired apes, albeit seemingly with greater intelligence.
His latest expedition sees him teaming up with close friend (and sceptic) Richard Horsey, as they head off to the remotest areas of the Himalaya to investigate modern sightings of the Yeti. These aren’t just reports of distant, indistinct shapes though. There are stories of Yeti chasing people, and even attacking them.
Is it any good?
It reminds me a lot of other BBC mystery and paranormal shows, mostly Death In Ice Valley and Danny Robins‘ various spooky shows. In fact, the BBC seems to be on a bit of a run of paranormal shows at the moment, in part no doubt to Danny Robins’ runaway successes in the genre.
Being a BBC show, the production value is high. The music is evocative, and the binaural field recordings really put you in the far flung places that the guys explore. From remote villages clifftop temples and bustling marketplaces to terrifying journeys on narrow mountain passes, you feel as though you are right next to Andrew and Richard.
Final thoughts
The quest to prove the existence of the yeti is many decades old, and what sets this series apart is that it is investigating new sightings. It’s very easy for monster shows to dwell on the classic tales of this strange creature. It would be remiss of them to gloss over these stories, and they do get mentioned, but the main part of the investigation is following up leads on new encounters.
This series is short and sweet. While I don’t consider it being too much of a spoiler to say that you can probably guess how it ends, it’s enjoyable nonetheless. Having said that, I suspect that if this show had been any longer, then there is a real possibility that the actual hunt for the yeti would have taken a back seat to Andrew’s growing obsession with the quest. This is an equally interesting look at how friendships can suffer when one person’s enthusiasm escalates too far.
You can get Yeti here: