If there's one staple of reality television that keeps viewers coming back for more, it's the tendency for a train wreck to inevitably occur. Usually the entertainment stems from the casting of unbalanced individuals, but occasionally the simple tendency for mother-nature to step in and wreak havoc leads to inevitable water cooler conversations. As much as I try to convince myself I'm not one of the countless viewers tuning in for the latest developments in the land of backstabbing and misery, I can't avoid the observation that I remain fascinated by the constant challenges facing participants week after week. China Circus on Ice is as far from staged reality television as you can get, yet it generated the same level of fascination as I watched the performers struggle to succeed and continue to face the age old proverb of "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong".
Each acrobat is required to do their own make-up.
China Circus on Ice is a 50 minute television show centered on China's first acrobatic troupe to use ice as their main stage. As the documentary begins, we're introduced to several young members of the troupe, who originally began their acrobatic training at elite schools such as the Wuqiao Acrobatic School in the Hebei province. Once they'd made a name for themselves at the school, they were hired by the Heilongjiang troupe, with the intention of forming the first Chinese acrobatic ice production. Now that they've been working together for over three years, the students are making their final preparations for their first large-scale production in Taipei, Taiwan. The show encompasses the dress rehearsal for the acrobatic performance, multiple problems that plague the portable ice rink in Taiwan, and the progression of the performances as the season comes to a close.
Having recently reviewed the China Circus Elites Blu-ray, I expected to find another production delving into the grueling lives of Chinese children working toward a career in acrobatics. Thankfully, China Circus on Ice takes viewers in a much different direction, by showing the progression of the student after they leave their respective school. The performers found here are all several years older, and seem to be stepping into successful careers. While this doesn't lend the same amount of emotional impact as the first show, it still gives us an opportunity to see what the young students have to look forward to (and why they've been putting in such hard work since the age of eight).
Despite the attention given to the performers in the show, the main star of this entry in the "China Circus" series, is the travelling ice rink. About 20 minutes out of the 50 minute runtime is dedicated solely to problems with the design of the makeshift ice rink. Early in the episode, we're told a group of engineers designed the ice rink to be portable, allowing the troupe to ship it anywhere in the world (for a season of performances). During their preparations in Harbin, the rink appears to be an effective stage for the young acrobats. However, they only ship it to Taiwan with four days until opening night, and run into a series of game-changing problems. First, the ice-making unit that pumps refrigerant through the underwater tubing breaks down. Maintenance personnel get it up and running again within 24 hours (even adding a second ice-making unit to run in tandem with the current one), but they never calculated the time it would take to freeze a larger surface area in a warmer climate. After try everything possible to deliver a suitable rink for opening night (throwing bags of ice across the surface, crushing up dry ice, and even shooting liquid nitrogen over the top), it eventually becomes apparent it will not happen. As a result, the opening portion of the production's season occurs on a solid stage, removing the ice element from the performance. Waiting anxiously for the ice to form actually becomes the driving force behind the entertainment in this episode, and provides that reality television level of tension that is so effective at holding viewer's interest.
I don't mean to downplay the importance of the acrobatic performances on display, but they all seem a bit amateur compared to the acts shown in China Circus Elites. I know the element of ice brings a new layer of difficulty, but compared to the human pyramids we witnessed in the prior show, there's nothing all that jaw-dropping here. Despite the comparative lack of difficulty in the various stunts of the ice show, there's still plenty of entertainment in watching the mistakes in the performance. I know I probably sound cruel here, but I'm not saying I enjoyed the performers making mistakes, I'm merely noting the mistakes made the stunts feel more realistic. We all love watching perfection, but without mistakes, perfection tends to become a bit on the boring side.
Presented in 1080i utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 35Mbps), China Circus on Ice offers a slightly below average visual presentation. Filmed in high-definition using digital photography, the show contains a reasonable level of fine object detail, but there's still a certain degree of haziness that creeps in from time to time. If anything, I'd assume the lack of precise edges or outlines are a result of problematic tracking in the interlaced encoding. By nature, 1080i tends to generate an image that seems a bit rougher in comparison with encodes that utilize progressive scanning. Another unfortunate byproduct of the interlaced versus progressive debate, is the presence of occasional artifacts that appear during panning shots. The artifacting seems to rear its head during scenes with an intricate collection of lines, where the movement of the camera doesn't allow the interlaced frame to refresh quickly enough. From a color standpoint, China Circus on Ice consists of a spectrum that's entirely natural and unaltered. From the bright shades of the acrobat's costumes, to the colorful backgrounds of the stage backdrops, everything looks exactly as it should. Along the same lines, black levels never wavered, and contrast appeared equally strong during interior or exterior scenes.
As with my recent review of China Circus Elites, I feel compelled to mention my continued disappointment with the inclusion of two subpar tracks on these television productions from Razor Digital. The default audio track on the disc is a PCM 2.0 track, which naturally remains front heavy through the length of the episode. Switching over to the lossy 5.0 option, I had a slightly greater sense of surround separation, but the fuller effect of the surround option simply couldn't hold a candle to the richness present in the lossless track. When I talk about richness, I'm of course not referring to effects, dialogue, or a sweeping musical score. Rather, I'm touching on the clarity and robust nature of the narrator's voice, the subtle background music that accompanies the narration, and the occasional environmental sounds emanating from the atmosphere of the practice rink. In the end, this is a serviceable audio experience that neither detracts from the content of the feature, nor adds value.
China Circus on Ice is another effective entry in an entertaining television series. Those of you with an appreciation for acrobatics, and experience with the difficulties of ice skating will likely appreciate the lengthy training these acrobats undergo. I don't have much experience in either of those elements, so I was slightly less impressed with the stunt work on display throughout this episode. China Circus Elites is still a better release in many ways, but there's no harm in renting this disc as a follow-up to the story of China's acrobatic youth. As I've said before, I can't recommend a purchase of the "China Circus" Blu-rays until the price reflects the content, or Razor Digital decides to release a reasonably priced box set of the entire series.
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