The first episode of the first National Geographic show for Disney+ sees Jeff Goldblum set out to investigate the multi-billion dollar industry that’s transformed into an expansive phenomenon. His journey includes the basketball court, the boardroom, the country’s sneaker convention ‘Sneaker Con’, and Adidas’ high tech labs.   And finally, he meets “The Shoe Surgeon” Dominic Ciambrone, who makes a customized sneaker fit for Jeff’s only.

I’ve been a fan of Jeff Goldblum for years, movies like Thor: Ragnarok, Jurassic Park, The Fly and Independence Day, but I’ve rarely seen him in interviews or promoting his new movies.  And after watching the first episode of this new series, I can see why, he is very eccentric and a bit bizarre, but I dig it.

Most of the episode seems to focus on Jeff being shown things he didn’t know about “Sneakers” and just taking everything in around him.  But it’s his reactions to the most mundane things that makes him so fascinating. But I did leave the episode knowing nothing more than when I went into it, but having been entertained by the antics of Jeff.

Seeing Jeff interacting with people at “Sneaker Con” and seeing how much money is changing hands between sellers and collectors is a fun idea, but maybe went on a little too long.  There is also a segment with Jeff learning about the world of YouTube, including doing his own unboxing video of a special pair of sneakers. It’s all a bit of fun, but some of it feels a little too stretched out.   But it was also nice to see Jeff be more natural with his questions, nothing felt pre-prepared and was Jeff asking questions because he was interested, rather than from someone feeding them.

If you aren’t a Jeff Goldblum fan, this series is going to be a tough sell, because he is, as you might expect, the centerpiece of this show.  If you like his kooky style and awkwardness, then this could be an interesting show to get into. But it’s really going to come down to if you like him or not.

Rating – 3 Stars

 

What did you think of “Sneakers”?

 

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Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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2 Comments

  1. MarkUnleashed November 13, 2019

    You hit it right on the money. I watched it with my son. I am no sneaker head but i have seen some really great shows about sneakers and knew most of what was shown to me on this episode. My son who is 15 on the other hand was just consumed in fascination. I wasn't sure who had the more entertaining reaction my son or Goldblum. Talking a little about the history of the shoe was neat. I am a Goldblum fan.

  2. Dr. Shannon Grave December 18, 2020

    I watched the Sneaker episode. I am a professor in Special education and work with individuals with Autism. The episode with Jeff Goldblum where the Adidas scientist was looking at micro expressions to the sneakers- was that for real? If so, would you want to partner, or put me in contact with the right people- to partner to do research on how that technology could seriously make a difference in the lives of people with autism to assist with social pragmatic deficits?