Big Timber (2020– ) User Reviews

A great reality show from Vancouver Island

[toreaurstad-57248 · 8/10 · 22 July 2022]

This show is about the Weinstob family and their employees working at a mill on Vancouver Island and we also see other parts of this great island and beautiful nature. What is impressive is how the boss Kevin Weinstob, and also his employees and family tackle everyday challenges with ingenuity and admirable effort to survive in a world of timber industry which favors big industry compared to this small mill.

There is some talk in the reviews about this series glorifying the timber industry and cutting down trees and forests. That is so wrong. Timber industry is actually environmentally friendly. It is way worse to live in concrete and steel housings and forests are reusable industry which we must harvest.

What better way of honoring this tradition by watching this show showing the lives of everyday honest canadian workers making their dough ? I cheer for these people more than big mill industry !

PS ! I have several times seen multiple episodes in a row and season two is now out on Netflix ! Binge-worthy !

Good Series, Awful Soundtrack, Lousy Editing

[tgn344 · 6/10 · 4 July 2021]

I enjoyed this series, and would've rated it higher if it wasn't for the awful soundtrack. Do we really need thumping drums and 1980s high school guitar riffs the whole time? And, as other reviewers have mentioned, do we have to suffer the bogus melodrama and false tension throughout the series? These people are loggers, not transplant surgeons or air traffic controllers. The dizzying editing is all over the place. However, I liked the people, and I enjoyed the series. If there is another series, keep the music to a minimum please.

Love It

[kToni73 · 7/10 · 11 July 2021]

Used to watch bunch of stuff on History. Glad that Netflix is putting out some content like this 👍 Really Enjoyable!

Watch all the episodes.

[equinox-34470 · 7/10 · 18 July 2021]

It is obvious that some of the people who write reviews of this show, did not watch all the episodes especially the last episode.

Yes the BS melodrama is unnecessary. The cast are regular people working hard. The editing keeps the show moving. Not one minute of them fueling up trucks, tractors, boats, etc.

The final episode explains that after the claim is cleared, the government hires a company that plants new trees.

If you look at the mountain sides near the claim you can see where other claims had cleared the trees and new trees are growing.

Pretty good.

[johncahilladk · 7/10 · 8 July 2021]

I thought it was cool to see how the last privately owned, remember that, works and makes things work. I thought all the people were very good.

Great Show

[jhightshoe · 9/10 · 5 July 2021]

Who knew the insane amount of effort it takes to get some nice Cedar!? These dudes are inventive, hard working maniacs!! I really enjoyed this show!

Timber

[yudeshtra-831-971466 · 6/10 · 5 July 2021]

Interesting insight into the world of timber.

No mention of how they replant trees or do this sustainably though.

Fake drama? Only if you've never run a business.

[undlincraig-390-322444 · 9/10 · 13 July 2021]

There's too many armchair critic reviews about drama being manufactured by making it seem like this family could go out of business. 'Look how much they're making on those big logs, they have tons of money'. Spoken like someone who's collected a W2 paycheck their entire life. They make a lot of money, but they also have a lot of bills to pay. The pressure this owner feels to keep his business afloat is very real and is demonstrated when they go to an auction of a competitor that went out of business. 'He loses his cool to easy'. Start your own business and see if you do half as well as this guy.

I enjoyed learning a little about the logging business and really enjoyed watching this business owner navigate the challenges of owning a family business and working with his wife and kids. As a fellow business owner, I really related with him and I didn't find any of the drama manufactured or fake. The scenery itself is worth watching this entertaining show.

Good concept- Terrible editing

[frezeframe · 10 September 2021]

This show is made for the Tik Tok audience. Just watch the opening sequence. They don't even give you a half second to look at anything... just cut cut cut cut and the show is based around poorly written narration and boring forced reality drama.

It's reheated, reheated, reheated reality show leftovers. I only lasted 20 minutes. Too much quality content in the world to waste more time on it. If you like logging, you're better off with YouTube logging documentaries.

There's a drone shot every 60 seconds... which in 2021 is quite boring if it's used for filler- which it is.

Let's see, what else... they had to blur the Ford logo on the guys truck because the producers think they are going to get sued by Ford. Lol! That's SUCH lazy filmmaking! A simple conversation with Ford gets you permission. Especially with the unprecedented platform of Netflix and the flailing Ford industry.

And the music is insultingly cliche. Netflix just whiffed the ball on this one at every bar.

Misleading.

[dflufc · 6/10 · 19 July 2022]

Good subject but overdramatised by Netflix. The boss is weak and acts hard off camera like he's a ball breaker when we clearly see him fold like origami when he has to sack an employee for calling in sick. If I was part of this programme and saw that weak boss talking about me like he was going to sack me I'd hand my notice in asap. Also he bangs on about health and safety when he blatantly breaks several H&S laws every episode by cutting corners, he values profit over employees.

Promising premise ruined by ad break cliffhangers

[tombailey-39384 · 5/10 · 4 July 2021]

This show is way too over dramatic for what it is. It is clearly produced with ad breaks in mind because every 5 or 10 minutes there is a sudden life-threatening or business-ending scenario that only seconds later, after a jump cut, is either resolved or downplayed.

Loved it

[francoisxavier35 · 10/10 · 21 July 2021]

I hope there will be a season 2. And for people saying they're ruining the forest, they replant the trees to renew the forest. It's sustainable. Go live in a cave if you don't like it.

Much better than most "hard job" reality shows

[maddalic · 7/10 · 24 February 2023]

Very little screaming. Very little scary jump cut "this will end us!" type stuff.

Yes, there is plenty of "we got to do x or we'll close down" and "predictable situation is going to close us down!" but that's just television honestly.

There is no false drama. There is very minimal interpersonal drama. It all seems like good people trying to do their jobs while highlighting their profession. The Wenstob couple are just lovely and their love & respect for each other come through fantastically.

I think my only wish is they could drop the played upon drama and keep it more strictly documentary style but that's just personal preference which probably wouldn't hook / play as well as sticking to the formula.

Glorifying an incredibly devastating situation on Vancouver Island

[jackielamport · 1/10 · 19 July 2021]

Old-growth logging is something the public in British Columbia are in an uproar about. People are fighting to protect these last few old growth forests in the incredibly rare coastal rainforest. Its insulting to see garbage tv glorify this.

Very disappointing

[jaqua-38472 · 19 October 2021]

In a time where global warming is known to be affected by the clear cutting of old growth forests it is extremely disappointing that Netflix would promote/create a show glamorizing the industry. Protestors are putting their lives on the line trying to protect the ecosystem you are encouraging people to revel in the old growth destruction.

My opinion

[juan_moran · 7/10 · 20 July 2022]

I saw the second season before the first, in the second you can see that Kevin has a better attitude, positive without bad vibes, if you have a negative attitude it will always go wrong for you.

Watching the first season lowered my rating one point.

Good people doing hard work

[wsqytrhrg · 10/10 · 12 July 2021]

A refreshing show to see, a good family and bunch of people working flat out and enjoy them self along the way.

The editing could be better and more variety at the start was needed (a lot of time spent on the hillside picking logs) Can see the show developing with more side stories and projects happening else where.

Kevin is an admirable guy that works flat out to get jobs done - although sometimes interesting methods

Looking forward to the next seasons.

Finally a great reality show

[nspacy · 10/10 · 13 July 2021]

I love this show. I watched the whole season in one day. I loved how the true obstacles one endures doing outdoor professions. I also learned a lot about logging, timber industry, and running a business. Can't wait for the next season and i'm telling everyone about it.

Boss is an insufferable prick

[sander-08369 · 3/10 · 15 February 2022]

This show would be decent-ish if it weren't for the obnoxious boss. Watching him threaten to fire all his employees over the slightest issues just grinds my gears. Maybe his business would run better if he knew how to be a better manager instead of just insulting everyone all the time.

Really good

[alabiesmer · 10/10 · 15 August 2021]

I really liked the characters and how informative the series is.

The correct name should be "big turd"

[brett-76260 · 3/10 · 12 July 2021]

If you've seen one reality show you've seen them all. Each episode is full of so called disasters, deadlines and problems that must be solved by the end of the show. Nothing new to offer up and I've seen the same thing countless times over the past 20 years. "If he doesn't do his job he's gonna get fired". By the end of the episode "well he proved himself cause I'm the boss and told him how to do it right so I guess he can stick around one more day". The guy has a million dollar contract and afraid he's not gonna make a truck payment or something like that cause his cash flow is threatened on each episode. They talk how each log is with like worth 10k and he acts like he's broke. Whatever and it's just another lame attempt to keep viewers glued to the tv until the "made up" disaster is resolved or fixed. Big turd that needs to be flushed down the river along side the rest of those 20k cedars. I gave it a 3 cause Coleman is on the show. If he wasn't I'd give it a zero...

Great show on the lumber industy

[stijn-7 · 9/10 · 16 July 2022]

A nice show about a family-owned business in lumber.

Logging wood is an ecofriendly way of building homes, and this series shows what needs to be done to get your board of wood on the floor. Logs cut from forest claims or recovered from the beach. Nice to watch with the beautiful see and landscapes of British Columbia with a likable friendly crew.

Great series

[mattbobo · 10/10 · 27 July 2021]

The things they come up with to get some big wood down is fascinating. Great family business, can't wait to watch more!

Disappointed

[gutless-34201 · 1/10 · 7 July 2021]

Half the theme was hauling logs on the barge, wasted 10 episodes worth of time and it never showed a single log loaded on the barge.

Good story about the real hardship of logging

[wryan-07237 · 8/10 · 19 July 2021]

Great to see how he overcame obstacles and came out on top. Also learned how Canada replants in logging areas.