| Baggage Battles | |
|---|---|
| Starring |
|
| Narrated by | Jake Kaplan |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 65 |
| Original release | |
| Network | Travel Channel |
| Release | April 11, 2012 (2012-04-11) – March 17, 2016 (2016-03-17) |
Baggage Battles is an American docu-reality series produced by The Travel Channel from 2012 until 2016. The first episode of the show was aired on April 11, 2012. Season 5 was produced in Canada for Travel Channel International and Canada's CMT Network.
Laurence and Sally Martin are also recurring appraisers on Storage Wars. William Leroy appeared once in Toy Hunter and Jordan Hembrough appeared three times on "Baggage Battles".
A spin-off focussing on William Leroy "Billy Buys Brooklyn", aired its first 20 episodes in 2021. Mark Meyer made an appearance in the first season.
Format
The program is related to lost baggage auctions, police auctions, and estate auctions. Season 5 features professional buyers Billy Leroy (an antique expert and dealer) who owned the famous Billy's Antiques on the Bowery in New York City, Val (a production designer and online store owner) and Mark Meyer (an eCommerce expert) traveling around North America searching for amazing finds to resell. Previous seasons of the series featured other buyers such as Laurence and Sally Martin, and Traci Lombardo. They often call experts/appraisers to evaluate the objects they have bought. Leroy started filming his new series Billy Buys Brooklyn on August 6, 2020, for Discovery channel. It premiered on Discovery plus in the UK on June 16, 2021.
Seasons
Season 1
| Total # | Episode # | Title | Location | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 101 | "Miami" | Miami, Florida | April 11, 2012 (2012-04-11) |
| 2 | 102 | "London" | London, England | April 11, 2012 (2012-04-11) |
| 3 | 103 | "Indianapolis" | Indianapolis, Indiana | April 18, 2012 (2012-04-18) |
| 4 | 104 | "Atlanta" | Atlanta, Georgia | April 25, 2012 (2012-04-25) |
| 5 | 105 | "New Jersey" | New Jersey | May 2, 2012 (2012-05-02) |
| 6 | 106 | "Los Angeles" | Los Angeles, California | May 9, 2012 (2012-05-09) |
| 7 | 107 | "Scotland" | Glasgow, Scotland | May 30, 2012 (2012-05-30) |
| 8 | 108 | "Florida" | Miami, Florida | June 6, 2012 (2012-06-06) |
| 9 | 109 | "Vancouver" | Vancouver, British Columbia | June 27, 2012 (2012-06-27) |
| 10 | 110 | "NY Port Authority" | New York, New York | July 11, 2012 (2012-07-11) |
| 11 | 111 | "Toronto" | Toronto, Ontario | July 18, 2012 (2012-07-18) |
| 12 | 112 | "North Carolina" | Archdale, North Carolina | July 25, 2012 (2012-07-25) |
Season 2
| Total # | Episode # | Title | Location | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 201 | "Diamonds in the Rough" | Brooklyn, New York | November 14, 2012 (2012-11-14) |
| 14 | 202 | "Blast From the Past" | Middleboro, Massachusetts | November 14, 2012 (2012-11-14) |
| 15 | 203 | "Breaking the Bank" | Atlanta, Georgia | November 21, 2012 (2012-11-21) |
| 16 | 204 | "Man On Fire" | Greensboro, North Carolina | November 28, 2012 (2012-11-28) |
| 17 | 205 | "Cash Is King" | London, England | December 5, 2012 (2012-12-05) |
| 18 | 206 | "Knightwalkers" | Dublin, Ireland | December 12, 2012 (2012-12-12) |
| 19 | 207 | "Boy Toys" | Greensboro, North Carolina | December 19, 2012 (2012-12-19) |
| 20 | 208 | "Crate Expectations" | Phoenix, Arizona | January 9, 2013 (2013-01-09) |
| 21 | 209 | "Grand Theft Auto" | Tampa, Florida | January 16, 2013 (2013-01-16) |
| 22 | 210 | "California Scheming" | Santa Cruz, California | January 23, 2013 (2013-01-23) |
| 23 | 211 | "Eye For an Eye" | Toronto, Ontario | February 6, 2013 (2013-02-06) |
| 24 | 212 | "Liar Liar" | Shreveport, Louisiana | February 13, 2013 (2013-02-13) |
| 25 | 213 | "Daredevils" | Toronto, Ontario | February 20, 2013 (2013-02-20) |
| 26 | 214 | "Shock and Awe" | Louisiana | February 27, 2013 (2013-02-27) |
Season 3
| Total # | Episode # | Title | Location | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 301 | "Guns A-Blazin'" | Stockton, California | October 15, 2013 (2013-10-15) |
| 28 | 302 | "Mike Tyson's Punch Out" | Jacksonville, Florida | October 15, 2013 (2013-10-15) |
| 29 | 303 | "Bunny Money" | Denver, Colorado | October 22, 2013 (2013-10-22) |
| 30 | 304 | "Golden Ticket" | Nashville, Tennessee | October 29, 2013 (2013-10-29) |
| 31 | 305 | "Blow Up" | Tucson, Arizona | November 5, 2013 (2013-11-05) |
| 32 | 306 | "Platinum Hits" | New York, New York | November 12, 2013 (2013-11-12) |
| 33 | 307 | "Sin City Win" | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 19, 2013 (2013-11-19) |
| 34 | 308 | "World War Score" | Normandy, France | November 26, 2013 (2013-11-26) |
| 35 | 309 | "Two Faced" | Stockton, California | December 3, 2013 (2013-12-03) |
| 36 | 310 | "Bad Blood" | Red Hook, New York | December 10, 2013 (2013-12-10) |
| 37 | 311 | "What a Dummy" | Stockton, California | December 17, 2013 (2013-12-17) |
| 38 | 312 | "Lady Luck" | St. Paul, Minnesota | January 7, 2014 (2014-01-07) |
| 39 | 313 | "Space Case" | Sacramento, California | January 7, 2014 (2014-01-07) |
Season 4
| Total # | Episode # | Title | Location | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 401 | "Steal Drum" | Nashville, Tennessee | April 23, 2014 (2014-04-23) |
| 41 | 402 | "Monster Money" | Hollywood, California | April 23, 2014 (2014-04-23) |
| 42 | 403 | "Intergalactic Bounty" | Nashville, Tennessee | April 30, 2014 (2014-04-30) |
| 43 | 404 | "Big Boy Bucks" | Las Vegas, Nevada | April 30, 2014 (2014-04-30) |
| 44 | 405 | "Safari Sale" | Johannesburg, South Africa | May 7, 2014 (2014-05-07) |
| 45 | 406 | "Inflated Egos" | Commerce, Georgia | May 7, 2014 (2014-05-07) |
| 46 | 407 | "Walk the Plank" | Orlando, Florida | May 14, 2014 (2014-05-14) |
| 47 | 408 | "Gunning For Dollars" | Las Vegas, Nevada | May 21, 2014 (2014-05-21) |
| 48 | 409 | "Swami Says" | Austin, Texas | May 28, 2014 (2014-05-28) |
| 49 | 410 | "It's Not Easy Making Green" | Allentown, Pennsylvania | June 4, 2014 (2014-06-04) |
| 50 | 411 | "Dino-Mite" | Knoxville, Tennessee | June 11, 2014 (2014-06-11) |
| 51 | 412 | "Greedy Pig" | Alpharetta, Georgia | June 18, 2014 (2014-06-18) |
| 52 | 413 | "The Wizard of Odd" | Toronto, Ontario | June 18, 2014 (2014-06-18) |
Season 5
| Total # | Episode # | Title | Location | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 501 | "Prohibitive Costs" | Huntingdon, Quebec | November 18, 2015 (2015-11-18) |
| 54 | 502 | "Formula for Success" | Montreal, Quebec | November 18, 2015 (2015-11-18) |
| 55 | 503 | "Auction Prayers" | Quebec City, Quebec | November 18, 2015 (2015-11-18) |
| 56 | 504 | "Titanic Deals!" | Halifax, Nova Scotia | November 18, 2015 (2015-11-18) |
| 57 | 505 | "Burial Expenses" | Providence, Rhode Island | December 3, 2015 (2015-12-03) |
| 58 | 506 | "Once a Pawn a Time" | Tampa, Florida | March 14, 2016 (2016-03-14) |
| 59 | 507 | "Oils Well That Ends Well" | Edmonton, Alberta | March 14, 2016 (2016-03-14) |
| 60 | 508 | "Live Free or Buy" | Concord, New Hampshire | March 15, 2016 (2016-03-15) |
| 61 | 509 | "Blast From The Past" | Los Angeles, California | March 15, 2016 (2016-03-15) |
| 62 | 510 | "Hometown Hero" | Long Island, New York | March 16, 2016 (2016-03-16) |
| 63 | 511 | "Un-Beliebable Bargains" | Toronto, Ontario | March 16, 2016 (2016-03-16) |
| 64 | 512 | "Capital Gains" | Ottawa, Ontario | March 17, 2016 (2016-03-17) |
| 65 | 513 | "Disco Deals" | New York, New York | March 17, 2016 (2016-03-17) |
Critical reaction
The show is well received by the critics. It has received 7.4/10 ratings on TV.com and has received 2.3/10 ratings on TVGuide.co.uk. AV Club found it derivative of Storage Wars, but more positively said that the travel angle did add some local color and occasionally it did surprise with what the participants found.
International distribution
Albania: On Travel Channel Albania HD
Australia: On A&E Australia and 7mate
Brazil: On Travel & Living Channel
Bulgaria : On Travel Channel Bulgaria and Discovery Channel Bulgaria
Canada: OLN, DTour, CMT Canada
Croatia: On Discovery Channel Croatia
France: On Discovery Channel France
Germany: On DMAX Germany and TLC Germany
Hong Kong: On Lifetime (South East Asia), under the name "行李大戰(Baggage Wars)"
India: On History TV18
Italy: On DMAX Italia and Fine Living, under the name Affari in valigia
Ireland: on Travel Channel Ireland and Discovery Channel Ireland
Taiwan: On Travel Channel HD (Asia), under the name "行李戰爭(Baggage Wars)"
Malaysia: On Lifetime Channel
Malta: On Discovery Channel Malta and Travel Channel Malta
Norway: On Discovery Channel Norway
Poland: On Discovery Channel Poland, under the name Walka o Bagaż.
Serbia: On Travel Channel Serbia
Spain: On Discovery Channel Spain under the name "Perdido, Vendido"
Sweden: On Discovery Channel Sweden
Switzerland: On SRF zwei
The Netherlands: On Discovery Channel Netherlands
United Kingdom: On Travel Channel UK and Discovery Channel UK
References
- Adams, Eric (Apr 11, 2012). "Baggage Battles (review)". AV Club. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
