The show was trash because of how it was edited together, not because of the people that were featured on it.
I was a T-38 instructor with one of the guys "featured" on the AFP show; his insight into the behind the scenes was very enlightening. The way the project was envisioned while it was being filmed (e.g. a documentary film) was dramatically different than what it became later when CBS picked it up.
It had amazing potential; the access the film crew had at the time was unprecedented and some of their raw footage was absolutely stunning.
Unfortunately, the project was snapped up by the TV network about the same time "reality TV" was all the rage, and the network producers decided that the show should be like that.
In the end, it was total crap.