The History Channel is debuting a new show this coming weekend, called Expedition Africa which promises to be exciting summer time television for fans of adventure.
The show, which begins airing Sunday night, May 31st, at 10 PM Eastern/9 Central, will drop four explorers into the African bush, and challenge them to cover 970 miles, through some of the toughest terrain on the planet, following in the footsteps of famous adventurers Henry Morton Stanley and Dr. David Livingstone. Their journey begins on the island of Zanzibar and will continue, mostly on foot, deep into the heart of Tanzania. Along the way, they’ll face wild animals, miles of uncharted territory, and plenty of other dangers.
The team of explorers on this expedition are not just four people who were hand picked from applications by a producer looking to fill slots on a reality TV show. These are experienced adventurers who have been on expeditions all over the world. They include Pasquale Scaturro, who led the first descent of the Nile from it’s source. He is joined by Mireya Mayor, a wildlife expert and former host of “Ultimate Explorer”, who has years of experience in the backcountry. Explorer Benedict Allen has survived in the jungles of the Amazon, and visited some of the most remote places on the planet. He’s a bit of a survivalist, and his bio says that he has been left for dead on two occasions by former expeditions. Finally, the last member of the team is Kevin Sites, a journalist who has extensive experience covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I’ve got the DVR set to record the first show, where I’m told that conflicts for these four “Type A” personalities start to come out right away. I obviously haven’t seen it yet, but judging from the previews, it seems as though the team is going to suffer mightily on this journey, and we get to come along for the ride. I’m looking forward to the amazing landscapes in Africa to play a role as well. This one should be a lot of fun!
- Gear Review: The Xero Scrambler Mid is an Ultralight Hiking Shoe for Spring - March 1, 2023
- Gear Review: Yeti Roadie 48 Wheeled Cooler - August 18, 2022
- Kristin Harila Continues Pursuit of 8000-Meter Speed Record - August 16, 2022
feels they gonna have more adventure finding the leader or working together than being in extreme terrain. will for sure be a good show. hope we’ll ahve in in europe in 6-12 months.
I am planning on giving this show one more episode to see if the stupidity continues.
When I first started seeing previews for this new show on History Channel, man oh man, I was so pumped. I thought, "sweet, a Man vs Wild/Survivorman/EcoChallenge all wrapped up into one big wilderness extravaganza!!! What could be better than that!?!?!" So admittedly, my expectations were very high. And I do have respect for just about everything that Mark Burnett has touched, so I was geared up!
Wow, was I disappointed.
What a joke. Leaving base camp WITHOUT water?!?! At that moment, I realized that this is ALL glamour and no substance. That was not true to life at all! Mark Burnett planned that from the beginning and there was plenty of water being carried by the jeeps that the camera crews ride in. If my last statement is incorrect, and they did indeed leave without water, then all of them are about as ignorant as a 7 year old child, that doesn’t know how to plan his morning. Sure, a lot of Bear Grylls stuff is certainly staged and planned, but that’s the point becasue at least he is trying to show the audience a skill or a method that might be needed an extreme situation. These four people are simply trying to trek across an expansive wilderness.
Also, these four people are the worst possible personalities to make up a team. If Pasquale was hoping to get more work because the exposure he gains from this show, he is sorely mistaken. Who would want to be led by him anywhere? He may get you there, but it will be an awful experience. And isn’t that the point of adventure? It’s the experience, NOT the final destination right!?!?
I’m hopeful, and we’ll see if next episode is any better than this first one, but it seems as though staged, ignorant, dramas are going to be the cornerstone of this series…
Come on! Give Pasquale a break! He was being nice to the other three "clueless" adventurers. Kevin was the guy who refused to carry water, Benedict hated Pasquale's tea (but did he make his own? Maybe he prefers termites in his cup-pa tea?) Toothy Mireya looks great in a tank top and has a sweet voice, so we'll forgive her!
GO PASQUALE!!!!!
Finally had a chance to catch the first episode earlier, and over all, I thought it was about what I expected. I agree that it wasn't bright that they set off without water. Not sure what they were thinking.
I'm sure part of the shows design was to take four alpha personalities and throw them together and see what kind of conflicts arise. Hopefully over time, we'll see them learn to work together more.
I did enjoy the scenery we saw so far, and it looks like it's only going to get better in the next episodes as well, but I also hope they focus more on the environment and less on the interpersonal stuff.
I was really looking forward to this particular show, but it has not really impressed me yet. All of the members are experts in their respective fields and with the exception of Kevin have all been on numerous expeditions, but Pasquale, a reputed expedition leader has lost part of his group (episode 1) and his orienteering skills are in question at times. And Benedict's survival skills seem a little rusty at times as well. I have to agree with Pasquale's complaints about the time used to reach the campsites…all day to travel 6 miles is a little excessive; yes, I know the temperature was 100+. The "experts" seem to make a lot of small mistakes that seem like common sense items. The number of porters utilized is a little sad as well, carry your own equipment and supplies and make it a real expedition!
On the bright side the story of retracing the steps of Stanley and Livingstone is neat and the scenery is awesome. Maybe the next show can just follow a couple of Masai warriors as they travel.
A few episodes in, and I have my complaints as well. There are some very contrived moments at times, and the editing is used to build tension, like when they were hiking through the tall grass the other night, and they kept cutting in with a shot of a lion wandering around. I couldn't help but think they filmed that lion miles away and days later or something.
Have you ever seen a bigger group of unprofessional whiney babies as these 4?
Watching this show you'd think that these 4 were forced to make this trek rather than it being 4 people who wanted to repeat a historical event.
Just very sad programming, what a dissapointment. I'd love to see this trek repeated with 4 people who aren't complete idiots.
I have to agree EXO. The producers of the show obviously think that the audience wants to see tension between the team members, and aren't really focused on the actual expedition itself. That was clear from the start when the four explorers didn't even meet until they got to Africa.
Fairly disappointing show, with only the landscapes and scenery saving it at all.
This show will be better if they kick Pasquale out of the expedition. Who the heck this guy think he is. I just have one thing to say to Pasquale , "Dude stop trying to be a leader because you suck at it". There is no " I " in TEAM.
LOL! You must have just finished watching it too! 🙂
When the show started, I tended to side with Pasquale on some of the early decisions, but as the show has gone on, his inability to compromise has come more of a liability and I'm not agree with his choices so much any more.
Season finale next week. Anyone else feel like they have a lot of ground to cover in those last two hours?
This show is a joke. I've trekked as many, if not more, miles than any of them and its obvious to me that the Producers "set the scene" for TV ratings! They skillfully matched personalities to enhance the drama and they play the "team" vs. PV as the show theme–not the expedition and what it could have brought to the audience. I could point out error after error about their survival skills– but its not worth it. Expedition? Yeah, camera crew & cars, fresh food and alternate nights in hotels along the way. Mark Burnett sold someone a bill of goods, after he got his paycheck!