Mark Burnett strikes again with Expedition Africa: Stanley & Livingstone, premiering tonight at 10 PM ET on History. The show channels a travel documentary with Burnett-style storyline. Four modern day explorers (Pasquale Scaturro, Mireya Mayor, Benedict Allen, and Kevin Sites) try to recreate the path that Henry Morton Stanley took to find Dr. David Livingstone. They forgo most of modern day technology (with the exception of water purifiers, sun block and medical kits) and depend on a map, a compass, porters, and two Maasai warriors.
Casting in this show is critical and the first episode displays very Survivor-esque assumptions. The episode has both the audience and the four explorers feeling each other out. Although the four were picked because of their strengths (Navigation, Wildlife Expert, Survivalist, and Journalist), Pasquale becomes the leader. Mark Burnett knews exactly what he was doing casting the four because all four work provide a different strength, but clash at every break. There is something likable about all four, but Mireya Mayor stands out as the the voice of reason.
Expedition Africa replicates some tasks that Stanley did to connect to the past, but none of them feel forced. On the contrary, it seems like a necessity to do several of Stanley's tasks (hire donkeys, portion food and water, and hire porters).
The show starts off rocky and a little disappointing, almost too much like Survivor. If the first episode was combined with the second episode, the show would have my praise. The first episode consists of a lot of, "I don't like Pasquale's leadership skills" and his rebuttal. The second episode gets away from a lot of the "learning about each other" segments and gets into the actual adventure. The interpersonal drama is still tense but the focus shifts to the adventure and getting to Ujiji.
The one thing that I find great is that the story isn't just told by the four explorers. Julius, the head porter, and the two Maasai warriors get some camera time and interview about the situations. The porters, who help carry the luggage, don't get mentioned as often but are equally as important.
The show is beautiful in high definition. The first episode has the benefit of having ocean, forests, and rivers which display the wide variety of Africa. The following episode goes into lush mountains. There are a lot of subtitles used for many of the porters and Maasai warriors, but they stand out well from the environment.
The one thing I find almost comical, though, is the printed map that Pasquale pulls out to study. I understand that the show wants authenticity by providing a crude map with no real topography, but the map itself unbelievable. It screams Pirates of the Caribbean, because both the texture of the map and the fact that it is perfectly rolled up and clean defeats the credibility.
If anyone is on the fence after watching the first episode, I will admit that the second episode solidifies the focus on the adventure. Time breaks down the group both physically and mentally and it's interesting to see four explorers grow and learn about Africa.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-04-2009 @ 12:23PM
Topher in Texas said...
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…
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6-07-2009 @ 2:00PM
Stanley said...
First of all, Pasquale doesn't need the work! He makes more money from geophysics. The big questions are:
1) Will Pasquale turn out to be the most likable charactor by the end of the series?
2) Will Kevin survive his mid-expedition poisoning?
3) Will Mireya get offers from Playboy Magazine?
4) Will anyone report Benedict to the ASPCA for eating his dog?
;-)
6-08-2009 @ 8:34AM
Paul said...
Episode two was great! In a number of blogs Pasquale is accused of going too fast! My comment is "somehow the camera crew keeps up". And obviously Pasquale is the old man of the group. Mireya seems to be the only one who can keep up the pace. Come on Kevin, Pasquale is almost twice your age! At least Benedict has changed his diet from dogs to baby goats........pleeeze
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7-13-2009 @ 5:05PM
lynnette said...
I gave the first and second episode a chance. I considered the third a "work and watch" episode. Folded laundry, and even vacuumed after forwarding through commercials. I've been a preview person before. This is just not good TV.
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6-17-2009 @ 12:49AM
Jeff said...
I like how Mireya's bandage from here "severe cut" walking through the high grass kept appearing and reappearing on the trek across the plain. The stay in the hotel to heal must have helped a lot! I am not "buying" the danger that this show is trying to illustrate. I flipped the channel before the end of the episode.
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6-17-2009 @ 12:52AM
Michael Pascua said...
Sadly, I agree. The show lost my interest. I know reality shows edit parts to create storyline (My favorite was watching Sarah's hair evolve in Road Rules: Campus Crawl, then the editors getting desperate and used some of her interviews from Road Rules on the RR/RW Gauntlet.), but watching things like injuries appear/disappear is poor editing.
6-23-2009 @ 11:59AM
Mike said...
These guys are like watching a bunch of Cub Scouts hiking. It's like they read the book on how to survive in Africa and then did everything but follow the book. Hike without water, what a bunch of loosers.
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6-29-2009 @ 9:09PM
Dan said...
I love television shows that test the will, determination and skills of the participants. But the constant bickering and the dumb mistakes the expedition team has made from the beginning has all but ruined the series for me. These people are supposed to be among the best in their respective fields, yet there is nothing professional about fighting like a bunch of junior high kids. Mireya is the only member of this group who has proven herself worthy of a trek across Africa. I would never set out on a dangerous mission with the other three in tow.
Having said that, I plan to watch this series to the last episode, mainly in hopes that someone will have enough guts to punch Pasquale's lights out! That is, providing he doesn't lead this expedition into a disastrous early ending or get the crap kicked out of him before they reach their destination.
Where did the creators of the show find this guy? A true leader would never leave members of his team behind. Pasquale has already done that several times, and I've got a feeling we have not seen the last of his arrogance or his stupidity.
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7-12-2009 @ 5:06PM
Joe said...
I yearn for a show of this nature that is not totally stupid. This one fits the "stupid" category perfectly.
It is so obviously staged that it ruins any hope of following a premise that these people are really out in the wild trying to survive and following Stanley's footsteps.
Stanley had the good sense to bring along firearms. He actually left a Winchester '66 with Livingstone when he parted company with him.
I realize that there would be a ton of paper work and permits to allow the participants in this fiasco to carry firearms, (They could even carry replicas of the firearms carried by Stanley) To use this as a reason for the participants to be unarmed is a ridiculous excuse as it is evident that any production of this nature would carry with it a ton of paper work anyway.
I just think it's so very stupid to expect us to believe that these "explorers" are traipsing along in the African bush amongst lions, and other equally dangerous animals with nothing to protect the except a few spears and maybe a large knife.
It's just too stupid a show for words.
Why can't we get a REAL show if this nature?
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7-12-2009 @ 11:35PM
Rick said...
I enjoyed the show...It was a little like "survivor" just examining the human interaction and dynamics is very interesting. Having been in Africa on Safari myself I think they handled the situation quite well in light of the primative situations they encountered...sure they made allot of mistakes and errors but hey it made the show very interesting.
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7-13-2009 @ 6:39PM
kid said...
why is everyone being all bitchy acting like it was no big deal that they did all that. well i give them alot of credit and really enjoyed the show. so if u think it was quote "like watching cub scouts" then i think maybe you should go try to do what they just did!
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7-13-2009 @ 6:10PM
Lauren said...
did anyone else feel like benedict and mireya really liked eachotherrr?
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