Adventure travel show Expedition Impossible begins tomorrow

Fans of reality television and adventure travel shows will want to set their DVR’s for tomorrow night’s premiere of ABC’s Expedition Impossible, the latest creation from Mark Burnett, the man who brought us Survivor. The show looks to be a combination of The Amazing Race and the sport of adventure racing, mixing in puzzle solving and physical challenges while crossing through a remote and exotic location – in this case Morocco.

When the show debuts at 9PM ET tomorrow night, there will be 13 teams of three lining up at the starting line in hopes of winning $150,000 in cash. Judging from their team bios on the ABC website, the show’s producers found some interesting, if a bit predictable, characters for the race, including teams of jocks, cops, fireman, and the obligatory “California Girls.” Once the starting gun goes off, they’ll be racing across deserts, up mountains, and down rivers over ten grueling stages, with teams being eliminated each week until an ultimate winner is crowned.

Will the show be an epic competition that will have us riveted to our seats all summer long? Or will it feel like a made-for-television adventure? We won’t know for sure until it begins tomorrow night, but you can get a sneak preview of the show right now. ABC has made the first 14 minutes available online which you can check out below. Post your thoughts in the comments section for this story. Is this going to be a hit or summer let down?


Reality television show Expedition Impossible debuts in June

A new reality television show entitled Expedition Impossible is set to make its debut on ABC this June, pitting 13 teams of three against one another in what looks to be an adrenaline fueled competition through remote regions of Morocco. The show, which seems to combine elements of The Amazing Race and the sport of adventure racing, comes to us courtesy of Mark Burnett, the mastermind behind Survivor.

The official website for the show offers little in the way of information about the competition, although I would expect that it will be updated as we get closer to when it first airs. But in the trailer video, which you’ll find below, we see teams not only trekking through the desert, rock climbing, and kayaking rushing rivers, but also solving puzzles and working through other challenges. The video actually conveys an intensity to the race that isn’t present in other realty shows of this type.

For Burnett, this looks to be somewhat of a return to his roots. Back in the 90’s he produced an adventure race known as the Eco-Challenge which had coed teams of four racing against one another on foot, mountain bike, and kayak through some of the most remote places on Earth. Expedition Impossible seems to have a similar theme, although it is much more approachable for the masses than Eco-Challenge ever was.

So? What do you think? Is this going to be worthwhile adventure television for the summer months? I guess we’ll find out on June 23 when the first episode airs.


Mark Burnett casting for new adventure travel show

Mark Burnett, the famous television producer responsible for such reality shows as Survivor and The Apprentice, is looking for teams of contestants to compete in a new race that will send them to remote places, where they’ll solve problems and compete in various challenges.

The new show is entitled Expedition Impossible and seems to resemble The Amazing Race, at least on a cursory level. The program will pit teams of three against one another as they race through deserts, up mountains, and across rivers. In all, there will be ten legs to the race, with a new one being revealed each week, as the contestants battle it out for the, as of yet, undisclosed prize.

The casting notice can be read in full by clicking here, but in a nutshell, the three people on each team will need to have the entire month of April free to compete in this race. All competitors must also be 18 years of age or older, be a resident of the United States and hold a valid U.S. passport that is good through the end of 2011.

To be considered for the show, teams will need to send the following information to David 
Polanzak 
at 
dpo.casting@gmail.com:

•
Name,
age,
location 
and 
contact 
info 
for
 all 
three 
(3) 
team 
members

•
Recent 
photo 
of 
all 
3 
team 
members

•
Level 
of 
individual 
and 
team’s 
experience 
with 
competitions/races, 
etc.

•
Brief 
description 
of 
why 
your 
team
 is
 great 
for
 this 
competition 
and 
why
 you 
will
 win

•
Anything 
else 
that 
makes 
your 
team 
memorable 
and 
unique


Expedition Impossible sounds a bit like a project that Burnett produced back in the mid-1990’s called Eco-Challenge, which saw teams of four racing non-stop against one another through a remote course in some of the most challenging environments on the planet. It’s doubtful that this new show will come anywhere close to being as challenging as that race, but it sounds interesting for adventurous travelers looking to compete in a reality television show. I can’t wait to hear more details about the race.