Extreme Dreams With Ben Fogle

Extremes Dreams is a reality TV progamme made by the independent British production company Ricochet (creators of Supernanny, Living in the Sun and others) and hosted by Ben Fogle. The premise behind the show is that deserving individuals are taken to unfamiliar and extreme environments and given the opportunity to participate in an adventure beyond their wildest dreams.

Participants are typically seeking a life-changing experience: a boost to improve their health, build their confidence, mend relationships or overcome past difficulties. For each programme four different teams are selected by a small panel comprising adventurers and a psychologist as well as Ben Fogle himself. Each team then travels with Ben to a different region of the world to undertake a challenging trek.

First Series (2006)

Extreme Dreams aired on BBC2 at 6.30pm from September 18th 2006.

Teams were chosen to travel to:

*Tanzania, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895m), the highest peak in Africa

*Peru, to complete a trekking expedition to Choquequirao

*Spitsbergen, a Norwegian island in the Arctic Ocean, to trek across glaciers to Temple Mountain

*Guyana, to trek through the jungle to the Kaieteur Falls

The Guyana trip was organised for Ricochet by [http://www.trekforceworldwide.com/ben_fogle/ Trekforce] , an expedition company that was able to assist with planning, logistics and safety before and during the trek. The brief was for "a jungle destination that was remote, rarely visited and difficult to get to" but allowed the camera crews and production team to go about their everyday duties and did not compromise on safety issues. [Trekforce website]

econd Series (2008)

Series Two aired on BBC2 at 6.30pm from January 14th 2008.

The teams of five participants for the second series were chosen by Ben Fogle in February 2007 in Wales, with input from explorer Benedict Allen, wildlife presenter Charlotte Uhlenbroek and psychologist Dr Cynthia McVey. The teams travelled to, respectively:

*Nepal, to trek to the sacred lakes of Panch Pokhari in Langtang National Park (one participant evacuated, four successful)

*Uganda, to climb the 4844m Mount Baker (two evacuated, three successful)

*Libya, to cross a section of the Sahara and reach the ancient city of Ghat (one denied a visa, one evacuated, three successful)

*Papua New Guinea, to cross the jungle to Salamoa Beach in Morobe Province on the east coast (all five successful)

The Papua New Guinea trip was also organised by Trekforce.

Subsequently one member of each team was chosen to join Ben in pursuit of his own extreme dream, an ascent of Mount Roraima in Venezuela, location of Arthur Conan Doyle's adventure novel The Lost World which Ben cites as a childhood favourite. All four participants made it to the summit with Ben.

Criticism

Extreme Dreams has received criticism in online forums for the apparently heightened drama of sometimes minor challenges, where everything that happens has to be perceived as "extreme". Critics have suggested that excessively dramatic presenting and selective editing are used to overemphasise the level of danger and difficulty. Evidence cited includes fictitious sandstorms where the adventurers' clothing is not blowing in the wind; fears of death being imminent and evacuation impossible when the footage is clearly filmed from a moving vehicle; a trek down a hillside on a clearly defined path, described as a dangerous trek through uncharted territory; small tumbles on the trail recalled as nearly fatal; and a misleading depiction of the level of isolation of the group. Conversely, the programme has also attracted criticism for apparently placing fragile or unfit individuals in real danger. [http://www.trekforceworldwide.com/ben_fogle/ Trekforce] indicates on its website that the teams were safe and well at all times during the Guyana and Papua New Guinea expeditions. In a similar vein [http://www.ewpnet.com/libya/extremedreams.htm EWP] clearly state the Libya Sahara trek involved a standard tourist programme although an abseil down a cliff was thrown in for extra drama.

References