A Quick Look at "Expedition Unknown"

Written by Scotty

Once in a great while, I find a show that comes on that captures my heart and imagination.  It takes a lot to rope me in, since I am very picky about what I spend my time watching.  Back in 2007 a show came on the SyFy network that had me intrigued called Destination Truth.  Now, not knowing what to expect from a show where a group of investigators head out to find facts about strange things that have been reported over the world, I was not disappointed.  Searching for Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman, legends I have loved hearing about for my youth, I was glued to my television set for one hour during the week to see what came up.

For the first couple of seasons, I had time planed into my schedule to watch this, but then something happened.  The cast seemed to become a revolving door for a while and I felt like I needed more answers to these mysteries.  The story was more focused on what it took to get to the location than what happened during their investigation and that left me feeling cheated as a viewer.  But I still watched the show, since the lead was a very entertaining individual.  Josh Gates had me hooked and I enjoyed hearing his snappy jokes and seeing what outrageous thing he would eat each week.  But as the show continued and my schedule got more condensed, I lost interest and had other things that needed to be done during my free time.  When I heard that SyFy did not renew the show, I was disappointed, but figured it was on the horizon since their searches would come up empty and the legends were running thin.

Then, out of the blue, my former boss hit me up saying that Josh Gates would be back on television again, something on the Travel Channel.  I checked out the IMDB page and found it was something called Expedition Unknown.  Thinking that it was just going to be Destination Truth again, I found myself hesitant to watch it.  But while parent sitting for the week, I turned it on and was impressed with what came on.  It is all Josh and nobody else and he seems to have a fresh start at what he is looking for.  With no further crew that is being recognized right now and no strange feelings running up and down their legs, Josh is in command of his craft.

Now the premise is the same as his old show, but without having to focus on other things other than the target area, this show is showing a lot of promise.  With a fresh way of looking for legends that have been lost in time, and tying it together with popular media, I can see Expedition Unknown running for a while.  As long as what shows up on screen is the story behind what Josh is looking for, the Travel Channel has a hit on their hands.  With his quirky sense of humor and plenty of different types of food for him to chow down on, as long as he reaches his destination and finds something, I will be a very happy viewer and continue to tune in.  Happy Viewing.

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