Title: Eco-Challenge: Fiji: The
World’s Toughest Endurance Race
Narrated By: David Duchovny
Created and Produced By Mark Burnett
Executive Producers: Mark Burnett and
Lisa Hennessy
Running Time: Five Hours
Media: USA Network Television Reality
Miniseries (NTSC VHS Screener)
Premiere Dates: Monday, May 5, 2003
Through Wednesday, May 7, 2003, At 10PM (ET/PT) With The Finale Airing On
Thursday, May 8, 2003, At 9PM (ET/PT)
Network: USA Network Television (Check
your local cable/satellite listings for channel)
TV Rating: Not Available At The Time Of
Review
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
I am not a fan of “Reality
Television” though I will admit that I did watch the original “Real World”
TV series when it aired on MTV in 1992 and I have found the WWE/MTV
collaboration “Tough Enough” to be both entertaining and educational, but I
also think “Reality TV” can be very exploitive to a point where I sometimes
wish the contestants would sock it to their producers. I mean there was an
episode of some show where they had these contestants doing some very daring as
well as disgusting challenges and there was this woman crying because she could
not drink some horrible concoction and therefore was eliminated and I just
thought to myself how great it would have been if she just took the drink and
threw it in the face of the announcer putting her through this torture. You can
argue that no one forced her to play, but I think throwing the drink in the
guy’s face with great roaring “FUCK YOU!” would be far more entertaining
than anything they asked these contestants to do.
Fortunately “Eco-Challenge” is not exploitive. It is actually a true endurance test that is both as challenging, as it is mesmerizing. 81 teams from around the world compete to travel through the immense, harsh, and rugged environments of Fiji with perils that included crossing a jungle nicknamed “The Lost World,” mountain climbing, ocean paddling, swimming, coasteering, river kayaking, packrafting, fixed ropes, and canyoneering across a total racecourse over 500km. The competitors used 1100 bamboo poles and 8,000 meters of cord to create bilibili rafts, ascended a vertical distance of almost 800 meters on fixed ropes with a total gain throughout the course over 33,000’. Of the 81 teams that raced, 23 teams crossed the finish line. The course is so brutal that 58 teams were forced to quit. Diseases, sickness, and other perils can bring a team down. If one team member cannot complete the race, then the whole team loses.
What may be surprising or not surprising for some is who some of the people that participated in this race were, which included Actor Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Episode II: Attack Of The Clones), who was part of a Canadian team that also consisted of his brother and sister. Just seeing this guy come out of the jungle all scuffed up and dirty made me wonder what George Lucas might be thinking regarding his pivotal “Episode III” star participating in such a dangerous event? Reality TV veterans comprising of alumni from “Survivor” and “Road Rules” and a trio of Playboy Playmates along with some seasoned professionals from previous “Eco-Challenges” went neck and neck against each other with some yielding amazing results while others falling behind for many reasons.
“Eco-Challenge: Fiji: The World’s
Toughest Endurance Race” is quite entertaining and engaging and a far more
honorable sports like competition than many other reality TV challenge
counterparts. The series was created by Mark Burnett (Survivor) and is narrated
by David Duchovny (The X-Files). Of the three episodes I screened, I find myself
eager to find out what happened through the end of the competition, but like
nearly everyone else, I will have to wait the for the two-hour finale to air to
find out. “Eco-Challenge: Fiji: The World’s Toughest Endurance Race” will
premiere on the USA Network on Monday, May 5, 2003 through Wednesday, May 7,
2003, at 10PM (ET/PT) with the finale airing on Thursday, May 8, 2003, at
9PM (ET/PT). Check it out.
© Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.