Extreme Dreams With Ben Fogle
Encyclopedia
Extreme 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.
Teams were chosen to travel to:
The Guyana trip was organised for Ricochet by 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.
, wildlife presenter Charlotte Uhlenbroek
and psychologist Dr Cynthia McVey. The teams travelled to, respectively:
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.
Conversely, the programme has also attracted criticism for apparently placing fragile or unfit individuals in real danger. 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 EWP clearly state the Libya Sahara trek involved a standard tourist programme although an abseil down a cliff was thrown in for extra drama.
Supernanny
Supernanny is a reality TV programme which originated in the United Kingdom about parents struggling with their children's behaviour. The UK version has aired on Channel 4 with E4 showing repeats since 2004. The program returned in 2010...
, Living in the Sun and others) and hosted by Ben Fogle
Ben Fogle
Ben Fogle is an English television presenter, adventurer and writer.-Early life:Fogle is the son of actress Julia Foster and broadcasting veterinary surgeon Bruce 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 18 September 2006.Teams were chosen to travel to:
- PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
(episodes 1-5), to complete a trekking expedition to ChoquequiraoChoquequiraoChoquequirao is a ruined Inca city in south Peru, similar in structure and architecture to Machu Picchu. The ruins are buildings and terraces at levels above and below Sunch'u Pata, the truncated hill top... - GuyanaGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
(episodes 6-10), to trek through the jungle to the Kaieteur FallsKaieteur FallsKaieteur Falls is a high-volume waterfall on the Potaro River in central Guyana, Potaro-Siparuni region. It is located inKaieteur National Park. It is 226 meters high when measured from its plunge over a sandstone and conglomerate cliff to the first break... - TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
(episodes 11-15), to climb Mount KilimanjaroMount KilimanjaroKilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at above sea level .-Geology:...
(5,895m), the highest peak in Africa - SpitsbergenSpitsbergenSpitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
(episodes 16-20), a Norwegian island in the Arctic OceanArctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
, to trek across glaciers to Temple Mountain
The Guyana trip was organised for Ricochet by 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.
Second series (2008)
Series Two aired on BBC2 at 6.30pm from 14 January 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 AllenBenedict Allen
Benedict Colin Allen is a British traveller. He is best known for his survival modus operandi: tapping into local, indigenous knowledge above reliance on modern inventions. His approach is to present himself as ready to learn, like an infant; the communities that he visits take him under their...
, wildlife presenter Charlotte Uhlenbroek
Charlotte Uhlenbroek
Charlotte Jane Uhlenbroek is a British zoologist and BBC television presenter.-Early life:Her Dutch father was an agricultural specialist with the United Nations who took his English wife and their family round the world with him. Uhlenbroek was born in London, but her parents moved to Ghana when...
and psychologist Dr Cynthia McVey. The teams travelled to, respectively:
- NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, to trek to the sacred lakes of Panch Pokhari in Langtang National ParkLangtang National ParkLangtang National Park is the fourth national park in Nepal and was established in 1976 as the first Himalayan national park. The protected area exceeds an altitudinal range of and covers an area of in the Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Sindhulpalchok districts of the central Himalayan region encompassing...
(one participant evacuated, four successful) - UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, to climb the 4844m Mount BakerMount Baker (Uganda)Mount Baker lies in the Ruwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda, Africa. Together with Mount Stanley and Mount Speke, it forms a triangle enclosing the upper Bujuku Valley. The nearest peak is Mount Stanley which is 2.26 km to the west...
(two evacuated, three successful) - LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, to cross a section of the SaharaSaharaThe Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
and reach the ancient city of Ghat (one denied a visa, one evacuated, three successful) - Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, to cross the jungle to Salamoa Beach in Morobe ProvinceMorobe ProvinceMorobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital, and largest city, is Lae. The province covers 34,500 km², including 719 km² maritime area, with a population of 539,725...
on the east coast (all five successful)
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
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, location of Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's adventure novel The Lost World
The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Lost World is a novel released in 1912 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle concerning an expedition to a plateau in the Amazon basin of South America where prehistoric animals still survive. It was originally published serially in the popular Strand Magazine during the months of April 1912-November 1912...
which Ben cites as a childhood favourite. All four participants made it to the summit with Ben.
Third series (2009)
Series Three aired on BBC2 at 6.30pm from 12 January 2009.- EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, to the volcanic Mount Chimborazo - PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, to the Petroglyphs of PusharoPusharoThe Petroglyphs of Pusharo constitute a unique and extensive ancient rock art site in southeast Peru's Manu National Park, a jungled expanse that still contains unexplored and little known areas, and for which an official government permit is required for entry.... - Peru, to the Cotahuasi CanyonCotahuasi CanyonCotahuasi Canyon near the city of Arequipa in Peru is the deepest canyon in the world. Its maximum depth is 3535 metres in the vicinity of Ninancocha, 335 metres more than the Colca Canyon. The Cotahuasi Canyon is an impressive chasm that the river has eroded between two enormous mountain massifs:...
in search of the Incan city of MarpaMarpa, PeruMarpa is a ruined pre-Hispanic town located along the Cotahuasi Canyon in the Andes range of southern Peru. The Cotahuasi River arises in the Cordillera de Huanzo, cutting a route south-west and ending some 300km later as the Ocoña River mouthing into the Pacific Ocean. Declared a "Zona Reserva... - ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, across the Atacama DesertAtacama DesertThe Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
to Volcano Corona
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. An episode in the third series claimed that a participant had run a marathon with a foot fracture that had not healed.Conversely, the programme has also attracted criticism for apparently placing fragile or unfit individuals in real danger. 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 EWP clearly state the Libya Sahara trek involved a standard tourist programme although an abseil down a cliff was thrown in for extra drama.