Expedition Unknown - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Your Josh Topic!

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Here!

[Arynm]

I love Josh Gates. I have watched many of his shows in the past and find him absolutely charming. I am ready for some new adventures from him

[Otokichi786]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin's_lost_expedition

The search for The Northwest Passage, undertaken by The Franklin Expedition.

[Otokichi786]

Great "Gung Ho" personality, with a touch of "what am I getting into?" of Mike Rowe.;)

[EyewatchTV211]

Thanks for this! I have looked for a board on the show before but wasn't at the point of making one myself. He's definitely a fun and interesting guy.

[jumper sage]

2 hours ago, VMepicgrl said:

Thanks for this! I have looked for a board on the show before but wasn't at the point of making one myself. He's definitely a fun and interesting guy.

Me too.  I like him but the show is just so long and drawn out.  Literally can't get through a whole show, fall asleep every time.  I like the topics but it's almost if he thinks the audience is so stupid and must explain details to the fine minutia.

[Happy Belly]

i am a longtime Josh Gates lover...no not THAT kind! ive been watching him since Destination Truth. I love his sense of humor, his Dudley Dooright voice and I love he has a degree in archeology, something I wanted to do and still want to do although I am an old fart now.  Im definitely on board the Josh Gates train.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Happy Belly
Fixed some capitalization errors and realized I did not type the name of his first show right once I saw Darian's post. All fixed now.

[Darian]

I've also watched him since Destination Truth. Love Josh. He seems to really like people and they like him right back. Was watching Expedition Unknown one day and my husband got into it, so we I showed him some of the goofier Destination Truth episodes. Then as many as I could find. We're fans. 

[EyewatchTV211]

On 2/14/2017 at 9:25 PM, jumper sage said:

Me too.  I like him but the show is just so long and drawn out.  Literally can't get through a whole show, fall asleep every time.  I like the topics but it's almost if he thinks the audience is so stupid and must explain details to the fine minutia.

I don't think the show itself is long and drawn out. He follows multiple leads throughout the episodes that I think fill them out pretty well. The problem is the million commercials make it drag out. I think the show would work better airing without commercials like the BBC shows, but unfortunately that is not how we roll here in the USA.

I'll have to seek out Destination Truth. I don't think I've ever seen that show, but after googling it, it sounds like another one that I would like.

[Ananayel]

Quote

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

A place to talk about the episodes. I'll start us off.

My least favorite: True Cross

My most favorite: Robin Hood

Best moment: When he gets the satellite phone call that he's going to be a dad, and cries happy tears. I'm a sap.

I also like the DB Cooper episode, and the mammoth hunt.

Edited February 23, 2017 by SilverStormm
Added AET offical blurb.

[Ubiquitous]

I think he was in the first season of "Fact or Faked?", too. He reminds me of a classmate at FSU who was an archeology and computer major I used to party with.

[Ananayel]

I thought I'd seen all of those, and I don't remember him. Jael who was on Destination Truth with him went to Fact or Faked for sure. He may have guested or something. He also guested on Ghost Hunters. A lot, apparently. He sure did liven it up.

[pezgirl7]

I like Destination Truth a little better because you could tell they were all just having fun, and they showed the rest of the team a lot. On Expedition Unknown, they occasionally show the crew members he is traveling with, but it's mostly the Josh show. DT was completely ridiculous, and I don't think anyone actually believed that they would find the creatures they were researching. But it was fun and still educational, and it was interesting to see how the rumors about the alleged creatures or ghosts came to be.

[Ananayel]

Yeah, I've enjoyed the Game Show/Extreme Moments/Unseen Footage/Whatever extra shows they do for that reason - Josh is at his best when he's dealing with people. So when he only talks to a couple of scientists or researchers in the course of an episode, something is lost. It seems to be a successful show, so I wonder if all those "extra" shows" are to keep the ball rolling between seasons, instead of letting people forget about it.

[EyewatchTV211]

I guess I'm just a history geek, then. While I enjoy Josh's personality, I'm always disappointed to see the Game Show/Extreme Moments/Unseen Footage episodes because I'd rather see a new investigation into a myth/legend/historical event or figure. 

[Lovecat]

I think he should go to Oak Island and help those dopes out.

[SherriAnt]

I too am a long time Joshaholic. I loved DT, and now I love Expedition. I agree that the interaction between him and his crew was fun. I would love it if they started that again.  I would also love it if any of the guys from DT guested sometime.

[Ananayel]

I just looked at tonight's listings, and he has another show airing tonight, listed as season 1 ep. 1, but that may be an error. It's at 11:00 Eastern, called Josh Gates: After Dark. He goes to Dubai to experience all the Dubai stuff. He's everywhere! It's nice the network is so solidly behind him for sure.

[Blergh]

On 2/24/2017 at 9:09 PM, VMepicgrl said:

I guess I'm just a history geek, then. While I enjoy Josh's personality, I'm always disappointed to see the Game Show/Extreme Moments/Unseen Footage episodes because I'd rather see a new investigation into a myth/legend/historical event or figure. 

Same here!  But I guess it's better than having nothing at all or a show I dislike on.

[Blergh]

I liked the one about the lost German WWI treasure in Namibia (then South West Africa). Not only was the topography of the Kalahari and that deep lake and cave surprisingly intriguing but I had to wonder HOW settlers could have survived there for long periods in such a challenging environment (to say nothing of the Bushmen original inhabitants who didn't have the latest technologies to help). As usual, Mr. Gates didn't find the actual treasure but he sure DID find a few artifacts of the Imperial German military presence in that part of the world (and it should be noted that some of the most intense battles of WWI were fought in Africa ). On a side note, I would have liked to have known more about the old lady who claimed that a German officer TOLD her where he dumped the treasure in the lake.  First of all, how old was SHE when he told her,  had she lived in Namibia her entire life or had she emigrated there from Germany or  the Netherlands in her youth? I wasn't even sure whether she was speaking German or the Dutch-based Afrikaans because they dubbed rather than subtitled her answers.

[rmontro]

I'd like to see him try to locate Andrew Irvine's body or camera on Everest, but I imagine that would be too difficult and expensive.  Probably not practical.

[Arynm]

On 3/1/2017 at 0:47 PM, Lovecat said:

I think he should go to Oak Island and help those dopes out.

The British guy who does their metal detecting, Gary, was on the episode with Josh about King John. You might just get your wish. He has an in.

[Ananayel]

I really enjoyed this last one, King John's treasure. I feel like technology and research have advanced so far that this is one of the few that there is a legitimate chance of finding. Also, England.

[Arynm]

I would guess that a lot of this treasure has been picked up already. It doesn't seem like it would be buried very deep and I would think the locals would have grabbed it close to when it was lost. That would be a hard secret to keep and the locals would have a pretty good idea of where it went down. I am sure there is a good bit there, but I bet most is long gone, melted into something else.

[Ananayel]

Josh will get 14 more chances to go to awesome locations, because renewed!

[SherriAnt]

I wish he would come back to Canada.....

[EyewatchTV211]

On 3/20/2017 at 11:18 AM, Ananayel said:

Josh will get 14 more chances to go to awesome locations, because renewed!

Wow. I guess I'm not the only one watching like I thought was the case before this board was started. :-)

[rmontro]

On 2/15/2017 at 0:29 PM, Happy Belly said:

i am a longtime Josh Gates lover...no not THAT kind! ive been watching him since Destination Truth. I love his sense of humor, his Dudley Dooright voice and I love he has a degree in archeology, something I wanted to do and still want to do although I am an old fart now.

Interesting you say he has a Dudley Do-right voice, I've always thought he sounded like Kermit the Frog.

I do like Josh as a host though, he seems like a pretty upright guy.  On Destination Truth, you could see he wasn't taking it all too seriously.  Also, he has a job that allows him some pretty cool experiences.

[Toothbrush]

On 3/25/2017 at 5:37 AM, rmontro said:

 I've always thought he sounded like Kermit the Frog.

Now that I've read this, I can't un-hear Kermit in Josh's voice...lol 

[rmontro]

On 3/29/2017 at 11:20 AM, Toothbrush said:

Now that I've read this, I can't un-hear Kermit in Josh's voice...lol 

Lol.  To be honest, it was a former girlfriend who made that observation.  I can't un-hear it either.

[rmontro]

One thing about Josh Gates I like is the way he interacts with the people who live in the places that he goes to visit.  Even with the culture differences, he always manages to get them laughing.  It's also interesting to see him sample the local (usually bizarre) cuisine.  Which he usually at least professes to like, which surprises me.

[crazycatlady58]

He also us very respectful  for the different  beliefs . 

[Lovecat]

I love it when he goes souvenir shopping!

[rmontro]

On 4/4/2017 at 0:55 PM, crazycatlady58 said:

He also us very respectful  for the different  beliefs . 

Good point, he is very respectful.  He seems to know exactly when and where he can joke around and be irreverant, and when he should be serious and respectful.  He managed to help charm his way into having the priest who kept the Ark of the Covenant speak to him, and the lama granted him access to the yeti scalp.  Some of it is the power of having the cameras, but not all.

[Quilt Fairy]

I've never enjoyed EU as much as I did DT, so I  was very excited when I saw a blurb for what I thought was a new DT series on the Travel Channel, now called "Josh Gates' Destination Truth".  I figured he got the old crew back together, and I've been DVRing the episodes.  I was ready to request a forum for it.  But yesterday I watched the Easter Island one, and it's not new, it's the same episode that aired several years ago on SyFy.  It stood out for me because I remember them having to climb  a high cliff to search for a special plant so a local wise woman could make a special tea to keep them safe.  I think it's unlikely to have the exact same thing happen twice, especially with no mention that he'd been there before.  So even though the show listings say New(2017), they're reruns.  Which isn't a bad think because I liked that show but never saw all the episodes.  The scariest one for me was the one with the island of the dolls - I can't describe it better but you'll remember it if you saw it.

[crazycatlady58]

Yes the one about the island  of dollars was creepy .  I do not mine they are all reruns  because  it has been a while  and I have forgotten  parts of the show . 

[roamyn]

OMG, we thought it was just us.

He's adorable, for a man his size.  My husband gets bored by history, but he really loves this show.

He's got a great personality for TV.  I was watching a repeat of something similar that was on before EU, and the host - while extremely handsome - was dry at dust.  I got bored aft 20 minutes, and I love history.

[roamyn]

My favorite is the search for Sulieman's heart.  First, because I'm fascinated by Sulieman.  Second, because out of all his investigations, this one actually has concrete proof of a resolution.

And my favorite moment too, is when he found out he was going to be a dad!  Second would be the race cart down the hill during the Christopher Columbus episode.

I also like the episodes that count down "most....". That's when you see the most interaction with the crew.

[roamyn]

The legend of El Chupochadra (sp?)

The search for the resting place of Marco Polo

The search for the resting place of Moses

The Holy Grail

The search for Ambrose Bierce

[pezgirl7]

4 hours ago, roamyn said:

The legend of El Chupochadra (sp?)

Josh investigated El Chupacabra in Chile on Destination Truth. That was 10 years ago though and I can't remember what the outcome was. You can watch the episode here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3fylby

[Hawkes]

I would love to see him take on the Knights Templar.

[meep.meep]

That cart race was great!  The Amazing Race should go there.

I'm getting confused with this show.  They keep listing shows as New.  But when you watch them, it's the same thing they've shown before.  The date will be new, but it's the same show.  They don't even do the things with adding tags like River Monsters does, it's literally the same show over and over.  Last night was the hunt for woolly mammoth dna so it could be cloned.  I think I saw it last year.

[EyewatchTV211]

On 6/13/2017 at 7:59 AM, roamyn said:

OMG, we thought it was just us.

He's adorable, for a man his size.  My husband gets bored by history, but he really loves this show.

He's got a great personality for TV.  I was watching a repeat of something similar that was on before EU, and the host - while extremely handsome - was dry at dust.  I got bored aft 20 minutes, and I love history.

I completely agree. I must have seen the other show that you watched as well. I saw some seemingly new show that sounded exactly like EU but with a different host. And I also thought he was very handsome, but he had the usual bland personality that a lot of these shows have. It just highlighted more how engaging Josh is on camera. 

[rmontro]

Been watching the Destination Truth episodes, which I've seen before but it's been awhile.  I tend to prefer Expedition Unknown because the legends are more credible.  But the advantage with Destination Truth is you get to see some of the crew share the spotlight a little more.  Did they ever find anything compelling on any of these shows?

[crazycatlady58]

Not that I remember ,  but it was fun watching  them try.

[rmontro]

Anyone watch the History Channel's Amelia Earhart:  The Lost Evidence?  I'm posting this here since Expedition:  Unknown did a show on Earhart.

A lot of it centers around a photograph found in the National Archives.  People who just look at the photo find it easy to dismiss, but if you listen to the whole story, the eyewitnesses, and how everything fits together, the argument becomes pretty compelling. 

I don't know if the photo shows Earhart or not, but I find a few things striking.  First, the similarity between the picture and the stamps the Marshall Islands issued in the '80s depicting Earhart landing there (and the Japanese towing away the plane).  Second, to me that looks like an Electra that the ship is towing.  And third, the woman sitting on the dock, who is supposedly Earhart , appears to be looking directly at the plane.  Who knows what she might be thinking?

[Taffy]

When I first saw that photo last week in the news, I thought no way. After seeing it enlarged and then

hearing the story it is compelling. I need to watch the History program again. 

[rmontro]

18 hours ago, Taffy said:

When I first saw that photo last week in the news, I thought no way. After seeing it enlarged and then

hearing the story it is compelling. I need to watch the History program again. 

Thanks, Taffy.  I'm oddly saddened at the thought of her rotting away in a Japanese prison.  

Here's another page that has some interesting information, if you like to dig.  I'm amazed at the number of witnesses who have claimed to have knowledge of her in Saipan.  The details aren't always the same, but the basic facts seem to be consistent:  That she crashed on Milli Atoll, the Japanese towed her plane, she was taken to Jaluit, and then imprisoned in Saipan.  The comments of Marines who claim to have seen her plane (and other artifacts) after taking Saipan in WWII are interesting:

http://www.earhartonsaipan.com/

[Arynm]

I don't understand all the people that just dismiss this theory out of hand. Why is it so farfetched as any of the other theories that are floating around. The sheer number of eye witness accounts should lend this some weight but people just don't buy it. Why would all these people lie about something like this? I can't see what they would have gotten out of it, especially when most of them didn't even know who she was. I find it interesting.