''National Geographic Explorer'' (or simply ''Explorer'') is an American documentary

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

that originally premiered on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

on April 7, 1985, after having been produced as a less costly and intensive alternative to

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

's ''

National Geographic Specials ''National Geographic Video'' is an educational video series founded by the National Geographic Society. References

{{Reflist National Geographic Society ...

'' by

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

station WQED. The first episode ("Herculaneum: Voices from the Past") was produced by WQED and featured long-time ''Explorer'' cameraman Mark Knobil, who is the few staff members with the franchise during all 24 seasons. The program is the longest-running documentary television series on cable television. Presented every Sunday from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, the original series was three hours in length, containing five to ten short films. Although the National Geographic Society had been producing specials for television for 20 years prior to ''Explorer'', the premiere of the series required an increase in production from 4 hours of programming a year to 156 hours. Tim Cowling and Tim Kelly were the executive producers for the series during this transition. In its 36 years on television, ''Explorer'' has worked for five television outlets. In February 1986, ''Explorer'' moved to TBS, where it had a successful run until September 1999, when it moved to CNBC. In October 2001, the series moved to MSNBC. In June 2003, the series was relaunched on MSNBC as ''Ultimate Explorer'', with Lisa Ling as the host. On July 8, 2004, ''Explorer'' joined the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...

. ''National Geographic Explorer'' has earned more than 400 awards, including 52

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, 13 Cable ACE awards, the Family Television Award, the Genesis Award, the DuPont-Columbia Silver Baton Award, the Peabody Award, four gold medals at the International Film and Television Festival of New York, as well as being nominated for two Academy Awards. The original Explorer series ended in 2011 and then was started again in 2015 with the help of original programming president Tim Pastore, hosted by British journalist Richard Bacon, with executive producers Lou Wallach, Jeff Hasler and Brian Lovett. The series is broadcast on

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

's 171 channels around the world. In 2018, Bacon was replaced by Phil Keoghan who is best known for hosting ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

''.

Plot / Format

Variety magazine described the series: "The new-model 'Explorer' is described as a weekly 'docu-talk' series that will feature magazine-style field reporting, celebrity guests and talk show segments shot in front of a studio audience."

Background

National Geographic Specials ''National Geographic Video'' is an educational video series founded by the National Geographic Society. References

{{Reflist National Geographic Society ...

'' were being produced by

station WQED for

History

''National Geographic Explorer'' began broadcasting in April 1985 on

. The following year, the show moved to TBS. Each episode was made by an independent production company with a National Geographic staffer serving as an associate producer. Local actor

Bingo O'Malley Bingo O'Malley (May 10, 1933 - June 2, 2019) was an American actor. He has been called "Pittsburgh’s finest actor." Biography O'Malley never revealed his birth name. He initially aspired to the priesthood but found that "I am not religious." ...

was selected by ''Herculaneum: Voices from the Past'' producer Joe Seamans as host. ''Herculaneum'' was extended for broadcast on PBS in 1987 under the title, ''In the Shadow of Vesuvius". The show bounced between CNBC (which was subject to interruptions in the fall and late spring/early summer due to World Series and NBA Finals postgames from NBC Sports), then MSNBC and finally National Geographic Channel. In April 2010, the show celebrated its 25 year with a special, "Explorer: 25 Years".

Hosts / narrators

*David Greenan (1985) *

Tom Chapin Tom Chapin (born March 13, 1945) is an American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter, and storyteller. Chapin is known for the song " Happy Birthday", released in 1989 in his ''Moonboat'' album. It takes its melody from "Love Unspoken", a so ...

(1985–1988) * Robert Urich (1988–1995) *

Boyd Matson Boyd Matson (born April 26, 1947) is the former anchor of ''National Geographic Explorer'' and a former co-anchor of NBC's '' Sunday Today'' program. He was also an NBC News correspondent in the 1980s, working mostly on news features and earlier ...

(1995–2003) * Lisa Ling (2003–2010) * Richard Bacon (2016) * Jeff Goldblum (2017) * Dan Rather (2017) *

Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin (born July 10, 1980) is an American journalist. He is the ''PBS NewsHour'' foreign affairs and defense correspondent. He was previously Al Jazeera America’s Middle East correspondent and a correspondent for ABC News in London and ...

(2017) * Ted Danson (2017) *

Ali Wentworth Alexandra "Ali" Wentworth (born January 12, 1965) is an American actress, comedian, author, and producer. Early life Wentworth's mother, Muffie Cabot (née Mabel Bryant Hobart), was Nancy Reagan's White House social secretary from 1981 to 1983 ...

(2017) * Phil Keoghan (2018)

Executive producers

*Tim Kelly *Tim Cowling *Tom Simon *Michael Rosenfeld *Patrick Prentice *Jonathan Halperin *Robert Zakin *Lou Wallach, *Jeff Hasler *Brian Lovett *Laura Glassman *Drew Pulley

Episodes

Episode list starting with the change in title to simply ''Explorer''

Season 1 (2005)

* "Collapse", a forensic look at the chain of events leading up to some of the world's most fatal structural disasters, including the worst structural failure to take place in the U.S. prior to 9/11 * "Deadly Love", spider sex * " Elephant Rage" * "

Hogzilla Hogzilla (a portmanteau of ''hog'' and ''Godzilla'') was a male hybrid of wild hog and domestic pig that was shot and killed by Chris Griffin in Alapaha, Georgia, United States, on June 17, 2004, on Ken Holyoak's fish farm and hunting reserve. I ...

" * "Inside Shock & Awe" * " L.A. Future Quake" * "Last Days of the Maya" * "Mysteries of Survival", Pablo Valencia, Adirondack Mountains * "Nightmare in Jamestown" * " Pyramids of Fire" * " Python vs.

Gator Gator is a slang word for alligator. Gator may also refer to: People nicknamed Gator *Mike Greenwell (born 1963), American Major League Baseball player nicknamed "The Gator" *Ron Guidry (born 1950), former Major League Baseball pitcher *Gator H ...

" * "Search for

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

" * "Secrets of the Tornado" * " Super Chopper" * " Super Snake!" * "Surviving Maximum Security" * "The True Face of Hurricanes" * "Violent Earth" * " Witchcraft Murder" * " World's Most Dangerous Gang"

Season 2 (2006)

* "Attack of the Killer Bees" * "Doomsday Volcano" * "Drowning New Orleans" * " Fire Ants: Texas Border Massacre" * "Inside North Korea" * "Killer

Cane Toads The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad native to South and mainland Central America, but which has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania ...

" * "Outsmarting Terror" * "Science of

Surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

" * "Secret Lives of Jesus" * "Super

Rig Rig may refer to: Objects and structures * Rig (fishing), an arrangement of items used for fishing * Drilling rig, a structure housing equipment used to drill or extract oil from underground * Rig (stage lighting) * rig, a horse-drawn carriage ...

" * "

Super Sub This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of cricket. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Certain aspects of cricket terminology are explained in more detail in cr ...

" * " Supercarrier" * "Ultimate Bear", black, brown, and

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

s * "Ultimate Cat"

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

s, tigers and

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

s * "Ultimate Hippo" * "Ultimate Shark" * " World's Most Dangerous Drug"

Season 3 (2007)

* " Aryan Brotherhood" * " China's Secret Mummies" * "

Heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

Crisis" * "Inside Bethlehem" * "Inside the Body Trade" * " Iraq's Guns for Hire" * " Jellyfish Invasion" * "The Last Christians of Bethlehem" * " Mammoth Mystery" * "The Missing Years" * "Science of Babies" * "Science of Dogs" * " Struck By Lightning" * "Ultimate

Crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

" * "Ultimate

Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

Season 4 (2008)

* " Alaska's Last Oil" * "Border Wars",

Illegal immigration to the United States Illegal immigration to the United States is the process of migrating into the United States in violation of federal immigration laws. This can include foreign nationals (aliens) who have entered the United States unlawfully, as well as thos ...

along the US-Mexico border,

US Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States' Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing the borders of the United States. According to its web site in 2022, its mission ...

* "

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

Bush Pilots" * "Death of the Iceman" * "Finding

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

" * " Gorilla Murders" * " Guns in America" * "Inside

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

" * "Lost Cities of the Amazon" * "

Marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

Nation" * "Moment of Death" * " Mystery of the Mummy Murders" * "Science of Cats" * "Science of Evil" * "Secret History of Gold" * " Shark Superhighway" * " Testosterone Factor" * " Tunnel to a Lost World" * " Zoo Tiger Escape"

Season 5 (2009)

* "24 Hours After Asteroid Impact" * " Child Mummy Sacrifice" * " Chimps on the Edge" * "Climbing Redwood Giants" * " Easter Island Underworld" * "Inside

Death Row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

" * "Inside Guantanamo Bay" * "Inside LSD" * "Italy's Mystery Mummies",

Capuchin catacombs of Palermo The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (also Catacombe dei Cappuccini or Catacombs of the Capuchins) are burial catacombs in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. Today they provide a somewhat macabre tourist attraction as well as an extraordinary historic ...

, Catherine of Bologna, others * " Monster Fish of the Congo" * " Mystery of the Disembodied Feet" * " Narco State" * " Nazi Mystery" * "Secret History of Diamonds" * "Sex, Lies & Gender" * " T-Rex Walks Again" * "The Virus Hunters"

Season 6 (2010)

* " Camp Leatherneck" * "

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...

Takedown" * "Electronic Armageddon", electromagnetic pulse warfare * "Explorer: 25 Years" * " Fatal Insomnia" * "Inside the Nuclear Threat" * "Journey to an Alien Moon" * " Python Wars", and other

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

* "

Solitary Confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

" * "Talibanistan", the Taliban in Waziristan and rest of the border region * " Vampire

Forensics Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...

" * "Nazi Mystery: Twins from Brazil",

Joseph Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = '' SS''-''Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , commands = , s ...

's experiments on twins revived in Brazil

Season 7 (2011)

* "American Hostage" * "Lost Cannibals of Europe" * "How to Build a Beating Heart" * "Man vs Volcano" * "Megapiranha" * "Mystery of the Murdered Saints" * "Stormagenddon" * "Taking Down the Mob" * "Crime Lords of Tokyo" * "Gang War USA" * "Murder in the Roman Empire" * " Hostage Crises Massacre" * "Psychic Gold Hunt" * "To Catch a Smuggler" * "Marijuana Gold Rush" * "Guerrilla Gold Rush"

Season 8 (2015)

* "Warlords of Ivory" * "Legend of the Monkey God" * "Bill Nye's Global Meltdown" * "The Cult of Mary" * "Call of the Wild" * "Eyes Wide Open" * "Fighting ISIS" * "Faces of Death" * "Point of No Return" * "Blood Antiquities" * "Battle for Varunga" * "What Would Teddy Do?", about Theodore Roosevelt

Season 9 (2016)

* "Episode 1" originally broadcast November 14, 2016 - host Richard Bacon, stories of death and features interviews with comedian

Larry Wilmore Elister Larry WilmoreThe name Elister L. Wilmore is given at This matches the birth date and birthplace for "Larry Wilmore" at (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspo ...

and environmental activist Erin Brockovich. * "Episode 2" originally broadcast November 21, 2016 * "Episode 3" originally broadcast November 28, 2016 * "Episode 4" originally broadcast December 5, 2016 - Russian gender camps, Uganda’s Hollywood and blows up a bus for science, David Banner,

Chris Kluwe Christopher James Kluwe (; born December 24, 1981) is a former American football punter and writer. Kluwe played at Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California, where he was a 1999 USA Today All-USA high school football team, 1999 ''USA ...

and

Gavin Mcinnes Gavin Miles McInnes (; born 17 July 1970) is a Canadian writer, podcaster and far-right commentator and founder of the Proud Boys. He is the host of '' Get Off My Lawn with Gavin McInnes'', on the subscription-based streaming media platform C ...

debate the meaning of manhood. * "Episode 5" originally broadcast December 12, 2016 * "Episode 6" originally broadcast December 19, 2016

Season 10 (2017)

* "Episode 1" originally broadcast March 6, 2017 * "Episode 2" originally broadcast March 13, 2017 - host Aasif Mandvi, investigates US Terrorist watchlist * "Episode 3" originally broadcast March 20, 2017 - host

, interview with His Holiness the Dalai Lama * "Episode 4" originally broadcast March 27, 2017 * "Episode 5" originally broadcast April 3, 2017 - host Dan Rather, Iceland’s gene pool could unlock the cure to diseases like Alzheimer’s; Ryan Duffy investigates the rhino horn black market. * "Episode 6" originally broadcast April 10, 2017 * "Episode 7" originally broadcast April 17, 2017 * "Episode 8" originally broadcast April 24, 2017 * "Episode 9" originally broadcast May 1, 2017 - investigates Mexico’s violent war on drugs, an looks into

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

’s disappearing cattle, plus actor and activist Mandy Patinkin. * "Episode 10" originally broadcast May 8, 2017 * "Episode 11" originally broadcast May 15, 2017 - host Jeff Goldblum, in-depth look at Big Pharma, prescription drugs and the opioid epidemic. * "Episode 12" originally broadcast May 22, 2017 * "Episode 13" originally broadcast May 29, 2017 * "Episode 14" originally broadcast June 5, 2017 - host Ted Danson about a rare surgical procedure. Plus why NASA’s newest star, is a world-famous chef. * "Episode 15" originally broadcast June 12, 2017 - host Ted Danson, growing illegal fish trade, plus executive director of Human Rights Watch

Kenneth Roth Kenneth Roth (born September 23, 1955) is an American attorney, human rights activist, writer. He was the executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 1993 to 2022. Early life Kenneth Roth was born on September 23, 1955 in Elmhurst, Illino ...

. * "Episode 16" originally broadcast June 19, 2017 * "Episode 17" originally broadcast June 26, 2017 - host

, interview with civil rights pioneer the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.; investigation story of an Indian endurance runner

Dharampal singh Gudha Dharampal Singh Gudha, also known as Dharam Pal Singh or Dharampal Singh Gujjar, is an Indian runner who has controversially claimed to be the world's oldest marathon runner at 120.

who may be 119 years old

References

External links

* * {{Former Nickelodeon original series National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming 1980s American documentary television series 1990s American documentary television series 2000s American documentary television series 2010s American documentary television series TBS (American TV channel) original programming MSNBC original programming CNBC original programming 1980s Nickelodeon original programming 1985 American television series debuts English-language television shows Television Academy Honors winners