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Expedition Africa: Stanley & Livingstone Blu-ray
A&E Home Video | 376 mins | Not rated | Oct 27, 2009
Expedition Africa: Stanley & Livingstone Blu-ray ReviewA little too Survivor-esque for its own good, Expedition Africa is nonetheless one of the most thrilling travelogues cum reality shows in recent television history.Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, October 18, 2009 "Dr. Livingstone, this is what you covet!" It may not have the ring of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?," but, well, that is what you'd expect Jeff Probst, if not Sir Henry Stanley, to say to the good doctor upon finding him in the darkest heart of Africa, isn't it? Or at least something Survivor-esque like that? And you may be forgiven if you half expect Probst himself to suddenly appear and challenge the four explorers who comprise Expedition Africa: Stanley and Livingstone's trek through the African countryside to an immunity challenge, so strong is the Survivor déjà vu ambience which runs through this show. The mark of producer Mark Burnett, of Survivor fame, is all over Expedition Africa: Stanley and Livingstone, a short form series which in this initial iteration (I have a strong hunch there will be follow ups) attempts to recreate Stanley's epic journey to find the doctor who had mysteriously vanished without a trace years previously. Expedition Africa is therefore both a travelogue, and a rather stunning one at that, especially in this Blu-ray presentation, but also a historical recreation and, in best Survivor mode, an exploration of social dynamics under trying circumstances. You think Survivor's Richard Hatch (or this season's Russell) was manipulative? You haven't met the stars of Expedition Africa, each a professional explorer in their own way (with the possible exception of a tagalong journalist, mimicking Stanley's own writing background and career), but none above throwing a tantrum or two to get their own way. Expedition Africa introduces us to a quartet seemingly cast for their disparate strengths, but also no doubt for their equally disparate personality traits, obviously meant to produce the occasional (or more than occasional, as the case may be) butting of heads. Pasquale is the navigator and self-appointed leader of the group, a one vote election that immediately puts him at odds with Mareya, a quietly brilliant wildlife expert, as well as Benedict, a survivalist. Journalist Kevin watches with both trepidation and occasional snarkiness as this all unfolds. For you pop culture mavens (and you know who you are), three of these four may seem familiar. Pasquale Scatturo is not only the man who led the blind climber to the top of Everest, he also had previous experience with the majestic river that drew so many explorers to the Dark Continent, an experience that was captured in the IMAX film, Mystery of the Nile. Mireya Mayor has been seen previously on the National Geographic Channel (and, if the often unreliable Wikipedia is to be believed, was also a Miami Dolphins cheerleader at one point, which I personally find somewhat humorous). Kevin Sites will be familiar to news junkies for his work with CNN and NBC. It was his filming and reporting of the perhaps unprovoked killing of an Iraqi woman in Fallujah which led to a worldwide firestorm several years ago. Only British survivalist Benedict Allen may be totally unfamiliar to American audiences at least, and his extremely low key (perhaps even passive aggressive, at least with regard to his interactions with Pasquale) behavior puts him decidedly outside the bounds of the often hyperbolic histrionics of Man vs. Wild and, to a lesser extent, Survivorman.
These four meet in Zanzibar and then set off on a whirlwind 30 day recreation of the trek which took Stanley around nine months to complete. Along the way they recruit some Maasai warriors and a lot of indigenous porters and then after a scary ocean crossing set off on their 970 mile hike westward to Ujiji, the settlement where Stanley presumed correctly well over a century ago. Where Expedition Africa excels is in its patently Survivor-esque coverage of the truly amazing countryside. The viewer is constantly greeted by thrilling aerial shots which reveal everything from lush jungles to unbelievably arid deserts. While the social interaction is fascinating, complete with Survivor style first-person confessionals delivered directly to the camera, it seems a little too pat to feel real at times, especially when, unlike Survivor, all is forgotten after the emotional storm has passed and the quartet carries on more or less as if nothing had happened. This propensity toward fakery is only heightened by the sometimes silly editing, which (especially in the opening few episodes) seems intent on providing an "oh, no" moment before what must have been every commercial in the broadcast version. This approach actually cheapens the production, which really doesn't need to rely on gimmicks like this to provide it dramatic punch—the visuals do that quite nicely, thank you. Also falling at least partially short is any kind of historical reference. Yes, we know we're on Stanley's trail, and various highlights are discussed. But what's the backstory? What was Livingstone's tale? How did Stanley know he was in Ujiji? Most, if not all, of this is only very, very tangentially mentioned at all, and some of it falls completely by the wayside. It robs Expedition Africa of its very reason for being. The final qualm I have, as passing as it may be, is the just flat out stupid product placement for a certain car brand that drives the explorers past the population centers and delivers them back to the relatively uninhabited trail sequences. Does Mark Burnett really think his audience is unsophisticated enough to notice the lingering shots on the car's nameplate and logo? All of this said, Expedition Africa is an often thrilling journey through country that very few people have ever seen firsthand, or even vicariously by way of a television show. There are so many unbelievably gorgeous vistas in each episode that it's really pointless to try to single one or two out. The human drama with regard to the quartet may be faux as can be, but some of the more unscripted moments, especially with charmingly real Maasai, give the show an emotional heft that is unusual in a putative action-adventure "reality" outing such as this. The final episode has Benedict proffering Expedition: Marco Polo as a suitable follow up piece. Silk Road, get ready: Pasquale takes no prisoners. Video  For about 99% of the time, Expedition Africa looks splendid in its 1080p AVC encode, with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. Colors are precise and lifelike, from the gorgeous greens of the jungle, to the thrilling reds of the Maasai robes, to the burnt rust and brown of the Bahi desert. This is an unusually variegated palette, and the Blu-ray does it proud, offering a nuance and subtlety to the wide array of hues offered throughout the production. Clarity is superb, with busy detail like leafy environments coming through with astounding detail. Close-ups on snakes and lizards make their scaly exteriors virtually palpable. The bad news is occasional artifacting, including some really ugly edge enhancement which shows up in the many orange backlit moments, usually with such items as tree branches or spears. There is also occasional slight ringing in some topiary scenes. These are very transitory problems, though, and my hunch is most viewers will be blown away by the gorgeous depth and sharpness of Expedition Africa's image. Audio When it rains, it pours, new audio format-wise. In all the years I have been reviewing, I had never encountered DTS HD-MA 2.0 mixes, and this week I received two reviews with this audio format. While some may complain at the lack of a true surround sound mix for Expedition Africa, the fact is there are precious few moments when it would have made much difference. The bulk of this piece's soundtrack is people talking, and all of that spoken material comes through completely clearly. Yes, some of the ambient sections, like the wonderful water sequences, and even the storms, would probably have benefitted from a 5.1 mix, but what is here offers flawless fidelity and really some quite surprising dynamic range at times. You'll probably startle much as our fearless quartet does when a herd of cattle suddenly stampedes through a waterhole they're visiting, giving the soundtrack some pretty dramatic LFE. This may not be really immersive, but it serves this production admirably for the most part. Supplements Several good to excellent extras augment the main multi-episode feature: Expedition Africa: The Making of History (HD, 20:35), gives a lot of behind the scenes footage and reminds the viewers that everytime you see our four intrepid explorers walking forward, there's a camera crew in front of them walking backward. Stanley and Livingstone, (4:20), a brief generalist overview of the pair, giving at least a little context which the series itself often just touches on tangentially. The Maasai, (2:27) another brief look at the amazing tribe whose members accompany the explorers. Wild Beasts, Disease and the Elements, 2:41 of clips from the show dealing with some of the dangers encountered. Survival Strategies, (10:18), wherein survivalist author Richard Wiese talks about various ways to not get killed in the wild, intercut with scenes from the series. (What, was Benedict still recovering from malaria?). Dangers of the Wild, (19:47), another clip compendium with narration showing the various trials the explorers encountered on their long journey. Final words  I'm a big Survivor fan, so this outing may have seemed more familiar to me than it will to those of you who don't catch the CBS series very often. Even with that caveat, Expedition Africa works as both a travelogue and a fascinating look at social dynamics. The history element could have used some beefing up and frankly I think we could all do without the stupidly blatant car commercial. Otherwise, this is aces, and strongly recommended. 
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