Expedition Unknown

I understand some of the lower ratings and their critiques. You get an appetite for answers and actually finding something significant and then....well I guess we'll never really know. Still....the show takes you to places and people that you may otherwise never encounter. It takes the time to provide cultural background and often rich historical information. My 13 yr old daughter loves learning from this show.....and most adults don't know much more than she does about many of the things covered in it. So it certainly isn't a waste of most peoples time. It's much more intellectually minded than most crap on TV today. Ya wanna tune out and watch reruns of Sienfield instead? Josh does well conveying facts while being entertaining. In this show, I think it keeps peoples attention to actually listen to the 'lesson'. Now I cannot say the same for his show 'Destination Truth' which is so very UNlike Expedition Unknown in every way. Don't even try going there. I will always look forward to EU though. To quell above 'the never find anything' complaints....it seems that, in this season at least, they do. We just saw a reconstruction of what 'may' be Cleopatra. An overall fascinating show with many learning opportunities. I much more enjoy Gates in this role than as ghosty guy selling tours of the local haunted house.

Whenever I see Josh Gates I find out what the great guy is up to. Now Expedition unknown is really solid on the academic approach and source materials which is a huge plus. Josh isn't someone who will dismiss things out of hand because " it is folklore" or whatever. But then I would expect nothing less from someone who went to a reputable university.

About the show itself: there are some weird ones in it but he tries to remain neutral and only giving his educated opinion at the end of the show. Now he does seem to be over enthusiastic at times which can lead to hilarious situations ( like him falling, jumping off stuff(nearly plunging to his death) etc) So it is quite fun to see what he does next.

He also keep things up to date with the scientific methods and practices so it is a true show you have to watch.

Have done a blitz on this series and I love it , the travel show showing that there is more than sun and sand , stunning cities and out of the way sceneries. the adventure part mixed in always hinting that you could find the missing treasure etc. josh gates is funny mixing bikes,cars trucks etc into his travel, showing that rent a car is fun and dodgy, he meets some amazing people all thinking they have the answer to the puzzle. mr gates does have a down side , he does push in like a little kid , iam the presenter main man way, well he is American,a bit cocky which makes you hope he breaks a leg , would be nice if he ever found anything but that's the adventure.

Gates must be one of the more personable hosts on TV today. The premise is basically the same as his former show Destination Truth on SyFy; insofar as as with Destination Truth the show starts with some spurious rumour and homemade 'newspaper article' relating to some 'lost' artefact or place (as opposed to a mythical creature in DT) followed by Gates heading off around the globe in search of the artefact or place, followed closely by Gate's goofing around while he gets down on the the more serious track of the legends, which he then hunts down in the most annoyingly melodramatic ways possible.

All in all while the content is hokum in the extreme, overly melodramatic in parts, as a travelogue to some pretty interesting places conducted by an intelligent, well travelled, funny and entertaining host.

If Mike Rowe is the people's everyman host, Josh Gates is the host you most want to be. Who wouldn't want to travel the world investigating odd and unusual stories and historical mysteries? And not only that, Josh never seems to have a bad day. Perhaps it's just the magic of television but he genuinely seems to have fun with everything no matter what situation he seems to find himself in. He seems to genuinely enjoy his job and it comes through in every episode.

The show thinly veils itself as being about history and archaeology, but it really is about Gates and his adventures and misadventures around the world. Occasionally you will learn something and they will find something archaeologically interesting, but that's really not what the show is about. Being on the Travel channel, it's as much about the travel and experience as it is the science. Perhaps more so.

The show is well worth the watch.