Odyssey: Driving Around the World
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Odyssey: Driving Around the World is a
Burgess Productions produced the series. ODYSSEY is the title of the documentary travel adventure series itself, with Driving Around the World as the subtitle for the first season.
Overview
A team of seven adventurers departs from San Francisco, California, to begin a 66,000-kilometre (41,000 mi) expedition around the world that follows following the lines of longitude through 26 countries.[1] They drive four Land Rovers across four continents, exploring and interacting with the peoples, cultures and landscapes encountered during the expedition.[1]
The series focuses on their journey, which combines elements of drama and adventure. Scenes from various episodes include high tensions in Panama when the team is stuck on the side of the road with two flat tires, spending New Year's Eve in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where they explode effigies with the locals, and running out of gas in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The team takes their first dive on the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Australia, and are the first westerners to cross Myanmar east to west in over 50 years. After meeting the Dalai Lama at his Indian home in exile, they are detained in India, deported from China, and sent back into Pakistan. They slip months behind schedule, and are forced to cross Siberia during mid-winter in frigid temperatures of −59 °C (−74 °F) to compete their final leg of the journey through Russia, Alaska, Canada, and back home 15 months after their journey began.
Route
Starting from the
ODYSSEY travels through the 26 countries of Mexico,
Vehicles
Three Land Rovers are seen during the series, but the expedition actually included a fourth, the film crew vehicle. They were equipped with a V8 petrol engine and slight suspension modifications to accommodate for slightly larger tires. The roof racks carried necessary supplies and equipment including rooftop tents where the team spent many nights out of the cold. The bumpers carried winches and lighting for rescue and low visibility driving. There were few troubles with the vehicles as a whole, but the punishing roads took its toll over time. Strut and exhaust bolts loosened up in South America, windows dropped into doors in the Outback, and a U-joint broke in Siberia. The biggest obstacle was fuel economy, which averaged around 12 mpg.
Charitable efforts
Parkinson's disease
The expedition was also a fundraiser for Parkinson's disease, with every kilometer driven raising direct donations to the Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, California. Three of the team members had relatives suffering from the disease, and during the journey the team took time out to meet with doctors and patients in clinics around the world, visiting and sharing their knowledge of new treatments.
Other charities
ODYSSEY also took the opportunity to help bring social consciousness to three other philanthropic organizations they encountered during the expedition.
- Kids Saving the Rainforest (Episode 2), a young girls group aiming to preserve Costa Rica's rainforests and animals against rapid development.
- Landmine Survivors Network (Episode 8), an organization for helping survivors of land mine accidents cope with their debilitating injuries, chosen by the team after they come across a musical band of mine victims in Cambodia.
- Myanmar Buddhist Orphanage Association (MBOA) (Episode 9), an orphanage in Mandalay, Myanmar funded entirely by external donations.
References
- ^ a b "ODYSSEY: Driving Around the World: Overview". OdysseyShow.com. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
- Official website
- "OLN Announces Eight New Series and Specials Beginning Fall 2007". ChannelCanada.com. June 5, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
External links
- Official website
- Odyssey at IMDb
