National Geographic Explorer

Explorer
A 2005 title screenshot.
Genre	Documentary Geography History Science
Created by	Joe Seamans
Developed by	Joe Seamans
Presented by	Bingo O'Malley original Lisa Ling (2003–2010)
Starring	Lisa Ling (2003–2010)
Narrated by	Bingo O'Malley original Lisa Ling (2003–2010)
Theme music composer	Elmer Bernstein
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	233
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jonathan Halperin
Camera setup	Multiple
Running time	90 minutes
Production company(s)	National Geographic Society
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon (1985–1986) TBS (1986–1999) CNBC (1999–2001) MSNBC (2001–2004) National Geographic Channel (2004–present)
Original release	April 7, 1985 – present
Chronology
Preceded by	National Geographic Specials
Followed by	National Geographic Ultimate Explorer
External links
Website

National Geographic Explorer (or simply Explorer) is an American documentary television series that originally premiered on Nickelodeon on April 7, 1985, after having been produced as a less costly and intensive alternative to PBS's National Geographic Specials by Pittsburgh station WQED.^[1] The first episode ("Herculaneum: Voices from the Past") was produced by WQED and featured long-time Explorer camerman 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 24 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 re-launched itself on MSNBC as Ultimate Explorer, with Lisa Ling as the host. On July 8, 2004, Explorer joined the National Geographic Channel.

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

Hosts / narrators

• David Greenan (1985)
• Tom Chapin (1985–1988)
• Robert Urich (1988–1995)
• Boyd Matson (1995–2003)
• Lisa Ling (2003–2010)

Executive producers

• Tim Kelly
• Tim Cowling
• Tom Simon
• Michael Rosenfeld
• Patrick Prentice
• Jonathan Halperin
• Robert Zakin (current)

Episodes

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" "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" "Search for Adam" "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"

2006 "Attack of the Killer Bees" "Doomsday Volcano" "Drowning New Orleans" "Fire Ants: Texas Border Massacre" "Inside North Korea" "Killer Cane Toads" "Outsmarting Terror" "Science of Surveillance" "Secret Lives of Jesus" "Super Rig" "Super Sub" "Supercarrier" "Ultimate Bear", black, brown, and polar bears "Ultimate Cat" "Ultimate Hippo" "Ultimate Shark" "World's Most Dangerous Drug"

2007 "Aryan Brotherhood" "China's Secret Mummies" "Heroin 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" "Ultimate Viper"

2008 "Alaska's Last Oil" "Border Wars", Illegal immigration to the United States along the US-Mexico border, US Border Patrol "Congo Bush Pilots" "Death of the Iceman" "Finding Anastasia" "Gorilla Murders" "Guns in America" "Inside Sumo" "Lost Cities of the Amazon" "Marijuana 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"

2009 "24 Hours After Asteroid Impact" "Child Mummy Sacrifice" "Chimps on the Edge" "Climbing Redwood Giants" "Easter Island Underworld" "Inside Death Row" "Inside Guantanamo Bay" "Inside LSD" "Italy's Mystery Mummies", Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, 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"

2010 "Camp Leatherneck" "DEA 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 "Solitary Confinement" "Talibanistan", the Taliban in Waziristan and rest of the border region "Vampire Forensics" "Nazi Mystery: Twins from Brazil", Joseph Mengele's experiments on twins revived in Brazil

References

1. "Tuned In: National Geographic's "Explorer" celebrates 25th anniversary". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2016-03-15.

External links

• Official website
• National Geographic Explorer at the Internet Movie Database