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Endurance (TV series)

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Endurance
File:Endurance 5.jpg
Logo for Season 5
Created byJ.D. Roth
Todd A. Nelson
StarringJ.D. Roth (Host)
Contestants–see specific seasons
Country of origin United States
Production
Running time24 minutes
Original release
NetworkDiscovery Kids
NBC (2002-2006)
Release2002 –
present

Endurance is an American reality television children's program currently shown on the Discovery Kids cable network in the United States and also on networks in other countries. The show's format is somewhat similar to the CBS television series Survivor, but with a teenaged cast. Like that show, Endurance contestants live in a remote location and participate in various mental and physical challenges, although Endurance contestants compete as pairs (one boy and one girl), and the outcome of the competitions determines which pair of players is eliminated.

Each season begins with a new slate of contestants, who are gradually eliminated as the season progresses until the remaining two teams compete to get all of the Endurance Pyramid pieces. The winning boy and girl receive an all-expenses paid vacation package with their parents to a tropical location as the prize.

Endurance completed its fifth season on March 17, 2007 and is currently televised Saturday evenings in the U.S. as part of Discovery Kids' @DK prime-time lineup, with repeat episodes shown on weeknights. The last three seasons of Endurance (Hawaii, Tehachapi and High Sierras) were each nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category of "Outstanding Children's Series," although the show has yet to win. The 2006/07 Daytime Emmy winner will be announced on June 15, 2007.


Production

The show is produced by 3Ball Productions. Its co-creator, J.D. Roth, is the executive producer and on-screen host. Other producers are: co-creator Todd A. Nelson, Erin Wanner, Grady Candler, Matt Westmore, Lori Gordon, Belinda Rungsea, and Sara Clinehens. Roth received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2006 as "Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series" for Endurance: Tehachapi but did not win.

Twenty contestants ages 12-15 are selected each spring from 5-minute audition tapes sent in by more than 10,000 teens to the show's production team. In a 2004 newspaper interview, Roth revealed that he looks for as diverse a group as possible.[1] Shooting of the series takes place each summer over a three week period and begins with the 20 teenagers arriving at a secret remote location in late July. Past seasons were taped on-location in California, Hawaii, and Mexico.

In a January, 2007, interview with the Boston Globe, Connor Finnegan recalled his experience as an Endurance: High Sierras player the previous summer: "At first it was weird being filmed all the time. You'd be talking and suddenly there would be a camera or microphone shoved into your face. The big rule with reality TV is never to look at the camera."[2]

File:Endurance Julie.jpg
Julie Dubela competing in Endurance: Tehachapi (2005)

As part of the show, host J.D. Roth and the players sometimes discuss the interpersonal drama occurring among the teams. Roth has said that many participants have become close friends while the series was being shot, learning tolerance for people who were different from themselves.[1] However, the Boston Globe reported that there was friction among the players on Endurance: High Sierras following the controversial break-up of teams. Finnegan's mother said, "There was definitely some nastiness", complaining that the producers and writers, "deliberately put the kids in situations that are designed to increase the drama and tension".[2] But, Taylor Sico-McNulty, another Endurance: High Sierras contestant from Massachusetts and Finnigan's partner, said that when she returned home following the show's California taping, she "really missed seeing all the other kids in the cast every day", adding that a number of player reunions have since been held.[3]

Another player from the fifth season, Dakota Fisher of Eliot, Maine, echoed the feeling, saying that his appearance on Endurance left him with relationships he will never forget. "You should have seen me a week after the show, it was depressing", said the 15-year old who had been trying for two years to get on the Emmy-nominated teen reality program.[4]

Endurance is the successor to Moolah Beach, a show created by Roth which was not renewed after its single 2001 season, when a change in ownership of Fox Family Network (now ABC Family), opened up a new offer from Discovery Kids for a reality series. For four seasons (2002–2006), Endurance was also broadcast on the NBC network as part of its Saturday morning Discovery Kids on NBC block of programs.
            

The contests

The "Right To Stay" Challenge

Shortly after they arrive, the group of 20 contestants competes in the first Endurance game, called the "Right To Stay Challenge". As the name implies, this game eliminates a group of contestants from continuing any further in the game. The game is normally a test of endurance, where each contestant has to hold on to something such as a bar or a pole for as long as possible. In Seasons 1 through 4, the first three girls and the first three boys to let go were eliminated. In Season 5, the game was a test of balance and speed, and the last two boys and last two girls to finish the game were eliminated.

In Season 3, the eliminated players were brought back the following day to compete in a "second chance" Right to Stay game. The winner of this game (Tom) chose his partner from the group of girls (Vanetta), forming the Brown team.

In Seasons 3 and 5, the group was required to choose two players (a boy and a girl) who were allowed to sit out the Right To Stay Challenge, automatically advancing as if they had survived the challenge.

Choosing teams

The day after the Right To Stay Challenge, the remaining players compete in another game to determine teams. Each team consists of one boy and one girl. The game and the rules vary from year to year, but the winner of this challenge usually earns the right to pick his/her partner. The team colors are red, orange, green, yellow, blue, purple and gray. In Seasons 2 and 3, a brown team was added.

After the teams are decided, they each receive one pyramid piece of the Endurance Pyramid. To win the game and the grand prize trip, one team must possess all of the pieces. (10 pieces in the first season, 12 in Seasons 2 and 3, 13 in Seasons 4 and 5, and 14 in Season 6).

Endurance Mission

With the teams now assigned, they begin competing in Endurance Missions. This is usually a test of skill. The team that wins an Endurance Mission will typically earn another piece of the Endurance Pyramid and the Samahdi. The Samadhi contains something that will have a negative effect on one team during the Temple Mission, and the winners of the Endurance Mission get to choose which team has to play with its effect. However, it is customary, that when three teams remain, the winners of the Samadhi have the right to not give its effect to a team, leaving a level playing field for the final Temple Mission.

The "Samadhi"

The teams will compete for Samadhis fairly often through the entire game. All of them but two had a negative impact on another team. In Season Three (Endurance Hawaii) there was a Samadhi that benefitted the team that it was given to. Chris and Lindi (the Gray Team) won that Samadhi, and decided to keep it and in Season 5, the Blue won the power to switch two teams around. In Season 1 the team that won the Samadhi at the Final 3 stage chose to eliminate it from the game. In season 2, the team that won the Samadhi at the Final 4 stage chose to eliminate it from the game as well. This pattern however was broken in Season 3. Also, in Season 5, the first Samadhi (won in the mission "Hot Potato") was the ability to make two players switch teams or give another team the power to make the switch. Taylor and Isaac, the original Blue team, won this Samadhi. They gave it to the Red team, who used it to switch Connor onto the Blue team and Isaac onto the Gray team.

Temple mission

This mission is usually one of endurance (hence the show's title). The team that wins a Temple Mission usually earns the right to choose two other teams to send to the "Temple of Fate", the elimination challenge.

"Temple of Fate"

The two teams sent to the Temple of Fate bring with them all pyramid pieces they have won up to that point. In a variant of the Rock, Paper, Scissors intransitive game, the teams select fire, wood, or water to defeat one another in a best 2 out of 3 match, e.g.,

  • water puts out fire (water wins)
  • fire burns wood (fire wins)
  • wood floats on water (wood wins)

The first team to win two rounds wins the challenge and the right to stay in the game. The losers are immediately eliminated. In Season 1, their pieces went to the team winning the challenge; since Season 2, the losing team gives their pyramid pieces to any team they choose.

Pyramid Pieces

The pyramid pieces play an important part in the game, since one team must possess all of the pieces to win the game. Season 1 had 10, Seasons 2 and 3 had 12, Seasons 4 and 5 had 13.

Pyramid Piece First Used During
Commitment Season 1
Courage Season 1
Discipline Season 1
Leadership Season 1
Luck Season 1
Perseverance Season 1
Strength Season 1
Heart Season 1
Knowledge Season 1
Trust Season 1
Ingenuity Season 2
Teamwork Season 2
Friendship Season 4 (Introduced Season 3)
Karma Season 6 (Introduced Season 5)

"Triangle of Immunity"

In Season 5, the Triangle of Immunity was added. It is a border that is placed around the Friendship piece. It may be transferred to another team with any temple mission. The team in possession of the Triangle of Immunity can avoid being sent to temple once, but is only able to use it until the final four. Once they reach the final three, the Triangle of Immunity is removed from the game.

Final Challenge

For the Final Challenge, both teams go to the Temple of Fate with all the pieces they have won. These pieces are now used as chips to play a "find the golden pyramid"-type challenge.

The team with fewer pieces starts by placing pieces by a group of pyramids, one of which has the gold pyramid under it. That team may claim as many as it wishes but must leave at least one pyramid unclaimed. The team with more pieces must claim the pyramids that its opponent did not claim. At this point, the gold pyramid is revealed, and the team that has claimed it wins all the pieces that were played on the board. If teams have the same number of pieces the team that had fewer pieces the round before places first. If teams are tied in first round, the team that won the final mission places their pieces first

There are three pyramids to start the game, and one more is added every round thereafter. The team that gets all the pyramid pieces wins the challenge, the game and the grand prize trip.

for those kids who do get voted good luck and for the others that dont well theres allways the next year never give up and keep on trying!

Season Summaries

Season 1 – Endurance (2002-2003)

The premiere season was taped in the summer of 2002 at Catalina Island, California. The season consisted of seven teams (in order of elimination):

Team Boy's name Girl's name Place Notes
Gray Max DeLeo Jenna Jimenez 7th Went to Temple with Green
Purple Brandon Hendrix Layla Brisco 6th Went to Temple with Orange
Orange Skyler Russell Chelsea Myers 5th Went to Temple with Green
Green Trevor Wilkins Lana Neiman 4th Went to Temple with Yellow, Gave Samadhi to Blue
Red Christian Justice Ashley Gudzak 3rd Went to Temple with Yellow
Yellow Jon Crocilla Sabrina Lloyd 2nd Gave Samadhi to Purple, Orange
Blue Aaron Thronburg Jonna Mannion 1st Gave Samahdi to Orange, Removed Samadhi from game

Season 2 – Endurance 2 (2003-2004)

Endurance 2 was taped in Baja California, near the resort town of La Paz, Mexico. An unusual twist in this season was the return of Jenna & Max, who were previously eliminated in season one, chosen to become the Brown Team from a reunion audience/alumni vote of Season 1 contestants. In the end, the veterans (Max and Jenna) won the game, earning the prize trip to Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas. This season consisted of eight teams (in order of elimination):

Team Boy's name Girl's name Place Notes
Gray Wayne Williams Maryelle DeVitto 8th Went to temple with Orange
Red Phil Morelli Jacquelynn Pointer 7th Went to temple with Orange
Blue Scooter Magruder Christa Scholtz 6th Went to temple with Purple
Yellow Shep Allen Calley Payne 5th Went to temple with Brown
Purple Jeff Phillips Annie Kim 4th Went to temple with Brown, Gave Samadhi to Orange, Brown
Orange Tyler Burkhalter Michelle Durand 3rd Went to temple with Green, Removed Samadhi from game
Green Mike Lavigne Keetin Marchi 2nd
Brown Max DeLeo Jenna Jimenez 1st Gave Samadhi to Blue

The six contestants eliminated prior to or during the Right to Stay Challenge were: Abbey Konz, David Cofresi, Glen Powell, Sarah Ruckreigle, Simone Bouffard, and Trey Griffin. Their eliminations did not affect the arrival of Jenna and Max as the Brown team, who arrived after the formation of the seven other teams.

Season 3 – Endurance Hawaii (2004-2005)

Moving to Wainiha Valley, Kauai, Hawaii, for the third season, a number of production problems were encountered, including difficulties in obtaining location permits, torrential rains, muddy conditions, and mosquitoes.[1] It had 21 episodes including casting specials showing the selection process. One of the contestants, Rachel Lofton of the Red team, is the daughter of Pro Football Hall of Famer and San Diego Chargers coach James Lofton.[5]

There were numerous twists in the season including bringing back six eliminated players, after the right to stay, to compete in a challenge to become an official endurance player. The winner would choose someone from the opposite sex and they would become the Brown Team. Tom won and chose Vanetta as his partner. Later, Vanetta injured her knee: while walking outside of her hut and stepping down, she cut her leg on a piece of bamboo. The cut required more than 20 stitches, and she was removed from the game, making Tom the first person in Endurance to be a one-person team. Also, he was the first person to go to the Temple of Fate without a partner. This disadvantage likely contributed to his elimination.

In the end, the Gray team won, with a trip to the Galápagos Islands as their prize. As an interesting side note, this is the first (and so far the only) season to see the Gray team progress past the first temple elimination. There was also a special program at the conclusion of the season showing Gray team winners Chris Vanderweir and Lindi Oest enjoying their prize trip to the Galápagos Islands.

After the season, Vanetta Smith of the Brown team starred in the movie Freedom Writers.

The eight teams competing were (in order of elimination):

Team Boy's name Girl's name Place Notes
Blue Antonio Iannicelli Willa Zhou 8th Went to Temple with Orange
Green Bjorn Leum Alex Reid 7th Went to Temple with Yellow
Red Kareem Nugent Rachel Lofton 6th Went to Temple with Brown
Brown Tom Maden Vanetta Smith 5th Went to Temple with Yellow
Purple Reece Bors Sarah Baker 4th Went to Temple with Gray, gave Samadhi to Yellow
Yellow Monroe Gierl Bryanah Bascon 3rd Went to Temple with Gray, gave Samadhi to Gray, had two pieces taken away from Gray; formed super teams
Orange Demian Martinez Nicole Clark 2nd Went to Temple with Blue
Gray Chris Vanderweir Lindi Oest 1st Gave Samadhi to Yellow twice, took Yellow's two pieces away with Samadhi

Players eliminated early: Brandon, Eleanor, Marshall Katheder, Taylor Madison, Tom Maden, and Vanetta Smith (Tom and Vanetta later become the Brown Team.)

Season 4 – Endurance: Tehachapi (2005-2006)

Returning to California for the next two seasons, Endurance: Tehachapi was taped in the Tehachapi Mountains in the summer 2005 for airing beginning that Fall. The 13th pyramid piece, Friendship, was added this season. The Red Team of Erika Cook and Franke Sisto won the grand prize, a trip to Costa Rica. The seven teams competing were:

Team Boy's name Home town Girl's name Home town Place Notes
Gray John Kardian Westchester, New York Julie Dubela Stratham, New Hampshire 7th Went to Temple with Blue
Yellow Christopher Tavarez Atlanta, Georgia Callie Simpkins Frederick, Maryland 6th Went to Temple with Red
Orange Michael Delvecchio Bailey, Colorado Kylie Glessman Simpsonville, South Carolina 5th Went to Temple with Purple
Blue Shea Thomas Douglasville, Georgia Amelia Land Macon, Georgia 4th Went to Temple with Red
Green Isaac Hainley Portland, Oregon Jeszie Geronimo Boston, Massachusetts 3rd Went to Temple with Purple, gave Samadhi to Gray, Red twice
Purple Jonathan Lebowitz New York City Daniela Bustamante Boca Raton, Florida 2nd Gave Samadhi to Green
Red Franke Sisto Sewell, New Jersey Erika Cook Lake Forest, California 1st formed Super-Teams

Players eliminated early: Brittany Harvey, Keith Walker II, Brooke Bellows, Nicholas Verderosa, Kendall Yorkey, and Tucker Baer

Season 5 – Endurance: High Sierras (2006-2007)

The fifth season was taped at Shaver Lake in the High Sierra Mountains of Northern California. Contestants lived in multi-level tree houses without electricity. The Green Team of Alex Carignan, a 15-year old freshman at Leominster High School, Massachusetts, and Cealey Godwin, a 14-year old freshman at Tallahassee High School, Florida, won the grand prize, a trip to Hawaii.

In a new twist to the fifth season's contestant selection, the Discovery Kids website held a casting poll which allowed fans to select two contestants from a group of six kids: Ainelle (Los Angeles, California), Kayla (Leawood, Kansas), Kelsey (Rockwall, Texas), Jordan (Claremont, California), Garret (Orlando, Florida), and Kem (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Kelsey and Garret won the poll by a narrow margin.

In the third episode ("Unwind"), one team – Garret Manno and Anna Asare – was eliminated without going to Temple. They finished last in the first challenge and left the game without a team color; the other seven teams selected colors as they finished. The "colorless team" received the "Immunity Triangle", which they gave to the Purple team of Kelsey and Dakota. The team having the Immunity Triangle may use it once to avoid the Temple of Fate; however, the Purple team never used it.

The Blue team set a record this season by surviving three trips to Temple.

The eight teams competing were:

Team Boy's name Home town Girl's name Home town Place Notes
Colorless Garret Manno Orlando, Florida Anna Nti Asare Laramie, Wyoming 8th Eliminated in challenge before they were given a color
Gray Isaac (Ike) Moody¹ Riverside, California Darci Miller Baldwin, New York 7th Went to Temple with Yellow
Yellow Aric Manthey Madison, South Dakota Lilly Brown Bloomington, Indiana 6th Went to Temple with Blue
Orange Max McFarland Leawood, Kansas[6] Kristine Turner Huntington Beach, California 5th Went to Temple with Blue
Red Cameron Uranick Orlando, Florida Aerial Miranda Plano, Texas[7] 4th Went to Temple with Blue, Used Samadhi to switch Gray and Blue
Blue Connor Finnegan¹ Acton, Massachusetts Taylor Sico-McNulty Boxford, Massachusetts 3rd Gave Team Switch Samadhi to Red, gave Samadhi to Gray and Purple,Went to Temple with Green
Purple Dakota Fisher Eliot, Maine Kelsey Schultz Rockwall, Texas 2nd Received Triangle of Immunity, formed Super-Teams
Green Alex Carignan Leominster, Massachusetts Cealey Godwin Tallahassee, Florida 1st

¹ Initially, the Blue team was Ike and Taylor, and the Gray team was Connor and Darci. The Red team used a Samadhi to switch Connor and Ike.

Eliminated early: Adrian Bardales and Rafael Liriano (boys), Martina Iwala and Stefanie Fernandez (girls).

Season 6 – Endurance (location TBA) (2007-2008)

Contestant applications are now being solicited for the sixth season of Endurance, to be staged at a presently undisclosed location in the summer of 2007. The "secret code word", which supposedly is advantageous for would-be entrants, was revealed on the fifth season's final episode, which aired March 17 2007. The deadline for audition tapes is May 1 2007.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Kauai film project battled adversity", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 28, 2004.
  2. ^ a b Nancy West, "An Acton boy is among the competitors on a TV survival show", Boston Globe, January 11, 2007
  3. ^ Nancy West, "Determined Boxford teen stakes her claim on TV show", Boston Globe, January 18, 2007.
  4. ^ Steven Gintz, "Teen finds 'Endurance' to compete", Foster's Daily Democrat (Maine), March 13, 2007.
  5. ^ San Diego Chargers press release, August 31, 2004
  6. ^ "Freshman to appear on reality TV show," Kansas City Star, October 3, 2006.
  7. ^ "Milam students meet Olympic Silver Medalist," El Paso Independent School District, January 31, 2007.

Internet Movie Database pages:

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