BEYOND ENDURANCE

“Explorers wanted: ordinary men and women wanted for an extraordinary adventure”. 700 intrigued Irish men and women responded to this advertisement in the press. BEYOND ENDURANCE is a four-part series that follows this group of wannabe explorers as they attempt to make it through the selection trials and go to the harsh Antarctic terrain of South Georgia in their attempt to follow in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

In 1916, Sir Ernest Shackleton led an expedition to Antarctica to reach the South Pole. His expedition fell foul of the treacherous conditions of the Weddell Sea and the journey turned into an epic battle for survival in one of the harshest environments in the world. 90 years on, in the anniversary year, renowned adventurer Pat Falvey plans to take a group of enthusiastic but vastly inexperienced explorers on a trip to Antarctica to follow in Shackleton’s footsteps. BEYOND ENDURANCE will provide the ultimate in reality TV as it takes a cast of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world. This series will offer viewers an accessible but surprising television experience as they witness the transformation of ordinary people from couch potatoes to hardened travelers, pushing themselves to limits they never thought possible.

The commitment is a leap into the unknown. For a start, anyone wanting to take part has to hand over €15,000. They also have to take part on a number of trials which take place in Co. Kerry, and Norway. Using an observational approach, the series will see them struggle with both the elements and their own physical limitations to learn the outdoor skills necessary to survive in the Antarctic.

A number of unlikely candidates step forward. Mary Casey, a 56 year old mother of four, from the Innishowen Peninsula of Donegal. They say a women of my age should know better, I say that it’s because I’m a woman my age I know better, do it better, and relish the challenge!
Cliff Reid from Athy, Co Kildare, a student with serious fundraising needs. “I come from Shackleton’s home town, and felt we should have a representative. No one came forward so I gave up the fags and the drink, and decided to see if I could make a go of it myself…”

Retired fireman Jerry Aherne, from Cork. Sporting a handlebar moustache and a copy of ‘Unsung Hero’, the book about the life of explorer Tom Crean, he leapt at the chance to emulate his heroes. “I want to know what these men endured, and I want to find out if I am up to the physical and mental challenge. “

Expedition leader Pat Falvey started out life in the construction industry, eventually swapping his concrete mixer for a set of crampons. He has summated Everest twice and completed over 50 successful expeditions across the world. Falvey has put his house on the line to guarantee the huge costs associated with this madcap scheme. He has made commitments. A ship capable of withstanding the most inhospitable seas has been chartered and now Falvey must run a successful expedition to cover his costs. He needs to recoup over half a million Euro, or he goes bust.

The training for and expedition to South Georgia, which the series follows, is only part of the overall Beyond Endurance Expedition. Pat and the rest of the team are to complete the expedition's final objective by skiing to the South Pole and beyond. They leave Ireland on the 1st of November and will spend at least 60 days on the Ice.

This will be the ultimate reality TV show that sends people quite literally to the end of the earth…

The series was filmed in High Definition using Sony cameras by Steve O'Reilly and Niall Foley and is produced by Karen Rodgers of PANACHE TELEVISION for RTE. Four half-hour documentaries will be shown weekly on RTE 1 at 7pm, beginning on 23rd October.

The format will allow the viewers to feel as if they are part of the conversation. The setting will be a very warm and easy environment with multiple cameras covering the conversation as it happens.

The conversation would naturally traverse all the human feelings and physical dilemmas possible that adventurers face; from the physical environment to the emotional side of extreme endeavors, the spiritual significance, and the mental fortitude necessary to finish the trip.

Each explorer will tell the stories, anecdotes, jokes?etc. of their adventures. Of course, no one person will dominate the evening. Scientists, camera people, guides, various and sundry who accompany different excursions also have a turn at describing the highlights of their adventure.

The host will masterfully guide the conversation so that it feels like exactly that, a conversation. Informality is the key, IE: the waiter taking food and drink orders may well make it into the final cut of the show.

We have moments where explorers tell us who they are inspired by, who they emulate and why. What their sense of adventure means within the context of their family, friends and colleagues. So we cover the history of other magnificent achievements as well.

In the end, result, we expect the experience to be greater than the sum of its parts. The explorers will give, and also gain from each other. The audience will feel connected and included in the lives of many they will know, and many they will come to know.

THE HOST

Adventurer, Explorer, Motivational speaker, Team trainer, Author, Photographer and film producer. Pat Falvey is Ireland's leading team trainer and motivational speaker as well as being a world-renowned adventurer and explorer. His achievements to date are an inspiration to all.

Pat has over 62 high adventurers completed around the world to his credit. He is the only person in the world to have completed the Seven Summits challenge twice, including climbing Mount Everest from both Nepal and Tibet as well as walking/skiing to the South Pole and traversing Greenland. He also led the 1st Irish team to complete an oxygen-less ascent on an 8000 meter peak in 1998, into an area know to climbers as The Death Zone, on the sixth highest mountain in the world, Cho-Oyu.

Pat has a charismatic personality and is a natural story teller. His resume of adventure immediately buys the respect of anyone who finds him/herself sitting at the same table. For more on Pat, please go to www.patfalvey.com or www.beyondendurance.ie

LOCATIONS

The location will be informal, allowing conversation to flow freely. Due to the scope of the series, the same type of location must be available anywhere in the world. We plan on shooting at high-end, quiet restaurants that meet the requirements of the shoot. The restaurant will in return get exposure within the credits and an exterior shot in the opening credits of that particular show.

THE PLAYERS

URBAN BREW STUDIOS- Based in Johannesburg, yet beaming out into the world, Urban Brew has been serving the continent of Africa for more than 10 years, consistently producing over twenty hours of television a week for the national broadcaster. Game Shows, Talk Shows, Kids programming, Documentaries...the works.

With offices in East, West and South Africa, Urban Brew has been able to influence millions of Africans in the production arena of television and film. A major training facility, Urban Brew supports Soweto TV, and is currently training the personnel and setting up the station for South Sudan TV.

SWITCHVERT - is an ideas/production house based in Washington DC and Jo-burg South Africa. We are all about telling the story. Our work literally spans the globe with projects in the last two years crossing 5 continents.

Over the past few years we have focused on commercials, documentaries and television. Our work is as diverse as it sounds. In South Africa we have worked on both sitcom and magazine TV programs, bringing each show to a primetime audience. Our documentaries were shot in Antarctica, Haiti, South America, the US and sub-Saharan Africa. We have shot over 40 commercials with USAID in Nigeria, Zambia, Haiti and Mozambique.

More recently Switchvert has moved into the realm of Feature Film. In mid 2009 we are set to begin principal photography on our very own 'Formula'.

Irish adventurers Pat Falvey and Dr Clare O Leary  will navigate, walk, ski and swim on a historical icy voyage of 784 km on a 55 day expedition of endurance man-hauling their sleds across the rugged broken melting arctic ocean. Their only means of survival and rest in this hostile arena is a thin skin of manmade material their tent.