Madventures (Finnish TV program)

Last updated

Madventures
Genre Travel, documentary
Created by Riku Rantala
Tuomas Milonoff
StarringRiku Rantala
Tuomas Milonoff
Opening themeComposed by Korhonen
Country of originFinland
Original languagesFinnish
English
No. of series3
No. of episodes49
Production
Running timeSeries 1 approx. 50 min,
Series 2 approx. 35 min,
Series 3 approx. 22 min (international),
Series 3 28–38 min (Finland)
Original release
Network Sub
Fiver
Travel Channel
Release2002 (2002)
Riku Rantala (left) and Tuomas Milonoff in 2011 Riku rantala tuomas milonoff 2011.jpg
Riku Rantala (left) and Tuomas Milonoff in 2011

Madventures is a Finnish travel documentary television program that concentrates on backpacking in the most off-the-beaten-path destinations on the planet. It is presented by Riku Rantala and Tuomas "Tunna" Milonoff. As the show's director and cameramen, they travel around the world exploring different cultures. They emphasize that they are on a journey, not on a holiday. The show often features local practices that are culturally unacceptable or controversial where the episodes air, to the point where the showmakers have been accused of deliberate, excessive use of shock imagery.

Contents

The show premiered in Finland on the channel Sub, on 13 October 2002. Its international premiere was in the United States on the Travel Channel on 21 September 2009. The United Kingdom premiere on Fiver is not yet decided. Originally Internationally, Madventures is distributed by the Target Entertainment Group.

The show includes a "MadCook" section, in which the travellers attempt to eat some of the least favoured dishes around the world — for example, monkey brains in the Amazon Rainforest and dog meat in Bali. Another light hearted feature are the waking up scenes, where Milonoff will often shock Rantala while he is still asleep in bed.

Production

The travel documentary is made on a relatively low budget with no major production crew but rather just the two presenters travelling together with the film equipment.

Riku Rantala is the writer, presenter and producer of the program, while Tuomas "Tunna" Milonoff directs and films. [1]

The first two seasons were made in Finnish, but for international audiences, season three of the show was sold to the Travel Channel and Fiver and the language was switched to English. [2] The third series was broadcast starting in Finland in early April 2009 with each episode being ten minutes longer than the international version.

Episodes

The program started as a gonzo documentary about the backpacking culture and the travel stories of the protagonists. The second series added a bit more social criticism to the mix whereas the third series concentrates on cultural and sociological extremes.

The following is a comprehensive list of Madventures episodes, excluding DVD extras. The original runtime of episodes was 50 minutes. For the second series the channel decided to halve the duration of episodes.

Season 1 (2002)

  1. NepalKathmandu
  2. NepalKathmandu, Chitwan, Annapurna
  3. IndiaVaranasi, Delhi, Rajasthan
  4. IndiaPushkar, Rishikesh
  5. IndiaGoa / CambodiaPhnom Penh
  6. CambodiaPhnom Penh, Siam Reap, Sihanoukville
  7. ThailandKoh Phangan, Koh Tao
  8. ThailandKoh Tao, Bangkok, Krabi
  9. IndonesiaMedan, Lake Toba, Bali / MalesiaPenang / Singapore
  10. IndonesiaBali, Sumba
  11. IndonesiaSumba, Bali
  12. AustraliaSydney / New ZealandAuckland / Tonga
  13. Tonga
  14. TongaPeru
  15. Amazonia
  16. Peru & Ecuador
  17. USACalifornia
  18. USALas Vegas
  19. USALas VegasMemphis
  20. FinlandHelsinki
  21. Mad Cook Special 1
  22. Mad Cook Special 2
  23. Madventures – Pahimmat iskut 1
  24. Madventures – Pahimmat iskut 2

Season 2 (2005)

  1. Jamaica
  2. Tokyo
  3. Japan
  4. China
  5. Tibet
  6. West Papua
  7. Cuba
  8. Africa 1
  9. Africa 2
  10. Indochina 1
  11. Indochina 2
  12. Mad Cook Special
  13. Best of Madventures II
  14. Madventures Radalla (Loaded)
  15. Madventures Koukussa (Hooked)

Season 3 (2009, Finnish broadcast)

  1. Amazonas
  2. Ex-CCCP
  3. West Africa
  4. Felix Arabia
  5. Nippon
  6. Hindustan
  7. China
  8. Papua Niugini
  9. Philippines
  10. Southeast Asia - Burma, Thailand & Vietnam

Season 3 (2009, Travel Channel broadcast)

  1. Brazil (21 September)
  2. Southeast Asia (21 September)
  3. Japan (28 September)
  4. Russia/Ukraine (28 September)
  5. Philippines (5 October)
  6. China (12 October)
  7. Papua New Guinea (19 October)
  8. India (Re:Releasing in 2010)
  9. Togo/Benin (Re:Releasing in 2010)
  10. Yemen (Re:Releasing in 2010)

Reception and awards

In 2002, the show received an Anti Animalia award [3] for their MadCook section from Animalia  [ fi ], Finland's largest [4] animal rights organization. Rantala and Milonoff strongly opposed Animalia's decision in public, calling it hypocritical and pusillanimous, as one of the story's points was to criticize western industrial farming. According to Madventures production team, they want to provoke and to create discussion about intolerance, neoconservatism and moralism. [5]

In 2005, the second series was awarded with an Entertainment Special-Venla and two Media & Message awards in different categories. [6] [7] In 2008, Rantala was selected as the best male TV-person in the Kultainen TV  [ fi ] (literally Golden TV) awards. In the same event Madventures won the best television programme of 2008 award. Both awards were decided in a vote by television viewers.

In January 2009, the hosts were selected as the Travel Persons of the Year by the Finnish Guild of Travel Journalists. The award, which has been given out since 1972, was presented in the Matka 2009 Nordic Travel Fair. [8] [9]

Releases

DVD nameEp #Release dates
All regions
Full series
Madventures 11223 November 2005
Madventures 21328 September 2006
Madventures 3 (FI-version)1019 October 2009
Madventures 3 (EN-version)106 October 2009

All the seasons have been released on DVD with extras. Series 2 box set includes subtitles in English. Series 3 has two separate DVD boxes for English and Finnish viewers. Both boxes include over four hours of unaired footage.

See also

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References

  1. "Madventures info". Gimmeyawallet Productions. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  2. "Madventures myytiin amerikkalaiselle tv-kanavalle" (in Finnish). YLE. 20 October 2008. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
  3. "Pro ja Anti Animalia -palkinnot kautta aikojen" (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  4. "Animalia — Federation for the Protection of Animals". Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  5. "Madventures/Blog - Welcome To Madventures" . Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  6. "Venla 2005 tulokset" (in Finnish). MTV3. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  7. "Production Housen 'Tahdon asia' sai Media & Messagen pääpalkinnon" (in Finnish). Mediaviikko. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  8. "Madventures-kaksikosta Vuoden Matkailuhenkilö" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  9. "The Finnish Guild of Travel Journalists". Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.