Chasing Mummies
Encyclopedia
Chasing Mummies: The Amazing Adventures of Zahi Hawass is a reality television
series which is currently airing on The History Channel
. Produced by Boutique TV, this series depicts the adventures of archaeologist and Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass
and his discoveries in Egypt
as he is followed by young archeological fellows and a camera crew. The series began on Wednesday, 14 July 2010 and aired Wednesdays at 10pm on the History Channel. The shows illustrates the complexities in the almost never-ending quest to preserve
and discover artifacts from ancient Egypt
.
TVGA describes the show as "a reality series in the tradition of Bravo's Flipping Out
. Like egomaniacal but essentially harmless blowhard Jeff Lewis, Zahi Hawass...is set up to be the comically abusive centerpiece of the show." Referring to an "intern" on the show, TVGA said, "If Zoe's not an actress and this show [is] not severely engineered / scripted, I'd both be surprised and deeply curious about how the hell Chasing Mummies could look this level of manipulated and artificial." The Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum
called that incident a "rather obvious bit of staged drama." and said that Hawass "is shown berating underlings in both English and Arabic, talking about himself in the third person and generally acting like a bit of a cartoon." The newspaper said Chasing Mummies "often verges on self-parody."
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series which is currently airing on The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
. Produced by Boutique TV, this series depicts the adventures of archaeologist and Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley....
and his discoveries in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
as he is followed by young archeological fellows and a camera crew. The series began on Wednesday, 14 July 2010 and aired Wednesdays at 10pm on the History Channel. The shows illustrates the complexities in the almost never-ending quest to preserve
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
and discover artifacts from ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
.
Cast
- Dr. Zahi HawassZahi HawassZahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley....
is an eminent archaeologist who is Egypt's Vice Minister of Culture. In 1987, he received his Doctoral Degree (Ph.D) from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he studied as a Fulbright Fellow. He has served as Chief Inspector of the Giza Pyramid Plateau. In 1998, he was appointed as director of the Giza PlateauGiza PlateauThe Giza Plateau is a plateau that is located in Giza, Egypt. The famous Giza Necropolis is located in this geographical area, which is characterized by a sandy, desert climate and terrain with little vegetation....
. In 2002 he was appointed Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of AntiquitiesSupreme Council of AntiquitiesThe Supreme Council of Antiquities is the branch of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt...
. Hawass has been accused of self-promotion, and has made controversial statements about Jews and what he has described as Jewish "control" of the world. - Leslie Greif is an executive producer of the show and frequently appears on camera. He has worked in various movie and television projects for the past 25 years. He produced and co-created Walker, Texas RangerWalker, Texas RangerWalker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...
, starring Chuck NorrisChuck NorrisCarlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
, and directed documentaries on Steve McQueenSteve McQueenTerrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
and Marlon BrandoMarlon BrandoMarlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
. His feature film credits include Funny Money, starring Chevy ChaseChevy ChaseCornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
, and Keys to Tulsa. - Dr. Allan Morton is fellowship coordinator. He has been an archaeologist for twenty years, and holds a Ph.D from Cambridge University.
- David Cheetham is a consulting archaeologist. He has been an archaeologist for two decades, and has conducted research in the countries of Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico.
Archaeological fellows
- Zoë D'Amato is an actress who has studied anthropology and art history at McGill UniversityMcGill UniversityMohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. She has worked as a librarian, an English teacher, bartender, and fundraiser for GreenpeaceGreenpeaceGreenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
. - Alice Robinson is a curator at the British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and archaeological researcher. She holds a master's degree in archaeology and anthropology from Oxford University. - Derek Lincoln has an undergraduate degree in history and anthropology from the University of South FloridaUniversity of South FloridaThe University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
and a master's degree in Mediterranean archaeology from Bristol University. - Lindsay Tanner has a degree in acting and anthropology from New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
Reception
Chasing Mummies has been largely panned by critics, who write that Hawass is unlikeable and that the show is not an authentic documentary series. Summarizing the show, New York Times columnist Neil Genzlinger writes, "[O]ne hopes that this show will, like some of those ancient pharaohs, die young, or that Dr. Hawass will unearth some ancient Egyptian chill pills and swallow a generous helping." He said that a segment showing an intern locked in a pyramid did not seem genuine, and that the show is "intent on forcing drama into the proceedings in a way that seems artificial."TVGA describes the show as "a reality series in the tradition of Bravo's Flipping Out
Flipping Out
Flipping Out is a reality television series that debuted on July 31, 2007 on Bravo in the United States and HGTV in Canada. Subsequently, it debuted on cable network Arena in Australia on September 4, 2009. For the first season it also re-aired on sister network CNBC...
. Like egomaniacal but essentially harmless blowhard Jeff Lewis, Zahi Hawass...is set up to be the comically abusive centerpiece of the show." Referring to an "intern" on the show, TVGA said, "If Zoe's not an actress and this show [is] not severely engineered / scripted, I'd both be surprised and deeply curious about how the hell Chasing Mummies could look this level of manipulated and artificial." The Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum
Almasry Alyoum
Al-Masry Al-Youm is an Egyptian privately owned daily newspaper that was first published in June 2004. It is published in Arabic and has a website in both Arabic and English...
called that incident a "rather obvious bit of staged drama." and said that Hawass "is shown berating underlings in both English and Arabic, talking about himself in the third person and generally acting like a bit of a cartoon." The newspaper said Chasing Mummies "often verges on self-parody."
Episodes
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