Expedition Robinson (Central Europe)
Encyclopedia
Expedition Robinson was the Central Europe
an version of Expedition Robinson
. In the spring of 2000, ORF
in Austria
and RTL2 in Germany
decided to buy the broadcasting rights to the shows Big Brother
and Expedition Robinson as they wanted to begin airing a new "reality soaps" genre. Neither show was quite as big of a success as RTL2 had expected, however both were renewed for a second season (Big Brother would eventually be renewed for at least ten more). Following the first season, ORF
chose to no longer broadcast Expedition Robinson leaving only RTL2 to air a second season. For an unknown reason in 2001 RTL2 decided to produce a show that was almost identical to Expedition Robinson known as Gestrandet. Gestrandet proved to be a ratings failure and after 2001, Expedition Robinson no longer aired in Austria or Germany.
The name alludes to both Robinson Crusoe
and The Swiss Family Robinson
, two stories featuring people marooned by shipwrecks.
, a United Kingdom
TV production company owned by Charlie Parsons
and Bob Geldof
. Their company Castaway Television Productions retained the rights to the concept when they sold Planet 24
in 1999. Mark Burnett
later licensed the format to create the U.S.
show Survivor
in 2000.
Sixteen contestants are put into a survival situation and compete in a variety of physical challenges. Early in each season two teams compete but later on the teams are merged and the competitions become individual. At the end of each show one contestant is eliminated from the show by the others in a secret "island council" ballot.
The format for Gestrandet was very similar to that of Robinson, but instead of there being sixteen contestants, there were only fourteen and they were initially divided into tribes by gender. Jokers could also enter the game at any time. Finally the winner of Gestrandet was not determined by any kind of juror vote, but was decided by a large obstacle course.
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
an version of Expedition Robinson
Expedition Robinson
Sources-External links:* *...
. In the spring of 2000, ORF
ORF
ORF may refer to:* ORF , the Austrian public service broadcaster.* Open reading frame, a portion of the genome.* The IATA airport code for Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.* ORF format , Olympus raw image file format....
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and RTL2 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
decided to buy the broadcasting rights to the shows Big Brother
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
and Expedition Robinson as they wanted to begin airing a new "reality soaps" genre. Neither show was quite as big of a success as RTL2 had expected, however both were renewed for a second season (Big Brother would eventually be renewed for at least ten more). Following the first season, ORF
ORF
ORF may refer to:* ORF , the Austrian public service broadcaster.* Open reading frame, a portion of the genome.* The IATA airport code for Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.* ORF format , Olympus raw image file format....
chose to no longer broadcast Expedition Robinson leaving only RTL2 to air a second season. For an unknown reason in 2001 RTL2 decided to produce a show that was almost identical to Expedition Robinson known as Gestrandet. Gestrandet proved to be a ratings failure and after 2001, Expedition Robinson no longer aired in Austria or Germany.
The name alludes to both Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
and The Swiss Family Robinson
The Swiss Family Robinson
-History:Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss and edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss, the novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance...
, two stories featuring people marooned by shipwrecks.
Format
The Robinson format was developed by Planet 24Planet 24
Planet 24 was a television production company. It produced The Big Breakfast and The Word had an animation division Impossible TV. Bob Geldof and Tony Boland founded Planet Pictures which merged with 24 Hour Productions headed by Charlie Parsons and Waheed, later Lord Alli...
, a United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
TV production company owned by Charlie Parsons
Charlie Parsons
Charlie Parsons is a British television producer who created a number of notable television shows including Survivor. He also created The Big Breakfast and The Word....
and Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
. Their company Castaway Television Productions retained the rights to the concept when they sold Planet 24
Planet 24
Planet 24 was a television production company. It produced The Big Breakfast and The Word had an animation division Impossible TV. Bob Geldof and Tony Boland founded Planet Pictures which merged with 24 Hour Productions headed by Charlie Parsons and Waheed, later Lord Alli...
in 1999. Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett is a British television producer and executive producer, based in the United States. He currently is the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. Works with which Burnett is associated have won multiple awards and recognition...
later licensed the format to create the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
show Survivor
Survivor (TV series)
Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
in 2000.
Sixteen contestants are put into a survival situation and compete in a variety of physical challenges. Early in each season two teams compete but later on the teams are merged and the competitions become individual. At the end of each show one contestant is eliminated from the show by the others in a secret "island council" ballot.
The format for Gestrandet was very similar to that of Robinson, but instead of there being sixteen contestants, there were only fourteen and they were initially divided into tribes by gender. Jokers could also enter the game at any time. Finally the winner of Gestrandet was not determined by any kind of juror vote, but was decided by a large obstacle course.
Seasons
| Year | Channel | Participants | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Expedition Robinson 2000 (Central Europe) Expedition Robinson, was the first season of the Central European version of Survivor which was broadcast on RTL2 in Germany and on ORF in Austria from September 17, 2000 to December 3, 2000... |
RTL2 | 19 | Melanie |
| 2001 | ? | Alexander | |