Endurance (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Endurance |
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Logo for Endurance: Hawaii
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| Created by | J. D. Roth Todd A. Nelson |
| Presented by | J. D. Roth |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 86 + 19 specials (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC (2002–2006) Discovery Kids (2002–2008) Discovery Channel |
| Original release | October 5, 2002 – June 28, 2008 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Moolah Beach (2001) |
| Followed by | Karma (2020-present) |
Endurance was an American reality television show for kids. It was shown on the Discovery Kids cable network in the United States and in other countries. The show was a bit like Survivor, but with teenagers.
Contestants on Endurance lived in a remote place. They took part in many mental and physical challenges. Unlike Survivor, contestants competed in pairs (one boy and one girl). The results of the challenges decided which pair would be eliminated.
The show ran for six years, from 2002 to 2008. Each season started with new contestants. Teams were slowly eliminated until only two remained. These final two teams competed to get all the Endurance Pyramid pieces. The winning boy and girl received a special vacation package with their parents.
The last episode aired on June 28, 2008. Reruns continued until July 22, 2013. Three seasons of Endurance (Hawaii, Tehachapi, and High Sierras) were nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Children's Series," but the show never won.
Making the Show
The show was made by 3Ball Productions. J. D. Roth, a former actor and kids' game show host, helped create the show. He was also the executive producer and the host you saw on screen.
Each spring, contestants aged 12–15 were chosen. Over 12,000 teens sent in five-minute audition tapes! Twenty players were picked for the first five seasons. In Season 6, this was reduced to sixteen. J. D. Roth said he looked for a very diverse group of kids.
Filming happened each summer over three weeks. The chosen teens arrived at a secret remote location in late July. Every season was filmed in a different place. These locations included California, Hawaii, Mexico, and Fiji.
One contestant, Connor Finnegan, shared his experience. He said it was strange to be filmed all the time. He learned that a big rule in reality TV is never to look at the camera.
J. D. Roth and the players sometimes talked about the drama between teams. Roth said that many participants became close friends. They learned to accept people who were different from them. He also said that being on Endurance was a life-changing experience. Kids learned to push themselves and build confidence.
Endurance came after a show called Moolah Beach, which only had one season. Discovery Kids offered to create a new reality series. From 2002 to 2006, Endurance also aired on NBC as part of its Saturday morning Discovery Kids on NBC block.
Where Was Endurance Filmed?
| Country/Region | Locations (season number) |
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| North America (5) | California (1, 4, 5), Mexico (2), Hawaii (3) |
| Oceania (1) | Fiji (6) |
How the Contests Worked
The Right To Stay Challenge
When contestants first arrived, they played the Right To Stay Challenge. This game eliminated some players right away. It was usually a test of how long you could hold on to something, like a bar or a pole.
- In Seasons 1–4, the first three girls and three boys to let go were eliminated.
- In Season 5, it was a balance and speed test. The last two boys and two girls to finish were eliminated.
- In Season 6, the first two boys and two girls to let go of a rope were eliminated. This left twelve contestants, forming six teams.
In Seasons 3 and 5, some players were chosen to skip this challenge. They automatically moved forward in the game.
Choosing Teams
The day after the Right To Stay Challenge, the remaining players competed to form teams. Each team had one boy and one girl. The games and rules for choosing teams changed each year. Team colors were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and gray. Brown was added in seasons with eight teams.
Once teams were set, each received one piece of the Endurance Pyramid. To win the game and the grand prize trip, one team had to collect all the pieces. The number of pieces changed over the seasons:
- Season 1: 10 pieces
- Seasons 2 and 3: 12 pieces
- Seasons 4 and 5: 13 pieces
- Season 6: 14 pieces
Endurance Mission
Teams then competed in Endurance Missions. These were usually skill-based challenges. The winning team received a "Samadhi." A Samadhi was an item that would negatively affect another team during the Temple Mission. The winning team chose which team to give it to. Winners of the Endurance Mission also got a pyramid piece.
When only three teams were left, the Samadhi winners could choose not to use its effect. This made the final Temple Mission fair for everyone.
Samadhi
Teams often competed for a Samadhi. Most Samadhis had a negative impact on another team. In Season 3 (Endurance Hawaii), there was a Samadhi that actually helped the team it was given to. Chris and Lindi (the Gray Team) won it and kept it. It let them switch teams or take all the pieces from another team, which they did to the Yellow Team.
In Season 5, the Blue team won the power to switch two teams. Sometimes, the team that won the Samadhi chose to remove it from the game entirely, especially when only a few teams were left.
J.D. Roth explained that Samadhi is a Buddhist word meaning "contemplation."
Temple Mission
This mission was usually a test of endurance, fitting the show's name. The team that won a Temple Mission earned the right to choose two other teams. These two teams would then go to the "Temple of Fate," which was the elimination challenge.
Temple of Fate
The two teams sent to the Temple of Fate brought all their pyramid pieces with them. They played a game similar to Rock, Paper, Scissors. Teams secretly chose water, wood, or fire.
- Water puts out Fire (Water wins)
- Wood floats on Water (Wood wins)
- Fire burns Wood (Fire wins)
The first team to win two rounds won the challenge and stayed in the game. The losing team was immediately eliminated. In Season 1, the losing team's pieces went to the team that won the next episode's challenge. In all later seasons, the losing team gave their pyramid pieces to any team they chose, along with a farewell note.
Pyramid Pieces
The pyramid pieces were very important. A team needed to collect all of them to win the game.
| Pyramid piece | First used during | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | - | Karma | }
Golden Triangle of ImmunityIn Season 5, the Golden Triangle of Immunity was added. It was a special border around the Friendship piece. A team with the Triangle of Immunity could avoid being sent to the Temple of Fate once. However, they could only use it until the final four teams remained. Once only three teams were left, the Triangle of Immunity was removed from the game. Season 6 did not have the Triangle of Immunity. Magic BoxIn Season 6, a new feature called the Magic Box was introduced. Teams competed to win this box, which gave them a secret advantage. The Green team (Leslie Powell and Will Cuddy) won the first Magic Box. It contained one free round at the Temple of Fate, which they could use before the challenge began. They chose to keep this a secret and used it to eliminate another team. The Final ChallengeFor the Final Challenge, the two remaining teams went to the Temple of Fate with all the pieces they had won. These pieces were used like chips in a shell game. The team with fewer pieces started by placing pieces by a group of pyramids. One pyramid had a hidden gold pyramid. The team could claim as many pyramids as they wanted, but had to leave at least one. The team with more pieces then claimed the pyramids their opponent didn't take. The gold pyramid was then revealed. The team that claimed the gold pyramid won all the pieces played in that round. If teams had the same number of pieces, the team that had fewer pieces in the previous round went first. If they were tied in the first round, the team that won the final mission went first. The game started with three pyramids, and one more was added each round. The team that collected all the pyramid pieces won the challenge, the game, and the grand prize trip! Season Winners
Season 1 - Endurance (2002–03)The first season was filmed in the summer of 2002 on Parsons Beach on Catalina Island, California. Seven teams competed for seven grand prize trips. The Blue team of Aaron Thornburg and Jonna Mannion won their grand prize trip to the Amazon. Jonna Mannion later appeared on MTV shows like The Real World: Cancun and The Challenge. Challenges
Season 2 - Endurance 2 (2003–04)Endurance 2 was filmed in Baja California, near La Paz, Mexico. A special twist this season was the return of Jenna and Max. They had been eliminated in Season 1 but were chosen by former contestants to come back as the Brown Team. Max DeLeo and Jenna Jimenez won the game. Their grand prize trip was to Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Challenges
Season 3 - Endurance 3: Hawaii (2004–05)The third season moved to Wainiha Valley, Kauai, Hawaii. There were some challenges during filming, like heavy rains and muddy conditions. This season had 21 episodes, including special shows about how contestants were chosen. One contestant, Rachel Lofton, was the daughter of famous football player James Lofton. This season had many twists. Six eliminated players got a second chance to compete and form a new team. Tom won this challenge and chose Vanetta as his partner, forming the Brown Team. Later, Vanetta had to leave the game due to a knee injury. This made Tom the first person to go to the Temple of Fate without a partner. The Gray team of Chris Vanderwier and Lindi Oest won the season. Their prize was a trip to the Galápagos Islands. This was the only season where the Gray team made it past the first elimination. After the season, Vanetta Smith from the Brown team acted in the movie Freedom Writers. Tom Maden later became an actor in TV shows like Scream. Challenges
Season 4 - Endurance: Tehachapi (2005–06)Endurance: Tehachapi was filmed back in California, in the Tehachapi Mountains at Tejon Ranch, during the summer of 2005. A new 13th pyramid piece, "Friendship," was added this season. The Red team of Franke Sisto and Erika Cook won the grand prize: a trip to Costa Rica. Challenges
Season 5 - Endurance: High Sierras (2006–07)The fifth season was filmed at Shaver Lake in the High Sierra Mountains of central California. Contestants lived in cool multi-level tree houses without electricity! The Green Team of Alex Carignan and Cealey Godwin won the grand prize, a trip to Hawaii. This season had a new way of choosing contestants. Fans could vote online for one boy and one girl. Garret Manno and Kelsey Schultz won this vote. In one episode, a team was eliminated without even going to the Temple of Fate. They finished last in a challenge and left the game. The Blue team (Connor Finnegan and Taylor Sico-McNulty) set a record this season by surviving three trips to the Temple. Challenges
Season 6 – Endurance: Fiji (2007–08)For the last season, fans again voted online to choose two contestants. Will Cuddy and Leslie Powell won the online poll and became the Green Team. Some contestants were siblings of previous Endurance players. Episodes started airing on October 13, 2007, and the finale was on March 8, 2008. A new feature, the "Magic Box," was introduced. It gave a secret advantage to the team that won it. The Blue team of Ben Scheuer and Jordyn Barbato won the grand prize: a trip to Australia. This was the second time a Blue team won Endurance. This was the final season of the show. Challenges
See also
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