Serious (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Serious |
|
|---|---|
Serious Ocean logo
|
|
| Starring | Bruce Parry Emma Jay Ben Major Polly Murray |
| Narrated by | Kate Gerbeau (2002) Fearne Cotton (2003–2007) Sophie Okonedo (2008–2011) Steve Backshall (2011) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBBC |
| Original release | 2002 – 2011 |
The Serious TV series is a set of exciting documentary shows made by the BBC for children. It follows groups of young people, usually aged 12 to 15, as they go on amazing adventures to wild and extreme places around the world.
Each series focuses on a different environment, like jungles, deserts, or the Arctic. The goal of these expeditions is always to help wildlife or work on important environmental projects. The show has won many awards, including some from BAFTA and the Royal Television Society.
The Serious series includes:
- Serious Jungle (2002)
- Serious Desert (2003)
- Serious Arctic (2005)
- Serious Amazon (2006)
- Serious Andes (2007)
- Serious Ocean (2008)
- Serious Explorers (2011)
While most series had six 30-minute episodes, Serious Ocean had ten episodes. The show has been broadcast in other countries too, like Australia, Slovenia, and Italy.
Contents
Serious Jungle (2002)
Serious Jungle was the first series, airing in 2002. Eight young adventurers were chosen from 1,000 people who wanted to join. Their mission was to travel to the Borneo jungle. There, they helped build a special feeding platform. This platform was to help orangutans return to the wild, especially those rescued after being kept illegally as pets. The team spent three weeks in the rainforest. Expedition leaders Bruce Parry and Emma Jay guided them.
| Adventurer | Age | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Harrison | 12 | St. Helens, Merseyside, England |
| Imogen Forbes | 13 | London, England |
| Hannah Davis | 15 | Sidcup, Kent, England |
| J.C. Lee | 14 | Nantwich, Cheshire, England |
| Laura Baker | 14 | Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, England |
| Luke Gibson | 14 | Basildon, Essex, England |
| Susan Wokoma | 14 | London, England |
| Larry Downing | 15 | Robertsbridge, East Sussex, England |
Serious Desert (2003)
Serious Desert aired in October 2003. Out of 6,500 applicants, eight young people were picked for this adventure. They traveled to Namibia to help save the endangered black rhinoceros. The team slept under tarpaulins in the sand dunes. They saw many amazing animals like black rhinos, wildebeest, zebra, springbok, giraffes, jackals, snakes, scorpions, and elephants.
The filming took place from April to May 2003. The team built a new enclosure for camels. Their biggest challenge was an epic fifty-mile trek across the Namibian sand dunes to the Skeleton Coast. Bruce Parry and Emma Jay returned as expedition leaders.
| Adventurer | Age | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Ellie | London, England | |
| Holly | 13 | Bristol, England |
| Martin | 14 | London, England |
| Chris | 14 | Devon, England |
| Perry | 14 | Sunderland, England |
| Promise | 13 | London, England |
| Aimee | 15 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| David | 15 | Edinburgh, Scotland |
- Ellie celebrated her 14th birthday during the expedition.
Serious Arctic (2005)
Serious Arctic was shown from February to March 2005. Eight adventurers were chosen from 9,000 applicants. They flew to Baffin Island, Canada, to track polar bears across the icy landscape. They traveled using husky sleds. The filming happened in April 2004.
The trip was very challenging because of blizzards. The team had to spend most of one week inside their tents due to the harsh weather. Serious Arctic was very successful and won five awards. The expedition leaders were Ben Major and Emma Jay.
| Adventurer | Age | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Adam | Liverpool, England | |
| Fabian Rivers | Birmingham, England | |
| Courtenay Hamilton | 14 | Vale of Glamorgan, Wales |
| Alex | 14 | Sheffield, England |
| Emily | 14 | Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England |
| Jennielyn Musk | 15 | Essex, England |
| Lewis | 15 | London, England |
| Matt Johnson | 15 | Ringwood, Bournemouth, England |
- Adam and Fabian both celebrated their 13th birthdays during the expedition.
Serious Amazon (2006)
Serious Amazon aired from February to March 2006. A record 29,000 young people, aged 12 to 15, applied for this series. The chosen team of eight traveled to Peru in July 2005. Their mission was to help rare uakari monkeys and pink river dolphins. These animals were getting caught in illegal fishing nets in the Amazon River.
The team worked to remove the dangerous fishing nets to keep the dolphins safe. They also built new habitats for the bald uakari monkeys. Filming for this season finished in July. The expedition leaders for Serious Amazon were Ben Major and Polly Murray.
| Adventurer | Age | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Beth | 15 | Essex, England |
| Georgia | 13 | Derby, England |
| Jamie | 15 | Gwent, Wales |
| Matt | 14 | Liverpool, England |
| Cally | 13 | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Simran | 14 | Berkshire, England |
| Jonathan | 13 | London, England |
| Sam | 14 | Edinburgh, Scotland |
Serious Andes (2007)
Serious Andes was broadcast from June to August 2007. This series saw a new record of 36,000 applications from 12-to-15-year-olds. Eight adventurers were chosen to travel to Ecuador. Their main task was to build an enclosure for spectacled bears.
They also set out to climb the Cotopaxi volcano, which was a huge challenge. Only four of the adventurers (Erin, Kylie, Will, and Caitlin) were able to reach the top. The other four (Sarah, Liam, Matt, and Joshua) had to stop because of early signs of acute mountain sickness, which can happen at high altitudes. The series was filmed between July and August 2006. Ben Major and Polly Murray were again the leaders. There was also a special episode called Serious Andes: Extra, which showed behind-the-scenes moments.
| Adventurer | Age | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Joshua | 12 | Twickenham, Middlesex, England |
| Will | 15 | High Wycombe, Bucks, England |
| Matt | 14 | Addlestone, Surrey, England |
| Liam | 14 | London, England |
| Caitlin Brennan | 13 | Garnethill, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Erin Fulton | 15 | Bo'ness, Scotland |
| Kylie Mautenyane | 15 | Middlesbrough, England |
| Sarah | 15 | London, England |
Serious Ocean (2008)
Serious Ocean was filmed in November and December 2007. Eight young adventurers traveled to the remote coast of Chile. They lived on a boat and helped with research on penguins, dolphins, and albatrosses. After that, they moved on to help survey Glacier Chloe, which is the most southerly glacier outside Antarctica.
A major highlight of their trip was sailing around Cape Horn. They became one of the youngest teams ever to achieve this difficult feat. Ben Major and Polly Murray were the expedition leaders once more. The series first aired in July 2008.
A book called Serious Survival: How to Poo in the Arctic and Other Essential Tips was released in December 2007. It was written by the Series Producer Marshall Corwin and was even nominated for a science book prize.
| Adventurer | Age | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Harry | 13 | Lancashire, England |
| Katie Barclay | 13 | Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Callum Kenny | 14 | Colton, Leeds, England |
| Robyn | Woodley, Berkshire, England | |
| Charlotte | 13 | Clwyd, Wales |
| Conor | 15 | Liverpool, England |
| Sybil | 14 | London, England |
| David | 15 | London, England |
- Robyn celebrated her 13th birthday at the start of the trip.
Serious Explorers: Livingstone (2009)
The next Serious series was planned to be filmed in China, following the journey of Marco Polo. However, due to unexpected events in the region, the team had to return to the UK. The series was later rescheduled to film in Tanzania, Africa, in late 2009. Here, the team would follow in the footsteps of the famous explorer David Livingstone.
Over 14,000 people applied, and eventually, seven young people aged 12–15 were chosen. The expedition took place in late 2009. During the expedition, three of the explorers were chosen to cross the Mbarika mountain range. The other four stayed behind to build a protective enclosure in a village to keep lions away.
In the final episode, the expedition had to end early due to an unexpected serious event that affected the team. The expedition leader, Ben, immediately stopped the trek, and the series concluded.
Serious Explorers: Raleigh (2011)
In late 2010, CBBC started looking for participants for a new Serious Explorers series. This expedition, filmed in early 2011, would follow the journey of explorer Walter Raleigh. The team sailed from Trinidad and Tobago to Guyana.
Around 12,000 people applied, and after several rounds of auditions, the final eight adventurers were chosen. Their journey began on January 31, 2011.
The series started broadcasting in September 2011 and finished in December 2011. It had 10 episodes, plus a special episode called "Serious Survival."
| Adventurer | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Megan - England | - | Chanelle - England** | 14 |
| Nikita - England | 12 | ||
| Sammie - Scotland | 13 | ||
| Michael - England | 14 | ||
| Josh - Northern Ireland | 14 | ||
| Regan - England | 13 | ||
| Jake Bell - England | 12 |
- Megan celebrated her 14th birthday during the expedition.
- Chanelle left the expedition after 1 week due to allergic reactions to insect bites.
Awards and Recognition
The Serious series has won many awards for its exciting and educational content. Each of the first seven series received honors, adding up to more than ten awards in total!
The show has won four BAFTA Children's Awards in the Factual category. These were for Serious Desert (2004), Serious Arctic (2005), Serious Andes (2008), and Serious Ocean (2010). Serious Amazon was also nominated in 2006.
The Royal Television Society has given the series three awards for Best Children's Programme: for Serious Jungle (2002), Serious Arctic (2005), and Serious Andes (2007).
Additionally, Serious Arctic won a 2006 Prix Jeunesse International award, a Broadcast Award, and a Bulldog Award. Serious Ocean also won the Maritime Media Award in 2008, even beating some adult TV series.
