TCA 2011: Robert Mariano travels to History Channel
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Robert ‘Boston Rob’ Mariano sort of has a knack for spending time away from home, whether he’s competing on “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” or globetrotting as the co-host in the new History channel series ‘Around the World in 80 Ways.’ And his wife, Amber, no stranger to competition shows either, is OK with that.
“I’m very very fortunate,” Mariano said.” I have a wife that supports me. She understands that I have an adventurous spirit. She’s done the same.”
In ‘Around the World in 80 Ways,’ the ‘Survivor: Redemption Island’ winner teams up with monster truck guru Dennis Anderson and attempts to circumnavigate the globe via 80 different modes of transportation. From a blimp and an ostrich to a chariot and water buffalo, nothing is off limits. The catch: They can’t repeat a vehicle.
“It’s really an opportunity to celebrate the engineering and advancement [of transportation],” said executive producer Philip Segal.
Yeah, but he’s not the one who had to zipline in Peru!
‘The zipline was very irritating to me,’ Anderson recalled. ‘It was a pretty rugged looking deal. It was a 1,600-foot drop and I did it with anger.’
Modes of transportation were sometimes predetermined, but some improvisation took place whenever Anderson and Mariano came across a vehicle that piqued their interest -- such as the small tractor-trailer in Zanzibar that was hauling a wagon the size of two railroad cars behind it.
‘They were very cool with letting us use our ingenuity,’ Mariano said.
The duo traveled more than 30,000 miles, in 10 countries and over four continents in less than 70 days.
The 10-episode series will premiere later this year.
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-- Yvonne Villarreal
Twitter.com/villarrealy
