Death Valley run for ‘Challenge’ series

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34156, 18 May 1976, Page 4

Death Valley run for ‘Challenge’ series

(By

KEN COATES

A long-distance run over 240 miles through Death Valley by New Zealander Max Telford, and a lone yachtsman’s attempt to cross the Atlantic, are two challenges still to be filmed by TVI to complete its ambitious, six-part adventure series.

The producer (Peter Morritt) says three programmes in die series are in the editing stage. They are New Zealand’s win in the Rio Balsas international jet boat marathon in Mexico, the Mount Jannu climbing expedition, and hot air ballooning in New Zealand.

Another documentary dealing with Commander John Grattan’s expedition to recover gold from the sunken wreck of the General Grant was filmed by Marine Films, of Auckland. Editing of this film is being carried out by Sigmund Spath, who headed a television team which accompanied the ex-

pedition under contract to TVI.

The series will be called “Challenger" because in each there is a human challenge involved. TVI has high hopes of international sales and Peter Morritt says vigorous efforts will be made to sell the series in North America and Australia. Producer-director Dennis Delaney and film crew John Carpenter and Allen Guilford will travel to the United States for Telford’s double trip across Death Valley. Telford (43), from Auckland, is an ultra-distance runner who holds the record for the 600 miles from Sydney to Melbourne. TVI is not sponsoring Telford who, says Morritt, is planning to run in sizzling temperatures “because he wants to.” But some of his expenses will be paid. The runner will train in the Grand Canyon — and the camera crew will cover this preliminary run of me-

rely five and a half hours after solving problems of access. Some sequences could be shot from a helicopter.

Telford plans to start his Death Valley run on July 2 and finish on Independence Day, July 4. Each documentary of the series will run for 50 minutes, and TVI has arranged for Captain John Mansell, a Cook Strait ferry skipper, to film much of his voyage from Plymouth to Rhode Island himself. Captain Mansell will start on June 5 and rig up a camera in his small yacht for shots during his lonely Atlantic crossing. Preliminary filming will be done in England by a TVI team.

Peter Morritt says the series has been tentatively scheduled for August, and this means the pressure is on.

One of the parts in the series was to have been coverage of elephant hunting in Thailand, but plans for this fell through. Asking Peter Morritt what the series is costing is like asking the bride’s father what the wedding reception costs. But he is quick to point out that it is nothing like the $360,000 earmarked to TV2’s Pacific Island series to be undertaken by Ed. Morrisby. “We are really on a tight budget, and have kept costs down,” Morritt said. "For instance, on the Rio Balsas trip we travelled with the team and kept air fares cheap. “I worked it but that we could produce 25 programmes of the ‘Challenger’ type tor $360,000.”