The Buried Life
| The Buried Life | |
|---|---|
| File:The Buried Life logo.jpg Series promotional logo. From left to right: Jonnie, Dave, Duncan, Ben. | |
| Genre | Reality television |
| Directed by | Brad Tiemann |
| Starring | Ben Nemtin Dave Lingwood Duncan Penn Jonnie Penn |
| Narrated by | Ben Nemtin (Season 1) Various (Season 2) |
| Opening theme | "Ooh, Ahh (My Life Be Like)" by GRITS (feat. TobyMac)( Liquid Beats Remix) "Fix You" by Coldplay |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 22-24 minutes |
| Production company | Reveille Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV |
| Release | January 18, 2010 – present |
The Buried Life is a reality documentary series on MTV.[1] The series features Duncan Penn, Jonnie Penn, Ben Nemtin and Dave Lingwood attempting to complete a list of "100 things to do before you die."The pilot episode aired on January 18, 2010, and the show was renewed for a second season in 2011.
Premise
The series focuses on four friends (Ben, Jonnie, Duncan, and Dave) as they travel across North America in a purple transit bus they named "Penelope" to complete a list of "100 things to do before you die." For every item they try to complete on their list, they help a stranger achieve one of their dreams and encourage others to go after their own lists. Everywhere they go they ask the question: "What do you want to do before you die?"[2][3] They have crossed off most of the numbers on their list.[4] Ranging from asking a girl out to surviving on a desert island, the boys are always doing something different. They aim to inspire others to create their own lists, and continue to work on their own.
Background
The Buried Life is a company formed by four university students from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.[5] The idea for the name originated from an 1852 Matthew Arnold poem entitled "The Buried Life".[6] The Penn brothers attended Glenlyon Norfolk School on Vancouver Island in BC.
The Buried Life filmed their first full feature documentary in the summer months of 2006 (August) and 2007 (August to October). The documentary is currently titled "The Buried Life: What Do You Want To Do Before You Die?" It tells the story of four friends who make a list of 100 things to do before they die and their journey across North America to accomplish it. The film was shot throughout Canada and the United States including: British Columbia, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington, D.C.[7]
In 2007 The Buried Life was offered a Television show in Canada but ultimately turned it down citing they were not willing to give up creative control of the project. In 2009 The Buried Life would revisit television.
On April 18, 2009 an article in The New York Times announced that a serial television version of their documentary titled "The Buried Life" was chosen by MTV for development. The show has been selected as a flagship reality program that will usher in MTV's shift away from the superficial content currently dominating the network's programming, towards the production of more socially conscious media, something the New York Times dubbed "MTV for the era of Obama."[3]
In an interview with Shave Magazine, Dave Lingwood revealed that MTV first found the boys on YouTube and later reached an agreement with them whereby they would film, edit and cut all the material themselves and send MTV "the finished product and they just air it." [8]
Reception
Awards and nominations
In 2010, The Buried Life earned a nomination for the Do Something TV Show Award from the VH1 Do Something Awards. The Buried Life received a nomination for its efforts to encourage people to pursue their life goals.
After originally failing in their attempts to play basketball against the President, in the spring of 2010 The Buried Life finally crossed off Playing Basketball with Obama during a visit to the White House.[9]
In 2010 The Buried Life appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show where they helped a young girl conquer her fear of heights. [10]
In 2011, The Buried Life again earned a nomination for the Do Something TV Show Award from the VH1 Do Something Awards. [11]
In October 2010 The Buried Life helped make a $100 000 donation to the World Food Programme (Fighting Hunger World Wide).[12]
In October 2010 The Buried Life set the record for the largest roulette spin in Vegas history making a bet of $250 000 on black at The Golden Gate Casino. The previous record was set at $135 000 by radio personality Howard Stern.[13]
In July of 2011, The Buried Life helped to make a $300 000 donation to The Keep America Beautiful foundation. [14]
Cast
- Dave Lingwood, is the funny guy" and optimist of the group. He recently got married to Michelle of Las Vegas on an episode that premiered in Season 2 "Get Married in Vegas." Following the wedding Michelle and Dave had their marriage annulled.
- Ben Nemtin, is the "ringleader" of the group and the agent of the group. Ben was never the captain of Canadian Junior Rugby team.
- Duncan Penn, is the "business manager" and the voice of reason of the group best known in the show for his quick wit. Duncan graduated with honours in business in 2007.
- Jonnie Penn, is Duncan's younger brother. He is the group's "idea guy", as well as the main cameraman and editor. He is an accomplished activist and academic with a knack for coming up with creative ideas.
Episodes
Season 1
| Series # |
Season # |
Title | Original air date | Off the list | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "#6: Attend a Party at the Playboy Mansion" | January 18, 2010 |  | |
|
The guys attempt to sneak into the Playboy Mansion as uninvited guests. Meanwhile, they help a group of underprivileged kids by providing their classroom with a new computer. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "#41: Make a Toast at a Stranger's Wedding" | January 25, 2010 | | |
|
The boys try to make a toast at a local wedding. Meanwhile, they help an artist get in touch with a son he hasn't seen in 17 years. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "#59: Ask Out the Girl of Your Dreams" | February 1, 2010 | | |
|
The boys try to crash the Transformers 2 red carpet and get Ben a date with Megan Fox. Meanwhile, they help a young girl get over her fear of rollercoasters. Note: While they didn't get it off the list in this episode, they did get the item off the list in "Part 2" in season 2. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "#74: Help Deliver a Baby" | February 8, 2010 | | |
|
The boys try to find a woman that will allow them to help deliver her baby. Meanwhile, they help a young woman travel to Denver to see her mom's grave site for the first time. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "#33: Compete in a Krump Competition" | February 15, 2010 | | |
|
The boys try to learn how to krump and enter a contest. Meanwhile, they try to help a young man get one of his songs on the radio. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "#95: Play Basketball with Obama" | February 22, 2010 | | |
|
The boys try to get a game of basketball going with President Obama. Meanwhile, they help get a group of old friends together to bring back old memories. Note: While they didn't play ball with him in this episode, Obama accepted their offer and played a game of basketball with the boys later that April.[15] | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "#18: Tell a Joke on Late Night Television" | March 1, 2010 | | |
|
The boys try to sneak onto a late night television show to tell a joke. Meanwhile, they try to help a man who was blinded by a motorcycle accident re-live his favorite childhood pastime. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "#85: Throw the Most Badass Party Ever" | March 8, 2010 | | |
|
The boys find themselves in San Luis Obispo, CA and try to throw the most badass party with a guest appearance by Naughty by Nature. Meanwhile, they try to reunite an adopted man with his birth father. | |||||
Season 2
| Series # |
Season # |
Title | Original air date | Off the list | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "#50: Streak a Stadium and Get Away With It" | September 27, 2010 |  | |
|
The guys attempt to run naked across a soccer stadium. Meanwhile, Dave and Jonnie help a girl build a ramp in a local skate park in honor of her late best friend. This is in Kansas City. Note: While not crossing this one off the list, they unintentionally crossed off another list item (Spend a Night in Jail). | |||||
| 10 | 2 | "#59: Ask Out The Girl of Your Dreams (Part II)" | October 4, 2010 | | |
|
In a continuation of the first season episode, Duncan attempts to ask out Taylor Swift. Meanwhile, Jonnie is back home in Victoria, BC to help fulfill a man's dream of finding his long lost love. | |||||
| 11 | 3 | "#91: Get Married in Vegas" | October 11, 2010 | | |
|
The guys are looking for love when Dave falls for a girl and decides to ask her to marry him in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Jonnie and Duncan help a homeless man reunite with his daughter. | |||||
| 12 | 4 | "#25: Capture a Fugitive" | October 18, 2010 | | |
|
The guys put their lives in danger when they try to cross another item off the list: capture a fugitive. Meanwhile, Duncan and Ben help a band get signed onto a record label. | |||||
| 13 | 5 | "#48: Accept a Dare (Steal a Lock of Robert Pattinson's Hair)" | October 25, 2010 | | |
|
Trying to cross another item off their list, the guys follow Robert Pattinson around Hollywood and try to steal a lock of his hair. Meanwhile, Ben travels to Minnesota to help a girl create a rally to discuss the subject of depression. | |||||
| 14 | 6 | "#88: Escape From A Deserted Island" | November 1, 2010 | | |
|
There is no civilization on the islands of Aitutaki in the South Pacific. Once dropped there, the boys have to make their way to civilization without any possessions other than the sole item each is authorized to bring. They will face several serious challenges, including feeding themselves, maintaining their sanity, and avoiding natural dangers along the way. | |||||
| 15 | 7 | "#97: Get In A Fight" | November 8, 2010 | | |
|
Dave competes in an MMA fight in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, one of the boys partners with a girl from Florida in riding motorcycles up the Floridian coast in honor of her late father, whose ashes are sent into the ocean at a beach upon the end of the ride. | |||||
| 16 | 8 | "#2: Crash a Parade" | November 15, 2010 | | |
|
The guys head to Des Moines to crash the Iowa State Fair Parade, where they'll perform a Ferris Bueller-inspired song-and-dance routine. Meanwhile, Jonnie helps an environmental activist orchestrate a protest in Canada. | |||||
| 17 | 9 | "#75: Make a Million Dollars (Part I)" | November 29, 2010 | | |
|
The boys all split up with $25,000 in hand in attempts to make a million dollars. Meanwhile, Jonnie helps a boy they had met in a previous speaking engagement find a home for his father. | |||||
| 18 | 10 | "#75: Make a Million Dollars (Part II)" | November 29, 2010 | | |
|
After the boys' individual efforts prove to not work, they head off to Vegas in hopes of accomplishing their goal of making a million dollars. Meanwhile, they surprise a girl with the funds to help her make a difference in her native country. The guys end the episode with donating all money earned to The World Food Program in an effort to help end hunger in Nicaragua. | |||||
Their List
- 1.) Open the six o'clock news
- 2.) Lead a parade
- 3.) Get a tattoo
- 4.) Start a dance in a public place
- 5.) Go down a mountain on a long board
- 6.) Attend a party at the Playboy Mansion
- 7.) Plant a tree
- 8.) Ride a bull
- 9.) Destroy a computer
- 10.) Learn to fly
- 11.) Get a college degree
- 12.) Kick a field goal
- 13.) Help someone build a house
- 14.) Grow a mustache
- 15.) Get on the cover of Rolling Stone
- 16.) Drive across North America
- 17.) Start a huge wave
- 18.) Tell a joke on Late Night Television
- 19.) Write a book
- 20.) Get a song we've written on the radio
- 21.) Become a licensed minister
- 22.) Approach the most beautiful girl you've ever seen and kiss her
- 23.) Learn how to play an instrument
- 24.) Go to a rock concert in all leather
- 25.) Solve a crime or capture a fugitive
- 26.) Tell a judge: "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"
- 27.) Give a stranger a $100 bill
- 28.) Send a message in a bottle
- 29.) Scream at the top of your lungs
- 30.) Make a donation to charity
- 31.) Cut a ribbon at a major opening
- 32.) Get someone named after you
- 33.) Compete in a Krump Competition
- 34.) Pay for someone's groceries
- 35.) Sing the National Anthem to a packed stadium
- 36.) Throw the first pitch at a major league baseball game
- 37.) Win and yell "Bingo!" at a Bingo hall
- 38.) Kiss the Stanley Cup
- 39.) Stand under a plane while it lands
- 40.) Make the front page of a newspaper
- 41.) Make a toast at a stranger's wedding
- 42.) Host a cooking show
- 43.) Become a knight for a day
- 44.) Catch something and eat it
- 45.) Sleep in a haunted house
- 46.) Do a sketch with Will Ferrell
- 47.) Get in the Guinness Book of World Records
- 48.) Accept a dare
- 49.) Take a stranger out to dinner
- 50.) Streak a field
- 51.) Climb a large mountain
- 52.) Go on a blind date
- 53.) Start a television show
- 54.) Donate blood
- 55.) Kiss Rachael McAdams
- 56.) Write an article for a major publication
- 57.) Spend a week in silence
- 58.) See a dead body
- 59.) Ask out the girl of your dreams
- 60.) Go paragliding
- 61.) Draw a mural
- 62.) Be in a protest
- 63.) Run a successful business
- 64.) Visit Folsom Prison
- 65.) Learn how to sail
- 66.) Camp at the Playboy Mansion
- 67.) Make an important speech
- 68.) Swim with sharks
- 69.) Smash a guitar on stage
- 70.) Compete in a soap-box derby
- 71.) Take a kid on a toy shopping spree
- 72.) Throw a surprise party
- 73.) Make a music video
- 74.) Help deliver a baby
- 75.) Make a million bucks
- 76.) Go dog sledding
- 77.) Go to Burning Man
- 78.) Fall in love
- 79.) Dance with Ellen Degeneres
- 80.) Meet the Lonely Island dudes
- 81.) Tour with a major band
- 82.) Win an award
- 83.) Street perform and make $100
- 84.) Run a marathon
- 85.) Throw the most bad-ass party ever
- 86.) Teach an elementary school class
- 87.) Pay off our parent's mortgage
- 88.) Escape from a deserted island
- 89.) Experience zero gravity
- 90.) Ride a roller coaster
- 91.) Get married (in Vegas)
- 92.) Learn how to surf
- 93.) Ride through the desert in a dune-buggy
- 94.) Party with a rock star
- 95.) Play ball with President Obama
- 96.) Host a lemonade stand
- 97.) Be in a fight
- 98.) Race horses
- 99.) Host Saturday Night Live
- 100.) Go to space
References
- ^ Knox, Jack. (2009-04-21). "Four Victoria guys get MTV show". Times Colonist. Times Colonist. Retrieved 2009-04-27. [dead link]
- ^ http://www.theburiedlife.com/about/
- ^ a b Arango, Tim (April 18, 2009). "Make Room, Cynics; MTV Wants to Do Some Good". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ^ http://www.facebook.com/tbl#!/tbl?v=app_6009294086
- ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20100208_buriedlife
- ^ "TV review: MTV's 'The Buried Life'". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ http://www.brassmagazine.com/article/buried-life-living-list-lifetime
- ^ "Interview: Dave Lingwood". ShaveMagazine.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "The Buried Life Play Basketball against Barack Obama". Daily News. Dailynews.com. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ Winfrey, Oprah. [TBL Wikipedia: PeterJensen007 silly***** "Whats on Your Bucket List?"]. Oprah Winfrey Show. Harpo Studios. Retrieved 2010.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "VH1 Do Something Awards". VH1. Retrieved June 5th 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ World Food Program. "World Food Program receives surprise donation from The Buried Life". World Food Program. Worldfoodprogram.org. Retrieved October 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Golden Gate Casino. "Golden Gate Casino". Dailyscene.com. Retrieved November 29th.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Corneau, Allison. "Cast of MTV's The Buried Life Help Raise $300 000 for Keep America Beautiful". US Weekly. US Weekly. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/videos/the-buried-life-ep-6-play-basketball-with-obama/1632339/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=519&channelId=1