Forgotten Television: The River 2012

For over 20 years, Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood) has been a notable adventurer, explorer and host of the television series, The Undiscovered Country, but six months ago he went missing while on an expedition somewhere along the Amazon River. A massive search turned up no clue of where he or his crew could be and eventually, he was presumed dead.  But just after his memorial service, his emergency beacon was activated and so his wife, Tess (Leslie Hope) and his son, Lincoln (Joe Anderson), mount a rescue operation venturing deep into the uncharted jungle along the Amazon River. Along with them is a television crew there to document the expedition.  Joining Lincoln and Tess are producer Clark Quietly (Paul Blackthorne); mechanic Emilio Valenzuela (Daniel Zacapa) and his psychic daughter Jahel (Paulina Gaitan); lead cameraman A.J. (Shaun Parkes); security expert Captain Kurt Brynidson (Thomas Kretschmann); and finally, Lena Landry (Eloise Mumford) the daughter of Emmet’s long time lead cameraman, who also disappeared with Emmet.  Everyone has their own secrets and reasons for joining the rescue operation. Lincoln had a strained relationship with his father, who was absent for many of the milestones in Lincoln’s life and resented being forced to grow up in the public eye. Lincoln also resents his mother who he believes was unfaithful to his father. Kurt has his own agenda and is willing to do almost anything to see it through. Lena had been secretly in contact with Emmet just before he went missing.  Emmet’s famous catch phrase, “There’s Magic Out There” was more than just metaphoric, he was actually searching for real magic, and he may have found it and it wasn’t all sparkly and rainbows.

The River is filmed as a “found-footage” type of show, where what we are supposed to be watching is what was actually filmed by the television crew documenting the rescue operation. The series premiered on February 7, 2012, on ABC as a mid-season replacement with the first season consisting of eight episodes.  The show got above average critical praise commenting on the atmospheric creepiness with one reviewer calling it a “…clever cinematic supernatural adventure that takes us on a wild ride into an exotic heart of darkness”.  There were some negative reviews who felt that the “found-footage” and Lost storytelling style didn’t work.  Even with the positive critical reception, the show never really found its audience and was cancelled after its initial first season.  Netflix did enter into talks with ABC Studios to continue the show on their platform, but they ultimately passed.

This is truly forgotten television for me.  I remember watching this show and liking it, but for the life of me, I do not remember what I watched, which does not reflect on the series or it’s storytelling. There are some wonderful creepy and scary moments throughout the series with beautiful visuals that mix the splendor of the jungle with the darkness that lies just under its surface.  As I re-watched the first episode in preparation for this article, it was like I was seeing it again for the first time and it really is a well-done show.  There are plenty of mysteries to solve and each week seemed to introduce a new and unique paranormal problem that needed to be addressed all while staying within the continuing plotline of finding Emmet and his crew. The cast is all well-chosen and does a great job.  Not really an issue, but the production quality is really high for what is supposed to be a “found footage” production.  They do try to explain the multiple camera angles as being from installed cameras throughout the ship and drone footage, but it just seems a bit too polished, which I didn’t mind at all, I am not a fan of “shaky cam” productions. Overall, this is a unique, well produced, well performed show that should not be forgotten at all.