National Geographic Explorer: 25 Years

The popular documentary series National Geographic Explorer originally premiered on the Nickelodeon cable network in April 1985. It then graduated to a series of successive networks that included TBS (1986-99), CNBC) (1999-2001), MSNBC (2001-03) (where it was renamed Ultimate Explorer), and ultimately (c. 2004), the National Geographic Channel. In every incarnation, it functioned as a kind of video corollary to the National Geographic Magazine, rich with intriguing news stories from around the world, about fauna, geography, scientific developments and humankind. As narrated by Ultimate Explorer host Lisa Ling, this 2010 program commemorates the 25th anniversary of Explorer, surveys the ways in which the world evolved from 1985-2010, and reflects on how the Explorer program has documented those shifts.