Descending (2012)
Descending is an exciting new weekly TV show now airing on Canada’s Outdoor Life Network, and featuring some stunning underwater video from around the world. Host Scott Wilson, from Brantford, Ontario, though fairly new to scuba, jumps right in to explore some of this planet’s “most remote locations” in the one-hour weekly show. Noting that so much of planet Earth is underwater and so few people get to see this realm firsthand, he said, “We knew it was important to shoot spectacular footage.” Wilson’s co-host is New Zealand diver Ellis Emmett, author, adventurer and friend. Emmett has penned five adventure books and is the owner of a New Zealand river rafting company. “I want people to be inspired, educated and enlightened, and have a laugh or two along the way,” he said. This year the hosts explore the underwater world on scuba, wearing full-face masks and dry suits. As post-production work continues on episodes scheduled to air in the coming weeks, they’re planning a switch to rebreathers, and even the occasional use of mixed gases in season two, officially not a go yet, but they’re hopeful! With government backing and the support of the Outdoor Life Network, Descending joins a long list of Canadian made underwater TV series that have found strong audience support.
Seasons & Episode
Seasoned travellers Scott Wilson and Andre Dupuis begin a new journey descending into the world beneath the waves. They travel to New Zealand to recruit friend and fellow explorer Ellis Emmett for the adventure. But equipment challenges and harsh weather impede the team's first dives.
Location: NEW ZEALAND Scott and Ellis cross New Zealand's North Island to board a sunken cruise ship, push their limits in a cave dive, and are awestruck by the vibrant and healthy marine reserve at the Poor Knights Islands.
Location: THE RED SEA The team ventures to Djibouti to swim with the world's largest fish - the whale shark - but must then overcome frustrating travel challenges to get to Sudan and dive Cousteau's Conshelf II and a WWII wreck with a deadly cargo.
Location: BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA Scott brings Ellis and the Descending team home to Canada for some cold-water diving off Vancouver Island. Scott and Ellis make friends with some questionable creatures and then pilot a jet at 80ft below the surface. Above the water, the team is put to work preparing a ship for scuttling.
Location: TURKS & CAICOS / BIMINI ISLAND, BAHAMAS While island-hopping in the Caribbean, Scott and Ellis meet the 'Dive God'. But there is trouble in paradise as the team learns of a poisonous, invasive species that threatens these beautiful blue waters.
Location: DOMINICA, GRENADA & CURACAO Continuing their Caribbean island hopping, the Descending team contemplates underwater art in Grenada, comes face to face with the ocean's largest carnivore in Dominica, and then goes deeper (1000+ ft!) than they ever have before.
Scott and Ellis visit South Africa to face their fears and brave some of the most notorious shark-filled waters in the world. Disaster strikes on what should have been an easy dive.
Location: CALIFORNIA, USA & LORETO, BAJA Scott and Ellis are in Los Angeles to see if vibrant marine life can exist off the highly developed coast of Southern California. After meeting up with a pair of eco-warriors, the team scours the Sea of Cortez in search of the elusive and fearsome "diablos rojos".
Location: ICELAND Facing frigid waters, the Descending team travels to Iceland to witness the newest part of our planet being formed. Scott and Ellis touch two continents at once in some of the world's clearest water and attempt to dive where no one has gone before.
Location: THE SOLOMON ISLANDS History fanatic Scott talks Ellis into diving the shark-infested waters off the coast of the Solomon Islands. This tiny South Pacific nation played a strategic role during WWII and she still has the scars...and wrecks...to prove it.
Location: ONTARIO, CANADA For centuries, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes have shaped the story of Canada. The team takes a trip through history and visits the world's best collection of freshwater shipwrecks to discover what makes this water so great.
Location: RAJA AMPAT, INDONESIA In Indonesia, Scott and Ellis experience Raja Ampat - a reserve rich in beauty, diversity and culture. Ellis befriends a local Papuan who teaches him to fish like a local and the divers have a close encounter with Giant Manta Rays.
Location: North Sulawesi, Indonesia and Vanuatu. Following a terrifying accident, Scott must find the physical and emotional strength to dive again. In Indonesia's Lembeh Strait, the mission is to film as many strange creatures as they can find. The team concludes their year-long journey on the remote island of Vanuatu to dive one of the greatest shipwrecks in the world and reflect on their underwater adventures.
