UPDATE: The season finale of Bamazon airs on January 27th at 10/9 central on History Channel. Read my post on why East Alabama is deep trouble at the link: http://geekalabama.com/2013/01/27/sunday-discussion-why-east-alabama-is-in-deep-trouble/.
You know some people in Geek Alabama territory are in trouble when they consider going to South America to find gold. Even better, all of this was filmed by a crew and is going to be shown on the History Channel. On Sunday December 9th the new show Bamazon premieres on History Channel. Bamazon features a team of Tallapoosa County natives led by real estate mogul Tim Evans as they mine for gold in the Amazon jungle in the South American country of Guyana. The cast includes Darryl Haynes, Chris Gamble, Clate McDaniel, Julius Reed, Chantz Meadows, Steve Hudson and John Wilson as Evans’ team. Here is a sneak peek video.
As you know there are plenty of things you can encounter in the jungle. And it’s also hard to get to. This is untamed territory, with no roads, no infrastructure, and it’s populated by deadly jaguars, vicious piranhas, malarial mosquitoes and 20-foot-long alligators. Setting up a mining operation here is pure folly. But the men from Alexander City have nothing left to lose and everything to gain. The leader of the group is Tim Evans, he is a self-made millionaire who struck it rich in the construction business until the real-estate market went belly up in Alexander City. Evans decided to bet his last million on the belief that he and his trusted construction-worker employees can recover the gold that’s tantalizingly close yet so unattainable. His men — a team of electricians, carpenters and big-rig operators — have never mined for gold before. Most have never even been out of the country before. But they’re highly motivated and very resourceful.
A preview party was held in Alexander City last week and Tim Evans gave everyone some things to expect in the first season. “We were truly in a remote place,” Evans said. “I had been mining in Guyana and various parts of the Amazon for about four years, but I had never taken Americans down until this trip was chronicled by the History Channel.” Here is a video on why Guyana was chosen for mining gold.
A compound was built several months prior to filming to accommodate what would be a 52-person camp, including cast members, film crew and staff. Camp operations were managed by Benjamin Russell High School alumnus Joseph Berger, who also served as a translator and was instrumental in handling the flow of supplies into camp. And yes, Mr. Evans fell into this type of operation by accident.
The shows on History Channel are more comparable to documentaries than actual reality shows. So you will see the actual working process of extracting gold in the rain forest. The camera men says to the workers ‘We are not here.” So it will be interesting to see how all this plays out on TV. And here is an interesting proposal to all of you out there. Tim Evans is in the process of putting together a second team to return to the jungle and is looking for able-bodied people who are not afraid of adventure. So if you are willing to find gold in the rain forest e-mail contact information at: jobs@degeneral.com.
Bamazon premieres Sunday December 9th at 10/9c on History Channel. To learn more about the show go to: http://www.history.com/shows/bamazon.
Here is a story from the Alexander City Outlook talking to Tim Evans about Bamazon. http://www.alexcityoutlook.com/2012/12/05/locals-mine-for-gold-on-history-channels-new-show-bamazon/.
Here is another story from the Eclectic Observer. http://www.thewetumpkaherald.com/eclectic_observer/article_47e07d78-40b3-11e2-922b-001a4bcf887a.html.
