Nicole Smith

Part 1 of the Two-Part Interview with Destination Truth Fan Ambassador Amanda

As many of my close friends know, I’m a bit of a Destination Truth/Josh Gates fanatic. Not to the point where I obsess over him, but enough so that I read whatever I can on JG and the show, as well as blog about both over at the Superficial Gallery.

Yes, when I’m writing at SG, I’m a bit more sarcastic, and I sometimes objectify Josh a little too much, but it’s all in good fun because at the end of the day, I truly admire what he does. I firmly believe he has set a really high standard for shows like Destination Truth, and I look forward to watching many more seasons of the show. (You hear that Syfy? RENEW RENEW RENEW!)

I would love to say that I’m as adventurous as he is, but lets face it, if I had to travel to some of the locations he has or experience some of the things he does, I’d probably be paranoid I was going to die. (Seriously, I’m convinced if I ever had to move to California, that would be when the BIG earthquake would happen, and I’d up kissing my butt goodbye.)

In my jaunts across the Net, looking for DT/JG news, I came across a fan page, Singularity: A Josh Gates Fan Page run by DT Fan Ambassador Amanda. Not only does she post related news, she also interacts with Josh and others on a regular basis, which has given her a really great insight into the show and the entire crew. She seems like really a nice person who is passionate about what she does. I admire her, and it’s nice to meet someone else besides Jenny who loves the show as much as I do.

The other day I finally decided to contact Amanda after playing with the idea for awhile. I mentioned interviewing her for my Reality TV Curator gig at MySpace and she jumped at the opportunity. The answers she provided to the questions I sent her are filled with awesomeness. They are so great and detailed that I actually have to split it into two posts. (She was also very gracious enough to provide me with some candid photos, some of her by herself as well as with a couple faces you may recognize.)

This is part one of my Amanda interview. Please read it, comment at the bottom and then on head over to one of her DT/JG pages and say hi. I know she’d love to hear from you.

Q: Many Destination Truth fans know who are, but there are some that don’t, so would you please tell everyone a little bit about you and how your Destination Truth/Josh Gates fan pages came about?

A: My name is Amanda and I started a series of fan pages, as well as corresponding media sites, to promote Syfy’s series “Destination Truth” and the host Josh Gates. I first knew of Josh from a reality show he did in the early 2000’s called “Beg Borrow & Deal” and didn’t hear about him again a while. Then I started to get more into the paranormal as I got a little older, which naturally involved becoming a SciFi (now Syfy) fan.

While watching “Ghost Hunters” one night in college, the episode I was watching ended and I guess I was folding laundry or something because I didn’t change the channel. From the TV, I heard a very familiar voice and realized it was a much skinnier Josh from “BBD” on a new show! I was then hooked on “DT” from the first season, but it didn’t take me until towards the end of Season 2.5 when I realized I wanted to make a fan site. No one else had made any (checked first because I don’t like stepping on people’s toes), I needed more website/social media experience and I wanted to show my appreciation for this show and it’s host. And now, almost three years later, this is where it’s gotten to. It’s pretty gratifying, most of the time, but definitely cool.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the first time you met Josh?

A: Well, other than interacting prior online, he had emailed me one day towards the end of June ’09, or the start of July ’09 I think, to tell me he was taking part in Comic Con and also the relaunch of the Syfy network in NYC at Imagination Park (a set up they did promoting the channel upgrade at Rockefeller Center). I knew I couldn’t make it to Comic Con, but I had some family business I needed to take care of in NYC that summer, so I wrapped a trip around this event, did what needed to be done and went.

I couldn’t sleep the night before due to a number of factors, but it was because I was wicked excited, for the most part. I got up very early and headed down to Rockefeller. I got there earlier than necessary, but I had a press pass with access to the set up and it was nice to walk around and observe (took video of it for my YouTube Channel). I was talking to some crew people for NBC and then all of the sudden, I saw people outside of the little barriers set up heading over to a building exit and I saw Josh! I filmed him doing his intro, and press interviews, and then I was introduced.

My first time meeting him, I was a little nervous but after a while, he put me totally at ease, was very nice and seemed really flattered a fan had gone out of their way to meet him and promote his show. That experience was great, I got to meet awesome people from the channel and it opened the doors for me to do other things related to Syfy such as the “Ghost Hunters” Alcatraz live audience special and getting to attend a press room for “Warehouse 13” and “Eureka” at San Diego Comic Con.

Q: I’m sure you’ve answered this before but for those who aren’t familiar with your site, could you please tell us what’s your favorite Destination Truth episode and why?

A: That’s like picking your favorite child, if I had one! Boy, I can’t tell you one favorite episode, but my favorite cases are Nan Madol (Season 4), Icelandic Elves (Season 2.5) and the Yeti episode where they find the iconic footprint (Season 2). It depends on what I’m in the mood to watch, really, because I’ve watched them all more than once, but Nan Madol sticks in my mind because I gave Josh a hard time about showing him vomiting on the show ever since he first revealed the news to me and after I saw it, I felt really bad. It also made me like him more because, I think for the reason other people like the episode, it shows that he too is human and can be taken down from time to time.

Q: If there was one thing you could change about Destination Truth, what would it be?

A: While everyone else would say they wish the crew would stay on cases longer, which isn’t possible due to their budget and time spent on the road in general, I’d say it would be the amount of episodes they’re given. They shoot months of amazing footage and I feel like there should be an hour episode for each case. That way, the show stays on air longer and, more importantly, there’d be more funny and candid travel moments, which is probably my favorite element of the show.

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Stay tuned for the second part of this interview which will be posted tomorrow.