Orienteering Adventures

Hörður Juhannisson's Orienteering Adventures, also known simply as Orienteering Adventures, is a Dryicoran-Laiorian reality TV programme broadcast on DTV and LTV since May 2016. Presented by Hörður Juhannisson, the show chronicles certain camps within the Scout Movement in south-western England.

The show is rigged up with hidden cameras all around the campsite, received by DTV's camera operators elsewhere on the site. The show is not controlled by DTV or Juhannisson, and no-one knows the cameras are there except producers, certain organisers and the host. Juhannisson has said that "the reason for the attraction of Orienteering Adventures isn't down to any cheeky production aspects, but the satisfaction of both the production not being controlled by the producers, and of knowing what our kids get up to when us parents aren't watching."

Since Series 3 all shows have come with a warning of possible foul language, as the programme is uncontrolled, and can be very unpredictable. Since that series, where filming is scheduled to be uninteresting, LTV have organised regular "galas" with a live audience watching the show and giving their own opinions. A gala is at least nightly, and there are also galas for X-series. The night before the premiere, there is also a 1-hour "Preparations" programme showing how the camp was set up.

An X-series was planned for the summer of 2020 in Barcelona, Spain, however due to the, this was called off in March. The show was axed soon after - as Juhannisson explained later on, it was due to the massive insurance costs the show incurred every year for both broadcasters proving problematic. The show was slated to come back in 2022, however it was cancelled at the last minute. Despite this, DTV and LTV announced a fourth X-series would be produced in February 2023 in, and the possibility was raised that the original series would make its long-awaited comeback in June.

The show tends to be broadcast between 6am and 11pm local time, which often forces normal TV schedules to swap channels. Generally LTV and DTV keep their news and suchlike on the main channel, which forces OA itself to move.

After being filmed in Madrid, the XIV series was dubbed completely into Spanish and sold to the network, for airing in the summer of 2023.

x Series
The x Series was commissioned to televise camps without any connection to the Scout Movement. Hörður said upon the first's commission in 2018 "They have a slightly different atmosphere to the original OA series. We filmed the first of these in 2015 as a pilot if the main series got picked up: the 2016 one was also a pilot just to make sure it worked."

The series are listed here in this order as LTV and DTV list them on their websites: the two pilot series were included as the first two (similar to the Star Wars chronology, where the first films released were ordered in the series' titling by when they were set).

List of closing themes per series
The show changes its closing theme, which is attached to a montage of the highlights from each series, every series.

Reception
Orienteering Adventures is often regarded as a very polarising show: either a viewer has a particular liking for the show or they particularly hate it. It has received many plaudits for its brutal accuracy in what it depicts, and for its extremely high production values and camera shots. It is also praised for the lack of producer intervention, allowing the show and its cast's appeal to develop naturally. It also provided development for DTV's automated translation subtitles, which have become increasingly more accurate throughout the programme's run.

However, it has also received many criticisms. The main issue attracting criticism is that the vast majority of those on the show do not know they are being filmed, and producers have had to interpret and adhere to numerous laws regarding child protection and privacy. For example, nobody's full name is revealed on the show, and personal details are always kept secret. The scout group Hörður and his compatriots belong to is also kept a secret, as is the exact location of each camp. Particularly as both aspects of the show - the events unfolding and the gala - are live, this can sometimes be difficult to do. Additionally, producers do not censor language or behaviour: all series since the third in 2016 have been preceded by a warning of foul language and obscene references.

The xiv series in 2023 was singled out for having many different plot lines, which led to some - incorrect - accusations of producer interference, something that the show, at all costs, tries to avoid. Of particular note was the inclusion of the first transgender cast member, which caused some controversy with other members, however the vast majority of the cast was supportive. This positive representation of a group traditionally marginalised in Laioria proved popular with many viewers, however. After the series, Juhannisson confirmed in an interview that the producers do not get to choose who attends camp, and it was "just the luck of the draw" that the series had such a diverse cast.