 I think I have hat envy. Or Cool Explorer Dude envy. Something like that. Josh Bernstein gets to do some of the coolest stuff in the world in some of the coolest places in the world, exploring tombs and diving into caves and seeing the remnants of ancient civilizations, and all I get to do is watch.
Thankfully, watching is damned entertaining (not to mention educational, too).
Take Indiana Jones. Forbid him from stealing artifacts at the places he visits, but otherwise send him on wild goose chases around the world, one archeological site leading to another. Occasionally push him headlong into a thrilling action sequence, like a climb up a treacherous cliff or a dangerous underwater dive. Oh, and make it real life, too. That's Digging For The Truth. Josh Bernstein is a survival expert and faux explorer akin to Indiana Jones, complete with cool hat and bag, but unlike Indy, he doesn't go looking for lost religious treasures, he goes looking for insight into worlds long since gone. Mayan ruins. Egyptian tombs. Remote islands. Desolate mountaintops. Any really cool place I wanted to go to as a kid, he gets to go to. Even better, when he arrives he gets to go diving or rock climbing or fly in ultralights or any number of other cool things.
And that's why he sucks.
(Just kidding, Josh. Your adventures are a lot of fun. I'm just very, very, jealous is all.)
As a kid, I always loved paging through books about the Aztecs, Mayans, and Egyptians, fascinated by the old ruins they left behind, pondering their way of life and enthralled with the idea of one day exploring some crumbling, remote ruin. This love of all things old and mysterious never left me. I'm still drawn to it. Through Digging For The Truth, I can explore these amazing places in a way that avoids the stodgy, musty, dusty seriousness of “real” documentaries and instead revels in the sheer thrill of it all. After all, why merely learn about the Nasca Line of Peru when you can fly over them in a tiny little ultralight? This isn't education, this is entertainment.
An episode of Digging For The Truth goes something like this: With suitably dramatic music, Josh Bernstein offers a voiceover informing viewers that he is about to go on a journey of discovery. He is going to solve a mystery from the past. Oooh, ahhhh. So he ends up in, say, South America, where he stomps around on some Mayan pyramids. We see some fantastic ruins, and learn a bit about what those ruins are. What we learn is light on detail, but that's okay. These are crash course lessons designed to  allow us to see as many awesome places in 45 minutes as possible, not to make us instant experts. While at this Mayan pyramid, a local expert tells him they were built to provide an ancient ruler with passage to the afterlife by way of an underground river. Josh then goes in search of the “truth” behind the Mayan religion and why they believed an underground river was the passage to the underworld and the afterlife.
Such is the framework of every episode. A manufactured mystery. They play out like Easter Egg hunts, with every stop on the journey leading to the next, and to the next, until we've visited a half-dozen archeological sites, each offering “clues” that lead us forward. It's all very contrived, with Josh's role almost bordering on the fictional, but it's also good fun and keeps the episodes moving.
 Our episode continues. After hearing about the underground rivers, Bernstein heads to another location where he does some underwater diving in a sort of flooded cave system. From there he is led to another beautiful location, a place where human sacrifices were once made, and then into the mountains to visit a remote town where aspects of the Mayan religion are still practiced. There we visit an eerier, 1,000-year-old man-made cave of worship. From there we journey further into the mountains, where a white-water rafting trip takes us to a spectacular, stunningly beautiful cave system through which flows an underground river. Josh has “discovered” the roots of the Mayan religion. End of the episode.
Like I said, quite contrived, but still a fun hook around which to build a journey to some of the most amazing locations you'll ever see, and through which the viewer is enlightened (even if only on a surface level) about a dead culture.
Over the course of this nearly 10-hour set, you'll enjoy 13 episodes of spelunking, diving, exploring goodness. We visit the giant heads of Easter Island in one of my favorite episodes, go in search of the Lost Ark (okay, so maybe there is somehunting for religious artifacts), poke around in ancient Egyptian tombs, journey high onto the  dangerous slopes of the Alps, go searching for King Solomon's Gold and the Holy Grail, and look for El Dorado, the City Of Gold once said to be hidden in the Amazon, among other fantastic journeys.
If that sounds even remotely interesting to you, if like me you always wanted to don a fedora and go mucking about in some ruins, Digging For The Truth will surely be right up your alley.
And if the idea of poking about in crumbling tombs and seeing mysterious remnants of the distant past does not fill you with childlike curiosity? Not only is this show not for you, you have no soul.
Disc Presentation
These History Channel sets just keep getting better and better. Most of this series would lose its impact without crisp, bright pictures and rich, vivid color. Thnakfully, both are up front and center. The lovely widescreen picture captures the magic and wonder of these amazing locations, while an adequate stereo sound mix backs things up in a capable, if unimpressive, fashion. No complaints from this HDTV owner. The stunning photography looked great.
Disc Extras
Sparse extras here, but with the season clocking in at just under 10 hours, a complaint about that would be absurd. First up, we have History In The Making, a 20-minute featurette that is largely  fluff, butdoes manage to shed some light on the production of the show.Some of the behindthe scenes footage, such as an entire village following the crew as they filmJosh walking, is interesting enough to forgive the “hype” sheen on the rest. Second, and lastly, is a text bio on our host, Josh Bernstein, a young fella who did some hiking, started a school/tour service for same, and was picked to be the show's faux adventurer. Good for him.
The Bottom Line
If the idea of ancient ruins and musty old caves and beautiful landscapes doesn't thrill you, there is nothing I can say to make you interested in this show. That's what it is. Ancient ruins and musty old caves and beautiful landscapes. It's also a lot of fun. It's not education, it's entertainment. And I loved every moment of it.
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