There are few reality shows more infamous and long-running than Treasure Island.
We all remember those iconic moments over the years: Lana Coc-Kroft’s near-death experience after stepping on toxic coral. Matthew Ridge and Rebecca Loos’ shock romance, which arguably peaked when they were caught attempting to join the mile-high club on a flight to LA, and who can forget the dramatic and at times baffling self-eliminations - here’s looking at you Mike King.
But how much do we actually know about the show? After being invited to the remote Fijian location to join the cast and crew of Treasure Island Fans v Faves, I can tell you first hand, Kiwis have been kept in the dark for too long.
So in between interviewing celebrities and swatting bugs, I honed in on those behind the scenes and behind the cameras.
Witnessing what goes on while making the show had me more captivated than I was over Simon Barnett’s fish-induced breakdown of 2004. Much like the fish, I was hooked.
The people who make Treasure Island slowly let me in on the secrets, the logistics and even the sleeping arrangements.
Four months of planning and logistics, five shipping containers full of sets, tools and the “bones” of challenges are all pulled together by a 57-strong crew, 25 local labourers and security.
This 80+ team bring together the months of planning, casting, talent drama, negotiations, importing, building, booking and finally making a TV show.
And if they do their jobs right, the public will never know they exist.
There’s an executive director called Craig Burton who started on the show as a soundy “too long ago to remember” and is now running a flawless ship with a 100 per cent success rate of no fallen coconuts on cast or crew. He’s also never lost equipment despite a logistical puzzle that would baffle even the island’s best puzzle master. Burton is a master of his craft and his crew mimics his work ethic.
The show’s locations manager Peter Ashford, lovingly named Gunner, isn’t shy to admit he loves explosions - though they have been largely retired from the show’s modern format. He’s had such a colourful career and life that it needs to be played out in a TV movie, but he’s too modest ever to allow that. While Gunner doesn’t run the show, the energy and presence of the man says he does, and the assumption is made and respected. I suspect when Gunner retires the show will too.
Peter Ashford "Gunner". Photo / TVNZ
And then there are the ADs, the camera crew, the publicity team, the runners and even travelling families with young babies - all part of what makes the show what it is. Watching it back, it perfectly mimics those who create it and their utter obsession with getting it right.
Once there, there’s location scouting and set painting - and then sanding with real sand to make it look perfectly island battered. There are hessian sack bunk beds - they’re delightfully comfortable but shed more than a golden retriever - and a comedically crafted cat door for a cat named Gary.
There are coconuts hanging as decor, branches perfectly placed as if a happy accident to encourage team chats and squabbles. It’s production magic with little treats left for the viewers and cast to discover.
And season themes, team names and flags - that’s someone’s passion project too, not crafted on a whim or copied from another format.
Then there’s what the public does get to see: the publicity shots and our first look at the promos of celebrities popping Hawaiian shirt collars as they ease into their camera strut.
There’s a photographer named Matt Klitscher, an industry legend who’s been shooting Treasure Island promotional pictures for years. He nails it every time, even with the weather and equally torrential egos to deal with.
There are piles of team colour-co-ordinated clothing looks on the floor of a small A-frame building bursting at the seams with equipment, people, water bottles and a bottle of bug spray that was picked up more times than the photo reflectors - also tasked with one person to hold.
Behind the scenes of Treasure Island. Photo / TVNZ
There are the media interviews: each fave and fan is rotated around the media contingent who vie for some juicy quotes while publicity keeps a watchful eye on celebrities relaxing into interviews and revealing too much.
There are thousands spent on hotel rooms and meals to plan - though it’s only beans and rice for the celebs - transfers to organise and flights to book for the freshly eliminated contestant and literally every crew member has sore feet from the constant running around.
And all of this is done while these people remain largely disconnected from their families back home. The celebs may be castaways, but the crew are also plunged into a month of an utterly bizarre humid hyper-reality and it’s fascinating to watch.
By the time viewers finally get their eyes on a tiny piece of the Treasure Island puzzle, it’s had months of its corners and edges refined to make it New Zealand’s perfect fit.
And it does fit because Treasure Island gives us something special, something that modern reality formats lack: heritage. If Kiwis think the show is nostalgic, spare a thought for the crew who have put so much of themselves into the fabric of this show.
While many fans have delighted in Treasure Island bringing us numerous Kiwi celebrity moments such as Matty Maclean’s Barbara Kendall-induced meltdown, Charlotte Dawson’s uncanny one-liners and Gunner’s infamous explosions, it’s the special group of behind-the-scenes crew that should be given credit for it.
