GATLINBURG, Tenn. — A nature and science program takes viewers around the world. In some of the episodes you'll recognize a little corner of our world here in East Tennessee.
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies base for the Saturday morning show: Earth Odyssey. Dylan Dreyer is the host and also an NBC News Meteorologist for The Today Show.
"I am such a science geek," she said.
One evening at the aquarium, a crew from Litton Entertainment in Charleston shot the on-camera wraps that introduce and connect the video segments.
"The idea is, Dylan presents the stories from the point of view of the animals that she's standing next to. So our goal is to always try to feather in the stories thematically to the animal she's with," Bryan Curb said. He is the Chief Creative Officer of Litton Entertainment.
"Say, for example, we're doing a story about Antarctica she'll be next to a penguin. If we're doing a story about Africa she might be next to an African fish that you might find in the jungles of Africa."
Speaking of penguins, the one that interacted with Dylan for the shoot was very interested in her red dress and a few nibbling incidents led to multiple takes.
"So often I'm in a studio. It's actually good to go out and film the intros and outros in the aquariums. My only thing that I am sad about is I never have time to bring Calvin, my two-year-old, who would absolutely love every single inch of these aquariums," Dylan Dreyer said.
The stories are shot all over but she hosts it from three different Ripley's Aquariums, including the one in Gatlinburg.
Ripley's Regional General Manager Ryan DeSear said, "Our fundamental beliefs are education, conservation, and most importantly entertainment. This show fits perfectly with that."
Dylan said, "It takes you all around the world to places most people will never get the chance to go. But at the same time, we make it relatable because we're in these aquariums we're standing next to animals that you can understand. So we talk about this animal that's standing right next to us, for example, a penguin, and then we relate it to the bigger picture. Just like the penguin ta da ta da ta da."
She had a lot of fun with the penguin. She likes working with animals. Well, there was that time with the stingrays sitting on her feet...
"It was very distracting with the stingrays sitting on my feet and splashing me quite often. So, fortunately, it wasn't anything to really be scared about. It ended up just being an awesome experience. But it's very hard to say your lines when there are tons of stingrays swimming around you," she said.
Ah, she says her lines just fine.
"And action," was the cue. Then she looked into the camera and said, "Thanks for joining us for a spectacular journey through the greatest places on earth. We'll see you next time for another Earth Odyssey."
Earth Odyssey with Dylan Dreyer airs on Channel 10 Saturday mornings at 10:30.