Richard Bangs Travels to Norway in New Television Special

Janson Media today announced the release to international television, VOD, and DVD/video markets of the HDTV special, Norway: Quest for the Viking Spirit, the 5th episode in the series Richards Bangs' Adventures With Purpose. In 793 AD long ships with dragon-headed bows and square sails crossed the North Sea and landed on England"s shore. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 'The ravages of heathen men miserably destroyed God"s church on Lindesfarne.' Since that time the name 'Viking' has been synonymous with pirates, violence and terror. But today modern Norwegians are active in peace and conflict resolution and ecology solutions on a global scale. So why is there such a discrepancy between the ancient stereotype of marauding pirates and modern, civilized Norway? The Viking age ended over a thousand years ago. So why does it still resonate today? Could it be a romantic revision of a grisly past or cynical pandering to a growing tourist trade? In this documentary special Bangs explores the Viking Spirit and how it survives today in modern Norway. Richard"s quest begins in Oslo and travels to the extreme northern tip of Norway. Like early Vikings he sails down the western coast and experiences the beauty and majesty of the mountains and fjords, before returning to Oslo. Filmed in gorgeous High-Definition, Norway: Quest for the Viking Spirit was produced by Small World Productions, and is now available to international television, VOD, non-theatric, and DVD/video markets, exclusively through Janson Media. Richard Bangs is a world adventurer, international river explorer, Web pioneer and award winning author. He is also a founding partner of Mountain Travel Sobek, America"s oldest and largest adventure travel firm. In addition to his Adventures with Purpose series, Bangs has produced web-based projects such as Great Escapes, Well-Traveled and Terraquest.Small World Productions is a small Seattle-based independent production company that since 1980 has been dedicated to making first-rate travel programs for public television. The company"s television series focus on the sights, art, and history of destinations in Europe, the USA, and Mexico & the Caribbean. Each episode is meant to appeal to travelers and armchair travelers and includes useful travel tips. Established in 1989, Janson Media is an independent content distribution company based in the United States, with a rights portfolio of over 1,500 hours of exclusive programming available for licensing to worldwide television, VOD, DVD/video, non-theatric, and emerging new media markets, and a publisher/ manufacturer of award-winning DVDs. The company has licensed programming to virtually every country in the world, and its clients include most major broadcasters and media companies.