Local Cops Make Television Debut on ABC Show

The following is a recap of Thursday night's Expedition Impossible, which aired on ABC. The team known as "The Cops" is comprised of Lieutenant Robert Robillard, 43, of Concord; Sergeant James Vaglica, 49, of Billerica; and Danielle Henderson, 34, of Marlborough.

Three of Waltham’s police officers took the stage on ABC’s new adventure reality show, “Expedition Impossible: Kingdom of Morocco,” Thursday night.

Waltham Police Officers Robert Robillard of Concord, Dani Henderson of Marlborough and James Vaglica of Billerica are all members of "The Cops," one of 13 teams competing to win $150,000 and three Ford Expeditions.

The Cops found very limited screentime Thursday, but finished the first stage of the competition, dubbed “Sun! Sand! Sahara!,” in 10^th place, securing a position in next week’s competition.

Each of the 13, three-member teams took on a series of athletic challenges, facing the varied and punishing terrain of northern Africa to reach the finish line.

The first leg of “Expedition Impossible” kicked off with teams hiking to the top of an enormous sand dune to reach the gateway to the competition and the first checkpoint, where they picked up camels for the next leg of their journey.

The Cops reached the first checkpoint in seventh place.

Leg two featured a camel ride across the Sahara to get to the second check point, Lone Palm Camp, while the temperature out in the desert quickly climbed to reach over 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

At the second checkpoint, teams were tasked with “finding water the local way.” Thanks to the Fab 3 team, which began digging for water almost immediately after reaching Lone Palm Camp, successive teams had to merely dip their jugs down into the sand to collect water for their camels.

The Cops made gains on their initial success, climbing into sixth place upon reaching the second checkpoint.

The camels soon were ditched for a hike up Todra Mountain in leg three, where contestants faced a challenge of rappelling 300 feet down into the Todra Gorge.  Located in the middle of the pack, The Cops kept apace with The Fisherman, New York Firemen, California Girls and Team Kansas while The Gypsies took the lead.

After the rappel, teams watched a traditional routine of a Moroccan snake charmer, where they had to correctly identify the number of snakes used in the performance to receive the correct directions to the finish line.

Just after the sun set and the sky turned black, The Cops crossed the finish line in 10^th place. The Gypsies finished in first, while Latin Persuasion came in last and was eliminated.

“Watching that chopper leave (to bring home Latin Persuasion) was a reality check,” said Chad Robinson of The Country Boys. “It’s not all about who’s the strongest, it’s not about who’s the fastest, it’s more a mental thing. It’s who wants to really win this thing.”