alone tv series now on SBS

[wildwanderer]

For those interested the survival tv series alone is now available for free on SBS. Using the SBS on demand app for smart tv and computer/phone.

https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/program/alone

It's a reasonably realistic survival show where 10 individuals are dropped into separate locations in a wilderness setting with some survival gear. In the first season, they're given tarps, ropes, axes, saws, cooking gear as well as other equipment but no food or water. They are competing to see who survives the longest.

The contestants do all their own camera work so there is no one with them which makes it quite an unusual compared to other survival TV shows.

I've only watched part of the first series so far but I feel that the shows producers really drop these guys in the deep end with virtually no viable escape if the s*** hit the fan quickly. As the rescue team can take several hours to reach them if they call for evac. (Similar timeframe to a real life rescue situation it could be argued)

In the first series there are bears, cougars and wolves in close proximity to the contestants.

It's quite interesting to see how they adapt and attempt to survive. Some do well others only last a day or two before calling for rescue.. depending on their skill and luck of initial drop zone.

PS. No spoilers on who wins please.

[commando]

I watched the first couple of seasons, and found that as there sanity declined so did the quality of the recordings
as they become delusional and on the verge of mental breakdowns whilst starving slowly to death. Like the guy who
was eating squashed mice caught with a flat rock trap he was in noddy land.

[CraigVIC]

One of the contestants who has a popular youtube channel is still very humorless about their exit from the show.

[Joynz]

I watched most of season 4, which was in the wilds of Patagonia.

I think it’s very realistic.

Worth looking at the website to see what the contestants choose from in terms of the equipment or food they can take.

[wildwanderer]

Looking forward to getting to the season filmed in Oz.

We don't have much of a hunting/survivalist culture here in NSW. (Compared to the US/Canada or NZ)

Half of me would to like to learn and practice some of the techniques but the other half realises that a lot of shelter building etc is very destructive to the environment. And trapping etc is mostly very cruel, not to mention illegal.

I've been reading a book on bush food's and learning it's incredibly difficult to get enough calories by only eating plants. And eatable plants are quite difficult to identify here.. being multitudes of similar looking ones that are highly toxic. So survival mostly depends on trapping animals for meat or if your lucky to be close to a well stocked estuary.. catching fish.

[commando]

I've been reading a book on bush food's and learning it's incredibly difficult to get enough calories by only eating plants. And eatable plants are quite difficult to identify here.. being multitudes of similar looking ones that are highly toxic. So survival mostly depends on trapping animals for meat or if your lucky to be close to a well stocked estuary.. catching fish.

Spot on...

[wayno]

I watched the first couple of seasons, and found that as there sanity declined so did the quality of the recordings
as they become delusional and on the verge of mental breakdowns whilst starving slowly to death. Like the guy who
was eating squashed mice caught with a flat rock trap he was in noddy land.

it gets more inhumane as the series progresses. they tend to put them where the climate heads towards a very cold winter. and food is hard to come by in adequate amounts and they arent allowed to move camp to try and find more food... starvation ensues.. with so much prize money at stake, people are going to tell themselves they can do it ad queue up to put themselves through great hardship so that people can watch from the comfort of their own home...

[wildwanderer]

it gets more inhumane as the series progresses. they tend to put them where the climate heads towards a very cold winter. and food is hard to come by in adequate amounts and they arent allowed to move camp to try and find more food... starvation ensues.. with so much prize money at stake, people are going to tell themselves they can do it ad queue up to put themselves through great hardship so that people can watch from the comfort of their own home...

Yeah agree it's quite brutal. But in all fairness to the producers they have to get an outcome.

If they pick a temperate location and allow nomadic hunter gathering the contestants with high level skills will just live out there for years.

If it was me I would be getting as fat as possible before going in.

[wayno]

it gets more inhumane as the series progresses. they tend to put them where the climate heads towards a very cold winter. and food is hard to come by in adequate amounts and they arent allowed to move camp to try and find more food... starvation ensues.. with so much prize money at stake, people are going to tell themselves they can do it ad queue up to put themselves through great hardship so that people can watch from the comfort of their own home...

Yeah agree it's quite brutal. But in all fairness to the producers they have to get an outcome.

If they pick a temperate location and allow nomadic hunter gathering the contestants with high level skills will just live out there for years.

If it was me I would be getting as fat as possible before going in.

they could get a much faster outcome in the arctic...

[commando]

they could get a much faster outcome in the arctic...

Or the middle of the Pacific on a bamboo raft
The sponsors would be happy with 28 minutes of ads and 2 minutes of Survivor series.

[CBee]

I had a look. Interesting. (SPOILER) There was a guy who was very unhappy about birds making too much noise early in the morning and too many roots making terrain uneven and difficult to walk... And then the guy tapping out after a couple of days because he was missing the wife...

[Ms_Mudd]

If it was me I would be getting as fat as possible before going in.

Having watched 6 series of it, I would say that this idea is actually a winning one. It is the chubsters who outlast everyone. In a few series, if not for a medical elimination, the runner up definitely had the gumption to keep on going.