TV - Alone - Survival In BC Canada Reality Show

[harobed1156]

What I find a bit weird is that there is a list of banned items. If you can only take items from the list of 40 items you're allowed, than a list of banned items is rather superfluous... I mean, those items would not be on the list of allowed items, would they.

I suspect the list of banned items is there because they never published the original list of forty items like they said they would. This way, viewers aren't wondering why nobody brought a lighter or rifle. The items that "no one their right mind would have chosen" must have been really embarrassing (?) for the original list to be such a secret. :shock:

[Bill Tarling]

So anxious for next week's episode with winter just starting to hit them... reminds me of a game [can't remember the name of the winter survival game right now, but I'm sure I'll remember it if I look through some of these threads]

[elloco999]

Is it the winter edition of minecraft?

Looking forward to the next episode myself. Not sure what would be worse, the constant rain they have now or the snow and ice they will face when it gets colder.

[ChillPlayer]

I wonder though about the choices some guys made, in particular the one building traps to catch mice. He started building them around day 22 and on day 32 he finally got one. Early in the episode there was an info displayed that a mouse contains 65 cals so he would need to catch 30 of them at least each day to come near 2000 cals. Why did he chose this unrewarding strategy instead of going for more fish? In one of the first episodes he caught quite a mighty samon, why not just continue?

The canoe guy has a lot of ducks and goose nearby, why don't he try to catch them with a net, spear or similar? I know from own experience that you can get pretty close to ducks in a canoe, near enough to be in throwing distance at least.

Some other things I wonder about the show in general: the first episodes were all about predators - why are they no longer an issue anymore? Since a few eps there was not one mentioning of cougars or bears.

In this ep they began showing how all 4 men were desperately struggling to find any food. Then they fast forward 10 days when one was building the fish trap and the other 3 are still in the exact same situation as before - how did they manage to survive without breaking completely down and why is out of a sudden no one able to catch a fish when in the first eps everyone was getting enough fish to survive happily?

Still looking forward to the next episodes but I scratched my head alot on this ep.

[Bill Tarling]

If you noticed over the last few episodes, they look for sort of a common theme or challenging issue [weather, food, loneliness, predators, etc]...

As well, since the competitors are the only ones recording, there's likely only so much they can select to maintain each individual theme [even to the point of the compilation checking the fish trap].

During the earliest episodes, when there were 10 competitors, there was an abundance of footage [with producers trying to assemble as much from each within the show time allotment], so it seemed more active at first. As the first few gave up and called for rescue [most often due to predators], you could see the others adjust their camps [like moving cooking away from the camp] and finding more secure paths.

I'm sure predators are still an issue [look at how far away traps are being set], but now we get to see that nature itself is quite a challenge... it would have been too easy just to show non-stop predators and miss all the hidden or unexpected challenges most shows wouldn't show.

I think we'll still see paths cross with predators ahead, but for now I figure the remaining few have come to terms or managed to work out territorial boundaries a little better. Now the show can shift the focus on the additional areas of hardship you normally wouldn't see shown.

That's why I'm anxious for the winter transition... I'm not expecting a TLD scenario [wrong area and time of year for it], but I am anxious to see how they adjust to the changing season/weather, especially since they aren't well fed or stocked up to begin with.

Mental attitude will likely be a key factor...

I see Alan having a good chance (based mainly on the way he understands the needs to keep mental faculties flowing - and his range of singing opera one week, then later reciting Edgar Alan Poe and quoting Henry David Thoreau. Detailed to maintain his focus and sharpness of the mind.

Likewise with the guy catching mice... it's not so much success or not, but also keeping active in order not to break down (as happened with some of the earlier contestants).

Now since we don't see all the rest of the footage, I can't imagine him living of just one mouse over a couple weeks - so he likely is continuing with some fishing (with varied level of success/failure)... but the show would feel rather simplified and repetitive if the only things show were what worked and what the first terrors or hardships were.

SIDE NOTE: I'm glad there's no studio narrator... loving the little snippets of information that pops up when the contestants are talking to their cameras explaining what they're going to try doing.

The biggest challenge seems to be (4) predators, (3) Food, shelter, supplies, (2) Mother Nature, and (1) Trying not to break down from the absolute solitude [having to maintain enough will to keep battling on, knowing that one call and they can be rescued to safety as an easier option].

[SteveP]

I have a feeling that the guys who gave up after the close encounters in the dark had not encountered black bears or wolves in real life. If there had been fresh blood, the situation might have been very different; it was bad enough when the guy brought his food to his sleeping shelter. I guess he didn't know about how food acts as an attractant. The bear didn't want the dude, he wanted his fish. There's a reason when we wilderness camp, we put food in the tree or locked in a vehicle. We don't want unwelcome visitors. Habituated bears are much worse because they associate people and dumps with easy food. The thing to do is build up your fire, if you have one and make some noise such as banging a pot.

I think the wolf behaviour in The Grey was somewhat realistic however poor the animatronics and CGI were. But compare The Grey with Never Cry Wolf. See Wikipedia wolf attacks on humans In the former case, the wolves were very hungry and territorial while not in the latter. It's perhaps fortunate that the show started during salmon spawning season so the predators were not hungry. Establishing a base camp with fire, smoke and human presence should be enough to deter the predators after the first few days. I don't think any of them had enough energy to build substantial shelters although one chap gave up after deciding his clay mud wasn't suitable for chinking (it was fine, mix with straw) The best started out fairly well, almost thriving but the weather got them down and they started just subsisting and laying around non-productively.

The editing for the show determines what segments got put in; I think it just happens that when alone, these guys just focused in expressing their depressive thoughts rather than perhaps focusing on productive video subjects. Hard to do when stuck in a small shelter shivering and alone. Why do you think we want other activities for the game that are productive like crafting traps, baskets and so forth!?

[ernestww]

I'm sorry about the 'predator fear ' tap outs. In British Columbia ...cougar attack risk for a human adult male ≈ 0, black bear attack risk = negligible.

Alan for the win. Outside chance to Lucas.

[SteveP]

There's always an element of unknown risk dealing with predators in the outdoors. They could be injured and starving and the smell of food in camp just lures them in. That was their mistake. I'm surprised they weren't coached on the need to keep a clean camp separate from the cook camp.

[Ysidro]

Coaching them would have beaten the purpose a bit. That's like telling them what items are best and where and how to make a camp and such. That's why several left so quickly, they had no idea what they were in for. The ones remaining are more suited for that environment, but I think there will be 1 or 2 more quitters soon still.

[ChillPlayer]

My money is more and more on Lucas, heck if you can find the energy and will to build yourself a Yurt and a string instrument after being alone for more than a month in the woods you are in for the win - I really liked his two-notes-song in the last ep And the canoe he's build quite early in the show is still very useful.

[Bill Tarling]

I really liked his two-notes-song in the last ep

That song was pretty good... almost enough to go viral

Was disappointed there wasn't more of the winter shown... Look like it was starting to hit them harder and harder at first.

With just 2 episodes left [i think], things should happen fairly quickly now.

[SteveP]

Coaching them would have beaten the purpose a bit.

Not coaching on generalities but on the specifics of staying alive for safety regulations. Keeping food scraps out of your main camp is very important.

[Bill Tarling]

Not coaching on generalities but on the specifics of staying alive for safety regulations. Keeping food scraps out of your main camp is very important.

These weren't amateur survivalists...

http://www.history.ca/alone/bios/

[elloco999]

Not coaching on generalities but on the specifics of staying alive for safety regulations. Keeping food scraps out of your main camp is very important.

These weren't amateur survivalists...

http://www.history.ca/alone/bios/

"The people portrayed in this series are trained survival experts do not try this at home viewer discretion is advised" they tell us at least 5 times per episode (after every commercial on tv I guess, online there are no commericals). Trained survival experts should know not to cook/ eat or keep food in their camp.

On a slightly related side note: how does on try this at home, unless you live in that region that is?

Did they air episode 11 'After the rescue' on tv already? Online it's between episodes 7 and 8 and iirc somewhere in there they say there are 3 episodes left. Including episode 8, that would leave 9 and 10 to go. So indeed 2 episodes left.

My money is more and more on Lucas, heck if you can find the energy and will to build yourself a Yurt and a string instrument after being alone for more than a month in the woods you are in for the win - I really liked his two-notes-song in the last ep And the canoe he's build quite early in the show is still very useful.

That is a nice yurt he build but it also used a lot of calories he didn't really have. Same thing with the string instrument, he was still working on that at 2.?? am, burning up calories (and batteries for his headlamp, that's supposed to be only used for changing batteries on the camera's).

I get that he had to move his camp and that the instrument is a great moral boost, but if he's unable to replenish the burned up calories he's doomed.

Personally I find it very hard to try and predict a winner. All of them have good skills and have been able to cope with the loneliness. My favorite is Allen. I like his attitude very much.

I wonder what happened to the fish trap he made. They only show him checking it the first morning, finding nothing. I would assume they would show it if he ever caught something in it, so he probably didn't.

[Ysidro]

Episode 9: I did NOT see that coming...

[ChillPlayer]

Episode 9: I did NOT see that coming...

nooooooo why oh why, this makes no sense.

[spoil]From what we've seen, Lucas was in the best situation when it comes to his camp, getting food and the utilities he's build himself, last ep he was so highly motivated, going to build this and that and stuff and out of a sudden he breaks down... I still can't believe he tapped out.

About Mitch, I'm a bit puzzled why he now remembers that his mom has brain cancer, why then partake in this endevour in the first place, did he think it will be all over in one month? Some tiny voice in my head keeps saying "scripted, scripted", although I truly feel I'm doing these guys unjustice when following that train of thought.

So it comes to Alan or Sam... personally I root for Alan too, he was my favorite after Lucas anyway but somehow I've got the feeling that Sam in his youth is more stubborn and will stick it out no matter what, as he already said at the end of ep 9.[/spoil]

This will be a long week waiting for the final ep

[EDIT]: lol according to this quiz I took I am Mitch:

http://www.history.com/shows/alone/pages/alone-personality-quiz

Who are you?

[ernestww]

So far, with maybe one exception, everyone seems to have tapped out for psychological reasons: Irrational predator fear, circular emotional spirals or Joe who, although apparently having studied bushcraft and ‘advanced principles of fire construction’, tapped because he lost his firesteel.

The only exception is buddy that thought he was sterilizing water by pouring it over a stump and ended up with ripping giardia - LOL

It illustrates the most important element in survival - psychology.

A couple of things surprise me generally about the show:

An apparent lack of knowledge of the coastal environment. Although I gather they knew they were being dropped at 50’N in a coastal rainforest in what appears to be late September, no one except Lucas constructs a substantial shelter. Living on Vancouver Island myself, the amount of rain and the seasonal temperatures are not a surprise, however, 15 minutes of web research for the uninitiated should tell them what to expect.

It rained virtually every day in October 2014 in Kyuquot:

http://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/kyuquo ... view=table

Knowing your drop point you should know that virtually ALL your food is going to come from the ocean. Forget the bow! Alan and Lucas seemed the best at it but still limited in their approach.

Inner cedar bark was the traditional westcoast native form of gaffer-tape.

An hour with your axe would give you many meters of strong fiber ideal for various basket traps. The water is crawling with Dungeness crab, but apart from a couple fluking into the gillnets, no one has tried to trap any. A ‘V’ of stakes leading to a corral with something dead in the middle placed in a tidal zone would likely get a couple crabs per cycle. The stream may have crayfish, a basket trap would work.

Why has Sam stopped eating the little rock crabs in favour of starving? Why is no one eating the billions of mussels covering every rock?

Edited August 15, 2015 by Guest

[Bill Tarling]

An apparent lack of knowledge of the coastal environment. Although I gather they knew they were being dropped at 50’N in a coastal rainforest in what appears to be late September, no one except Lucas constructs a substantial shelter.

I'm not quite so sure they knew exactly where they were being dropped... all seemed rather surprised at the environment from the start [and knowing ahead would likely have had some of them select different supply options].

As well, for a lot of experienced survivalists, many think of forests as being much less dense... all seemed pretty taken back by how thick and packed together the brush was.

I think not being allowed to bring firearms probably threw a lot of them out of their comfort zone too (takes away a lot of the bravado when predators are at your door). That, and only being allow to select a few survival tools they could use.

But overall I think the solitude was the biggest impact for them (all other shows at least had crew nearby)... add in the absolute blackness of the night [see, TLD extreme night darkness is fitting], and the solitude can really start playing tricks on you - especially with minimal sounds around you as well.

Will be interesting to see which one lasts longer to the win... I kept thinking how cruel it would be if 9 people tapped out, and you didn't tell the final player -- just let them sit out there wondering how long to keep trying] :lol:

Would be nice if they added one more episode at some point just to have all the contestants get together just to meet all together, and exchange stories of what they found most challenging. While we've seen why they left, it's the sort of "sharing the experience" that only those who have gone through it could relate and bring out more about the real impact of the challenge.

---

SIDE NOTE:

Another season is already planned, including female survivalists. Gender wasn't an afterthought - they originally did have female players selected and vetted for experience levels, but unfortunately their selections either decline for schedule or personal reasons, and one had to be switched out near the last minute because they simply couldn't get ahold of her.

I know a few of the survival enthusiasts on the board would probably be itching to give it a shot... if so, keep track of the site and hopefully there will also be a third season

[SteveP]

Not coaching on generalities but on the specifics of staying alive for safety regulations. Keeping food scraps out of your main camp is very important.

These weren't amateur survivalists...

http://www.history.ca/alone/bios/

The 4 who made it to last week have some experience or skills for Canada. The first bunch, most were naive. These guys weren't experienced survivalists at all. It was obvious. :-)

In bear country you don't leave food in your tent. Even the rankest amateur camper around here should know this.

I think these guys overestimated their skills.

Crunch time now!

[SteveP]

But overall I think the solitude was the biggest impact for them (all other shows at least had crew nearby)... add in the absolute blackness of the night [see, TLD extreme night darkness is fitting], and the solitude can really start playing tricks on you - especially with minimal sounds around you as well.

In Canada unless it is overcast, in winter with snow, there is a kind of semi-darkness. If the moon has risen, it's plenty of light to see by although most things will be very indistinct.

I think TLD should add moonshine on a 28 day cycle.

Often extreme cold weather is clear at night so there is starshine. The wind can be minimal or it can be fierce. I don't know if you guys tune the weather to be quite realistic or not? Just like in real life, the weather is often what kills you. Starvation should take much longer to kill you. Dehydration should take about 5-6 days but modelling this level of fidelity would change the game.

[ernestww]

An apparent lack of knowledge of the coastal environment. Although I gather they knew they were being dropped at 50’N in a coastal rainforest in what appears to be late September, no one except Lucas constructs a substantial shelter.

I'm not quite so sure they knew exactly where they were being dropped... all seemed rather surprised at the environment from the start [and knowing ahead would likely have had some of them select different supply options].

...

I tried to find something regarding how much warning they had regarding their drop location without any luck. I thought they had some pre-warning. It would be interesting to know.

[ernestww]

Not coaching on generalities but on the specifics of staying alive for safety regulations. Keeping food scraps out of your main camp is very important.

These weren't amateur survivalists...

http://www.history.ca/alone/bios/

The 4 who made it to last week have some experience or skills for Canada. The first bunch, most were naive. These guys weren't experienced survivalists at all. It was obvious. :-)

...

I agree. Like all 'reality' TV I'm always suspicious of the producers. I don't think they necessarily select the most skilled, but more the participants who might make the best TV. I mean if you had 10 Richard Proennekes you would have to change the name of the series to 'Good Times on the BC Coast!' episode 1 Whittling Hinges for the Cabin Door... and no one would ever tape out lol

...kidding aside, the last couple are hanging in there and good luck to them. I hesitate picking a winner. Experience and age vs. youth and stubbornness. Both show signs of cracking. I would like the young kid to win just because the cash would be great for his young family starting out in life. I suspect however that Alan will take it as he displays the least amount of psychological distress. He has the better shelter of the two and much better food gathering skills. That in combination with his sticktoitiveness will carry the day....

[Ysidro]

I know a few of the survival enthusiasts on the board would probably be itching to give it a shot... if so, keep track of the site and hopefully there will also be a third season

Day 1: "Wait, no wifi?" Tap out, tap out, tap out!

[Bill Tarling]

Great article to read [and doesn't give end of season spoiler]...

http://www.metronews.ca/entertainment/2 ... treme.html

I really love this response which probably sums things up well for their planning:

Q: There was nothing you could do to fully prepare you for that experience, right?

Chris: Nothing prepares you for the reality. This was the real deal.

Alan: You can research and try to prepare, but reality and perception are two different things. And when you hit the ground, reality hits you right in the side of your head.

[ernestww]

Great article to read [and doesn't give end of season spoiler]...

http://www.metronews.ca/entertainment/2 ... treme.html

I really love this response which probably sums things up well for their planning:

Q: There was nothing you could do to fully prepare you for that experience, right?

Chris: Nothing prepares you for the reality. This was the real deal.

Alan: You can research and try to prepare, but reality and perception are two different things. And when you hit the ground, reality hits you right in the side of your head.

Sounds like they had some forewarning about location. I read somewhere that they were dropped off in October. That's was a little cruel! Nevertheless it would make it even more imperative to make an enclosed shelter.

As much as I enjoyed Lucas's 2 Note Song, I think he should have made his crab trap...I think he even mentioned it. [spoil]Dang Lucas! You were doing well! 500k brother! You had arguably the least reason to tap![/spoil]