Alone

  

I wished out loud that we could watch a program like Survivor, but with a little more focus on survival than game play.  Our wish came true.  Actually, it was already true, but we just found out about it.  Survivor gets network television.  The program "Alone" gets the History Channel.  Alone doesn't use teams so much, only once so far, so we don't get the team dynamic, but no problem.  It does put capable survivalists out in the wilderness to get by with no outside assistance.  Ten people.  Each gets to bring a few basic survival tools and a tarp.  Each one is left alone with a satellite phone to tap-out when they've had enough.  No contact with the outside world.  No contact with each other.  The one that lasts the longest wins.  The only way you know when you win is when they come out to tell you.

 

It's great to see how these wilderness-capable people do.  They build things.  They invent things.  Some fight the wilderness to survive.  Some embrace the wilderness to survive.  Some figure out fire, water, shelter, and food, but not all do.  You might think the ones with the best wilderness skills would automatically win by lasting longest; they might, but not necessarily.   "If you don't have air, you don't care that you don't have water.  If you don't have water, you don't care that you don't have food."  Once you get all the basics though, then what?  Then the head games really start.  When you're not worried about surviving another day, you can start to wonder how long to you really want to live a survival existence indefinitely alone.

 

Certainly bingeworthy.  A big "thank you" to the several people who suggested it to us.