ALONE (wilderness survival show)

[Jeremy Blackman]

This show is amazing. If you're even remotely interested in wilderness survival, do yourself a big favor and check it out.

Season 7 (on Netflix) is widely considered to be the best season, because the survivalists participating are some of the best of the best. There's shelter building (my favorite part), clever survival strategy, lots of hunting and fishing, and you get to see people eat things you never imagined were edible.

Pro tip: see if you can predict outcomes based on the first 2 episodes. There are more than enough clues to predict at least a few people's fates.

Some BTS info: Contestants are tasked with filming their own experiences. The rescue/production team is nearby, within a few miles. They switch out camera batteries at night and do periodic health checks, and they can respond in case of emergencies or tap-outs. (Contestants carry satellite phones.) Otherwise, the survivalists are legitimately alone with no assistance. You will see people starve. They get injured. Someone could easily die by falling into the lake or slipping off a cliff.

[wilberfan]

I don't think they could have pitched the show better than you just did.  I'm in!  Season 07 you say...

[Jeremy Blackman]

Yup. Check out Season 7 on Netflix. You'll know pretty quickly if it's for you.

One caveat: at a certain point I had to have the skip button ready for the cut-to-commercial cliffhangers. It's a bit awkward to have those remaining in the Netflix version.

[Jeremy Blackman]

I forgot to mention one of the best parts: armchair quarterbacking as you watch the survivalists make mistakes. It's like a horror movie in that way. Tons of mistakes are made — starvation and exhaustion tend to impair one's judgment.

It's also fascinating to see the range of philosophical approaches, from "I want to be one with the forest" to "I will fight nature and win" — and how that plays out. I won't even say which approach is more effective, because that would be a spoiler, but the results are illuminating.

(You see a lot of that in the beginning of Season 6, too, which I just started.)

[wilberfan]

I put on S07E01 last night, and found myself rolling my eyes at all the production tropes of shows like this--the editing, the opening narration, the rhythms...  But I made it thru the episode, and when I was telling a friend this morning about it, I realized there were details I really enjoyed:

Spoiler: ShowHide

Tears over the caught bunny, building the shelter with moss between the logs, the improvised hot tub...losing the fire stick.... 

I guess I'm enjoying the content more than the form--but I'm kind of invested now in how these people are going to make out over the next few episodes. 

[Jeremy Blackman]

Good to hear. I feel it has a light touch compared to nearly every reality show. The commercial cuts bother me, as I was saying, but otherwise it's pretty straightforward. There isn't a narration except for the opening credits, which takes a lot of restraint. And I actually think the editing gives crucial scenes room to breathe.

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Right, the hot tub... I think that's the guy who thought "creature comforts" would be his superpower. Umm, no. Those warm early days are so valuable in terms of shelter-building and food-stockpiling. How many calories did he spend making that hot tub? I was actually hoping he'd drag the boat along the shore and use it as his roof or something.

[wilberfan]

I actually think the editing gives crucial scenes room to breathe.

I probably used the term 'editing' too broadly.  What I was referring to was not just everything that is done to turn raw footage into narrative and drama and suspense, etc., but especially things like the sonic thuds on the soundtrack (do those have a term??) and music to tell us that something is supposed to be scary, funny, dangerous...  It's the nature of the beast (so-called 'Reality Programming')--but it's one of the reasons I don't typically watch programs like this.  It often feels more manipulative than most other kinds of visual storytelling for some reason.  And the 'competition' aspect of these shows always puts me off.

I'm thinking at this moment of something like Herzog's GRIZZLY MAN does this way better--but maybe it's apples & oranges.  (And it's entirely likely GM has thuds and juiced music, too--it's been awhile since I've seen it.)

[Jeremy Blackman]

Fair enough. I think sometimes the stings are genuinely helpful, though. And some sort of music is needed to cut through the silence, otherwise we'd just hear them trudging and sniffling and talking to themselves.

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I do think the music stings make black bears seem more dangerous than they actually are. And a bear sighting is always good for a commercial break cliffhanger. The wolves and wolverines are probably way more dangerous, and some of those encounters are actually underplayed a bit.

[WorldForgot]

I actually think the editing gives crucial scenes room to breathe.

I probably used the term 'editing' too broadly.  What I was referring to was not just everything that is done to turn raw footage into narrative and drama and suspense, etc., but especially things like the sonic thuds on the soundtrack (do those have a term??) and music to tell us that something is supposed to be scary, funny, dangerous... 

Sometimes these are "dramatic cues" or stings, or impact sfx. Depends on the sound designer but those are the three that I've heard in post-prod work.

[wilberfan]

Six episodes in, and I'm curious about something:  We spend a lot of time on critical things like food and shelter--what about more prosaic things like pooping and wiping?  In eight seasons do we spent any time on learning how to (literally) shit in the woods?

[Jeremy Blackman]

When people get sick or have trouble digesting, we sometimes hear about that, but otherwise nah. The show is gross enough already.

[wilberfan]

Yeah, I watched a guy retch and barf for 5 minutes last night.  I wasn't expecting high-def defecating, but a discussion of the proper techniques would be interesting.  It's like when astronauts do Q&A's--one of the most frequently asked questions is "how do you go to the bathroom?"

[wilberfan]

Finished Season 7 last night.  I'm NOT a fan of "reality-based" TV, but this was as 'pure' a premise as I've seen or read about.  No direct competition, no producers on hand (directly) to massage the drama... A likeable cast faced with some real-world challenges.  The editing-tweaks mentioned earlier still bother me--but I get how they feel they have to goose it (porqupine it?) to make it more engaging or something.  The finale didn't need to be 2 hours, but, you know, TV.

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I thought one of the things it did best was to remind us city folk how fucking important shelter and food are!  My favorite moments were when--especially the women--dissolved in literal tears of joy--or anguish--when they caught a fish (or didn't).  My weekly shopping trips already feel different.  I was really invested in having one of the women win because of that, I think.    A nice detail to make the eventual winner have to get to the 100th day--despite being the only one left.

Not sure yet if I want to make another 12 hour investment in another season, but if I did, what's the next-best season to check out...?

[Jeremy Blackman]

Yeah, the show is surprisingly grounded. They don't really need to add drama when the subjects are already facing such hardship.

Spoiler: ShowHide

I actually thought the 2-hour finale was justified because of how much time it covered. Considering what day they were on before that, I didn't think anyone was making it to 100.

I predicted Roland's win in episode 1 when he ate the ants. What an intro to that character. The way he was willing to do anything, eat anything, and fully integrate himself with the land was really impressive, and clearly the winning strategy. He saw everything as a potential resource. He even used an existing rock wall to build his shelter on.

His win was 110% deserved, but I definitely wanted Callie to be a co-winner. I liked that her approach of having a "relationship" with the land and trying to cooperate with it, and being so joyous and grateful about the whole experience, got her so far. Roland technically had a similar approach (fully cooperating with the land and what was offered to him), even if he didn't exactly frame it in those terms.

I like that Roland had an epiphany that he should spend more time with his sister and family, then in the post-show interview he talks about wanting to disappear for a year.

I watched some of season 6, which was good, but clearly they got the best of the best for season 7. Apparently season 8 just wrapped up.