"The Alaska Experiment: Back from the Wild" (Tuesday June 10, 2008 at 10 pm on Discovery Channel US)
Hosted by Les Stroud

Four groups of ordinary people gave up the convenience and technology of modern life to live in the Alaskan wilderness for three months. Now back from the wild, they reunite in a special reunion episode hosted by Survivorman Les Stroud.

"Film and Music: An Evening with Les Stroud" Saturday July 19th 2008 at the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, Huntsville, ON. Buy your tickets online.

Don’t forget to check out Les’ Blog for his latest adventures and news.

Please visit www.lesstroudonline.com

The Sock

That should be intersting. If you are into it check jan or feb issue of "The Outside" magazine. There is an article where some kid was trying to survive on the island for 30 days with just a knife. I think he lasted 10. Intersting read since he was getting his "survival" training from Les.

What are the odds that those two spoiled, obese, whining sisters have since stuffed their faces to the extent that they now weigh more than they did when they originally arrived in Alaska?

Jim

Me to, "huh, we've been here for 2 minutes, lets stuff our faces with our only source of protien!!"

That's why I really hate reality TV...those people were selected to be on the show for that exact reason...they were the most likely to generate drama.

These people aren't as 'regular' and 'every day' as the shows producers would have you believe...they are profiled and selected with the intent of making the show 'interesting' to the viewer...and usually that means drama.

Same goes for shows like Survivor, Big Brother, Biggest Loser, etc.

I wonder how many posts about those sisters were made on all the Internet forums combined? Great recognition advertising and cost nothing. How many people watched the shows just to see the whinging, complaining, and screwups? If the show were about 10-12 survival experts who did everything right, it would be a very boring show.

Back in the eighties, I was complaining to a screenwriter that the situation comedies were difficult to understand and not funny. He explained that the writers usually were well-supplied with nose candy, and that the sitcoms were perfectly logical and quite hilarious if the viewer was coked up, too. State-dependent humor. Few things on television, reality, political comment, even news shows reach the standard of scientific accuracy of Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons; perhaps it is unreasonable to expect them to do so.

And I would be tuned in every second.

great, a rating of 0.0000001

I reckon if they were my daughters, there would be many a happy bear around.

Peanut butter, feeding fat whining [censored] since about 9PM last week.

Baaaah, the censor wont let me refer to them as female dogs.

I haven't seen The Alaska Experiment or seen the 'whinning sisters'. Were they as annoying as the British teenagers in 'Can Fat Teens Hunt' ?

"...reality TV..."

I really dislike that term, there isn't anything approaching reality on TV, period. Well, maybe America's Funniest Home Videos...

Well, as whiny as they were, they got their "ass in in the grass" and dealt with it.

I didn't notice any of "us" out there.

Just sayin'

I have to agree with bat69. It's easy to be critical when you are sitting in front of the T.V.in your cozy home. It's not as easy as it looks. Whether anyone liked them or not, they walked away from the experience with a few lessons learned and an experience that they will never forget.

Never said I wouldn't swap with them in a heartbeat.

I saw what I think were all the segments of this show ... but coulda missed one since I never saw anything that layed out the ground rules ....well ...assuming there were ground rules.
Each group showed up at their assigned camp with only the things they packed in ....but during the show it seemed that some came equipped with things others might not have chosen and I have no idea what everyone brought or what their cabins came stocked with.
It was still interesting to watch ...and yes ...the sisters were indeed whiny ...I would've hated to be stuck together with them in te same cabin ...and if my daughter was like that (same general age) I might have to take some action.
Anyway ...there was brief info on their food foraging exploits ...more time spent watching them stump thru the countryside with the hunting guide than watching them try to fish or do much else.
I was actually suprised at how few episodes there were for the length of time they were there.
I thought the group of 3 that hiked 40 miles to visit that married couple were crazy ...they were the ones that took so long to hike the couple miles to cabin at the beginning. But 40 miles was way farther than they'd ever gone. That was really dumb.
Overall ....I was expecting more than I got ... and while it could've been alot better ... it was at least midly entertaining and possibly peopel watcxhed it that wouldn't normally watch Bear Grylls or Les Stroud etc programming....which is a good thing.
I checked their webiste ...which would be an excellent place to put more info and details ...but alas... they didn't do that either. There a little bit of stuff ...but really not much.

I only saw part of one or two episodes, but it seemed a little lopsided to me, some people in tents, others in cabins. Some trying to catch a jillion fish in a hurry, others having a "pro" take them hunting. But I am sure that I probably missed something about why that was...

Well, if any of you guy's think you can do better (I would probally agree with you) Now they are excepting applications for season 2!

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/alaska/alaska-experiment/casting/

Remember to look like you'll make good television, because that's what they'll be selecting by.
In 'The Frontier House' one couple guaranteed their admission by both being good looking and them wanting to get married during the series. These 'pioneers' arrived to a ready built cabin, with no explanation of how. And though the series explained that pioneers married in their street clothes; obviously the female viewers weren't going to stand for that. A beautiful perfectly fitting wedding dress magically appeared! :-)
The Sock

Well, I've put in for it. You can all watch my marriage either revitalize or collapse on live TV if we're selected

No overseas applicants, unfortunate.

Not to worry. There are "foreign" versions of many U.S. game shows, so if this "reality" show does well, it may very well be copied all over the world...

yeah; we gave you television; you gave us Big Brother. Please; no more favours!
calm down OBG - just kidding.
The Sock

• The Siberia Experiment
• The Sahara Experiment
• The Antarctica Experiment
• The Adrift-in-the-Pacific Experiment

I’m sure producers are already working hard to take this new concept way too far… just like all the other “reality” shows.

"...we gave you television..."

Ah ha! So you are who we have to blame for Big Brother huh? And all of that other mindless crap that is on the tube. Sometimes I think that things were a lot better before TV...

No! it wasn't us, it was the scots!
Can I plead the fifth even if I'm not in the USA?
The Sock

"... we gave you television..."

You claimed it, you get the blame

Shot with my own arrow!!
The Sock

I'd love to spend three months doing the wilderness thing in Alaska on someone else's tab. I just don't like cameras much. i'm pretty stoic, and studios don't put rocks on Reality TV. Also, though I love the premise and am fully confident that i could do it, but I DESPISE reality TV and want no part of it. The little i've seen of a few of the series i watched just to have a good laugh at how ridiculous it is.
'scuse me now, i'm gonna go for a hike before the skeeters come out.

Though the first broadcast was in England, the television was invented in America.


Big Brother originated in the Netherlands.

Jeanette Isabelle

Television is one of those inventions where it's a matter of choice who 'invented' it. Several people came up with parts of the solution. Baird transmitted the first image, but his system wasn't the one eventually used. So which of them, or the other people who contributed; 'invented' television?
It's a bit like when the woman buys the food, makes the salad, lays out the dishes and tables, puts out the drinks and sauces and the meat by the barbecue. Then the man, with beer bottle in one hand; PUTS THE MEAT ON THE BARBECUE AND TAKES IT OFF.
And is then is congratulated on 'his' barbecue.
-Don't get me wrong I think that is only fair :-)

Really: It was a jokey post I'm not standing by it.
By the way; what books have you written? You said you were an author didn't you?
The Sock

Short stories. I write science fiction. I have one completed, two in progress and at least one planned. All of them are apart of a series of stories. The one I completed is a single-writer story, the two in progress are multi-writer stories.

Jeanette Isabelle

On the Les Stroud part of this post.

My son and I met Les at one of his Movie/Music Performances when he was the guest speaker at our Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, 2 years ago. He is a very personable, normal guy and we really enjoyed his presentation/music. My son still has the picture of the 2 of them together posted up in his room.

I watch very little television, but I watch "Survivorman" ever chance I get.

Mike

Sounds like we aren't going to hear the titles. An author who doesn't want publicity?
well good luck with your writing career anyway! :-)
The Sock

The short story I have completed is "Serial Experiments Lain." This is one of the stories, when compiled, will make up the several year writing project, "Glass House," which I plan to complete in 2010.

Jeanette Isabelle

Looking at that i see your ideas about time travel are actually pretty tame!
Great stuff :-)
The Sock

Thank-you. Going back in time to fulfill history, rather than to change it, prevents a lot of headaches. This is in conjunction with the single time-line theory.

Jeanette Isabelle

"...Going back in time to fulfill history, rather than to change it, prevents a lot of headaches..."

Tell that to Kirk Douglas (in The Final Countdown)...

They tried to change history.

Jeanette Isabelle

And it no doubt gave him a headache...

First you disagree with a statement I made and then you agree with it. Which is it?

Jeanette Isabelle

Great movie!