I missed the two premiers last night, any one else watch the show? They are being replayed Saturday morning and will be taping those plus new episodes as they come out.

NAT GEO' DOOMSDAY PREPPER TV SHOW

No cable here. I hope to see them on Xfinity at lady friend's place.

Internet is bad here for streaming, so I haven't seen most of the clips.

I watched them.

There were basically three segments in each show. The premise seemed to be not just that they were preparing, but the show made it sound like they were preparing for different scenarios such as EMP, Financial collapse, Worldwide Oil Crisis, "Killer Earthquake" etc. That in itself to me probably misrepresents general preparedness. I myself, am not preparing for any one specific scenario, but more for general self-reliance and education.

Overall they were of marginal value to me. A few things of interest to me was when, near the end of each segment, the narrator provided a review of their preps through an "Expert Assessment" (thought they didn't say who those experts were), was at least a bit useful.

What I didn't care for, was at the very end of the program, the narrator provided what must be the producers' estimate of the likelihood of each scenario happening. For example, the narrator stated "... there has never been a complete cutoff of oil to the United State and it is not likely". They did finish with "The possibility of a major earthquake, of magnitude 8.0 or higher, could hit Los Angeles in the next 30 years, but the chances are less than three percent." Finally, in the second episode, there was the "What are the odds of hyperinflation actually occurring... while hyperinflation and severe depressions have occurred in major economies in the past, most economists do not believe the United States is currently at risk."


Wonder where they get their estimates and probabilities?

These wrap-ups, to my mind seemed to try to make a subtle case that "preppers" are over-concerned.

So, to heck with a few extra cans of beans this month, I think I'll splurge on a good cup of coffee.

Just my $.02

buckeye

Just watched them on Xfinity.

Well, some of it was really good. I did genuinely learn some things. Some of the folks stood out for intelligence & foresight while others caused continuous mutters & eyerolls.

The LA earthquake man is an author- Christopher Nyerges. I've seen his name around.

The "experts" seems to be a business called Practical Preppers- http://www.practicalpreppers.com/ I'd personally feel better if it wasn't set up like a commercial tie-in. Still, it could have become "Extreme Makeover- Doomsday Edition, sponsored by Sears & Tactical Bacon!"

I'll go through the website for PP.

I had a mixed reaaction to this show. I saw some benefits to some of the preparations and some waste of effort and money. I think some people are way overboard with the concept, although well prepared for...something?

I also saw some people who had a plan that when tested failed. The Houston gal was a good expample. I seriously was surprised she could wear short shorts and walk across Houston without having to "pull the piece". I doubt she would have done so well on the trek had there not been a camera crew with her. She seemed to realize that there was some major flaws in her plan after the dry run.

I guess it is a decent show and can provide some food for thought. Not really much of a prepper myself, at least not to the degree of living in seatainers stacked on the prairie. In my city the evac would be pure hell and at the same time would be mandatory at some times of the year. So, I guess I am more of a "hope-er", hope it never is necessary!

I watched the show and was not particularly impressed. The earthquake section was of particular interest to me, living as I am in southern California. Prediction of earthquakes is really fascinating and tricky; basically, given the extent of geological time, we only have data from a very short period from which to infer future behavior. Earthquakes aren't the only potential problem; on a day to day basis, wildfires are likely to be just as much a threat.

The show seemed to steer away from any kind of reasonable balanced portrayal of preparedness and fixed on extreme behavior; I guess it is all about what will make sensational TV.

in fact right now I'm watching the 3rd episode. I've blasted through them all in last 24 hours. Several are from my metroplex. Its positive in that it shows I have better water food than some but where I am behind its by a magnitude of tons it seems. Same with fitness. And as far as a 2nd location, I've got plans but not pulled the trigger as I am focused on my home stores first. And I've heard of it but never really considered shipping containers as a home set up. Its an interesting cost offset to a less defensible situation.

Con's. I can't seem to get past the fact that the advisors at the end of each persons story sometimes tend to focus on giving a negative that is, well maybe not petty but secondary to the plan that person had. I can't really put my finger on it, but it seems that last one dig was unneeded.

I've managed to catch a few of these shows online now, and have been rather struck by a few things:


-- Preparing for singular events/scenarios. I kept thinking, are the interviewees REALLY just preparing for one big thing, or is that just the narrative the producers asked them to follow?

-- Several of the people interviewed appeared to be quite overweight and/or in poor health. For some reason I'd always thought that hard-core "preppers" would focus more on fitness in the event of a major meltdown.

-- The direct involvement of children in their plans. I wondered how much the parent's actions might affect their lives later on, for good or ill.

-- The wide range of socio-economic-political backgrounds. I was surprised that some appear to be quite affluent, or were firefighters/cops.

-- Pets. If one was as concerned about the situations they described, why would they have cats or small dogs in the first place? The young woman who calmly mentioned the possibility of killing her cats with a gun was a bit disturbing, for some reason.

-- The willingness to go on television. I thought that people in this mindset would be more cautious. But I suspect that these are rare exceptions...

Not sure if the folks or the TV producers framed the "single scenario" aspect. Personally, I am concerned about a domino effect of factors hitting in fairly rapid succession.

The weight & health issue struck me also. Then again, we see people every day who seem very out of shape for their careers or hobbies. The medically-retired truck driver in TN seemed to have a reasonable grasp (except for the cheesy militia get-up) regardless of his health.

Preparedness can be a family efort or hobby. We do not honestly know how healthy those families are. The whole thing can be handled like homesteading or scouting or like a cult.

Pets... I understand the emotional/psychological value of pets. Yes, small, "helpless" animals can be a hindrance, but can be very important to seniors or children. Allowances should be made.

The cult of TV... Well, if a person can be a professional reality TV personality...

Yeah, I've got some issues with the Houston gal (notice her boyfriend eschewed the show?). However, she was taking positive steps.

I've been watcing these shows - and as per some of the comments, seems almost everyone on them is obsessed with (1) eating and (2) guns.