Season 4, episode 1 This is hard enough to accomplish on your own. To HAVE to get along with... work patiently and efficiently with... and remain respectful in spite of extreme discomfort takes an effort even when things are good. Two young brothers. Overflowing in confidence. 19 and 23. I'm guessing that youth and energy are not of equal value as experience and patience. We'll soon find out. Pitch... Or resin... is highly flammable. I'll think of that fondly next time I'm in the drive-through lane at Culver's. So a wolf's sense of smell is 100,000x that of a human. Whatever. I think I'd kick that wolf's ass. That same wolf looks at me, and thinks... that'll hurt when I sh!t it out tomorrow. Father/Son team. Not much yet to see here. Wind gusts on Vancouver Island can get as high as 100 mph. Who knew Vancouver Island was such a butt hole? Young brother, 19, taps out... day 1. Other brother has to go too. Off camera... I'd bet older brother is punching his younger brother in the Adam's Apple.
I'm thinking they must be ramping up the hostile wilderness angle for this supposed 'reality' show. The natives along the coast had the highest standard of living of any natives in North America. Elaborate trading networks and a wide variety of food sources on land and sea. It's actually pretty easy to survive on the coast compared to the deep interior, the far north or in deserts/prairies.
It's an island in an ocean. Most of those are windy. It's also a huge island and, for the most part , a beautiful place to visit.
Okay. I can accept that. 100 mph just seemed unusually excessive. Short of a tornado or hurricane I didn't know it got that windy... anywhere. And I'll agree it's a beautiful place. Just a hard place to be forced to rough it.
Right. There can be a Walgreens or Wal-Mart five miles away, but if you can't get to it it doesn't help you any...
A little hard to rough it if you aren't well dressed or even reasonably prepared but you will live - a few days anyway. Trees can make a good home. Unforgiving is the North. In times of nature's worst, you do not survive if you make a mistake.
I guess that is the point of the show. The contestants get dropped in a place where it's tough as hell to find shelter and food. Last season, it was hard to watch because people that were mentally tough had to be removed from the show because, after a medical evaluation, it was found their internal organs weren't working. We were watching them die.
The panhandle of Alaska isn't all that inhospitable either, but not quite the same abundance of edible plants. The biggest danger might actually be the moose rather than cougars or bears. Also wolves or wild dogs. It's the skinny bears you want to be really Tim Treadwell wary Tim Treadwell of Tim Treadwell.
The Giant brothers seem likable. One has to walk through the densest tundra to get to his brother. The other... better stop smashing limpets with his knife. Father and son team. Dad gets picked up by a helicopter. Something is wrong with his son. That would be terrifying. Son can't take it. The relief in father's eyes that his son wasn't hurt spoke volumes. Husband and wife team. Its cold and rainy. Shelter needs fortified. She... wait... did she?... She did. She built a damn fireplace. Louisiana brothers. They do bushcraft. I hope that serves them well. I'm not exactly sure what that is. Maine brothers. They have enthusiasm. They have vigor. And they have rubber boots that seem helpful against water. But might be irrelevant against cold. Trying to think of what that tastes like. I guess it tastes like survival. 3 days into this. It's getting real.
Shaving wood, collecting logs, hanging a vinyl tarp over a string tied between two trees for shelter from the snow, scavenging for food, reacting to large animals knocking trees over... just out of eyesight. Yeeaahhh... no. One of the Alaska boys fell. Hurt himself. Badly. His lower back and legs. But then... nothing. Numbness. A medical staff boats in. He's getting airlifted out. He was .8 miles from his brother. He never did find out how close he got. Husband and wife. Is that... Shakespeare? Yawn. But now she's getting naked. I think I like her now. Another father/ son team. While walking, son sees countless piles of bear... piles. Yet continues on his path. NOT the course of action I would take. Mr Louisiana finds a 2 foot long salmon. Yeah. But can't build a fire. Damn. Sushi it is then. He yells. He hears a reply. They become the first team to find each other. I have a chipmunk that has taken up residence on my property... among other furry creatures. The chipmunk squeaks. And is as fast as hell. If I had to catch him for food... I'd be one hungry chipmunk hating son of a bitch.
Without family... alone in the world... man trembles. Married couple. Still looking for each other. He's so close to the coast he can smell it. It's that... or his rancid sweaty black t-shirt. They finally find each other. They get emotional. Yep. I am such a bitch. The Giant brothers. One has to take a dump. His first in a week. He just knows we're wondering what he's going to wipe with. We're not. He spends so much time on his tent, he doesn't realize it lies in a mountain lion mine field of excrement. Father and son. Son lost his axe. Father will soon find out son is a dip****. Father isn't that bright either. It's raining. On the coast. So he noticed it was wet. Sigh. Having to worry about someone else... out here... makes this an unplayable game. For me. I'm out.
There's not a lot to report here. The Giant brothers pitched a tent in a low lying area. Water showed up first. And then the fish did. Lastly... the duck. Walked right up to them. Smelled the cooking fish, probably. It was surreal. Almost cute. Until the guy squished it with something. They ate well. The husband and wife team could win. They have the most going for them. Decide to upgrade. They're building a cabin. My money is on them. Not loving the new team format.
Yeah, this team format is a bit odd. The 10 mile trek was too much. 5 miles better, more realistic? Dunno. In any event, I would have agreed with you about the husband & wife team up until the end of this episode, but the wife is running out of energy with the cabin building. They are a great team. The two red-headed brothers (the duck killers) are doing better than I expected. They got off to a rough start but seem to be catching second wind. At this point anyone is a winner.
Either you learn to live as brothers... or you die as beasts. Giant brothers argue. But while they do they build a boat. And they crack as they suffer a slow starve. One of them fish hooks his hand. Youza. He then ripped it out with pliers. Married couple build an awesome log cabin. With a stone fireplace. They're tired, but things might be getting good. Father and son fish. Unsuccessfully. I continue to not care for this team format. Living here sucks. Badly. But let's face it, many things in life do. I'd imagine one of the only things worse than having to read my lousy reviews... is me having to think of the words to write 'em.
The one brother kept telling the other, "Dude, your going to get a fish hook stuck in your hand." "Shut up, dude, I know what I'm doing!" then "Dude, I got a fish hook stuck in my hand!" "Dude, like told you five times that was going to happen!" "Dude, enough!"
Hell... is other people. The married couple plays checkers. On their checker board. In their cabin. Until it incinerates. A little. The giant brothers go fishing with a cool trap. Until they lose their trap. This is the bipolar team. Ecstatic when things are good. Livid with rage when they aren't. Father and son get crabby. And they couldn't be happier about it. If the dad wins, all he wants is an aluminum boat. His modesty immediately endears him to me. 30 days in. Everyone hates being here. I even hate myself for watching. This will be over soon. Because if the contestants don't tap out soon...i might.
My tv only recorded 43 minutes of this program, so I didn't get the ending. Anyone leave? the two dude brothers ain't doing so hot. You described them perfectly Chris.
All teams are equally miserable. One of the dude brothers caught a smelly dead fish in the gill net & they talked themselves into eating it anyway, despite the smell. Now one is sick & hanging on by a thread while the other does all the work. Father & son are starting to argue and fight with each other now that the food supply is gone. Husband & wife are starving. Man is in not too bad shape, but woman is losing so much weight & tiring out so easily the man is concerned about her health. They are all starving. Ugly. One team leaves at the end of the show. Next week should be the end of this.
Really nice review @Borgia, Frost appears on rocks and leaves. The will to stay is getting frosty too. Giant brothers continue to argue like... brothers. They're hungry and cold. Their shelter sucks hard. They caught and ate a bad fish. Don't be like the giant brothers. Don't eat bad fish. Father and son work on despite exhaustion. They argue constantly. But seem to be speaking different languages. Hard to win those fights. Dad seems to be losing his mind. Married couple. They lack the energy to walk 5 steps. Yet make a crab trap. No crabs to be caught. But snails are abundant. The couple is out. Only thing worse than her suffering... is him worrying about her suffering. Damn shame. They played smart. And they lived better than anyone else in this god forsaken place.
Heroism is endurance... for one moment more. Two teams. The giant brothers. And father and son. Their will is broken. What keeps them here still? The best survival item they have... is their partner. But even in the best of times, relationships can fray. Everyone is cold. Everyone is tired. And everyone is slower. This is a marathon without a finish line. They even have to trudge through Christmas. They suffered from starvation, sleep deprevation and frostbite. But no victory is worth permanent damage. It was time to go home. They bargain with themselves. And each other. There are no losers here. In fact... their relationships are the ultimate winner. I'm happy for the team that won. But I'm just as happy for the team that didn't. The fact I watch a show featuring people... real people... dying a slow death... on tv...makes me question how much of a sick bastard I am.
I can't believe the Dude brothers won it, but they won it fair & square. God, this is just watching people starve. On a happy note, the dudes got hot girlfriends.
