I don’t normally watch reality tv. I find it to be a waste of my brain energy- people at each other’s throats with scripted lines and obnoxious drama. I fucking HATE drama.

 The only reality shows I can seem to tolerate are the ones on the History channel and Discovery. I think it is because they don’t focus on drama, but rather situations that people are in, or a common goal.

There are some on these channels that DO focus on drama and it totally ruins the show for me. I don’t watch Ax Men, or Greatest Catch.

 Anyway, the one I am totally hooked on is Out of the Wild, on Discovery. It’s been on for the past 6 weeks or so and I find it to be really entertaining. I tune in every Tuesday at 10 pm to watch it, and I record it if I can’t.

 It’s pretty basic. 9 people are dropped off in the middle of bumfuck nowhere in Alaska at the end of Fall. All they do is follow the map given to them, and follow their schedule- Hike a pre-determined course to a shelter, stay for 3 days, and move on to the next shelter. They carry all their supplies on their back, hunt or scavenge all their food. There is no prize money, and they don’t know where the end of their trip is. It’s all about making ends meet and making it out in one piece- and knowing you can do it.

 Each person also carries a GPS emergency locator. When they’re done, ready to give up, want to go no further, they press that button- and a Helicopter comes and takes them away.

 So far, four have left.

One left the first episode- She was older and was afraid that the trip would kill her.

Two guys left on the third episode- One was a backcountry fisherman wanting to test his skills and limits and the team relying on him too much,and the other guy (a Salesman of some sort) realized he couldn’t hack it.

They went a few episodes without losing anyone, but just two episodes ago Dan- a cop from Jersey- just gave up. He was in great health, doing well and a major player… and I think he just sunk into a depression and didn’t let anyone know. By the time anyone realized he was in a funk, he had already Pressed the Button.

 I like that there’s a strong dynamic between the remaining team members- they all understand that each one of them is there to survive and help out, and no one’s being a douche. And best of all- there is like, NO drama. The only drama is what the environment presents to them. And in Alaska with the onset of winter at your heels- that’s a lot of fucking drama.

 Lately, everyone on the team is starting to fall apart. They’re not eating enough calories to sustain their rigorous activity. The meals they catch are meager- a duck a day if they’re lucky, maybe a ptarmigan- then they have to split it between the 5 of them. So it’s weird to see these people slowly starving, lacking proper nutrition, wrecking themselves… one girl- Carolyn- is actually losing the will to live and the others are fighting to keep her plugging along.

 I think, ultimately- I enjoy the show because it’s just normal, everyday people in a really shitty situation trying to make their way out of it -and their will being the only thing keeping them from kicking the bucket. I feel I’m a bit more prepared for survival situations, so if they’re just scraping by in Alaska, I’ll do a hell of a lot better in California.