Discovery Chanels Naked and Afraid

Naked and Afraid is a Discovery Chanel reality show that pits a man and a woman against nature for 21 days. They are both naked and allowed to take one item with them. It is in its first season with only 6 episodes thus far. You can check it out on their website here dsc.discovery.com...

and here is a youtube teaser/report

Having watched each episode and the way their so called "Experts" have a go at it, I find it a decent show, but the the way things are done and the order these people go about survival in their situations really made me want to know how they are chosen. I realize that if someone were to go out there and live rather than survive for the 21 days the ratings may not be as high and it is my opinion that these people are overlooked in the application process. With this in mind I have chosen to begin the application process.

I would like to know your opinions on the show and if anyone else from ATS has applied.

Thanks for the link.

Never heard of this show and I`m gonna watch it all out of curiosity .

This right here , this is our chance to show people how brainwashed they are .... I`m guessing that these two have trouble pulling themselves away from the material / consumer world. Since you mentioned the way they go about survival.

I myself need something like this , I need to just get away from all of this concrete and take off my leash .

I will watch , then post

I watched 1 episode. The duo spent day 1 walking to water/stream. Day 2 was spent unsuccessfully trying to make fire to boil water to drink. Day 3 the male decided he couldn't wait for boiled water and drank from stream. Day 4 the male had a fever of 104 and was evac'd out of show.

I don't think I'll be watching any more episodes of "experts" on this show.

reply to post by Carreau


Why didn't he attempt to Bear Gryllis "better drink my own urine" lol

These shows are hammy.

The fact that there is an entire camera/sound/production crew standing right there with them, probably fully clothed and not starving, makes this show kind of lame in my opinion.

Nothing has beaten the first few seasons of Survivorman in my opinion. Dude is out there by himself.

A fully clothed camera crew filming two naked people trying to survive is just strange.

What I find interesting about the show is that there has only been one episode where they made shoes and that was in the middle of their time out there and an infection had set in on the mans foot from stepping on a thorn. Shoes should have been the first thing made not only for protection but also faster travel. Damage your feet you're dead. Why is that so hard to comprehend?

I finally caught an episode and wasn't all that into it. I mean, yeah, it is cool to see how they go through the days, but at the end of the day they all seem to just want to whine and complain about something they signed up to do.

I watched a couple of episodes of it last night for the first time. It really kept my attention. I would want to make some clothes, though. Even if only from leaves. Like Eve,

I think it would be awesome if you got on the show. If you do, will you tell us?

The main thing I have noticed is that all the men are weak. Weak as in making dumb decisions and then their well being is placed in jeopardy. Weak as in wussies. The last episode had a man who was afraid to go in the ocean, afraid to kill the boa, afraid to go after the caiman. He finally decides to go after a small one and acts like he's attacking King Kong only to come out with a 6 inch baby. His basic function for the whole episode was cutting wood for the fire, cutting logs for the raft, cutting, cutting, cutting. No food gathering skills what so ever. He was a big chicken and a big disgrace as a real contributing partner. The gal on the other hand was a go getter and saved their asses. Basically, the women hold the team together and nurse the weak men and gather food and make things while the men are down and out.

I find it entertaining and focus more on what i would do different if I were in those situations. But some of their decisions are just like DUH!!! Think the women are outsmarting the men on the episodes I have seen.

Peace

reply to post by Agarta


Well Agarta first and foremost if you are applying for the show are you male or female? I would imagine any female willing to take on the challenge, and that is reasonably attractive and comfortable in her birthday suit would be a shoe in. Outdoorsmanship is probably regarded secondarily IMO.

Males may have a little more competition.

I have watched all 6 shows so far. I thing they are good, almost very good, but not quite. Not great or awesome, but good on the fringe of very good. I think they are fairly realistic, and obviously challenging as exemplified by 2 competitiors having to be shipped out due to medical concerns.

I like the way it shows how the player's mentality dictates how well they will do. The mentally tough usually make it barring an infection/accident, and the mentally unprepaired usually tap out. Not surprisingly, the females have edged out the guys a bit on mental toughness, not totally, there has been a diva or two on the show, but the guys seem to be the grumpy whiners for the most part.

I'm a guy, and if I lost 30 or 40 vanity pounds I would seriously consider doing the show. No way I'm showing my beer belly on cable. Other than that I think it would be fun, and I'm pretty sure I could do all 21 days. I think 2 people working well as a team could accomplish by day 4 or 5 what it seems to take the contestants so far 3/4 of the show to do. Then week 2 and 3 would just be cruise control.

I also agree with you that the contestants seem to have wierd priorities. I wonder if it is the producers behind the scenes prompting them instead of true survival planning. In a true survival scenario footgear would be right up there with fire and shelter if you were "naked and afraid."

reply to post by BellaSabre


Yes of course, I will post as much as I am allowed to by contract both before I leave and after my trip before the air date.

reply to post by Binder


I am male and agree with you on all points. They might have been good enough had they addressed priorities a little different. It seems they have the knowledge but make off decisions based on their general priorities. It is also hard to see a lot of working together on priorities.

One thing that got me is the episode where the man is shown at the beginning working with a bow but in the episode he sat there watching and complaining because all these birds could find food and they couldn't. Bow + arrow + BIRD = food.

reply to post by Agarta


Thank you for the link. Since I don't really watch TV, I'd never heard of this and it looks really super fun.
I may want to fill out an application to participate in the experiment myself since, I already go running around the wilderness naked (well not always naked) anywhere from once to 3 times a year for duration of a few days up to a month, on my own, by my own little self.

I'm not without provision, tools and material like these people portrayed in the video, but, I'm as far off trail as I can get, and, I'd like to think that if necessary I might actually do fair without anything at all. I wonder if they'd let me do a show solo?

As to comment about shoes, I never wear shoes, except where it's business professional required.

reply to post by Druscilla


Well if they don't let you go it yourself maybe we can do it together. Thanks for posting.

Originally posted by Druscilla

I believe you would probably fare very well Dru.

Some of the people on the show are selected for their supposed survival skills, and then demonstrate some of the most boneheaded tenderfoot mistakes.

• Spending the entire first day in the direct sun and not weaving cover or easily fabricated shade, and getting debilitating sun poisoning
  
• Drinking local groundwater right off the ground and getting a 104 fever and having to be shipped out by helicopter
  
• Walking out onto the African savannah at night by one's self for about a mile, barefoot, with an audible pack of hyenas agitated within 40 yards
  
• Deciding to trek out on foot for a 3 mile walk barefoot, with plenty of sheath bark trees nearby the starting point
  
• Choosing a fire starter rather than a utility knife as one's only tool
  
• Trying to use wet groundwood to friction start a fire
  
• Drinking dirty and unfiltered water while standing in piles and piles of nice clean sand and fire charcoal
  
• Building a shelter on the weather side of an island or a mountain rather than the leward side
  
• Attempting to kill game animals with a fabricated spear right off the bat, before looking for water, building a shelter or fabricating sun shelter, or digging for grubs, groundworms, lizards, etc.
  
• Running full speed into a coral lined island bay and cutting their feet badly
  

Those are just off the top of my head from watching this last week. It is entertaining just watching the mistakes they make and how they end up hating each other many times..LOL!! As part of my work in Africa I spend a decent amount of time with my pack and tent. I do my daily run unless there are lions or hyenas around. But I would not sign up for this...ugghhh.

I would make my own mistakes too. But it is more funny watching someone else do it.

(Oh yeah - and the women are embarrassing the men....)

Just watched the 40 min show that covered the whole thing , and I honestly can not believe these two d!psh!ts .

Neither of them have even basic hunting skills ....... for some reason they totally ignored most of the food sources in the area ..... and why would anyone in their right mind just jump into that river and start swimming around before actually checking it out .

The fire - staged.
The "fall" - staged
They didn`t watch where they were stepping very often
The guy wanted to be a hero and just hunt "pigs" `n` stuff , but cried when he hurt his knee
There was a camera crew with them the whole time (who obviously had packed lunches and bottled water)
The woman just sat around playing with fire and painting herself

All in all I would have killed them both on day 2 and ate them.

Funny how the guy lost the will to live when she covered her jugs and mustard pot .

Just shows how messed up our kind really is , I mean , would you really be worried about being "comfortable" or would you be able to flick the switch and start thinking like a human ?

Computers , internet , clothes , cars , food , TV's , phones , etc. ........... would you be able to live without it , all of you , would you REALLY be able to walk out of your house tomorrow ... naked ... and walk out into the wilderness without worrying about gadgets and money ?

Not many people would ......... and that`s what scares me about the brainwashed masses , most of them would KILL to keep their little comfort zone where everything is done for them. The military for example.

Even if you work , it`s all done for you , its all picked and packed by other people ... you didn't build your I phone or even your house ......... you work to buy food , so why not grow it instead ? ... you work to buy gas and electric for heat and gadgets , why not lose the gadgets and build a fire instead ?

People hit you with - " I work to feed my family " - which to me translates to -> I work to feed my greedy little obsessions , and I like to blame my family since I don`t spend much time with them and don`t understand them anyway " .

Drink , drugs , rock-n-roll ..... that`s what`s keeping ya`ll working.

reply to post by Agarta


this one was better also done by discovery channel. he was all by his lonesome just like Survivorman Les Stroud.
only contact he has is a emergency radio.
Naked Castaway

sadly there are no full episodes aviable that i have found that can be posted here. just clip's. there might be some at those outlaw sites.

Originally posted by Agarta
reply to post by Druscilla

 

Well if they don't let you go it yourself maybe we can do it together. Thanks for posting.

Yeah , yeah sign up for e-harmony buddy

reply to post by TheEthicalSkeptic


I thought many of the same things! They were very one tracked in their survival paradigms. You don't have to boil water if you can filter or even distill. The couple on the tropical island that kept having trash wash up... that was a gold mine. You can start a fire on a bright day with the bottom of a soda can.

The guys baking in the sun?! ridiculous. Wanna know why pigs bathe in the mud? It conserves vital fluids. If I were on the show I would be "muddy and somewhat aware of my surroundings." or "leafy and wearing thumper as footwear."

By day 21 I would be grumbling about the fact that I had to pack up or build something to get to the extraction point. It would take about a week to get everything in order which would only leave 2 weeks for recreation, and you can't brew anything in 2 weeks. Wait... I forgot I can bring 1 survival item. Would they count a tun, a demijon, and a few bottles with corks as just one item? Can I have 38 days to enjoy the fruits of my efforts? Forget it I'm applying for redneck island. Maybe they'll do a "naked, and inebriated." edition.