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Naked And Afraid: Leave Your Modesty At The Door

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Have you managed to catch Naked and Afraid yet?

When I first saw the trailers for it, I immediately set it to record, but not because I thought it would be good.

I initially thought the show was a joke and only meant to get ratings (but hey no show was ever created just for gits and shiggles, ratings are what keep them alive)

After watching the first episode I have to say I was really interested in seeing how the rest of them pan out.

This show is much different than the other “competition reality survival shows,” in that there is no monetary gain involved.

It is more of a test of the body and spirit of the individual participants as well as a look at how well people from different backgrounds  are able to cope and work together.

Does it show you some new great survival skills?

No, not really.

It gives you a brief background of each person and lays out their strengths and weakness’s, but the focal point of the show isn’t to teach you how to survive.

This show is strictly for entertainment and, for me, it did that quite well.

I actually found it quite interesting (which made it that much better to watch) that in the majority of the episodes, the woman carried the man through the competition.

Case in Point:

This is one of my favorite clips from the show.  The two survivalists were each alloted one personal item.  In this episode, Laura brought along a machete, which is a great pick.  Clint however, brought a pair of goggles.  In this clip we find out that Clint has a morbid fear of sharks and as soon as they get off the coast, he panics and leaves his partner alone in the ocean, to set their primitive lobster traps.

If you aren’t familiar with the show, check out this excerpt published by Alexandra Cheney in The Wall Street Journal.

Then go ahead and set your DVR to catch the reruns as well as the precursor to the series “Naked Castaway”:

“Discovery Channel is baring it all for its new survival series.

Several other reality survival series have already tested participants’ ability to hunt and create shelter. Discovery chose to up the ante, dropping cast members into remote, wild locations–completely nude. The show is sure to test the limits of what the public will accept from reality shows.

“Naked and Afraid” will feature two complete strangers, one man and one woman, for 21 days as they attempt to survive and navigate their way to a predetermined extraction point, one to 10 miles from their drop-off location. Each episode features a different couple in a different location and will premiere June 23.

As part of the show, the survivalists’ are allowed one personal item of their choosing. They are also given a “rudimentary map” and Go Pro cameras, “which were rolling at all times,” according to Denise Contis, an executive producer on the show.

While navigating the terrain of the Maldives, Panama and Borneo may have been a first time experience for the participants, all of whom classify themselves as “survivalists,” nudity is no longer uncharted water for the network.

“Naked Castaway,” which premiered in April, featured explorer Ed Stafford as he survived for 60 days sans food, clothing or tools on a deserted Fijian island.

“We wanted scenarios that are so real they are unreal,” said Contis, referring to the premise of “Naked and Afraid.”

The cable network, which has produced such documentaries as “Planet Earth” and “Africa” and built their non-fiction programming with “Shark Week,” has increasingly turned from documentaries to the unscripted reality genre to attract new viewers.

“We are telling a magnetic story with compelling characters and a vicarious exploration,” said Contis. “’Naked and Afraid’ touches all or a lot of the key components to our programming.”

In addition to the survivalists’ camera footage, a four-person crew tracked and shot the couple at all times. Once a day everyday, producers would collect the memory cards from the participants’ cameras and check the batteries.

The crew got involved on more than one occasion, when people were depleted or in an emergency situation. But Contis said she does not believe that interfered with the overall show. “There is no manipulation, no element of scripted reality,” she said.

When asked about the potential dangers for the participants, Contis said, “I don’t know that they were very clearly in danger. They were placed in this location, where and how they survived and if they traveled at all, that was up to them.”

Executive producer Steven Rankin was bitten by a Fer-de-lance snake during filming and nearly lost his foot in Costa Rica. He later tweeted a gruesome photo of his injury.”

View the full article

This show is one of the best ones that I have seen in quite a while, and while it is not necessarily a teaching tool for survival, it is great to break away and watch how others cope.

I’m hoping that Discovery renews this series for a second season.

How about you?

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11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Nick

    August 9, 2013 at 10:23 AM

    Hey Joe! Thanks for the great review of this new show. I’ve been avoiding watching it – got burnt out on survivor a decade ago. I’m glad it’s nothing like survivor and I’ll be catching the next episodes and catching up on the old ones. When are you going to apply to be one it?

  2. Calvin

    August 9, 2013 at 11:18 AM

    This show is great; it is both entertaining but it is educational for the following reasons: it reminds you how important it is to practice your skills; it teachings you what NOT to do; and, most importantly, it shows that the most important tool you have for survival is between your ears. I love the show.

  3. Dave B

    August 9, 2013 at 12:34 PM

    A better series, only two seasons that I know of, was “out of the wild”.

    In each series, 9 average people were dropped into a remote location. They were given a pile of resources to choose from and had to make their way back to civilization with only what they could carry.

    The only apparent scripting was the maps they were given to locate shelters and apparent instructions to remain at each shelter location for a designated number of days.

    No reward money, no voting someone off, no challenges or team competition, just a group of people thrown together in the wilderness who had to survive long enough to reach civilization.

    This was a great two season series and I hope they produce another because it really represented, as closely as possible, what a real life survival situation might be like.

    • Don Andrews

      August 9, 2013 at 9:38 PM

      sounds like something I would like to try

  4. JJM

    August 9, 2013 at 5:15 PM

    Hungry, starving and he runs away from a snake meal???

  5. Quester55

    August 9, 2013 at 9:05 PM

    I would just love to see how many PERVERTS watched this Reality Series. Why?, Because it just proves my point, that no matter how a person acts in Public, If they View Someone NAKED, They Turn into Lustful Freaks!
    LOOK, Being Fully Naked, in a Survival Situation, Can Happen, & when your Trying to Survive, A person’s SEX Organs are the last thing you should be looking at!
    “, However as (90 % of those Staring at the Show are perverts, Or Immature Children, I don’t think this show will last.
    As for the jerk, fearful of a Shark Attack, Why on earth did he ever sign up for a show, being cast on an Island?
    As for the Woman, She’d be better off, using the man (OR PIECES of Him)as bait!
    Yet as someone else pointed out, Boa Constrictors, Can be Tasty & the Skin can make a Fine Loin Cloth/Covering when Prepared correctly.

  6. Quester55

    August 9, 2013 at 9:08 PM

    A Great book to read, As a Teen or an Adult, Is: FARMER IN THE SKY, A Great Survival Fiction.

  7. Don Andrews

    August 9, 2013 at 9:36 PM

    I liked the shows. It shows how to get along and working together makes it work one alone for that time makes it hard work to get by. I wished I had been one of them. Looks like fun.

  8. Elise

    January 17, 2014 at 4:31 PM

    The series definitely got better as the season progressed, but whether or not the specific episode was good really depended heavily on whether the people chosen were good. Manu was by far the coolest. Wonder if they’ll bring any of them back in the second season.

  9. Danielle

    July 30, 2018 at 7:03 PM

    I watch the show every week its not bad the only problem I have is when they give their over all rating at the end of the show, why is it that when they give a lower rating for the women at the beginning of the show and then during the show the scenes they show the women does a little bit to nothing in some shows and their rating goes up by 6 to 15 or more points and the man his points only go up by 2 to 5, you can judge on how much a person does by the amount of weight they lose, to lose weight you burn calories and at the end of the show when they tell you how much weight they have lost the women lose about 20 lbs. while the men lose 30 to 40 + lbs., this show is rig to make the women look better than the men. They should give credit equally to whoever deserves it not one sided the way they are doing it

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