Discovery has cornered the market on “extreme” survival shows that don’t actually pay the contestants anything but do look a hell of a lot harder than Survivor…
“Naked and Afraid”…A show I stumbled across at 2 o’clock in the morning one night and could hardly believe my eyes. It turns out, there are people out there who are actually willing to go on a TV show completely naked and survive in an extreme wilderness setting (not just forest, but usually a rain-soaked amazon or blindingly hot island) with nothing but a total stranger and some cameras. Even worse? It last 21 days and there’s no cash prize if they complete the challenge, only mere bragging rights. Usually, one or both of the contestants make fools out of themselves for our amusement, but that doesn’t make it any less amusing. Grade for Series: C+ …Guilty Pleasure Grade: A [Maybe this is my version of Real Housewives, because I really can’t explain why I enjoy partners snapping at each other OR watching somebody drink contaminated water we KNOW they shouldn’t, and then whine about it for a week. Is this Schadenfreude?]
Tethered…What’s potentially as bad as having to survive naked in the rain forest for 21 days? How about being literally tethered to someone you probably won’t like for a survival challenge? Those evil masterminds at Discovery have come up with something equally awful but strangely entertaining for us to watch, but I could see where this gimmick gets old fast, and it may be great for 6 episodes but probably not 60. Grade for Series: C …In Terms of Gimmicky, Train-Wreck Reality Show Ideas: B+