In the sad genre that is "reality" television, this show at least had a modicum of humanity to it. While several of the celebrities were the prima donnas you might expect, others seemed like genuinely good people. The three finalists, John Melendez, Melissa Rivers, and winner Chris Judd were not only liked by the voting public but also by their castaway peers. What set this show apart was that the program fostered cooperation among the participants and not guile. The living conditions did appear to be difficult because of the constant rain. The "Bushtucker" challenges were somewhat creative and not too far over the top. Further, if a celebrity was a jerk, the viewers could reward those who behaved with class and indirectly get rid of the whiner.
One issue I did have with the program was the depiction of smoking. Apparently to be a celebrity you also have to be a smoker. (Or perhaps the stress of celebrity-hood drives people to smoke?) However, if this was indeed what the celebrities did in their "down" time, I guess it was a part of the verite. One wonders if the tobacco companies had any placement rights. It's just odd to see smoking on US TV anymore.
Nonetheless, it was a harmless, escapist show with a number of charities receiving nice-sized checks in behalf of the celebrities. I would probably watch a second season.
