Alone Australia

I'm loving this show, because it's so entertaining! Big fierce hunter didn't have a clue. Those with the biggest egos do so badly. When the self-professed indigenous fellow didn't recognise a non-native portuguese millipede, I was shouting at the screen. When he actually TASTED it, I nearly fell off my seat laughing. Mate, if it's visible and plentiful, it's because nothing eats it! Equally hilarious was the man chopping endlessly at the bark of a growing tree for one witchetty grub while standing amongst rotting fallen logs, which would be seething with them. And ignoring a butterfly right in front, which would be perfect trout bait. Can't wait for the next episode!

The location after four episodes is awful. They should have been put near the ocean. They seem to have been placed on a lake that has been formed from a dam. They are restricted in ways they can hunt. If there is a next season hopefully they put them in the middle of Australia in a dry area. Give us a different set of survival skills from the other Alone series. Even get a couple of good contestants from the other Alone series to see how they survive in a arid location. The contestants on the first season of Alone Australia are not very likeable. Very little in the way of useful survival skills after four episodes. The editors so far have put too much talking and not enough survival.

I love the series, but some of these folk had no business being out there. Lots of crying and shutting it down early, more about their personal beliefs than getting food it seems. Crafts and spirituality were more important than surviving. I'm no expert but not cast well. I wish they would just stick it out and keep going. There's pros not lots we do not see. Edited out cleverly by the producers. Again I'm an avid outdoorsman, worked in forestry in Canada for a long time. From the island to the bug infested wetlands of Sask. These guys wouldn't make a day or two here. Still watched it all though.

For me, what makes other Alone series compulsive viewing comes down to four key questions: How will the contestants cope with the isolation? How will they deal with the harsh conditions (especially shelter)? How will they deal with the dangerous predators (Hey Bear)? And how will they manage to feed themselves?

While Alone Australia has the first two it does not have the second two. There are no dangerous predators. When I heard one of the producers asked this question in a radio interview their answer was "Well, a Quoll can have a nasty bite" I almost fell off my chair laughing...I mean contestants are hardly going to kept awake in fear as rabid Quolls rage through their campsite at night are they.

But I think the biggest drawback is that they have been dropped in a place with almost no food and then told they are virtually not allowed any way of getting food. No bows and arrows (like in other series) traps are so rigidly restricted by the shows rules that they will be almost useless, the list of allowable animals to eat is tiny compared to those they are not allowed to and they cannot set gill nets or even overnight fishing lines.

Save yourself time and watch one of the other series where the contestents are tested on their ability to survive, not their ability to last the longest without food.

My wife and I love the Alone series, in particular the episodes set in the Canadian wilderness. We watched the Alone Australia season 1 to the end believing that it had to get better and it did toward the end after the weaker contestants tapped out. How did these contestants get on the program without the skills and strength of character needed to survive. Most of the contestants got frustrated with basic camping skills and spent too much time cursing themselves and their gear. That type of character with weak survival skills was a waste of my time and an insult to those of us watching. We were happy with who won at the end. The location was depressing with all of the dead trees and few wild animals and fish.

The producers did not do their homework when selecting the site and the contestants . All they had to do was to watch the US Alone series and that would have made a better show for them and the contestants and the audience.

We hope to see another season of Alone but much improved.