The Island

"The Island" is a new show by NBC, featuring Bear Grylls as the host, doing occasional commentary.

Fourteen men are dropped on an isolated island with the intent of surviving thirty days using their wits and abilities. These are not survival specialists. Four of them are cameramen who will document the adventure.

I guess the first question is why are they doing this? There is no million dollar prize at the end. It's not a contest, except in the sense that it's man against nature. From the beginning, it's clear that nature holds all the cards. These men have chosen to test their mettle. What better way to do that than "in the destructive element immerse" (from "Lord Jim" by Joseph Conrad).

Due to posts about other related shows, I wondered how true this show would be. Or would there be numerous interferences from the producers to modify the narrative? After watching the first two episodes--with their medical emergencies and their real depictions of imminent death experiences--it is clear that the viewer is watching a true story unfold. Evacuations are necessary when dangerous health risks occur, but otherwise the men are on their own.

This show is probably not for everyone. The participants undergo tremendous stresses, which cause breakdowns in personalities and the social niceties, revealing basic truths about human nature and the relationship between mind and body.

I found all four seasons to simply not be appealing. What you will see is the customary people not getting along drama, very little in survival information and at some points you'll think the entire show has been scripted to the narration.

The biggest disappointment is the lack of relevant footage of survival. It is an endless montage of starving dehydrated people waiting out the 6 weeks.

Considering that the whole thing is filmed with the same people starving and dehydrated you should expect much and the don't disappoint.

Sadly it was a stupid idea thinking that you would get good film or scenes with the same people suffering what they are recording.

For starters this series only consisted of 6 episodes...

This show was supposed to be about 13 men or so surviving on a island for a whole month. Well between the bickering and sniveling of most of the contestants it turned out to be 13 little kids on an island whining about their personal space.

This show took a turn for the worst. It had high expectations in comparison to the British version of The Island. If this was the American Revolution Britain would have dominated and the US would have succeed. The US version of The Island was a disgrace and made that average American look futile.

Bear Grylls himself couldn't have been more disappointed in this failed botched attempt to revive survival TV in the states. I'm sure this will be his last.

Having watched both the UK and now US versions of this show, I'm struggling to contain my irritation at some of the comments written here. The "reviews" slating Bear Grylls ' latest show, in which a motley crew of average Americans are marooned on a tiny tropical island for a month with the simple goal of trying to survive, completely miss the point. They complain about the "wussy" participants, who are plunged into the most inhospitable of environments, battling real thirst, starvation and all manner of injuries and ailments, lauding them for displaying highly understandable signs of stress and physical and mental fatigue.

It's at times like this I wish I could magically pluck those keyboard warriors from their parents' basements and place them in that unforgiving environment, and see how long they last before they fall apart at the seams.

Give this show a try - it's the closest I've seen to a genuine reality show (the participants are genuinely alone and film themselves) - and although some things have obviously been done to give the cast a helping hand (fresh water deposits, the odd farm pig conveniently found), the show doesn't hide the fact that they had to ensure survival was actually possible.

I feel like I have to come to the defense of this show, simply because the type of people who are initially drawn to it expect a certain type of presentation of survival. I will tell you now, there are no Ray Mears or Les Stroud types on this show. There will be no instructional how-to's on building a friction fire or how to set traps to catch food. This is a show about 14 normal modern American men attempting to survive on a Pacific deserted island.

The show is shot entirely by the marooned islanders themselves, but don't expect the worst camera work, 4 of them are trained cameramen. The rest of the islanders are a mix of white and blue collar professionals between the ages of 25 and 60+, with a few veterans sprinkled here and there. In general, most of these people seem very genuine, and not hand picked by producers to provide the most tension and conflict. The show is of course about cooperative survival, not a competition.

Without giving anything away, we watch these men struggle with finding fresh water, starting a fire, and of course some internal struggle. These are of course problems that will continue to arise, and no doubt there will be many others that they will have to face, but that's what this show is all about. We are watching these men struggle and overcome the adversities of survival.

If you're looking for a show like Survivorman or any of the series hosted by Ray Mears, you're probably going to be a little disappointed. If you're looking to laugh and cry with the struggles of these men however, I'd give The Island a try.