So, from my perspective - I'm not a Bear Grylls fan. I'm not particularly into survival shows. I can be entertained by them, but I'm not a survival expert or anything.
But I really, really enjoyed this show. Because it's reality TV without the "reality" TV. There's no voting, no backbiting, no idiots blathering on and on to camera, no "alliances", no endless footage of nothing happening, no pointless melodrama - all that is stripped out and replaced with a competition. A competition with real stakes, that required real effort and focus (not necessarily skill - will get back to that). And elimination is purely determined by judgment - on the teams' individual contributions that day. No voting. No stupid bickering. Just people who are forced to work their hardest at something very unfamiliar.
And because it's a real competition - the exact opposite of every other reality show happens. Instead of devolving into idiots bickering and arguing over nothing, the people come together. Because they're forced to work together. Because they need each other - they need teamwork to succeed. THAT never happens on reality shows.
In Get Out Alive, there is none of that dumb high school melodrama ("OMG u betrayed me, bitch"). But there IS real drama - the pain, tears, and struggle of real people in the face of real challenges, to pull through. That's what reality TV is supposed to be - a sincere look at the pure core of humanity. And "Get Out Alive", in its best moments, succeeded at reaching that goal.
But there is a criticism - a quasi-criticism. And other people have brought it up. That it's not truly a survival show - that it doesn't test their skills, their physical ability. And that is a valid point - it's not really about survival. They're not truly put into life-death situations and tested to reveal their life-death survival abilities.
But I don't think that was ever the point. The contestants chosen for the show were not picked for their survival skills or physical ability - they were old, young, strong, weak,. They're just normal people - regular everybodies selected specifically because they weren't the strongest and the most expert. And so the challenges weren't truly the type of tests you'd expect for experienced wilderness survivors. So, it's not really a survival show - it's a survival competition.
It's Survivor. But without the reality bitchiness.
If you don't like reality TV, this is the reality show for you.
But I really, really enjoyed this show. Because it's reality TV without the "reality" TV. There's no voting, no backbiting, no idiots blathering on and on to camera, no "alliances", no endless footage of nothing happening, no pointless melodrama - all that is stripped out and replaced with a competition. A competition with real stakes, that required real effort and focus (not necessarily skill - will get back to that). And elimination is purely determined by judgment - on the teams' individual contributions that day. No voting. No stupid bickering. Just people who are forced to work their hardest at something very unfamiliar.
And because it's a real competition - the exact opposite of every other reality show happens. Instead of devolving into idiots bickering and arguing over nothing, the people come together. Because they're forced to work together. Because they need each other - they need teamwork to succeed. THAT never happens on reality shows.
In Get Out Alive, there is none of that dumb high school melodrama ("OMG u betrayed me, bitch"). But there IS real drama - the pain, tears, and struggle of real people in the face of real challenges, to pull through. That's what reality TV is supposed to be - a sincere look at the pure core of humanity. And "Get Out Alive", in its best moments, succeeded at reaching that goal.
But there is a criticism - a quasi-criticism. And other people have brought it up. That it's not truly a survival show - that it doesn't test their skills, their physical ability. And that is a valid point - it's not really about survival. They're not truly put into life-death situations and tested to reveal their life-death survival abilities.
But I don't think that was ever the point. The contestants chosen for the show were not picked for their survival skills or physical ability - they were old, young, strong, weak,. They're just normal people - regular everybodies selected specifically because they weren't the strongest and the most expert. And so the challenges weren't truly the type of tests you'd expect for experienced wilderness survivors. So, it's not really a survival show - it's a survival competition.
It's Survivor. But without the reality bitchiness.
If you don't like reality TV, this is the reality show for you.