Nudi e crudi

I generally don't watch reality shows, but at the urging of a friend, tuned into this one with my wife, and got hooked. The premise is a man and a woman who don't know previously know each other are injected into a hostile or challenging environment with only a single tool of their choice each and with no clothes and must survive for 21 days. The challenges are (in the approximate order of criticality); get acquainted and establish a cooperative relationship; build a fire; acquire potable water; build a shelter; survive off native plants until you can acquire protein by fishing and hunting; avoid dangerous animals and exposure; be productive with your partner by emphasizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses. Then there is basically realizing that successful survivalism (i.e. surviving", means not making any mistakes (like letting your fire go out or burn down your shelter, or chopping your finger with a machete or drinking bad water and getting dysentery). Further, it helps to be lucky -- if possible avoid bad storms, flash floods, etc. If you like problem-solving; if you like the outdoors and have a respect for real nature; if you are fascinated by observing human nature under stress, you will probably enjoy this show. I've watched five programs to date, and quickly noticed the people selected are all "well-nourished" as coroners used to say -- not fat, but not thin. Every participant is faced with the huge challenge of trying to get enough calories to get by, and we quickly learn what a huge disadvantage most modern humans are at when they do not have tools or their culture to rely upon. The average weight loss among the ten people so far be roughly 30 lbs in 21 days, and it's easy to see the toll of stress and anxiety on the participants.

After nearly 14 years, the "Survivor" phenomenon has evolved into this - survival TV the way it should be. All the Bear Grylls copycats can hang their heads in shame. Real "reality TV" means real risks. "Naked and Afraid" delivers this in spades.

You know when reality TV is real - because it inevitably gets boring. Reality is often boring. In this show, this "ordinary-ness" is what makes it so interesting and infectious. None of this $100k prizes, voting out contestants, winning the things you need to live et al. And most important of all - No script, no make up and wardrobe or art departments!

Finally, Television takes on the clothing thing head on. Being American, this show dances with this topic by using the ubiquitous pixellation of private bits where the rest of the world wouldn't care and would just show it raw with the appropriate rating and warnings.

To it's credit, it handles the nudity very well. You almost don't recognize it's even there.

Just like "Survivor" broke new ground a decade ago, this program is definitely an original. No doubt it will spawn a rash of "me too" copycat programs around the world and behind this phenomenon, an industry of tourism operators eager to give viewers a taste of the "real thing".

Best of all, "Naked and Afraid" makes nudism cool and fun again. Not since the '70s have we been so challenged to lose our clothes and join our friends on the box.

My hat (and everything else) is off to the producers for daring to do something original in a world where so little originality is left. See if you can rise to the challenge of releasing an "uncensored" version though for the rest of the world to watch - before the rest of the world starts to make their own anyway.

ZM

I liked this show for a couple of seasons. The blurred-out bodies are a little silly (America, the land of the prudes), but you get used to it, and there is something fascinating about people undergoing these remarkably grueling expeditions without even clothes. It makes you realize how important clothing is in a hostile environment, especially shoes.

But the main thing I think when I watched was, these people are out of their minds. I understand wanting to be on Survivor. It's tough, but you've got a chance at a ton of money and celebrityhood, you get interesting challenges and rewards, and it's scenic. But in N&A people are just suffering. Some of the shows are set where even ancient natives wouldn't have been willing to settle, like the Louisiana swamps. These people go out to terrible places, knowing they might not have food and water for days, knowing they'll have no protection from the elements, and I'm sure they don't get a million dollars or even get that famous, considering it's the Discovery channel. (Although those who teach survival skills might see it as a way to gain students.

Admittedly, some of these people clearly weren't prepared for how terrible it was going to be, and some are good enough at surviving that they actually seem to manage pretty well, but still, these people are insane. One guy even said he'd like to come back and do it again!

Also, admittedly it's probably all exaggerated. Reality TV is known for creating a false narrative and exaggerated drama. And the series is, unfortunately a little too focused on reality-show drama, with too many random shots of dangerous beasts and played-up drama.

Overall though, I found it entertaining for a couple of seasons. But after that it was just the same thing over and over. Still, it's worth checking out if you like reality shows.

My rating is generous but I would like to encourage the producers to improve the show.

The participants are generally under-prepared and easily overwhelmed. Many claim to have survival skills but these amount to no more than camping skills.

Some claim to be hunters but take away the weaponry and they go hungry.

Most are also overweight the wrong way, that is, they didn't pile up the fat to endure hunger. They are overeaters that collapse when their poor diet changes.

The producers also feel the need to create a degree of controversy and the participants are pushed (in some case, possibly eager) to share their social theories of gender. Needless to say, these are infantile and in no way explain anyone's actions, not even their very own.

To add insult to injury, the producers are selecting people with a high need for approval and acceptance. Some are good folk, true, but that's really besides the point.

This does not make for good TV.

I never watched this program until this year (2015) and I found myself "binge watching" most of the episodes over a couple of weekends. The show is like eating potato chips. You can't watch just one, so if you are DVR-ing, you will probably do what I did and watch perhaps four in a sitting. But I'm a skeptic, and when you watch a bunch of these in one sitting, certain patterns emerge. There's more to this show than meets the eye. In three of the episodes that I watched this weekend, someone conveniently finds an old metal pot, which is interesting because it doesn't make sense that a pot would just magically appear, like the holy grail, in the snake-infested muck of a Louisiana bayou, or in an alligator-infested river in Botswana? If you don't have access to potable water, you're not going to make it to 21 days and this is an expensive production. "Look at that! A pot! I can't believe it! Now we can boil water!" Also, it seems each person can only bring one tool for the trip, which in most cases is a knife and a fire starter. (Lol, how odd that they NEVER each bring the same thing, like, "Darn, I brought a fire starter too!! Now what are we going to do?") And while it is fun to see the scary animals lurking in the bushes, you will never see a shot of a lion or hyena in the same frame as the people. Hyenas are opportunistic feeders who select the easiest and most attractive food. Are you telling me that these two naked and unarmed humans would not be a tasty snack? How dangerous are these places, for real? Is there actually a resort a few yards away that you can't see? I mean, really, would the producers spend all that money on one episode, only to leave the participants in their little shelters at night, with no protection, and go back to their cozy campsite, only to return in the morning to find that they'd been devoured by a lion? I don't think so. I could pull off a version of this show in my own back yard, sit naked in a patch of trees between my house and my neighbor's for 21 days, digging a hole for water and catching termites, grasshoppers and squirrels to eat. You would never know my house was 20 feet in front of me. But I do like this show. In fact, I am giving it a 6 out of 10. In addition to being entertaining, it is educational and actually a fascinating concept. You can learn a lot about survival techniques from this show, and the scenery is beautiful. I just think you have to keep an open mind and take it for what it is, or isn't.