Alaska: The Last Frontier

Go to google earth and look up Kilcher road, Homer. Ak. You can then spot their houses. There is even a Kilcher tour on trip adviser They are less than an hour away from a safeway and Homer, Ak. a popular tourist town. They are rural, yes, but not at all cut off from the outside world. Maybe the grandfather was a pioneer but these people are not Their neighbors post this about them all the time if you bother to go look. I think that Life below Zero shows people who are really out on the edge. I first saw Sue Akins on Sarah Palins Alaska. Sha was introduced there as having The farthest out hunting camp of all and upper class alaskans knew about the place It was actually Sarah Palin who started the whole Alaske reality show craze. She was out to publicize Alaska and she did it. The Tanina river and the Brooks range are also pretty far out places so that show is more interesting. it all comes down to asking if you can put yourself it their place. Do you see yourself surviving independently out in the Alaskan wilderness? Good. Then you are hooked. I think i will limit it to taking a cruise to Alaska.

How many "cattle drives" and "hunting and fishing for survival" can Discovery milk from this show? I used to love this show due to the family dynamic. I loved the way the relationships between the Kilchers were not always flowery but that human emotions would erupt and then the family would work it out. But now it is just hard to watch the same themes play out every season. I think the biggest put-off for me is the narrating. I dislike the way that moments are made up to be more dramatic than they actually are (e.g., hunting for survival, the flare and how much "danger" the girls were in, the fake predator threats, etc). I do like Eivan's projects. I do like the Christmas gift making and giving. I like the idea of the homesteading lifestyle but don't act like these people don't have cell phones, a grocery store isn't nearby, other people don't live nearby, and please don't think your audience is a bunch of idiots (if you are filming someone, they are not in real danger because there is a cameraman right there with a communication device and don't forget about the rules and regulations about filming safety). Don't Bear Grylls me again Discovery.

I read the other reviews for this show and almost laugh. I love this show. Its a way of life that has been lost.

We get everything we want from Walmart or some other big box store. The truth is, if the lights went out tomorrow, 95% of Americans wouldn't make it a few months much less survive. I'm speaking for myself also. Its almost comical that people think its a "killing" show. Where do they think Walmart and Kroger get meat? The Kilcher's are incredibly humane and do NONE of the inhumane things that are done on Beef and Chicken farms. Oh yeah, I've never killed an animal before much less gone hunting, so I'm no redneck justifying their killing. People lose touch with the reality of provision in today's first world society.

This is a fantastic show, it is clean, and there are always people helping and giving to others whether friends or neighbors. No one's ever battling it out or gossiping about their closest loved ones. There is some language, but its always bleeped and mostly in tense situations. I was even more excited since I watched the first season on Netflix and come to find out there are more!

And about the theme song. Don't know who wrote it, and the words may be dumb, but I like Jewel, and I think it is cool that Atz Lee is singing in it.

Really phenomenal show that documents the life of families surviving in the wilds of Alaska. This is not Sarah Palin's Alaska; this is the real deal and the people involved are intelligent and responsible custodians of the land they inhabit; unlike most of us.

It's great to see people who hunt and gather and display 100% respect for the seriousness of their responsibility. The animal slaughter scenes are rough for some people but they do it without any "sport" whatsoever and with full disclosure of the significance of the killing and the importance of the circle of life. Otto's wife is a long-time vegetarian and she discusses her views on the killings including her understanding of it's necessity. The folks who rated this 1 star because of "the killing" are probably just extremists so please disregard them. I'm no hunter myself, but I am a omnivore and I know where my meat comes from as I do my best to buy only local, non-mass produced meats.

I find it highly hypocritical for anyone to criticize the slaughter portions of this show and then turn around and eat meat from a restaurant or buy some from a grocery store with no connection to the animal's welfare or the process involved to feed them. This show will help you understand what consuming meat really means and the real cost.

I actually watch this show because I am entertained by it and the family characters are amusing.

But, let's face it, the show is contrived and staged.

Every week, we are treated to the next "Gotta get this done before winter" emergency fulfilled with an old "insert recycled item here" Example: Using an old semi flatbed to make a cow feeding station. After using a 100K bulldozer to move the bed, we will use commercial lumber that mysteriously appears to make the paddocks. Along with acetylene torches and various other power tools. Where do they get the tanks of acetylene? I guess they take the family barge to town?! But wait, why didn't they just BUY a feeding station? After all, they are multi-millionaires?