The Colony

[Elwar]

I watched a TV show last night on Discovery called "The Colony". They basically drop a bunch of people off next to an abandoned warehouse with the premise that the SHTF and they need to survive off of what's available.

The first show dealt with getting drinking water, toilets and securing their place. There was some food there, enough for about a week.

Pretty interesting. Though I'm thinking it's going to evolve into a "here's how we can save the planet" type of show considering it has a disclaimer at the end about how the producers of the show give them assistance on what they should do to solve their problems.

 

[LittleLightShining]

I saw the commercial for it and thought it looked interesting. I can't remember what channel it's on, though

 

[Elwar]

I saw the commercial for it and thought it looked interesting. I can't remember what channel it's on, though

Discovery

For me I think the time was Tuesday night at 10pm...and it will be showing again this Saturday morning.

I like a lot of the Discovery reality shows...my favorite was Junkyard Wars, and Mythbusters rocks. And the new one Manhunter is pretty good too.

 

[RM918]

I thought it was pretty cool, but it's turned into a post-apocalyptic Real World. Somehow it seems /unnatural/ without zombies present.

 

[AME3]

I am begining to really like it. I find it to be an interesting study regarding the interaction of the individuals although it appears to be totally staged.IMHO anyway.
The last episode I saw was when they went to the hospital and took the only medical people they had with them (the doctor and the nurse). The doctor disappeared and they were unable to locate him. A dumb move (allowing the doc, the single most important individual on the team to go to begin with). Also, he (the doc) went to the basement to look for...what? Janitorial supplies? Give me a break...and then insisted on being left alone...staged no doubt...

 

[nayjevin]

It's got a lot of bullshit messages. For instance, they have some Frank Luntzish dude come on as an 'expert' : 'After the apocalypse, survivors may have only the flesh of their roommates to survive. Chaos will undoubtedly ensue, as no policemen will be there to help.'

 

[Kludge]

I was surprised at how quickly they took to looting.

Interesting series, but the on-camera interviews really kill any ability to believe they believe they're in a life-threatening situation. I believe I read they also have a medical team check them out every night? Probably have those cameras and mics floating all over the place...

 

[amy31416]

There are some full episodes here: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/colony/colony.html

I agree with Bill after watching it, they have so much stuff available to them and while it's possible that you could get that lucky, it's not likely. Also, most of the people there are pretty technically savvy--with my luck (and most everyone elses) I'd get trapped with a bunch of people who only know how to play video games and heat things up in a microwave. Plus, they're all very healthy--that probably wouldn't be the case in reality.

That said, it's interesting and fun to watch some of the creativity though. So I'll give it a thumb's up.

 

[Cowlesy]

It's fun to watch for the ideas the people use to create things, but Bill is spot-on with the fact there would be TONS of people running around.

I love how it's a wasteland...but "Oh there is a several-thousand-dollar array of solar panels that we can easily haul away with no bothering us!"

You know what show is fun to watch? Pawn Stars. Those guys are hysterical.

 

[AME3]

Of course it's staged...and the health and welfare of the participants is carefully watched...as it should be. They all know that they are not going to be raped and murdered, or seriously injured and therefor are not accurately reacting as they would in a real, similar situation. It is a controlled simulation.
But, overall, it serves a useful purpose for those of us who consider the possibility of something happening that could put us in a survival situation where we would have to rely on ourselves and each other. It provides food for thought and discussion which may very well provide something that is useful.

The catastrophe that occured in New Orleans after Katrina for example. The people who went to the stadium. Totally reliant on the government to provide and protect them, because they were told they would be taken care of. And they trusted the gov to do just that. Many, I suspect, because they had subsisted on government programs all their lives, and lacked the skills and knowledge of self reliance and the potentials of the collective..
Once, after several days, it became obvious that they were each on their own...did they form up a militia to protect themselves from the thieves, rapists and murderers who began preying on the weak and defenseless among them? Did they form any kind of organized council or committee to discuss the situation and develop a plan of action?
Had any of them ever even considered something like this occuring in this country? Probably not....Do you think any of the survivors have different thoughts about the matter now? I bet a lot of them do. I know a lot of us who weren't there learned something important too.
The show, for me, serves as a reminder if nothing else, of the importance of being prepared.
It beats the hell out of the majority of tv shows anyway. IMHO

 

[Elwar]

I've only been able to watch two episodes. It must not be doing very well because the time keeps getting changed on the show and some weeks they just skip it.

 

[nayjevin]

This show reminds me of the movie Death Race. It's worth watching too, BTW, but it's quite staged. Seems to me there are a few of the people who are actors at least.

 

[pacelli]

Every week I've watched with less & less interest. It is kind of cool to see the practical application of many seemingly complex sustainability concepts, such as wood gasification. That's where the utility of the show ends for me.

Aside from the obvious criticisms that have been mentioned in this thread (i.e. show is staged, use of actors, off-camera assistance), I have an issue with 2 other things: the editing and the commercials. There are simply far too many commercials for a 1 hour show. The editing is based totally around the timing of the commercials, so one never really has a chance to analyze the pattern of interpersonal interactions. They chop up the flow of it so much to make reality seem completely unrecognizable.

The editing also plays into social stereotypes- they often show the women sitting around taking care of the living space while the men bump chests and bang hammers.

It is almost as if the show is designed to make your average person throw up their hands and say to themselves, "gee, I can't make any of that stuff, I guess I'll just wait for fema to put me in a camp."

 

[krazy kaju]

I'll be blunt: I started watching the first show and I thought it was absolutely ridiculous.

 

[pacelli]

Watching tonight's episode as it plays out. They're back to making a tesla coil to generate ozone to purify water. Because the water purification device using sand & charcoal that they made in episode 1/2 was working great. So might as well make a ozone generator just cuz.

By the way, Wal-Mart is sponsoring these "Survival Tips" segments that happen just before the commercials.

Lots of flashbacks this episode.

 

[AME3]

You are sure right about the commercials Elwar...eat up for sure. We have been getting it every Tuesday night at ten pm since it started. Have also watched it on Hulu with limited short coms.
Tonight the the prof built a 12v dc working ozone generator (from scratch) to sterilize water. I remember, more years ago than I will admit to, building one in my dorm room with a neon sign trans. The ozone is the way to go for sure...we used it for disinfecting and refreshing our room air (smoke). We had the cleanest smelling room in the whole place. I recall that it is dangerous to breathe much of it though. We followed the treatment with fresh outside air and left the room while it ran for about fifteen minutes.

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

Watching tonight's episode as it plays out. They're back to making a tesla coil to generate ozone to purify water. Because the water purification device using sand & charcoal that they made in episode 1/2 was working great. So might as well make a ozone generator just cuz.

By the way, Wal-Mart is sponsoring these "Survival Tips" segments that happen just before the commercials.

Lots of flashbacks this episode.

Interesting. Remember coming across a OSS doc from WWII at NARA about using ozone to purify water. Wish I'd copied it on sight, like a few others....

-t

 

[AME3]

Hey Pacelli, I understood them to say that they needed to find a better way to sterilize the water AFTER it had been filtered. Apparently the filter only took out the large particulates and they did not trust it to decon the water enough for ingestion, so they always boiled it to be safe. As I would too. They want to get 75 gals of filtered water sterilized for the reservoir on the truck and they do not have the wood or fuel to do it. Soooo....they come up with ionization to kill any microbes. After all, the charcoal (non-activated) and sand they had was not sterile like the materials in the sealed water filters you buy at the store are. What's wrong with that? Personally, I thought it was rather engenious and informative.
If you ever get ahold of some bad water and begin going at both ends and cramping in your belly for a few hours you will understand why they are concerned. Me, I don't need to experience it to know that I would do everything in my power to avoid it.

 

[Firegirl]

I really enjoy watching the show. Made my boyfriend and I realize that we should study up on mechanics and engineering a little in case the apocalypse ever does happen. I can build a mean computer, but that won't help much during the apocalypse. I'm just a nerd that loves to watch people build things like the gassifire, etc.

Yes, it does seem a bit staged, but it has led to MANY conversations in my household about how we would do things in such dire times. Like they built a SHOWER instead of concentrating on security. HELLO! Pretty stupid in my opinion. One of the first things I would have done was do a complete survey of the entire property noting anything we thought could be useful for building, using, etc. in the future. An entire room went unnoticed for 17 days!

 

[Ninja Homer]

It's an interesting show. It's obviously staged and not realistic, but it's a more realistic survival show than "Survivor". I've learned at least a few things from it.

One of the main things to keep in mind is that if SHTF, and you're in a giant city like LA, there's going to be millions of people fighting for resources. There isn't going to be a giant deserted warehouse with a stocked pantry. Best bet is to prepare as much as you can ahead of time, and when SHTF, grab what you can and run for the hills. Also, a single person with a crappy gun could easily take all of the stuff the people in The Colony have gathered and built. Sticks and homemade flamethrowers are no defense against bullets.