I'm okay with that! Go big or go home!Well TH17, I think had it been strictly about survival, they'd have a hard time finding contestants!...
All but one contestant don't make it?...Shit, I'd watch that!!
What are you watching
- Thread starter ThunderHorse17
- Start date
You ever catch Alone? I watched a few seasons, found it interesting.I was watching football with my dad in 1999 when CBS ran a promo for their upcoming Survivor TV series.
Boy was I jazzed! This looked tailor-made for an outdoorsman like me, who, well, sometimes needs to "survive"
some sketchy nature scenarios.I eagerly awaited the first episodes in 2000, and was initially delighted:
CBS dumped a bunch of excited contestants on Pulau Tiga and the contest for survival was on!
Except it soon became clear that it wasn't really about survival skills at all...it was more of a soap opera
with contestants voting against one another...being sneaky was more the game, than survival.
I gave up after a few episodes, and haven't watched any of Survivor in 20 years.
I am part way through season 2 of Vikings right now, enjoying it so far.
Had to look it up.
I haven't had cable in many years, so History Channel has kind of fallen off my radar.
But what I just read makes it look like, yes, Alone seems a lot closer to "Survivor" than Survivor ever was.
I'll probably put my eye of the tiger on it... thanks, SL
Great series - I watched the first 5 seasons, but didn't watch the last two. It's basically just the same show over, and over, and over again, although in later seasons they did allow contestants to bring a weapon such as a bow-and-arrow to hunt (no guns).
Watched a documentary last night called "The Social Dilemma". Have to say it was very eye opening and shows how Big Tech is dividing our country by manipulating the information we consume.
Probably why we all get so heated about politics and frustrated how "the other side" doesn't understand what we're seeing/our points/our opinions, because in fact they AREN'T seeing it, and neither are we.
Would highly recommend.
Probably why we all get so heated about politics and frustrated how "the other side" doesn't understand what we're seeing/our points/our opinions, because in fact they AREN'T seeing it, and neither are we.
Would highly recommend.
I started a thread in the political forum about the Social Dilemma. Exactly, it really explains why we've become so divided.
I took a break from posting for a while, after watching it. I should probably do it again.
I took a break from posting for a while, after watching it. I should probably do it again.
At #2 
on Netflix's "Top 10" is “Murder Among the Mormons,” which is quite well done.
As a U.S. History guy, I was dying to see an intelligent documentary about forger
(of mostly religious documents...mostly LDS) Mark Hofmann, whose story was national news
in the mid-'80s. I'd read somewhere that the filmmakers intended it to be a six hour mini-series,
but to keep it fast moving, evidently Netflix cut the run time to less than half...and spiced up the title.
Hoping for tons of details about the infamous "Salamander Letter," "Anthon Transcript"
and "Oath of a Freeman" documents (and others), I found myself constantly asking for
"More details!" but I also realize that most people (who don't share my historical & forgery obsessions)
will probably prefer the brisker storytelling and focus on multiple murders.
I hope there's someday a six hour "Director's Cut" of sorts, with more detail...but, for now, yeah,
I can still recommend the current 2.6 hour Netflix version. 90% on Rotten Tomatoes...
www.hollywoodreporter.com
www.rottentomatoes.com
on Netflix's "Top 10" is “Murder Among the Mormons,” which is quite well done.As a U.S. History guy, I was dying to see an intelligent documentary about forger
(of mostly religious documents...mostly LDS) Mark Hofmann, whose story was national news
in the mid-'80s. I'd read somewhere that the filmmakers intended it to be a six hour mini-series,
but to keep it fast moving, evidently Netflix cut the run time to less than half...and spiced up the title.
Hoping for tons of details about the infamous "Salamander Letter," "Anthon Transcript"
and "Oath of a Freeman" documents (and others), I found myself constantly asking for
"More details!" but I also realize that most people (who don't share my historical & forgery obsessions)
will probably prefer the brisker storytelling and focus on multiple murders.
I hope there's someday a six hour "Director's Cut" of sorts, with more detail...but, for now, yeah,
I can still recommend the current 2.6 hour Netflix version. 90% on Rotten Tomatoes...
Netflix Sets ‘Murder Among the Mormons’ Docuseries on 1985 Utah Bombings (Exclusive)
A BBC Studios Production, the three-part documentary explores a tragic and complex episode in the church’s recent history.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Murder Among the Mormons
Synopsis:Rotten Tomatoes, home of the Tomatometer, is the most trusted measurement of quality for Movies & TV. The definitive site for Reviews, Trailers, Showtimes, and Tickets
Last edited:
Yeah, I think that's why I gave up on it, interesting the first few though. I did enjoy the "I'm a tough guy survivalist" types who tapped out almost immediately. It all sounds good in theory until you find yourself out there.
Season 6 of Alone is on Netflix, now.
I watched the first 2 episodes, so far.
I'm intrigued by the rules...each of the 10 contestants gets to have a bus-load of stuff with them!
Of course, having a Sat phone (to 'tap out' with) reduces the risk exponentially...but hey, can't have
contestants dying I reckon. By sheer coincidence, I just replaced my PLB w/ a Sat device
(not a phone, but a Garmin inReach® that can send Sat distress messages from places where there's no phone service)...
so I guess I'm safer now, too.
At any rate, yes, Alone is at least a lot closer to what I though Survivor was going to be, back in '99,
so thanks for the recommendation.
I'll watch the remaining 9 episodes of Season 6, and then decide if I like it enough to figure out
a way to see the other seasons...or maybe Netflix will be streaming them all, by then.
I always take cameras on my trips, so I can't help but wonder about the logistics behind the scenes
on Alone...I think I'm going to have to watch some videos on that, so I can stop thinking about
the rules, etc., my obsession with what's really going on (since previous shows like Survivorman &
Man vs. Wild were pretty staged) takes me out of the show, too much. Still, it's pretty fun & the scenery is great!
p.s. I like that most of the contestants actually seem to have decent credentials...
if you run a bushcraft school, for instance, and you totally choke on TV, you can kill your credibility...
(one guy works Search & Rescue...which is admirable...but I don't see how that skill set will help him much)
Last edited:
One guy did that in one of the early ones. It's been awhile but generally "I teach survival, this will be no problem." One of the first people to tap out.Season 6 of Alone is on Netflix, now.
I watched the first 2 episodes, so far.
I'm intrigued by the rules...each of the 10 contestants gets to have a bus-load of stuff with them!
Of course, having a Sat phone (to 'tap out' with) reduces the risk exponentially...but hey, can't have
contestants dying I reckon. By sheer coincidence, I just replaced my PLB w/ a Sat device
(not a phone, but a Garmin inReach® that can send Sat distress messages from places where there's no phone service)...
so I guess I'm safer now, too.
At any rate, yes, Alone is at least a lot closer to what I though Survivor was going to be, back in '99,
so thanks for the recommendation.
I'll watch the remaining 9 episodes of Season 6, and then decide if I like it enough to figure out
a way to see the other seasons...or maybe Netflix will be streaming them all, by then.
I always take cameras on my trips, so I can't help but wonder about the logistics behind the scenes
on Alone...I think I'm going to have to watch some videos on that, so I can stop thinking about
the rules, etc., my obsession with what's really going on (since previous shows like Survivorman &
Man vs. Wild were pretty staged) takes me out of the show, too much. Still, it's pretty fun & the scenery is great!
p.s. I like that most of the contestants actually seem to have decent credentials...
if you run a bushcraft school, for instance, and you totally choke on TV, you can kill your credibility...
(one guy works Search & Rescue...which is admirable...but I don't see how that skill set will help him much)
One of the early seasons this chick built a super cool shelter, crazy better than what anyone else was doing. Got hurt, created a paste to heal herself. I'm thinking, this chick is going to win this whole thing. Then one day "I proved what I needed to, I'm out." I was bummed, I liked her and she was cute.Season 6 of Alone is on Netflix, now.
I watched the first 2 episodes, so far.
I'm intrigued by the rules...each of the 10 contestants gets to have a bus-load of stuff with them!
Of course, having a Sat phone (to 'tap out' with) reduces the risk exponentially...but hey, can't have
contestants dying I reckon. By sheer coincidence, I just replaced my PLB w/ a Sat device
(not a phone, but a Garmin inReach® that can send Sat distress messages from places where there's no phone service)...
so I guess I'm safer now, too.
At any rate, yes, Alone is at least a lot closer to what I though Survivor was going to be, back in '99,
so thanks for the recommendation.
I'll watch the remaining 9 episodes of Season 6, and then decide if I like it enough to figure out
a way to see the other seasons...or maybe Netflix will be streaming them all, by then.
I always take cameras on my trips, so I can't help but wonder about the logistics behind the scenes
on Alone...I think I'm going to have to watch some videos on that, so I can stop thinking about
the rules, etc., my obsession with what's really going on (since previous shows like Survivorman &
Man vs. Wild were pretty staged) takes me out of the show, too much. Still, it's pretty fun & the scenery is great!
p.s. I like that most of the contestants actually seem to have decent credentials...
if you run a bushcraft school, for instance, and you totally choke on TV, you can kill your credibility...
(one guy works Search & Rescue...which is admirable...but I don't see how that skill set will help him much)
Yeah...I've never been to a "Survival School" so I'm not qualified to speak to them...but I suspect
that some guys that run them are long on theory, and short on extended real world circumstances.
Cute is always a nice bonus! That's weird. But given the open-ended time aspect, I could see someone
thinking that they got what they most wanted...without committing to (potentially) a lot, lot longer,
with no guarantee of a win.
btw: Though I choose to spend a lot of my time in relatively remote places,
I would never be the "...this will be no problem" guy.
My experiences (and a few close calls) have only made me more humble & respectful of nature, and all the
challenges built into a wilderness adventure. I'm not the least bit cocky...and I'd really bone up
if I were to try something like this. It was my best friend, though, who pushed me to get a PLB in '05
(which I still have!) but I think she was more concerned about our dog not coming back from one
of my trips, more than me.
To be fair, he was a super cool, adventure dog!
Last edited:
Yep, that's what I found interesting. When they introduce everyone in the beginning, I would take a guess as to who would win, usually going with the person who "seemed" like they had the best chance. Then those dudes tap out and the little guy who looks like he has absolutely no chance in hell goes on the longest.
Hey, for those of you in to wilderness survival, there is a guy up here in Canada, Les Stroud, who is known as the "Survivorman". I don't know if any of you have seen it, but he had his own show on Discovery Channel, and is a friend of my good friend Big Shaun (FB...Fat Bastard!). Shaun is an outdoorsman himself, and used to have a fishing show on a Canadian network. I used to operate my boat as the filming boat for his weekly episodes, and if you look closely at the intro, you can see Shaun teaching my daughter how to fish!
Here's Les Stroud on Shaun's show:
Here's Les Stroud on Shaun's show:
Nice connection.
Stroud is a tough one for me: On one hand, Stroud deserves considerable credit for essentially creating
the "person alone with camera" entertainment genre.
I didn't see his first show (Stranded) until yearslater, but I was initially captivated by Survivorman around 2006...it seemed fresh, and included
stuff that could possibly help me, one day, given my lifestyle.
As I learned a bit more about how the show was shot (like virtually everything else, it's not nearly as spontaneous as it's made to look) the show lost some of its luster, for me, and I eventually drifted away.
After SL pointed me to Alone, I did a little reading, and evidently Stroud made some harsh comments
when Alone began, in 2015 (on his Facebook page, which Facebook won't let me see, since I don't have an account) essentially calling Alone--and all 'survivor' shows except his "staged."
Obviously, the ironymade me laugh out loud. His comments don't seem to be well received by others, either, so it has a
bit of a "Hey you kids, get off of my lawn!" vibe.
p.s. I finished the one season (#6) of Alone on that is currently on Netflix, and was really impressed
with the winner (no spoilers) who seemed uniquely qualified, creative and even charming.
Last edited:
I'm a little confused here....Are you saying that when it comes to Stroud the "Survivorman", More is Les?!?Nice connection.
Stroud is a tough one for me: On one hand, Stroud deserves considerable credit for essentially creating
the "person alone with camera" entertainment genre.
later, but I was initially captivated by Survivorman around 2006...it seemed fresh, and included
stuff that could possibly help me, one day, given my lifestyle.
As I learned a bit more about how the show was shot (like virtually everything else, it's not nearly as spontaneous as it's made to look) the show lost some of its luster, for me, and I eventually drifted away.
After SL pointed me to Alone, I did a little reading, and evidently Stroud made some harsh comments
when Alone began, in 2015 (on his Facebook page, which Facebook won't let me see, since I don't have an account) essentially calling Alone--and all 'survivor' shows except his "staged."
made me laugh out loud. His comments don't seem to be well received by others, either, so it has a
bit of a "Hey you kids, get off of my lawn!" vibe.
p.s. I finished the one season (#6) of Alone on that is currently on Netflix, and was really impressed
with the winner (no spoilers) who seemed uniquely qualified, creative and even charming.
I remember in between shooting the episode -the video I posted- which was done in two days, we all camped out on Toronto Island and Les stole the show with his campfire stories. We were going to include some of the footage from that night in the episode but everyone was so fucked up that Shaun decided against it!
During the night, after one of Les' incredible stories; me, who was quiet for most of the night just drinking and smoking the strong stuff, jumped in with a question: "when did we go from 'survival of the fittest' to 'survival of the fattest'?!" Everyone laughed, but the question was a serious one...That's what we've become. Our idea of survival is to get SO fat that we can survive a famine...and by "FAT", I don't just mean blubber and a big gut, I also mean fat in the wallet! Les says: "a survivalist is always hungry"...our idea of "hunger" is replacing a steak with a Kale and Spinach Salad!
Also, fitness in our society is not a means of survival, but a source of vanity...which is why some of the "fittest" contestants in those shows, tap out early and can't survive.
Yeah...I've got a few decent bear stories (backed with pics)I'm a little confused here....Are you saying that when it comes to Stroud the "Survivorman", More is Les?!?
I remember in between shooting the episode -the video I posted- which was done in two days, we all camped out on Toronto Island and Les stole the show with his campfire stories. We were going to include some of the footage from that night in the episode but everyone was so fucked up that Shaun decided against it!
During the night, after one of Les' incredible stories; me, who was quiet for most of the night just drinking and smoking the strong stuff, jumped in with a question: "when did we go from 'survival of the fittest' to 'survival of the fattest'?!" Everyone laughed, but the question was a serious one...That's what we've become. Our idea of survival is to get SO fat that we can survive a famine...and by "FAT", I don't just mean blubber and a big gut, I also mean fat in the wallet! Les says: "a survivalist is always hungry"...our idea of "hunger" is replacing a steak with a Kale and Spinach Salad!
Also, fitness in our society is not a means of survival, but a source of vanity...which is why some of the "fittest" contestants in those shows, tap out early and can't survive.
but no doubt Stroud has a wider range...
Just finished watching "One Night in Miami..." by Regina King...for the second time!
This is a great movie! Well acted and full of dialog, something I usually like in a film. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but it's a movie about the night of Clay vs. Liston fight in 1964; and it takes place in mostly in a motel room where -then- Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke get together to celebrate the win!...just letting you know, cause you may hear the words "white devil" a couple of times in the movie!!
This is a great movie! Well acted and full of dialog, something I usually like in a film. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but it's a movie about the night of Clay vs. Liston fight in 1964; and it takes place in mostly in a motel room where -then- Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke get together to celebrate the win!...just letting you know, cause you may hear the words "white devil" a couple of times in the movie!!
I grew up on Sam Cooke music (don't ask me how, I'm a certified white devil)
so I checked Rotten Tomatoes, re. Miami...98%...okay...on the list it goes...
I may have mentioned that my youngest is doing her Thesis for a Master of Fine Arts degree in Documentary Media. Right now she's gathering the footage for her presentation which will be revealed in form of a Doc Film Festival in August for all the Doc. Media grads.
Last night she had me watch "BARAKA" from 1992. As a traveler, always interested in seeing and experiencing new sights and cultures, I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen!
There's no dialogue, but the music is great, and it's 94 minutes long...Please enjoy:
Last night she had me watch "BARAKA" from 1992. As a traveler, always interested in seeing and experiencing new sights and cultures, I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen!
There's no dialogue, but the music is great, and it's 94 minutes long...Please enjoy:
I'm not really into "offshoots" or "remakes" of previous films/series, but have really gotten into the following two:
1) Cobra Kai - an extension of the original film "The Karate Kid", set 35 years into the future with the same cast.........except for "Mr. Miyagi" who's actor Pat Morita passed away in 2005. The series has "Daniel LaRusso" as a very successful businessman cross paths with his former nemesis "Johnny Law", who is now a down on his luck, alcoholic loser, and because of a series of mishaps, find themselves once again battling each other. It's super cheesy (meant to be so) but that's what makes it so entertaining. I didn't think I would be into it, but am loving it so far (mid way into Season 2).
2) The Madalorian - a "Star Wars" offshoot which takes place on a timeline nine years after "Star Wars - A New Hope" and five years after "Star Wars - Return of the Jedi". I was a huge Star Wars fan when I was a kid, but not so much as an adult, although I did watch and enjoy the prequels/sequels. That being said, "The Mandalorian" is really well done with very interesting characters and plot. Again, didn't think I would be into it but started watching because running out of other series, and it's now one of my favorite series. Would definitely recommend.
1) Cobra Kai - an extension of the original film "The Karate Kid", set 35 years into the future with the same cast.........except for "Mr. Miyagi" who's actor Pat Morita passed away in 2005. The series has "Daniel LaRusso" as a very successful businessman cross paths with his former nemesis "Johnny Law", who is now a down on his luck, alcoholic loser, and because of a series of mishaps, find themselves once again battling each other. It's super cheesy (meant to be so) but that's what makes it so entertaining. I didn't think I would be into it, but am loving it so far (mid way into Season 2).
2) The Madalorian - a "Star Wars" offshoot which takes place on a timeline nine years after "Star Wars - A New Hope" and five years after "Star Wars - Return of the Jedi". I was a huge Star Wars fan when I was a kid, but not so much as an adult, although I did watch and enjoy the prequels/sequels. That being said, "The Mandalorian" is really well done with very interesting characters and plot. Again, didn't think I would be into it but started watching because running out of other series, and it's now one of my favorite series. Would definitely recommend.
Cobra Kai is so good, I love it! If someone is into the original flicks, they'll dig it.
I like The Mandalorian, but the developments in the last season pissed me off. I won't say just in case you aren't caught up. Just unnecessary fan service.
That sucks to hear about The Madalorian - yeah, I'm just now starting Season 2.
I don’t watch much TV but I have watched all three seasons of “Cobra Kai”. Outstanding series, geared to us boomers who grew up with the movies. Love the little Easter eggs they throw to the fans (like the (spoiler).......
body bag).
body bag).
I appreciate you not saying too much about the second season of mandalorian as I'm still working my way through it. And I did hear something similar about how season 2 ends compared to season 1. Suffice to say I know there will be a favorite reoccurring character lost.
And I had a coworker strongly recommend Kobra Kai as well. I'll have to wait for a time/way to watch it.
- Mar 5, 2006
- 59,945
- 5,639
- 350
There is a show on Netflix which I highly recommend (if you like Vikings)...
It is Last kingdom, a story about when the Vikings were invading England and pushed down to Wessex prior to getting pushed back.
Five thumbs way up, but the books are of course better than the show... But isn't that always the case?
It is Last kingdom, a story about when the Vikings were invading England and pushed down to Wessex prior to getting pushed back.
Five thumbs way up, but the books are of course better than the show... But isn't that always the case?
I am probably one of the .001% of viewers who would be pissed off about it, so you'll probably not even know what I'm talking about. But I didn't want to spoil anything, so I'll stay quiet about it.