S08.E08: The Grizzly

[rmontro]

On 7/24/2021 at 10:30 PM, TVbitch said:

I think the bear wins this season!

Not fair, he had a head start.

[ctlady]

So much to comment on regarding the comments so the Skeptical Susie in me is just going to say it.  I think a lot of what we're being shown is staged.

Rose:  I can't vouch for the numbness, but her toes didn't look that purple to me.  And the one time she left the shelter without her comm just so happened to be the day the medical team was contacting her about a follow up visit and rushed out there.  I think they needed a medical tap out for drama

Clay:  His encounter with the bear was not a normal reaction.  Yeah, he had to escape up a tree, but after he got down, instead of resuming fishing he decided to see where it went.  I understand if you want to track it to see if it made it's way to your camp, but all his smiling and 'that was soooooo cool' would NOT be my reaction to a close encounter with a grizzley

Teresa:  Almost dies and freezes her legs off trying to set her fishing lines only for them to be tangled causing her to break down and cry on the shore and then....oh, wait....what's that?  Look!  Beached fish!  Manna from heaven!  Me to Mr. Ctlady:  Those were put there for her to find.  Sorry - that's just way too coincidental.  I'm just not buying it.

There are just too many things that seem staged to me, right from the very first tap out of someone who shouldn't have even made the cut for the show in the first place, but hey....someone has to be first, so why not a contestant with 35% heart capacity?

They show, in my opinion, has to generate certain situations to guarantee there's a close end to the season in sight.  I mean, what if all 5 contestants left were successful in finding adequate food, staying warm and safe?  The season could go on for months before the first one tapped out?  I just can't completely buy the 'reality' of all that's happening and think some instances are engineered.  That's all.  Skepticism signing off now!

[diebartdie]

I'm really surprised so many people are thinking this season was somehow staged. It is very comparable to other seasons in that what might look to us, the audience like some miraculous discovery was actually the product of some poor shlub editing thousands of hours of BORING BORING BULLSHIT into something that might be entertaining. So there's that. Now, add in obvious starvation and all the weird tricks that can play on your mind and viola, you suddenly have grown men CHASING grizzle bears knowing they are forbidden to hunt the thing anyway. You have grown women eating something obviously ROTTING knowing that might actually cause very serious physical damage. Add hypothermia + starvation and you have a grown woman make bad decision after bad decision until she literally has to be carried out.

Seriously, honestly compare the state of these contestants to any other season. This season contestants are dropping FAST due to possibly the shittiest site ever. The conclusions I'm drawing are: #1 The producers of this show have decided people don't watch this show to be spiritually uplifted, they watch this show to get off on people suffering. #2 The producers really went out of their way to ensure the maximum suffering while nestled in maximum beauty (gotta give them credit for that at least). #3 This season is shockingly different from the previous seasons and IMO will turn off more viewers than it will attract.

[AZChristian]

(4) They wanted to keep production costs down, so they put the contestants in a place that could not sustain them for as long as other seasons have gone.  Shorter filming = lower costs.

[Jeanne222]

I do think scenes are staged. I think contestants might be staging these cockamamie ideas but I’m guessing help is nearby!

Yes the season will be short and yes the deer might be enough to sustain him until he’s the last man standing baring any accidents!

[Aliera]

I can not get past the misspelling of Dr.Richard Feynman's name in the opening quote of "The Grizzly" episode. Such an amazing interview with him. Embarrassing at the very least.

[Yeah No]

On 7/26/2021 at 8:31 AM, ctlady said:

So much to comment on regarding the comments so the Skeptical Susie in me is just going to say it.  I think a lot of what we're being shown is staged.

Rose:  I can't vouch for the numbness, but her toes didn't look that purple to me.  And the one time she left the shelter without her comm just so happened to be the day the medical team was contacting her about a follow up visit and rushed out there.  I think they needed a medical tap out for drama

Clay:  His encounter with the bear was not a normal reaction.  Yeah, he had to escape up a tree, but after he got down, instead of resuming fishing he decided to see where it went.  I understand if you want to track it to see if it made it's way to your camp, but all his smiling and 'that was soooooo cool' would NOT be my reaction to a close encounter with a grizzley

Teresa:  Almost dies and freezes her legs off trying to set her fishing lines only for them to be tangled causing her to break down and cry on the shore and then....oh, wait....what's that?  Look!  Beached fish!  Manna from heaven!  Me to Mr. Ctlady:  Those were put there for her to find.  Sorry - that's just way too coincidental.  I'm just not buying it.

There are just too many things that seem staged to me, right from the very first tap out of someone who shouldn't have even made the cut for the show in the first place, but hey....someone has to be first, so why not a contestant with 35% heart capacity?

They show, in my opinion, has to generate certain situations to guarantee there's a close end to the season in sight.  I mean, what if all 5 contestants left were successful in finding adequate food, staying warm and safe?  The season could go on for months before the first one tapped out?  I just can't completely buy the 'reality' of all that's happening and think some instances are engineered.  That's all.  Skepticism signing off now!

Haha, we're both in CT and both think alike on these things.  I can see why you think that way.  I often don't buy what I'm seeing and have wondered about some of this myself.  Although I do think that some of it might be staged by the contestants themselves to get more attention and air time.  I didn't buy the guy whose name is escaping me that supposedly tapped out because of getting sick from drinking water with mouse poop in it.  I think he just missed his family.  I also think they usually have one person who shouldn't be there that taps out really early like the guy with the heart issue.  I think after all these seasons the show has figured out how to engineer a quicker season by choosing a tough environment, tweaking the start date so winter arrives faster, and picking enough people that will likely tap out early.  I don't doubt that contestants are tweaking things to achieve what they want as well, like more screen time, etc.  I don't know what Clay was up to there but something doesn't smell right and the story he told about the bear might not match the reality.  He certainly got a lot of attention from it, though!  And beach fish, yeah, not sure I buy that either although it could be real.

[Pine]

I hope that ALONE isn't Jumping the Shark!   I think we all like innovation, over starvation on this show.  I at least don't watch to see suffering, I watch to see perseverance and innovation, triumph over the challenge and isolation.  Some of these other shows have thrown, a hand raised piglet or goat in for subsistence, and it is stupid.  I do wonder about the beach fish!   I just watched the Mongolian season, I somehow missed, and it was quite good.     BTW, it looks like they are skipping this week. episode 9?

Edited July 28, 2021 by Pine
forgot something....

[ProfCrash]

10 minutes ago, Pine said:

I hope that ALONE isn't Jumping the Shark!   I think we all like innovation, over starvation on this show.  I at least don't watch to see suffering, I watch to see perseverance and innovation, triumph over the challenge and isolation.  Some of these other shows have thrown, a hand raised piglet or goat in for subsistence, and it is stupid.  I do wonder about the beach fish!   I just watched the Mongolian season, I somehow missed, and it was quite good.     BTW, it looks like they are skipping this week. episode 9?

If they are worried about people being out there too long, set a prize amount that is shared by everyone who gets to day whatever. Maybe don't tell the Contestants the specific number of days, so there is less count down and pray. The number can change based on the environment that they pick.

[Melina22]

2 hours ago, Pine said:

BTW, it looks like they are skipping this week. episode 9?

They are??? How many episodes are there this season? 

[Quilt Fairy]

There is no show tomorrow night.  At first I thought it was due not wanting to compete with the Olympics, but episode 9 is listed for next week so that theory doesn't hold.  I'm assuming they're going to have a normal 10 episode season. 

[Chewy101]

On 7/23/2021 at 11:35 PM, LittleIggy said:

This season should be called “The Hunger Games.” If contestants are allowed to take commercial bows and arrows, they should be able to take a rod and reel and lures, IMO.
Unbelievable that Rose had no fire pit in her shelter. 🤦‍♀️
Fuckin’ Larry and the mouse. Good times! 😆

Couldn't they, though? Was that not an available item to choose? No one on this show seems to have done an ounce of research on the winter months in this location. 

I'm glad Rose is gone. Her privileged little safari camps don't work here. She turned me off in the beginning after saying she wanted to work her way through the entire North American population of species to kill. Trophy hunters are a big turn-off for me, and she might be emotionally adept to living alone, but she cannot care for herself without a staff.

I am still Team Colter. He doesn't seem any weirder now than when he started. He lives alone on an island, being alone will not do him in. And if he would just keep fishing from that awesome boat (before it falls apart), he could be fine.

Biko is adorable and entertaining. He has an incredibly chill vibe. But his weight gain as a defense is false. Even obese people can die from starvation or malnutrition. The organs need nutrients, not fat. And a rapid weight loss can be very dangerous.  

 

[diebartdie]

5 hours ago, Chewy101 said:

Couldn't they, though? Was that [fishing rod and lures] not an available item to choose?

Quote

Here is the list of items each Alone contestant is given, the master list from which they can choose their 10 individual items and the list of prohibited gear items. [Last updated for Season 4]

Standard gear includes clothing, protective gear, safety equipment, camera gear, and some survival gear. Individual gear includes shelter, bedding, cooking, hygiene, hunting, food, and tools.

Clothing, Apparel, and Personal Effects

*These items do not count towards the 10 special items, but may not exceed the approved quota for each.

1x Pair of high leg Hunting boots

2x Pairs of Outdoor Pants (can unzip into shorts)

1x T-shirt

2x Fleece or wool shirts (hooded or unhooded)

3x Pairs of wool socks

1x Hat (brimmed, wool or baseball)

1x Bandana or shemagh

1x Pair gloves

1x Light outdoor jacket

2x Pairs of underwear

1x Rain jacket and rain trousers

1x Thermal underwear (long)

1x Pair of gaiters

1x Pair of Crocs, Teva sandals or Keen sandals

1x Toothbrush

1x Pair of prescription eyeglasses

1x Personal photograph

Winter Packs

*These items were provided to each participant and did not count towards the 10 special items.

1x Wool sweater (heavy)

1x Pair of gloves (wool/Dachstein)

1x Trapper’s hat or toboggan

Tracking and Safety

*We will provide the following items to each participant. These items do not count towards the 10 special items.

Camera equipment

2x Safety tools (may consist of a canister of wild animal repellant, an air horn and/or 1 flare)

1x Rules and regulations guide

1x Backpack

1x Camera pack

1x Emergency flare

1x Satellite phone

1x Emergency personal flotation device

1x First aid kit (military type – tourniquet, wadding, ace bandage, alcohol, plastic bag, etc)

1x Small mirror

1x 20×20 canvas tarp

1x 10×10 tarp for protecting camera and equipment

1x GPS tracking device

1x Headlamp

1x Emergency rations pack to include water and food

Individual Items

*Each participant must choose TEN total items from the following list. Selections are final. Once chosen, no items may be swapped out or replaced. These will be each participant’s unique tools used to survive in the wilderness on camera.

Shelter

12×12 ground tarp (grommets approved)

8mm climbing rope (10m)

550 Paracord (20m)

Hatchet

Saw

Axe

Bedding

A multi-seasonal sleeping bag that fits within provided backpack

Bivy bag (Gore-Tex sleeping bag cover)

Sleeping pad

Hammock

Cooking

Pot including the lid (2 qt max)

Steel frying pan

Flint or ferro rod set

Enamel bowl for eating

Spoon

Canteen or water bottle

Bear canister

Hygiene

1x bar soap

8oz tube of toothpaste

1x face flannel

40 m roll of dental floss

Small bottle bio shower soap

Shaving razor (and 1 blade)

Towel (30” x 60”)

Comb

Hunting

300-yard roll of nylon single filament fishing line and 25 assorted hooks (No lures)

Primitive bow with 6 Arrows (must be predominately made of wood)

Small gauge gill net (8 m x 2 m OR 1.5 m deep x 3.6 m long and 2” [50 mm] mesh)

Slingshot/Catapult

Net foraging bag

3.5 lb roll of trapping wire

Food

5lbs of beef jerky (protein)

5lbs of dried pulses/legumes/lentils mix (starch and carbs)

5lbs of biltong (protein)

5lbs of hard tack military biscuits (carbs/sugars)

5lbs of chocolate (Simple/complex sugars)

5lbs of pemmican (traditional trail food made from fat and proteins)

5lbs of gorp (raisins, m&m’s and peanuts)

5lbs of flour (starch/carbs)

2lbs of rice or sugar and 1 lb of salt

Tools

Pocket knife

Hunting knife

Multi-tool

Sharpening stone

Roll of duct (or electrical) tape

Small shovel

Small sewing kit

Carabineer

LED flashlight

Pair of ice spikes

PROHIBITED ITEMS

*The following items are PROHIBITED. This list is not exhaustive but if an item is not listed above, it is also prohibited.

Compass

Fuel or matches

Bug spray/mosquito repellant.

Sunscreen/chapstick

Sunglasses

Beauty products

Map (detailed topographical)

Compass

Unapproved technology (anything with a battery or an engine, eg. cell phones, computers, watches, etc.)

Professional snares

Firearms of any kind

Ammunition

Explosives or gunpowder

Animal poison

Professional fishing rods

Fishing lures, flies, bait kits

Fishing traps

Food or beverage (except the options from the selection list)

Decoys

Animal calls

Tree stands

Professional bows or crossbows

Scopes of any kind

Tents or shelters

Stoves, pressure cookers or other cooking appliances

Hydration packs

Fire pits

Electric or propane lanterns

Inflatable boats

Filtration, purification devices, iodine tablets

Coolers or food storage boxes (except optional bear canister)

 

[Quilt Fairy]

17 hours ago, Chewy101 said:

Biko is adorable and entertaining. He has an incredibly chill vibe. But his weight gain as a defense is false. Even obese people can die from starvation or malnutrition. The organs need nutrients, not fat. And a rapid weight loss can be very dangerous.  

It's funny, an episode or 2 ago they mentioned that Biko lost 50 pounds in the first month, but he didn't look any different to me in this episode.  How can that be? 

Edited August 5, 2021 by Quilt Fairy

[Whyyouneedaname]

On 8/4/2021 at 2:36 AM, Chewy101 said:

Couldn't they, though? Was that not an available item to choose? No one on this show seems to have done an ounce of research on the winter months in this location. 

I'm glad Rose is gone. Her privileged little safari camps don't work here. She turned me off in the beginning after saying she wanted to work her way through the entire North American population of species to kill. Trophy hunters are a big turn-off for me, and she might be emotionally adept to living alone, but she cannot care for herself without a staff.

I am still Team Colter. He doesn't seem any weirder now than when he started. He lives alone on an island, being alone will not do him in. And if he would just keep fishing from that awesome boat (before it falls apart), he could be fine.

Biko is adorable and entertaining. He has an incredibly chill vibe. But his weight gain as a defense is false. Even obese people can die from starvation or malnutrition. The organs need nutrients, not fat. And a rapid weight loss can be very dangerous.  

 

I too have been Team Colter from the beginning, however I do think Clay is gonna be a contender to the end so we'll see. 

[dranelittle]

none of them have had a clue. It's just  not that tough if you make the 2000  sq ft of 3" mesh netting possible from the cotton rope hammock and make the pontoon outrigger raft in 1 day and then use another day to make the 'throne' to keep you up out of the water, the oars, oarlocks and the tripods to mount the oarlocks. You can't use bait, for animals or fish. So you have to make "streamer" lures out of ribbons cut off of the reflective 12x12 tarp and use treblehooks to increase their effectiveness as trotlines  Fish wont hit such lures unless they are moving, so you have to troll them from the raft as you row it.  Once you can start using the netting, you've got it won, cause you're going to average catching 10 lbs of fish per day, which you can mix with 2 lbs of cambium, for 4000+ calories per day.

he started out weighing 280 lbs, so he should have won it easily. All he had to do is hole up in a debris pile and thus, restrict his calorie/weight loss to 1 lb per day. He should have been able to last 130 days, but he was ignorant and weak.

[dranelittle]

On 7/24/2021 at 1:38 PM, mlp said:

I've Googled to try to find out when the bears will go into hibernation.  As near as I can tell from various sites, grizzlies and black bears hibernate from roughly December to May.  I'm not sure exactly what time it is during the show right now but it seems like bear sightings should be decreasing.

the show starts in mid-september,  and ended in 75 days, so it was over with by 1 December.

[dranelittle]

On 8/4/2021 at 2:36 AM, Chewy101 said:

Couldn't they, though? Was that not an available item to choose? No one on this show seems to have done an ounce of research on the winter months in this location. 

I'm glad Rose is gone. Her privileged little safari camps don't work here. She turned me off in the beginning after saying she wanted to work her way through the entire North American population of species to kill. Trophy hunters are a big turn-off for me, and she might be emotionally adept to living alone, but she cannot care for herself without a staff.

I am still Team Colter. He doesn't seem any weirder now than when he started. He lives alone on an island, being alone will not do him in. And if he would just keep fishing from that awesome boat (before it falls apart), he could be fine.

Biko is adorable and entertaining. He has an incredibly chill vibe. But his weight gain as a defense is false. Even obese people can die from starvation or malnutrition. The organs need nutrients, not fat. And a rapid weight loss can be very dangerous.  

 

this is mostly incorrect. They need salt and a few minerals, which they CAN take, in the form of a 3 lb block of sea salt, but none of the contestants have ever had brains enough to take it as one of their 10 items. The longest fast on record was 13 months. If Biko had known to hole up in a debris pile, his  280 lbs would have lasted for 130 days.  He still weighed 190 lbs when he broke weak.

[dranelittle]

On 7/26/2021 at 8:35 AM, diebartdie said:

I'm really surprised so many people are thinking this season was somehow staged. It is very comparable to other seasons in that what might look to us, the audience like some miraculous discovery was actually the product of some poor shlub editing thousands of hours of BORING BORING BULLSHIT into something that might be entertaining. So there's that. Now, add in obvious starvation and all the weird tricks that can play on your mind and viola, you suddenly have grown men CHASING grizzle bears knowing they are forbidden to hunt the thing anyway. You have grown women eating something obviously ROTTING knowing that might actually cause very serious physical damage. Add hypothermia + starvation and you have a grown woman make bad decision after bad decision until she literally has to be carried out.

Seriously, honestly compare the state of these contestants to any other season. This season contestants are dropping FAST due to possibly the shittiest site ever. The conclusions I'm drawing are: #1 The producers of this show have decided people don't watch this show to be spiritually uplifted, they watch this show to get off on people suffering. #2 The producers really went out of their way to ensure the maximum suffering while nestled in maximum beauty (gotta give them credit for that at least). #3 This season is shockingly different from the previous seasons and IMO will turn off more viewers than it will attract.

People just dont know what to take and do, that's all. They have access to a big lake that proven to be full of big fish. They can make 2000 sq ft of netting out of the rope hammock and make a pontoon outrigger raft in a couple of days, including oars and oarlocks. A day would set them up to  troll a dozen treblehook trotlines behind the raft as they row it, using ribbon/streamer lures cut from the reflective 12x12 tarp. 

[dranelittle]

each of them can gain 3 weeks, simply by knowing to use the tent, made out of the 20x20 tarp, for the first 3-4 weeks, with a big pile of debris inside of it, then make a 10x6x6 ft quonset hut out of debris and ice. Pile up your firewood, brush, and debris. Cover it with the 20x20 tarp, cover the tarp with 2" of small debris, sprinkle water on it, let it freeze, repeat at least twice, using more water each time, since the underlying layer will not let water run off as easily as the tarp does. Test the structure by jumping up and down on it. Cut an 18" ID hole in the downwind end of the structure, remove the brush and firewood, leave the debris as your bedding. Make a woven withe and ice door, with a handle on each side, Plug the leaks around it with loose earth and dry grasses.  Heat 4 head-sized rocks red hot. Move the debris away from the entrance, and move the rocks inside. Use the rocks to  re-heat the shovel blade. Use the hot shovel to melt loose the tarp from the ceiling and walls

When you first launch, fold the 10x10 tarp in half, stuff it with debris, tie the edges and pull it over you like a blanket.  That and the debris pile is all you need inside of your tent when inside of the reflective bivy, wearing all 6 layers of your clothing and debris between each layer of clothing. Fold the 20x20 tarp 3x, stuff the folds with debris, pull it over you like the 10x10.  Because the quonset is air-tight, you'll be up on a compressed, 3 ft thick layer of debris, up where the body-warmed air is trapped. The denser, cold air will be displaced into the bottom 2 ft of the shelter, where you are not.  You wont need a fire in either shelter. This saves you a week of shelter/fireplace building and 2 hours and 700 calories per day that every else wastes on hauling and processing firewood. This shelter doesnt  need an external heat source down to -20F, for as long as you have body-fat to metabolize. For your last 2 weeks, you can use rocks in pits  in the floor, under your sleeping-debris. Heat them in half an hour outside of the shelter, and then bury them in 2" thick layers of wood ashes in the pits. Then they'll warm you for 4-5 hours. Repeat as needed. This will only be necessary for your last 2 weeks.  This is how you dont need a sleeping bag, just the more-useful bivy, which can be work as a poncho.

Make a right angled crawlway entrance, like a igloo has. Make a couple of pinkie-sized holes in the end wall, next to the door.  Locate one about 12" off of the ground, to allow for a heavy snow's not blocking it. Locate the second vent-hole 2 ft above the first one. When you're in no danger of falling asleep, plug these holes with greased (fish oil) tapered wooden sticks. When  you're awake, you'll notice the air's getting "stuffy". 

4 more holes can be located in the corners of the floor, near the door end of the shelter. Remove the debris from a 3-4 ft wide strip across the end of the shelter, and toss it up where you normally sleep. Put the hot rocks in those holes, in ashes, so you can lay, sit, kneel, stand to work on whatever you need to work on and have a head sized hot rock on all sides of you. . Put tapered 2" wide, foot long wooden plugs on the ceiling  near your work-end as you build layers of ice/debris around them. Make 1" thick, 2" OD, greased, tapered hunks of ice for those holes, so you'll have light inside of your quonset hut. You are given a light for the camera and a headlamp and batteries for same.

You can have all of these advantages in 2 days of work. You'll save almost 50,000 calories with the tent shelter and this quonset hut, letting you stay 3 weeks longer than would be possible with a log cabin and fire-place.  You'll save 3 weeks of time, too, letting you make the pontoon outrigger raft out of 2 sets of clothing, the backpack, all stuffed with debris, whip-stitched and taped. Waterproof-spray them while still at home.  The 6th pontoon is the life vest. Make a tarp/tape/debris set of water wings for yourself. The same can be used to make an anorak with hood, leggings, shorts, mittens, booties and another pair of pants.  Then you'll also use the bivy as a poncho, with debris between both layers. Make the booties and wool socks big enough to let you  wear all 6 pairs at once, with debris between each layer. Any time you wont be walking, like on the raft, swap out your normal footwear for the socks and booties.  Any time  you'll b standing around, get the booties on and stand on a layer of dry debris. Then you'll have no frozen toes, eh?

Never go out on the raft with clothes or boots on and never do so without a fire, hot rocks, coals buried in the ashes, dry clothing right near you on shore. Then when, not if, you get wet, all you have to do is shake off the wet debris and water from the tarp/bivy "clothing",  use  dry debris to dry yourself off, us the hot rocks and bivy to warm up for a few minutes. Then again don the tarp clothing,  the bivy and debris and get back to work. Can't wear the sleeping bag outside folks. This is why you take the reflective tyvek bivy, not the sleeping bag.

Every inch of compressed, dry debris is worth 1 R-value of insulation. You'll lose almost no body heat at all, when inside of the quonset,  given the 6 layers of clothing, debris between each layer, the air-tight shelter and the 2 ft thick layer of compressed dry debris all around you.  You'll be laying on a 3 ft thick layer of same up where the trapped warm air is.. Conserve your calories and you'll need very little food in order to win.  Fish have enough fat in them that you can mix 1 lb of diced, boiled, fried cambium with 4 lbs of live weight fish, stretching your food supply by 33% You'll lose at most 1 lb of body weight per day while fasting in the quonset, and not much more inside of the tent, cause it wont be all that cold yet when you're in the tent. You can't risk building the quonset until temps stay below freezing.

Edited January 29, 2022 by dranelittle