All Episodes Talk: Robinson Crusoe's Guide To Island Survival Not Included

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[Hootis]

I'm only on episode 4, and already I'm rooting for the jungle to eat these people.

I understand that these people are "ordinary." They're not even as prepared as Survivor contestants. But....how can you get lost like that on a small island? How can you not have water when it's falling out of the sky? How can you not start a fire when you have lenses on your face?

Do the English have the equivalent of the Boy Scouts?

[slasherboy]

How are you on Episode 4?  Episode 1 was tonight.

 

I kind of liked it, probably because there was nothing else on to watch.  Don't know enough names yet to discuss anybody in particular, but I've got my eyes on a couple who might be favorites.  That sure is a pretty beach they happened upon.

[90PercentGravity]

Is this thread for the same show that is on NBC.

[Whimsy]

Taylor is an idiot. I'm not saying that recovering from such a serious injury is easy. I'm not taking anything away from that situation. But, for him to go off on his own in the wilderness in over 100 degree heat with no water just BECAUSE he overcame that situation, which was in a controlled environment with lots of professionals around, is ridiculous.

Other than that, this was interesting, I guess. I'd like to see this with a group,of women, too. I know that Bear Grylls is this "manly man", but this could be a interesting concept with different groups.

[ae2]

For everyone that is confused, the Island was first a U.K. series that started last year. Its first season was all men. Its second (which just finished airing) had two groups, one with men and one with women. The NBC version is separate and just aired its first episode.

 

Maybe a mod can make it clearer where we should be discussing which shows/seasons?

 

I think this show has the potential to be "what Survivor should have been", but it also has some annoying elements. A couple times where people were talking to the camera in the style of every reality show's talking head segments I couldn't but wonder if a producer was somehow feeding instructions or questions to them. Some things they were saying felt unnatural, but maybe we can chalk it up to a lot of pre-show coaching.

 

Could we not give the contestants some smaller cameras? Sure, you want high quality footage but those giant shoulder cameras are such a hindrance. Give them each a head mounted Go-Pro and a couple smaller hand helds to the camera men. 

[mertensia]

I want alligators to eat anyyone else who gets all USA!USA!

[saber5055]

How can you not start a fire when you have lenses on your face?

 

Maybe Americans are smarter than the Brits since that's how they started a fire right away after landing on the island, with the guy's glasses.

[iMonrey]

I'm glad Taylor was medi-vacced out of there in Episode One because clearly he was cast as the main villain/agitator. He was yelling and bossing within the first five minutes and nobody could stand him. That's the sort of "character" I can live without in my reality shows, thank you very much. Everyone else seems to get along so far.

 

Given that this is a Bear Grylls show I'm naturally skeptical of how "real" anything is. I think I've already spotted some fakery because the premise is that the cast is doing all the filming themselves, yet the three who went to the beach all went into the ocean and someone was filming them, so who was it? I also find it suspicious that four of them were already experienced enough camera men to be able to use expensive HD cameras right from the get-go.

 

Still, it's worth checking out as a summer show I guess. I'm kind of glad there are no women because it avoids the obvious pitfalls of other reality shows where the producers are clearly hoping for cast members to hook up and they have to fill some kind of hot bikini babe quota.

[Fostersmom]

Why did he break his glasses to do it though? That was my question. He should have been able to start one with his without breaking them, even if he had to have someone else use the or use another guys glasses to do it. 

[walnutqueen]

Taylor showed the classic signs of traumatic brain injury, and probably shouldn't have been there in the first place.  He's lucky to be alive; heat stroke is no joke.  I saw a documentary about walking the Nile recently, and a guy died from heat stroke, even with adequate hydration.

[ae2]

I'm glad Taylor was medi-vacced out of there in Episode One because clearly he was cast as the main villain/agitator. He was yelling and bossing within the first five minutes and nobody could stand him. That's the sort of "character" I can live without in my reality shows, thank you very much. Everyone else seems to get along so far.

 

Given that this is a Bear Grylls show I'm naturally skeptical of how "real" anything is. I think I've already spotted some fakery because the premise is that the cast is doing all the filming themselves, yet the three who went to the beach all went into the ocean and someone was filming them, so who was it? I also find it suspicious that four of them were already experienced enough camera men to be able to use expensive HD cameras right from the get-go.

 

Still, it's worth checking out as a summer show I guess. I'm kind of glad there are no women because it avoids the obvious pitfalls of other reality shows where the producers are clearly hoping for cast members to hook up and they have to fill some kind of hot bikini babe quota.

 

I generally assume nothing is real on reality TV shows. But hey, I'll give this the benefit of a doubt. I can't remember exactly when it was, but right around the time they got on the island Bear said from that point on only the contestants would be filming.

 

At least one of the camera men is actually a camera man. I can't remember/didn't see about the others. But I'm sure they all received training on how to use them. Still, most of the footage we've seen so far is a little too perfect.

[saber5055]

Still, most of the footage we've seen so far is a little too perfect.

 

 

Yes to this. If all the footage came from those hand-held or shoulder-mounted cameras, we would all get vertigo like we did when watching Blair Witch or that other "real" movie where audience members got ill from camera movement. Forgot the name of it, it was about space monster invasion or something similar.

 

Maybe this is like that "reality" show about the people dropped off in "Siberia" to live. Real ... but not really real.

 

At least these guys knew to boil the water and to kill/eat the snake, all things Bear would have taught them I'm guessing.

[iMonrey]

Yeah we really didn't get any information about what kind of training they got before they were dumped onto the island. And they must have gotten some, because half of them admitted to having zero experience at anything like this. Also, Bear was just being an ass making them swim to shore. He could have easily gotten close in the boat and let them at least wade in. I kept thinking how miserable they'd be with soaking wet pants and shoes.

[Fostersmom]

Isn't Bear the one who got caught faking his own reality show about surviving in the woods by himself? Leaving to spend the nights in hotels? This is probably more real than that, but still not completely as hands off as they claim.

[Tarasme]

If all the footage came from those hand-held or shoulder-mounted cameras, we would all get vertigo like we did when watching Blair Witch or that other "real" movie where audience members got ill from camera movement. Forgot the name of it, it was about space monster invasion or something similar.

 

I think you're thinking of Cloverfield.

 

My respect for the production actually increased when, after dropping them off, it was introduced that the camera operators were, well, trained camera operators. Up to that point, I was considering the lunacy of trying to craft a narrative (or illusion) with everyone wearing a head mounted Go-Pro. 

 

Call me a neanderthal chick, but I appreciated the concept of men utilizing their biological imperative to test their limits. It was good for me to see- however fantastic or plotted- men joining together as close to unequipped as allowed on national television to overcome their circumstances and kill what they eat/ build where they live.

 

As for Taylor's heatstroke- if that was a stunt then it was adequately executed. What I found refreshing was that, though pretty much everyone disliked him, no one was vocal about wishing him ill will.

 

Bear Grylls can suck it, but I kind of like these guys.

[mostlylurking]

 

Why did he break his glasses to do it though? That was my question. He should have been able to start one with his without breaking them, even if he had to have someone else use the or use another guys glasses to do it.

I think he said they were reading glasses, so he probably wasn't too attached to them.

 

I too was confused about the camera men, obviously they were trained or else the video wouldn't be that good.  I must have missed the part where they admitted that the camera men were indeed pros but would be part of the experience as well.

[saber5055]

I think you're thinking of Cloverfield.

 

 

YES! Thank you. I know several people had to leave the theater before vomiting from the crazy camera movement.

 

Also, Bear was just being an ass making them swim to shore. He could have easily gotten close in the boat and let them at least wade in. I kept thinking how miserable they'd be with soaking wet pants and shoes.

 

 

Yes to this, too. I kept thinking about the soaked socks/shoes and the impending foot fungus. No one took them off to dry, or at least not that I saw. The guys on the beach were barefoot but not on the jungle side. I would have taken my footwear off and stored it in my backpack ... which, I hope, was waterproof ... for the swim in.

[ae2]

They might have mentioned that a couple of the guys were embedded crew, can't recall. One of the camera man had "Camera Man" listed as his job title when they popped up his name, so that helped.

 

Turns out that 4 of the 14 are embedded crew. Rick Smith is a shooter. Graham Sheldon is a producer and camera man. Benji Lanpher (not sure). Matthew Getz is a producer/shooter. Having experienced crew and producers on board explains why some of the segments are prototypical reality show clips.

 

Here's an interesting article from Graham Sheldon. It recaps the first episode, and he'll be writing one each week. I've pulled some of the highlights below!

 

 

 

Okay! We have fire! This is a huge moment. Fire is everything in survival situations, or so I learned from the single day of survival training we received from Bear and his team. In case you were wondering about whether or not you should order snake on your next night out — some snake tastes great (I tried it once at a farmers market), this snake does not. I would equate it to a burned dehydrated rubber tire.

 

 

 

Dakota seeing a beach for the first time is an amazing moment. Dakota, a pheasant farmer from Idaho, has never been on a beach before, and his genuine awe in this moment is something I will always find endearing. This is the first of many moments during my time on the island where I am reminded of what we take for granted on a daily basis.

 

 

 

This is the hardest experience I’ve ever had to face, and nothing in my life has prepared me for this. As we trudge through the jungle, it becomes very clear to me that both filming and surviving on this series is a tall order. I am a fish out of water with no background in survival. I’d like to emphasize: I’ve never been camping. Before this, I figured Fort Wilderness at Disneyworld Orlando was camping. My instincts involve how to light a scene beautifully and what lenses to choose—not which plants to avoid and how to kill your own food.

[suzeecat]

Was it mentioned what they had in the backpacks?  I know they had the two tanks of water, and Bear mentioned a few other things like knives, machetes.  But, I really wanted to know the contents of those backpacks since they seemed large enough to hold a LOT.

 

Also, the footage of Dakota "seeing the ocean for the first time" was a little confusing to me, as they clearly had to be in the ocean on the boat to get to the island in the first place.   As I think about this a bit more, I'm thinking that maybe he was marveling at his first sunset on the beach, which I would admit was quite breathtaking.  Maybe he was too terrified in the boat ride to the island to actually register that he was in the ocean.

Edited May 28, 2015 by suzeecat

[MsJamieDornan]

 

Turns out that 4 of the 14 are embedded crew. Rick Smith is a shooter. Graham Sheldon is a producer and camera man. Benji Lanpher (not sure). Matthew Getz is a producer/shooter. Having experienced crew and producers on board explains why some of the segments are prototypical reality show clips.

 

 

 

Benji is a camera man also.

Edited June 1, 2015 by MsJamieDornan

[MsJamieDornan]

 

Given that this is a Bear Grylls show I'm naturally skeptical of how "real" anything is. I think I've already spotted some fakery because the premise is that the cast is doing all the filming themselves, yet the three who went to the beach all went into the ocean and someone was filming them, so who was it?

 

 

 

 

 

The camera was on the ground.

Edited June 1, 2015 by MsJamieDornan

[Whimsy]

The shit just got real.  The first episode I was mostly annoyed with some of the personalities.  This episode I was legitimately worried about all of those guys!  I guess some would say that makes good television but I am just so frustrated that they (whoever "they" are) thought this was a good idea.  Potential long-term health problems being developed are not fun to watch.  I felt so badly for Mike.  He seems like a real stand-up guy who is doing the best for his family.  I am sure everyone understands that his behavior was due to being delirious, so I hope he isn't too embarrassed.  I also am legitimately worried about those two camera men who got stuck in the tide coming in.  I'm sure no one actually died or else they wouldn't be airing any of the episodes, but this show made me so anxious and I watched it right before bed.  Not a good idea!

[riverheightsnancy]

Agree with GenL. This was a very intense episode and I am liking it a lot. Very real and what I would expect if one were plopped onto a desert island. Water and fire and THE most important aspects to get going immediately. Survivor has lost a lot of this type of intensity because they are routinely giving them a water source (easily found-a well of sorts) and flint, food rewards, etc...  Two of the cameramen are yum. I was confused by the contention that Mike gave them fire. I thought it was the African American Iraq war vet guy. I cannot remember his name.

[cooksdelight]

I get lost with names too, riverheightsnancy. :)

 

Local Murphy townspeople are a little upset that Jim made it sound like he retired from the police force here by posing with local police cars. He was never an officer here. I posted more about it in the Men's thread.

[iMonrey]

Boy people are dropping like flies. This actually could be a more realistic version of Survivor. Instead of someone getting voted out each week, instead someone gets Medi-vacced out!

 

That, said, I think they went a little overboard with the Rah Rah Mike after he was gone. I get it, they're really suffering and emotions are high, but still. There was something odd about Mike from the start I thought, and he really wasn't in a good emotional place to do something like this. Maybe it was too soon after his wife's death but he's supposed to be the outdoor/survival expert out there and he's the one who let himself get overly dehydrated when he should have known better than anyone else to pace himself. And no, he didn't get the fire started, Earnest did with his reading glasses.

 

I could sort of do without the emotional manipulation and personal stories too. I don't care if they have some kind of personal crisis and hope this trip is one of self-discovery or whatever the hell. The camera men who are used to documenting stuff like this are actually more interesting and have their heads screwed on better than some of the others.

 

Still don't feel like i know half their names (and I'm using the NBC web page for reference); I don't even remember seeing Trey (gay guy), Graham (camera guy), Buck (doctor) or Jim last week. A lot of them are still kind of a blur.

[Fostersmom]

I feel like we are going to literally see one of these guys die before the end of the run. I get its supposed to be hard, but it's  just sadistic to drop them someplace with out a viable source of water that doesn't take a psychic friend to locate. 

[LittleIggy]

Shouldn't they have kept Mike for a food supply? ::ducks::

[slasherboy]

What is a "shooter"?  Another name for a cameraman?

 

[saber5055]

Shouldn't they have kept Mike for a food supply?

 

 

What does that mean that I thought the exact same thing ... ?

[Vicky8675309]

Is this thread for the same show that is on NBC.

I think this is the thread for all seasons. There are 2 UK seasons (1st: just guys; 2nd: one island with guys and another island with women) and 1 USA season on NBC. I think episode 3 of the 1st season of the USA version of The Island is on tonight. I think a thread for each season would be helpful but I'm just happy the show itself has a forum.

Isn't Bear the one who got caught faking his own reality show about surviving in the woods by himself? Leaving to spend the nights in hotels? This is probably more real than that, but still not completely as hands off as they claim.

Was Bear the one who was a fraud? I think so. I know reality shows aren't "reality" but he could have spun the hotel thing better if it was him.

It was Ernest (something like that) who got fire 1st and NOT Mike. I think they are delirious and attributing stuff to Mike that he didn't do (glorifying him). I think Mike could have been great but he had to go and it is only like day 3 or 4. Heck, Taylor who they all hated did more--Taylor found the beach. Both Taylor and Mike got violent in their dehydration. Taylor swinging at Ernest (big black guy who has not identified himself as gay; former military I think) and Mike swinging a knife and putting it up to him own neck. BRAVO to the guys who tried to get it on film. Boo to firefighter for not wanting it filmed to spare Mike's dignity. Hello, Mike signed up for reality tv so Boo Hoo to his "dignity" and put that on the Editors and not the embedded film crew! I was liking Mike until firefighter guy went all "dignity" on everyone which then made me want Mike exposed. Whatever… Bye Mike.

Edited June 7, 2015 by Vicky8675309

[cooksdelight]

The next episode airs on Monday night at 10 pm eastern.

[ProfCrash]

Bear was a fraud on his show but Bear himself is the real deal. I stopped watching his show long before the fraud was revealed because his survival skills were so ridiculous. Give me Les Stroud and Survivorman any day of the week. Just starting The Island tonight. Looking forward to it. My first impression is that this is the Survivor Jeff Probst really wants to host.

[riverheightsnancy]

I was so angry when I thought that they killed the turtle (obviously on accident) I couldn;t even look at the screen because it upset me so much, but their attempts to save (him/her) and the cameraman who gave him/her mouth to mouth and kept calling him/her little buddy has me bawling like a baby. I think that the cameramen and the ED doc are really the strongest ones there. Especially, mouth to mouth sea turtle savior!  

[walnutqueen]

Bear was a fraud on his show but Bear himself is the real deal. I stopped watching his show long before the fraud was revealed because his survival skills were so ridiculous. Give me Les Stroud and Survivorman any day of the week. Just starting The Island tonight. Looking forward to it. My first impression is that this is the Survivor Jeff Probst really wants to host.

 

Les Stroud, acting as his own cameraman, alone in the wilderness for days on end - he is the SUPREME real deal.  No others need apply (sasquatch notwithstanding).

[cooksdelight]

I just wish they'd quit putting "retired" police chief by Jim's name. ACK!!!

So glad the turtle swam off to freedom and safety from the hungry men on the beach.

[mertensia]

I kept saying "the turtle needs to breathe! Stop submerging it in water!"

Who else thought the fishing net had been planted by Bear?

[Whimsy]

I was so angry when I thought that they killed the turtle (obviously on accident) I couldn;t even look at the screen because it upset me so much, but their attempts to save (him/her) and the cameraman who gave him/her mouth to mouth and kept calling him/her little buddy has me bawling like a baby. I think that the cameramen and the ED doc are really the strongest ones there. Especially, mouth to mouth sea turtle savior!  

I thought that too.  Them just being there and putting the net in the water was the direct result of that turtles near death!  But, then Benji brought him back by doing mouth-to-mouth and he’s my new hero!  What a story to be able to tell family and friends later!

 

I DO feel bad for the guys.  They are so hungry and don’t really know how to fish, etc.  I know nothing about net fishing, but leaving the net for 8 or more hours seems counterproductive.  As was shown, birds and other prey can come along and steal the fish that ARE caught. 

 

The music is really amping up the stress level for me.  I thought for sure Rob was a goner on those rocks!  There was another time the music was used (after Rob and the rocks) that really had me worried but then it turned out to be nothing.  I can’t remember what now because I watched this past my bedtime and I’m tired, but this show has enough real drama it doesn’t need the music fake-out!

 

I just wish they'd quit putting "retired" police chief by Jim's name. ACK!!!

 

 

I totally thought of you and what you posted previously every time I see that tag now.  I wouldn't mind if he were the next to go...

[ae2]

He did retire though. Well, from the news article you linked it seemed that way. Is there more to the story than he was looking at porn on his work computer? Because that's... not too hateable an offense. Regardless, he comes across on the show as scuzzy and lazy. I don't think I've seen him do anything at all yet.

In fact, there are about half the guys who seem to do 90 percent of the work and the other half are mostly sitting around on the beach all day. I guess this might just be because the camera men have bonded with a couple other guys, so we get more active footage of them.

The stay at home dad is a little annoying, but I'm glad he sucked it up and survived another day. You don't have to be an expert at anything to contribute manpower toward the group cause. Collecting firewood, making water runs, building shelter, there's plenty to be done without a lot of pre-existing skills.

[cooksdelight]

Jim was forced to retire, he wasn't given a choice.

[iMonrey]

How many episodes of this are there supposed to be? By the time they get to the end there's going to be nobody left! I'd like to know the extent of Davion's back injury. I certainly hope it's not serious, but at the same time, this guy is supposed to be a fire fighter. I know there's little in common between fire fighting and surviving on a deserted island, but I wouldn't expect a simple fall to take him out of the game like that.

 

Plus I think a lot of these people have kind of sketchy bios. According to the NBC website, Davion "climbed the corporate ladder at General Mills" then quit to become a fire fighter. Who does that? Nobody, that's who. There's got to be more to that story.

 

If this show is accomplishing anything, it's that trying to survive on a deserted island isn't nearly as easy as Tom Hanks made it seem. The reality is that his character in Castaway probably would have been dead by day three. 

 

Who else was thinking of The Incredible Mr. Limpet when they were eating limpets? 

[walnutqueen]

Well, Benji made my MVP list with that turtle save.

 

One little 6 inch fish for 11 men does not provide enough protein for survival.  They'd better get more - and fast.

[saber5055]

I was near tears when I thought that turtle was dead, but I also wondered if it were, why would the show let us see that? Especially since sea turtles are endangered. Side note: How did those people KNOW sea turtles are endangered? Someone has to be communicating with them to tell them that.

 

Anyway, I shouted YES! when the turtle took a breath. The way he was gasping, I was worried he went back into the sea too soon.

 

And yes, Benji is my new tv boyfriend for that CPR. He sure waited long enough to do it, but maybe turtles naturally go w/o breathing for long periods. Any mammal would have been dead.

 

Yeah, lots of stuff washes up on beaches, but that fishing net was a little TOO convenient. Too bad they don't know how to use it. They needed to watch a show on how nets are used in other countries to fish, and how to build a fish trap.

 

Hated seeing Jim the Fireman Hero after learning here what he's really like. Big ICK to him. He has a ways to go before HIS shorts fall off from losing weight. He could stand a good month w/o eating.

 

The guy that fell on the rocks ... he said something in his back popped so more damage was done that just him falling and going "Ouchie." It would be nice to know what injuries he does have though.

[AZChristian]

I read somewhere that the guys on this show were told what they could and could not eat (thus they knew that the turtle was endangered.  And, yes, that net that just HAPPENED to wash up near them was sure convenient.

 

I also read that two non-endangered caimans were set loose on the island for them to eat if they could find them; they were trained in how to kill it kindly.  And the water hole is probably lined with plastic and topped off periodically. 

[Vicky8675309]

Every season of The Island (prior seasons were UK versions) all had nets. If one momma pig and some piglets show up then those were set up by Bear.

LOL @ #ByeDavion hashtag. Was he the one in flip flops? Even though he annoyed me with his bs about Mike's dignity, I don't want him hurt and it sucks the guys lost another person.

Benji is the beautiful blue eyes, right? He was hot prior to saving the turtle but that rescue made him even hotter! I also worried about it drowning and was wanting them to stop holding it underwater…but I don't know how long they can hold their breath or anything about there respiratory system.

I think they should check the nets more often since you don't want fish dying and rotting in the net….that is, once they find a decent place to put the net and angle it correctly (I don't know how to net fish, lol).

What is this Surviorman that is mentioned? off to google it;-)

Edited June 9, 2015 by Vicky8675309

[ProfCrash]

Les Stroud tends to find useful garbage in most of the places he goes. The Pacific Ocean is notriously bad with trash and stuff washing onto shore so I can buy the net being there. I do think it was planted but it could easily wash ashore. Heck there are rare lego's from a ship that wrecked that are still washing up places. So I don't have a problem with the net and bottles and stuff.

I am sure there was some type of training before being left on the island.

I like the show and most of the people on it. I think we will end up with a good number at the end. The learning curve is brutal but once they get into a rhythm they should be ok.

Survivorman rocks. It still airs. Les Stroud is amazing.

[slasherboy]

I saw the turtle and like others here, worried he would die.  But my question is, what caused him to be near death?  I know he was caught in the net, but how did that harm him.

 

Love, Love, Love Benji for giving the turtle mouth-to-mouth.  Not everybody would have done that.  Yay for him!

[ProfCrash]

Sea turtles are, I believe, mammels. They have to breathe air. He was trapped in a net and not able to surface to breathe.

[Fostersmom]

I swear one of the guys was drinking out of a sippy cup with no lid, so I will buy the fishing net. I was sure we were going to see one of the guys get seriously burnt from the preview, so glad we didn't. I saw that Survivor episode and once was enough. 

[LittleIggy]

I was so angry when I thought that they killed the turtle (obviously on accident) I couldn;t even look at the screen because it upset me so much, but their attempts to save (him/her) and the cameraman who gave him/her mouth to mouth and kept calling him/her little buddy has me bawling like a baby. I think that the cameramen and the ED doc are really the strongest ones there. Especially, mouth to mouth sea turtle savior!

Oh yeah, I was looking away from the screen when they showed that poor limp turtle. I peeked to watch him get mouth to mouth. So glad the sweet creature survived.

Were the guys trained to look for edible vegetation? Must be some edible fruit somewhere.