Naked and Afraid XL - General Discussion

[Chewy101]

On 6/26/2017 at 9:40 PM, mamadrama said:

I thought it was funny that they acted like gods of survival, too. I mean, most of them just kind of laid around and conserved energy for most of the day. I realize that is a kind of surviving, too, but it's not like any of them were actually thriving.

I like how the PSR rating goes down if you lose too much weight-Because, EXACTLY: they were not thriving. Sitting around counting the days and wasting away is not how to live in the wild. 

I wonder if the edit just focused on Russel being the arrogant one because Matt was out so early. Matt shot himself in the foot in the reunion, and everyone just sat back and let him hang himself. Nice to see how well behaved everyone was now that they are well fed, because Matt's mouth would have started a brawl if they were still out there.

[Surthrivalist]

This show has so much potential to be entertaining but every season they fail to find one true survivalist. All we get to see is starving people who act like they've never been camping before. Yet we keep watching in hopes of being entertained but continue to be annoyed with Shannon the man and the one booby bitch bringing incompetence to a new level.  I hate Russel too. After suffering this season I want to brake something. 

Edited July 1, 2017 by Surthrivalist

[Tammee]

On 6/26/2017 at 2:42 PM, riverblue22 said:

I thought it was pretty funny how full of themselves they came across...like they are the gods of survival!  True, I could never attempt even a 3 day survival challenge but I am sure there are plenty of trained people out there who could have accomplished the same things.  They just aren't paying attention to reality TV.

Matt the hunter did enjoy pounding his chest and claiming title of the great hunter.  It looked to me like he had a much better bow and arrow than the Africa folks had and that made the difference IMO.

This!  That was the one thing that really bugged me (HAH pun). the 'oh we are SO bad ass' syndrome.  Granted I could never do it, but I wouldnt even try.  I know my limits.  But still, I wouldnt be so braggadocious about it either. 

[Tammee]

On 6/26/2017 at 3:21 AM, Liberty said:

 

Was interesting to see them with a bit more fat on their bodies.

You bring up something I've been pondering.  How much in advance do they know they're slated to go?  A month, two months?  You would think they would put on a bunch of weight quickly, to live off the fat later.  Or I wonder if its in the contract that they can only gain so much

[Subrookie]

On 6/26/2017 at 1:42 PM, riverblue22 said:

Matt the hunter did enjoy pounding his chest and claiming title of the great hunter.  It looked to me like he had a much better bow and arrow than the Africa folks had and that made the difference IMO.

His comment about he was the only person to be on N&A to ever kill a big game animal has been bugging me since I heard him say it. Maybe he meant XL but in the Louisiana N&A someone snared a deer and I remember seeing another couple episodes where people had snared a pig (which she ultimately didn't kill) and a caiman. 

Matt didn't do himself any favors in the after show, up until then I thought he was an ok guy but damn the ego....

[rlc]

Season 4 starts on May 6th.

[Kelda Feegle]

Watched the sneak peek last night, some interesting returnees. More gore in the highlights than I was really comfortable with. I won't say anything more in case people don't want to know until the actual start. 

[Crazy Bird Lady]

Clarence again??  OMG.

[rlc]

Hey, at least Clarence trained this time to get into better shape rather than just show up. I hope Shane is more successful this time, but I fear for team social misfits aka xl vets.

Edited May 7, 2018 by rlc

[Kelda Feegle]

I was impressed by how much weight Shane has put on, that should help him for a while, he's also very carefully and consciously working out how to communicate with others. 

Eating an eyeball just to show you can doesn't impress me, nor does chatter about being the housewife while the Hunter and tracker go out. 

Duck seems to show genuine respect for his two female partners. 

The fish tickling in the mud with the three females was weirdly funny and uncomfortable. 

[Lion18]

So does the man who is alone( forgot his name) catch up with the others? He was the biggest provider last season

[Kelda Feegle]

12 hours ago, Lion18 said:

So does the man who is alone( forgot his name) catch up with the others? He was the biggest provider last season

Looks like it but based on his clothing of skins it must be a fair way into the challenge. 

[Scout Finch]

I thought I would this version a try but too much gore and dead animals right off the bat turned me off. I already have a difficult time with the killing on the regular series but luckily it's minimal because it's just two people and they're there for a shorter length of time. Also, the majority of the time they aren't able to even catch anything! Not that I would welcome extreme cold/heat or bug bites but the primary thing that would probably make me tap out is having to eat anything disgusting. And spiders, just because.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Scout Finch

[LittleIggy]

Each team must have gotten a fire starter because there was no fire making drama. 

[riverblue22]

11 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Each team must have gotten a fire starter because there was no fire making drama. 

I think each team got a pot and a fire starter, each person has a blade of their choice, and they also got stuff like bows and arrows.  So they are better equipped than some groups.  I think they are going to need all of it.

[88Keys]

They always get to start out with more supplies for the 40-day challenge.  

The women dragging the dead warthog into the catfish pond was the dumbest thing ever.  Was that their water source?  Because they just poisoned it.  

[Lion18]

Oh Clarence. Twice he got sick in Africa   I felt really bad to see him leave. Last years XL showed what a good soul he has. I thought he would make it this year

[slasherboy]

My first watching of XL and I'm not sure what to make of it.  I found the dead animals sad and disgusting and didn't watch those scenes.  I just glanced away, didn't change the channel.

Are the teams supposed to eventually seek out the others and band together?  The guy alone (Matt?), is he supposed to try to find the others, because I thought the point of him being out there was to do the challenge alone.

The guy eating eyeballs and day-old meat that he buried is going to end up getting sicker than shit and be toted out, I predict.  I know he's surviving, but it seems he's also showing off big time.  The guy who's sick at his stomach isn't going to make it.

Don't have any favorites yet nor people that I don't like.  I do remember Lindsey from a regular episode and am surprised she's on XL.  I don't think I liked her on the regular season but I could be mistaken.  So watch her end up being my favorite, haha (I refuse to say LOL ... never have and never will). 

Am enjoying this a lot and am glad to see others in this forum.  Happy surviving!

[fib]

6 hours ago, slasherboy said:

The guy eating eyeballs and day-old meat that he buried is going to end up getting sicker than shit and be toted out, I predict.  I know he's surviving, but it seems he's also showing off big time.  The guy who's sick at his stomach isn't going to make it.

That first guy is a bozo. 

The second guy is one of my all time favorites he survived in the Lousiana swamps and was a BADASS.  His first partner got sick right away and quit - turns out she had west nile - so he lasted a total of 25 days after his second partner arrived on his day 4. He was also supportive of his partner and not disrespectful at all.  im rooting for him.  He is the bomb.  

[88Keys]

7 hours ago, slasherboy said:

My first watching of XL and I'm not sure what to make of it.  I found the dead animals sad and disgusting and didn't watch those scenes.  I just glanced away, didn't change the channel.

Are the teams supposed to eventually seek out the others and band together?  The guy alone (Matt?), is he supposed to try to find the others, because I thought the point of him being out there was to do the challenge alone.

The guy eating eyeballs and day-old meat that he buried is going to end up getting sicker than shit and be toted out, I predict.  I know he's surviving, but it seems he's also showing off big time. 

Did you mean the animals that they killed and ate, or the rotting dead animals they kept finding in the wild?  Because it seems like there are more of those than I've ever seen on this show.  

I've only watched one other season of XL, and on that season, the teams did eventually find each other.  As far as I know, they don't have to, but they probably will.  I think Matt (the lone guy) will meet up with them eventually.  Last season he was with another guy for a while, and he (Matt) was very competent and strong.  They did end up meeting up with the others in the challenge.

And that's actually how the eyeball-eater lost his last challenge.  He ate some unripe fruit and literally burned his mouth and esophagus.  I vividly remember him groaning in pain and vomiting over and over.  They had to med-evac him.

[LittleIggy]

“I keep meat on the counter for a week and eat it.” Yeah, right. ?

[holly4755]

well beef is aged, not sure how

[Kelda Feegle]

Bye Clarence,  again. 

My suspicion is that they are told that they have to stay in one place for a specific length of time and after that they can go looking for other people. 

Solo guy I think will only join at the last minute. 

[AZChristian]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

“I keep meat on the counter for a week and eat it.” Yeah, right. ?

He said it was cooked meat.  I don't disbelieve him.  I have a brother who is a hoarder.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

He said it was cooked meat.  I don't disbelieve him.  I have a brother who is a hoarder.

But even cooked...?

[LittleIggy]

I kept wondering why the three women didn’t try spearing the catfish after they couldn’t catch them with their hands. Glad they finally caught some. 

I’m worried about the woman with the severe sunburn. She must feel horrible.

[LittleIggy]

19 hours ago, holly4755 said:

well beef is aged, not sure how

It has to be done in a very controlled way from what I’ve read. Here is what I found about cooked meat: “Cooked steak that has been sitting out for longer than 2 hours (or 1 hour above 90° F) should be discarded. The reason is that bacteria grow rapidly when cooked meat is kept at temperatures between 40° F and 140° F. To prevent foodborne illness, try to refrigerate the cooked steak as soon as you can.” So that guy is full of ?.

[fib]

12 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

It has to be done in a very controlled way from what I’ve read. Here is what I found about cooked meat: “Cooked steak that has been sitting out for longer than 2 hours (or 1 hour above 90° F) should be discarded. The reason is that bacteria grow rapidly when cooked meat is kept at temperatures between 40° F and 140° F. To prevent foodborne illness, try to refrigerate the cooked steak as soon as you can.” So that guy is full of ?.

While I think he is exaggerating, I don't actually think he is entirely full of shit, though I don't condone his food approach.  Here is why:

1) The recommendations you cite above are the CDC recommendations for prevention of food borne illness in the whole population.  As in, those with compromised immune systems, included.  They are heavily weighted for safety.  There is wiggle room for healthy people. 

2) Different climates and different food prep styles come with different measures of protection.  IE, if you pressure cooked something and it stayed above boiling point for an extended period, there will be less bacteria available to then reproduce in the 'danger zone'.  So the food will last longer than if you saw, served a rare steak.  Also, Leaving food on the counter in swampy houston isn't the same as doing it in iceland. 

3) This is gross to think about and admit, but my mom used to make a pot of soup and leave it on the stove for days.  She always boiled it before serving it again. her "food safety" approach involved always boiling it for several minutes, leaving the lid on while it sat on the stove, and boiling again before serving. We, as a family of healthy people, never got food poisoning from these soups.  And frankly, I dont ever remember having food poisoning as a kid, so it is theoretically possible that this lovely pot of "germ soup" trained our stomachs to be tough. When my mom went through cancer treatment, I specifically told her to cut this maneuver out.  And I sure as hell don't do this. And I wouldnt recommend it.  But yeah, I kinda believe there is some truth to his statement, gross as it is.  I also think that if you're dealing with meat that doesn't go through a massive meat handling facility, gets cooked thoroughly, and then nuked before consumption? You might be safe. You also might just be lucky as hell. 

And ultimately, on Naked and Afraid XL, relying on luck as far as GI issues go seems like a poorly devised plan.  BUT, the reality is if it smells ok and isnt slimy, it's probably safe to eat in this environment. 

[Cotypubby]

Is that really a tattoo on the eyeball-eater’s back? I haven’t seen a full shot of it yet. It looks like it says “Consume as little as possible” in huge letters (which seems completely opposite how he is presenting himself) and then “something something Not a competition” “something something Children and the World.”

That’s got to be one of the weirdest tattoos I’ve ever seen. 

[rlc]

I legit teared up when Jeremy yelled out ‘that’s my Mel’.

[88Keys]

On 5/21/2018 at 7:39 AM, rlc said:

I legit teared up when Jeremy yelled out ‘that’s my Mel’.

That was so sweet.

Man, I really want to like Lacey, but she's coming across as really whiny and annoying this season.  Is it just me?  I mean, I liked her in her other challenges, but I'm not feeling her this season.

[fib]

4 hours ago, 88Keys said:

That was so sweet.

Man, I really want to like Lacey, but she's coming across as really whiny and annoying this season.  Is it just me?  I mean, I liked her in her other challenges, but I'm not feeling her this season.

Eh.  Lacey is tough, but she also takes unnecessary risks. I am certain she was put with SHane for a reason. I think the producers wanted drama, and they paired them to create it. 

[88Keys]

20 hours ago, fib said:

Eh.  Lacey is tough, but she also takes unnecessary risks. I am certain she was put with SHane for a reason. I think the producers wanted drama, and they paired them to create it. 

I agree.  We really haven't seen them do much besides argue and pee on things.   I feel like theirs is the least interesting group.

Speaking of Lacey and Shane, that thing with the animal skin was dumb.  Yes, an animal could have moved it, but I think it's more likely that the producers did it just to mess with them.

[rlc]

#teamShane

Lacey is insufferable. The audacity of her trying to turn everyone against Shane in advance after she’s been doing nothing.

Edited May 28, 2018 by rlc

[LittleIggy]

What happened to the peed upon animal skin that was so pivotal in the prior episode?

Poor Jeremy must have picked up a parasite or virus as soon as he got there.

Guess there is a correct way to prepare frog ? for dinner. I’m kinda glad those poor procreating frogs got their revenge. Talk about croitus interruptus.

[TipseyGirl]

I'm really liking Sarah. She is a tough cookie... What's his face thinking she was physically attracted to his know-it-all self. Uh, yeah.

[slasherboy]

I'm not good with all the names yet, but wasn't there a scene where two women were sitting together and eyeball-eater was laying with his head in the blonde's lap?  They showed it twice.  Did I just make it up?  Twice?

I was sad to see Jeremy leave but totally get it.  I know what it's like to be miserable when I'm home on my couch with chicken noodle soup, Coke, my blankie, a heating pad or ice pack ... whatever I need and want.  To be in the middle of the African wilderness (even though it may be near a nightclub or soccer game) is unimaginable.

Liking ... is it Trent?  Bushy hair?

[holly4755]

I am not sure lacey was trying to turn people against Shane. Shane is not a social animal, as can be seen when he totally ignores all the new people so he can fully yell at Lacey. usually you can say hello and then go back to yelling. I thought he was trying to warn, not get blamed for bringing him tothe group. 

[Kelda Feegle]

I was thinking that Lacey was being a bit hard on Shane, firewood and water are more importamt than sand for a bed and that is what we were shown - Lacey focussing on her bed and not on the essentials. Then she brought people back and he went full shit gibbon so what do I know?

[rlc]

Shane went full shit gibbon because she left her teammate for six+ hours without saying she would disappear for the entire day, and took the fire starter (if I recall corrrectly) with her. I’m sure Shane is not easy to be around, but Lacey is an impulsive and petulant shit stirrer.

[88Keys]

Man, I disagree.  Lacey is annoying, but Shane seems really volatile and scary.  If I were Lacey, I would be nervous about bringing more people into that dynamic, too.  

Edit:  Aaaand...never mind.  Lacey sucks.  

Edited June 4, 2018 by 88Keys

[rlc]

Told y’all.

Team everyone except Lacey.

[riverblue22]

And I used to like Lacey...

Looks like payback for her next week.

[LittleIggy]

Mel did need to tap out since she was suffering, but Lacey didn’t need to be a bitch about it. Can nobody weave? Somebody needs to try to make a trap for the catfish. They better hope that the solo dude finds them since he seems to be the only one who can hunt.

[rlc]

Oh, and Lacey saying that she doesn’t really get along with women (in the preview) tells me everything I need to know about Lacey. 

[jackjill89]

Shane would be difficult to live with. He's quite volatile and so set in his ways. That being said...Lacey is horrible. I was thinking that she took the fire starter accidentally, until later in the episode. Methinks she is quite the passive-aggressive (as well as simply aggressive) shit-stirrer. She likes to poke the bear and then play victim with Shane. 

I really like Trent. He was so kind to Mel. Don't like eyeball eater. He's too alpha. Shane is too, well, Shane. Not a lot of guys to love here. 

I know when you are out there naked, hungry and exhausted you make some stupid decisions, but I feel like after watching this show so much I'm yelling at them to try different things than they are doing. I wouldn't last a day, but these guys are supposed to have experience and they are trying to catch fish by hand? 

[88Keys]

59 minutes ago, jackjill89 said:

 

I really like Trent. He was so kind to Mel. Don't like eyeball eater. He's too alpha. Shane is too, well, Shane. Not a lot of guys to love here. 

I know when you are out there naked, hungry and exhausted you make some stupid decisions, but I feel like after watching this show so much I'm yelling at them to try different things than they are doing. I wouldn't last a day, but these guys are supposed to have experience and they are trying to catch fish by hand? 

I think eyeball eater (I love that that is what we call him) is kind of annoying, but he does bring some humor and positivity, which is probably needed in that kind of dire situation.  Trent is awesome.

And technically, catching catfish by hand (catfish noodling) is a thing.  But clearly it wasn't working here, so I agree they should have tried something different.  I also thought of a fish basket.  And didn't one of the men say that Shane and Lacey had "fishing equipment" when they were debating joining their group?  

What really bothered me the most about Lacey is that she acted like she was speaking for the whole group.  I'm not a confrontational person at all, but I think I would have gone off on her in that moment.  You don't get to speak for the rest of us.  And I agree that Mel probably needed to go, but now it feels like she mainly left because Lacey pushed her out, and that bothers me.  

[jackjill89]

45 minutes ago, 88Keys said:

I think eyeball eater (I love that that is what we call him) is kind of annoying, but he does bring some humor and positivity, which is probably needed in that kind of dire situation.  Trent is awesome.

And technically, catching catfish by hand (catfish noodling) is a thing.  But clearly it wasn't working here, so I agree they should have tried something different.  I also thought of a fish basket.  And didn't one of the men say that Shane and Lacey had "fishing equipment" when they were debating joining their group?  

What really bothered me the most about Lacey is that she acted like she was speaking for the whole group.  I'm not a confrontational person at all, but I think I would have gone off on her in that moment.  You don't get to speak for the rest of us.  And I agree that Mel probably needed to go, but now it feels like she mainly left because Lacey pushed her out, and that bothers me.  

That's right! There are people who catch them by hand. 

Are there rules about what you can/cannot hunt or food sources? I'm wondering if they can take all the figs or bananas or whatever or if they have to leave some things for the animals. I remember somewhere they couldn't hurt any monkeys. 

[LittleIggy]

I laughed when eyeball eater said that the baboons ate their figs. No, dude, you ate their figs.

[slasherboy]

There was no new episode on Sunday, was there?