Tonight was the start of new “reality T.V. show” called “The Colony“ on Discovery Channel.  It’s an interesting show about a group of people who survive a global disaster which includes a viral break out, riots and looting that wipes out everyone and everything except them.  They have to scavenge from what’s left from an old ware house and a few surrounding areas.  There are ten people who have various skills and must get along well enough to survive.  There is no “right” way to survive so it should be interesting to see how these urban “survivors” do and how well they get along.  I think their biggest challenges will be each other. Below is a good preview...

“The Colony “- Characters

George- 34 - Doctor - OK, so I know he is a doctor but 40 days without food!?!?  Yeah right I’d like to see someone do it.  In the real world if you just opened your arms to everyone who comes along then it would probably get you into trouble at some point.  The world needs idealists though so I guess the future will too.  George doesn't really add much to the show except he seems like a nice guy and a hard worker.  I guess there isn't a whole lot of use for a doctor until someone has a health problem and lucky for the colony they didn't have any issues when George was on the show.  He gets removed from the show b/c he wonders off from the rest of the crew like a jackass and gets "kidnapped."

John V - 37 - Machinist - He seems like a hard worker.  Actually every single one of them does so far.  He seems to be a jack of all trades so far.  He did get a little excited when the new group showed up but I kind of expected all the guys to get excited from both sides. He is also very religious.  I like where his heart is at but in a survival situation I am not sure it is best to hand out your supplies no matter how good it makes you feel.  On the other hand it's not like they can't get more water at the river.  If they were smart they would make the people trade them dirty water for clean water.  There is a reason they separate church and state and I ma not sure I would want this guy in charge when his decisions are obviously solely faith based decisions.

Morgan - 23 - Aerospace Engineer - I am not sure how much practical experience a 23 yr old is going to have in her field but I guess even basic understanding will help in some way eventually.  Until then she is nothing more than another set of hands.  She does seem to be working her ass off so I guess anyone who is willing to carry their weight and work is worth their weight in gold.  Everything needs to get done right?  She also seems like she has a good head on her shoulder based on my opinions of what she said during her interviews.  She is right; there is a common courtesy that all people should be extended regardless of how horrible the situation might be.  She calls the most useful guy in the group worthless which is about the dumbest thing she says but all in all she seems to be alright.  She seems really smart.

John C - 49 - Electrical Engineer - R.I.P Sam.  This guy seems really laid back and very intelligent.  I have no idea but I think he might be the cool head when things get heated.  He doesn’t age well…49?!?!  He looks a heck of a lot more than two years older than Mike. This guy is brilliant!  This guy makes all sorts of crazy stuff from scraps laying around the warehouse.  If the world goes to hell in a hand basket I want this guy in my camp.  He seems to be just as great a guy as he is smart.  His wife shows up late in the game so I am interested to see in how if affects him for the rest of the season.

Allison - 28 - Nurse - She’s hot and she doesn’t seem to mind the conditions too much.  I like it!  She seems level headed too.  I like the way she handled mike when he “meated out” when the two bikes showed up during the second night.  If I had to restart society I would be glad she is around :)  She seemed useless, like George, until the colonists had two additional "survivors" show up and claim ownership of the colony.  Allison was the smartest and the most forceful of the whole group.  She showed so much spunk that she might be my new favorite.  Ever since then I feel her status has been elevated in the group....Good for her.

Michael  AKA “Mike” - 47- Handyman -  My money is this guy is going to be the boat rocker.  He’s going to get a in a lot of people’s faces b/c they don’t do things “his way.”  That’s just my guess.  Every time he doesn’t get his way he throws a little fit and it hasn’t even been a week yet.    It doesn’t help that he had to quit smoking drinking and all the other habits he might have.  Too bad he’s a great worker so he will be hard to minimize.  I wonder how much of this first show is him being a whiny little bitch b/c he’s having with drawl from his habits.  He is also very condescending to people…  I think this guy is my favorite.

After watching the show for several weeks I have realized that Mike is right most of the time he gets in arguements, he just has no people skills what so ever. He also really disappeared when it was time to protect the colony from the two people who claimed ownership of the colony arrived.  He talks a big game but when it was time to step up...  Allison became my new favorite in the same episode Mike lost the title.

Joey - 36 - Contractor - He comes across as someone with a lot of pride and I have a feeling he’s going to get into with Michael and a few others.  After ten weeks I think everyone will eventually fight with everyone.  Wouldn’t we all?    Watch out for this guy he’s done time!  Just kidding don’t worry about him he’s just a drug trafficker.

Leilani - 36 - Martial Arts Instructor - She admits that she is not very prepared for this.  Those who don’t have useful skills can always do things like cook, clean, gather, do laundry etc.  These things are just as important as being able to build stuff and hunt etc.  This isn’t a sexist statement.  this is reality, after all she could probably whoop everyone in the building when it’s all said and done..

Amy -34 - Marine Biologist - Does anyone have a tree to hug?  Just kidding, it’s hard to tell about this gal already.  She seems to be a hard worker so far.  She also seems really smart.

Vladimir - 62 - Mechanical Engineer – He looks a lot younger than John C.  This guy doesn’t play a real big role in this episode so he’s hard to judge so far.  He meats out in the preview for a future episode of “The Colony”.

"The Colony"-  Episode 1 - Summary

The show starts right away with everyone going through sleep deprivation for 30 hours with little food for shock.

Once they were done with their all nighters the colonists were given 15 minutes to loot an old department store which had a lot of food for some reason. After ten minutes of looting a bunch of thugs showed up and forced the colonists on their way with what they had already gathered. They were then forced to hike eight miles through the Los Angeles River (It’s hardly a river.) to their sanctuary for the next ten weeks of their survival. I bet that river is so nasty.  I’m surprised no one caught anything or their feet didn’t fall off.

Their survival shelter consists of an 80,000 square foot ware house on a three acre plot of land.  Their warehouse or sanctuary has a ton of tools.  I think they should have no problem what so ever surviving.  Although they are totally off the grid with no electricity and no running water so we shall see…

Once they arrived at their sanctuary they immediately started exploring and taking inventory.  In any survival situation there are three essentials, water, food and shelter.  Once you have those three things you must protect them from those who might want to take you survival supplies or resources. Upon arrival at their new shelter they found things like a flashlight, batteries, additional food and being that the building used to be an old factory there were plenty of tools and materials to work with.

One of their main priorities upon arrival was to secure a way to purify water.   They actually have a pretty ingenious idea.  They grab a 55 gallon trash can and poke holes in the bottom. Next, they take sand and charcoal that they find in their yard and layer them in the garbage can with the holes in the bottoms.  First they put in the layer of sand the crushed charcoal and then they repeat so there is one layer of sand then a layer of charcoal and then another layer of sand followed by charcoal and finally one last layer of sand.  (The more layers the better) To clean the water of nasty impurities you just pour the water into the top of the garbage can and the sand and charcoal work to remove the impurities like algae, road runoff and pesticides from the water.    Then they boil it once it has the garbage removed from the water to kill the remaining bacteria.   I guess that means now they needs to find a way to make fire!

In a perfect world if you need to purify water and you don’t have a faucet or electricity.  This is the best gravity powered water filter / purifier on the market.

They also found matches and fire kindling and fuel to create fire for cooking all the food stuff they have found.  At least they have the ability to kill any germs that might be in their water or food.  Water…check…fire …check…shelter…check…next priority…the crapper!

I personally would dig a hole in the yard and use it for my rest room.  Heck I might even go outside the gate and use an adjacent building to do my business.  They find a bathroom which of course has no running water and is nasty!!  However the nice thing is they found out that the toilets could be flushed manually with lots of water.  I guess they need to start bringing toilet water back from the river now too.

Before bed they created some beds out of crates, cardboard and 2 box springs and some fabric or drapery as one of them called it.  They are not going to be comfy

At bedtime they set up a security watch but the watchman, Mike,  stood out in the middle of the area so everyone could see him.  You got to hide Michael!  While Michael was messing around with things someone came and banged on one of the doors and scared the crap out of Michael.  (I can’t say I would blame him.)  Had he been hidden in a corner in the shadows watching like he should have been he would have a better idea of where the sound came from.

I like how Mike started talking smack after the goon left even though he was scared to death.    That building would be so easy to get into if someone wanted to get in.

Four new people are introduced to the group without being announced on the second day.  The first survivors are still rattled from the night before so when the new people are introduced and they knock on the door the people already inside are scared to death.  The people inside are taking it a little too seriously and I think Allison is having a hard time not laughing.   Eventually the two groups make friends and now there are ten of them instead of six.

Once the two groups hug it out…

They decide the best way to get to know each together is over a meal and I can’t disagree with them.  The prayer thing isn’t going to last and neither are the family meals they got going on.  Once again that night there is someone who comes and bangs on the door and scares the crap out of everyone.  This time Mike flips out b/c they didn’t go out and fight the two guys and take their bike. Mike forgets that they might have guns and I still believe the best way to survive a confrontation is to not get in one.  Passive defense Mike!    I like Allison…  I like how the girls told Mike how it is….

The third day starts with them trying to get power.  Mike takes charge and owns it by linking a bunch of batteries together and getting enough power for them to have light.  Now they just need to find a way to charge the batteries.

Finally with the electricity situation being solved and food being somewhat plentiful they realize they have very little water with the additional survivors arriving the day before.    John V and Mike come up with an idea to set up a system that keeps plenty of water stocked and ready to drink.  It’s actually pretty ingenious and it’s just in time b/c rainfall is on the way and they need to find somewhere to keep all the rain water they capture from the roof.    It seems everyone pitches in to get the group a lot of water.  It was refreshing to see everyone helping.

There is going to be some tension between the men and the women lead by Mike from the guys.  The ladies are already complaining that they seem to be getting the laundry, cooking jobs.  I say if you don’t want those jobs then pick up some tools and get to work and quit worrying about your role.  In a disaster situation there isn’t a lot whole of tolerance for those who bitch about the work they have to do.

Our Thoughts about – “The Colony” Survival TV Show

You can see a lot of our thoughts above but it’s a great idea for a show.  We would however like to see a few changes, like maybe another competing group and each group controls a vital resource…I digress.  It is a great question and I hope they didn’t make this show to show us what’s really going to happen.  The best way to survive is to have a plan and that’s one thing these people were not able to do to.  They weren’t allowed any supplies and in a real life situation I bet you would have some of those bonuses.  What if there is some sort of catastrophic event that forced us all to fend for ourselves?  Do you think you can do it?

There were times throughout the show that it seemed like some of the people were having a hard time not laughing.  I understand that it has got to be a little hard to take it serious in the first day or two so some of the antic I would find funny as well.  They have to know that no one is going to hurt them.

Where did they get the plants for their garden?

We also think they were given waaaay to many resources.  They need to do this in the woods and give them some tools etc and see if they can survive.  Anyone else find it cool that the two guys with the least amount of education seem to be the most fit  and provide the most value for the situation.

“The Colony”  tv show on the Discovery Channel is pretty good and has lots of potential.  We’ll be watching next week.

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