Alone Australia

[Vader]

Thanks for your extensive reply - I guess with Suzan if she's not being shown regularly enough it doesn't make sense that she'd be the winner. From all accounts, it's very likely to be Andreas surely?

I wouldn't be making that assumption. It's more a case of her not turning in much in the way of interesting footage. She hasn't caught any fish, and hasn't done much hunting. She hasn't sung any stupid songs. She hasn't done any creative craft work. We did get to see her doing a fire dance. The producers don't seem to find foraging to be exciting viewing, so we've seen very little of her.

She seems to be the kind of person who is remarkably competent when it comes to surviving in the bush, but not someone who makes a lot of entertaining footage while she's going about the business of surviving. Remember, they're making a TV show, which is supposed to be entertaining - if someone is not "entertaining" then they're not going to have a lot of footage included in the show.

 

[Vader]

Tonight is the final episode of S2, with 3 contestants still standing. Who will win? How long will they last (or, more to the point, how long will the runner-up survive)?

I'm tipping that we'll see some fairly major time jumps tonight, particularly once it gets down to the final 2. Last week we saw the time go from 37 days to 54 days, and I'm expecting something similar (if not moreso) this time around.

The end of Ep 9 saw K in a bad place. His body is shutting down. He hasn't had any protein, and even his vegetation intake has been fairly minimal. The previews showed him vomiting, and someone being told that they were being pulled due to medical reasons. The production team haven't demonstrated any ability to pull off a misdirection (they haven't shown much ability to do anything), so I'm guessing K will be pulled out - and it will happen early in tonight's episode.

That will leave us with Suzan & Andreas...

Andreas has been the red hot favourite from very early in the game. He's caught more (5) fish than anyone else, and he also caught a possum. However, those meals are now a distant memory, and he's now struggling for calories. The last episode saw him wandering far & wide, in search of calories, burning far more calories in gathering food than he gained from the eating. He's a big guy, and his body needs a lot of calories, just to sustain itself. His body is nowhere near as broken as K's, but his lack of food is definitely starting to take a toll. How long can he continue to survive?

Suzan is the dark horse. She started the game poorly, forced to spend 5 days in bed due to gastro, the result of eating berries she found on the ground. She then decided to move her camp, to be closer to the beach - a move which would have cost her a lot of energy. Like K, she hasn't caught a damn thing (other than gastro). Unlike K, I believe she's done a much better job of supplementing her diet through foraging. She is the only one of the final 3 who is not complaining about their body, or a lack of food. Foraging doesn't make for exciting TV, and she hasn't made anything crafty, so barely any of her footage has made it into the final cut.

Who will emerge victorious? My bet is Suzan, with Andreas as runner-up.

 

[Vader]

I must admit that I'm not a fan of the show's production decisions this season. I'm not talking about their choice of location, which has been a massive upgrade on the dingy hell-hole that was Tasmania. I'm talking about them spending a lot of time building up storylines, then failing to follow through on them. The producers of AA have obviously never heard of Chekov's Gun.

Issues...

• At the end of one episode, we finished with Jack hunting deer. He'd seen them on his trail cam, and was close enough to hear them grunting warnings to each other. Would he make a kill? It's a classic cliff-hanger ending. The next time we see him (the next episode), he's back at his campsite. There's no resolution, other than the obvious conclusion that he failed. Surely he filmed footage of himself trying, failing, and giving up on hunting the deer?
• We spent half an episode watching K build a spinning wheel, and going through the process of spinning rope, to supplement the paracord he'd taken with him (I'm still wondering how he managed to use it all up). What did he build with the rope? We'll never know. We saw the rope being made, but never used.
• Similarly, Suzan found the dead possum, and decided that one of the bones would be a good needle. We saw her using the lure she made from the fur, but we've never seen her using the needle. What did she make? What did she fix? We'll never know, because the producers have never heard of Chekov's Gun.
• Suzan is now one of the 2 favourites to win the entire game, yet the only things we've seen her eat are the ground berries (which gave her gastro), and a tablespoon of sedge grass seeds. I know it's not exciting watching someone foraging for vegetation-based foods, but it's absolutely necessary when this diet takes them all the way to the final-2.
• Useless Leanne was given significant airtime in the first 2 episodes. Any airtime she was given, beyond showing her being picked up after tapping, was a complete waste, and should have been allocated to other (more worthy) contestants.

I get that the participants are filming themselves, and sometimes the producers just don't have any usable footage of things that happen. However, it's inconceivable that K didn't record himself building things with the rope he'd made, or Suzan not filming her foraging or using of the bone needle. That the producers chose not to show them is a massive failing.

 

[Sqotty from office works]

I refuse to watch the catch up with Hamish.
Producer of this series needs to be shot

 

[Vader]

I refuse to watch the catch up with Hamish.
Producer of this series needs to be shot

Agree 100%. Should be Gina hosting the reunion.

 

[Vader]

For those who are interested, SBS will be showing Alone S10 (US version), starting next Tuesday (4/6/24).

SBS VICELAND & SBS VICELAND HD
8:30pm - Alone S10E01 - Before the Drop
9:25pm - Alone S10E02 - Game On

Alone S11 (US) starts in the US on 13th June, and will probably be available through "other means" shortly thereafter. Expect it to appear on SBS in 2025.

 

[MrsBlueSky]

I watched Alone Grzzly Mountain of Season 8 today on SBS.
It was a pity to see Theresa go - just like Outback Mike did last year in Tassie.
She admitted she was a bag of bones and a 30 year old horse would be in better shape.
Clay was really good at surviving and said everyone should get hungry enough to suck the eyeballs out of a hare, but I don't think Tamika would like to be that hungry.
They certainly pick contestants who know what to do out in the bush.
I'm not looking forward to tonight and won't be watching Hamish afterwards.

 

[TheEscapeClub]

Wow, that's pretty amazing.

 

[JamisonRun40]

Yet again no food available. You cannot stay out there with no food for over 60 days. Congrats to the last four contestants and especially to K for taking out the win. I don't think he would of lasted much longer.

 

[JamisonRun40]

I love K's reaction but he hasn't said anything about his partner and where she is. Can someone give him a hug and something to eat. I swear the first thing I would want would be a great big cup of tea then toast with jam.

 

[MrsBlueSky]

I didn't watch it on the internet tonight, so didn't know K won.
I'm amazed his body withstood so much punishment without food.
I think it's due to metabolism or something and perhaps if Andreas's body was built the same then he would have won without food for the last couple of weeks.
Anyway I'm glad that's over. It this season was a major disappointment to me and i won't be watching next year if it's on.

 

[Gak Attack]

He was mentally strong and deserved that but the other two would struggle watching that as I reckon K was about to be pulled.

 

[Vader]

Geez, I really know how to pick them don't I.

Last week I predicted that Tamika was the only certainty to go through to the final episode. Who was the only person to tap in Ep 9? Tamika.

This week, I predicted that K would be pulled early in the episode, on medical grounds. To be fair, they were ready to pull him, it's just that Suzan pulled the plug before they could do it.

How bad would Suzan feel, watching that - knowing that he was right on the verge of being pulled on medical grounds? She would have won, if she'd hung around for another 24 hours. It's exactly the situation she described in her monologues to camera.

 

[StingBitten]

Cool win, K was such a positive dude with a really interesting personality.

Was hard to get too emotionally invested in his win as he had such little screen time (odd) compared to Gina. Obviously a shame he didn't catch fish, but this game isn't about appealing to the masses it's about survival.

And Hamish hosting the reunion? Can't wait for Nathan G/Osher for the next one.

 

[MrsBlueSky]

Watching people starve themselves to death is one thing. Tormenting a poor bloke who they say had to be medically extracted because of his starvation and then say he was the winner is next level disgusting.
That female producer has absolutely no idea what Alone is all about...and it's not about starving people to death and then kicking the boots in by tormenting them even more by that cruel stunt that made the show look like it should be on the Dark Web.
You won't be seeing me next year.

 

[StingBitten]

Watching people starve themselves to death is one thing. Tormenting a poor bloke who they say had to be medically extracted because of his starvation and then say he was the winner is next level disgusting.
That female producer has absolutely no idea what Alone is all about...and it's not about starving people to death and then kicking the boots in by tormenting them even more by that cruel stunt that made the show look like it should be on the Dark Web.
You won't be seeing me next year.

Interesting take, I didn't see it like that but many did comment it was a bit tacky.

SBS seem to be in this odd place where they want to retain their core production roots (low-key, realistic and widespread) with a blend of modern commercial TV, ie Hamish Blake, suspenseful music and editing, focusing on people missing their families etc. That ending with K seemed to be an attempt to be ultra dramatic... The dude had literally puked his guts up, looked on the verge of mental and physical collapse - no time for games from the producers just explain he won the ****ing show and move on.

At the end of the reunion they showed some bush craft for 5 mins, was literally the best part and is the primary REASON most people tune it to shoes like Alone instead of Survivor. We aren't interested in the drama and gimmicks we want to see cool survival stuff, imagine if they had focused half the eps on everyone's unique knowledge around shelter building etc instead of the incessant 'argh I'm so hungry I wanna tap I miss my fam'.

Completely out of touch with the common viewer.

 

[Vader]

It was definitely a strange one. They really did have no choice but to pull him out, given his physical condition.

It must have been a regularly scheduled medical check-up, given that his partner hadn't arrived in NZ yet, so it wasn't the usual "fake check-up while the partner sneaks up on the winner" type of thing. I suspect they were not expecting him to be in such bad physical condition. He must have gone downhill rapidly, since his previous check.

The timing was definitely unfortunate - his body deteriorating to that point, the day after Suzan left the game, and before his partner (Erin) could make her way to NZ.

I don't believe there was anything that the producers could do. They couldn't safely leave him out there, for even another day.

 

[Vader]

Interesting take, I didn't see it like that but many did comment it was a bit tacky.

SBS seem to be in this odd place where they want to retain their core production roots (low-key, realistic and widespread) with a blend of modern commercial TV, ie Hamish Blake, suspenseful music and editing, focusing on people missing their families etc. That ending with K seemed to be an attempt to be ultra dramatic... The dude had literally puked his guts up, looked on the verge of mental and physical collapse - no time for games from the producers just explain he won the ****ing show and move on.

Choosing Hamish Blake as the reunion host was just bizarre. Surely Gina Chick would have been an infinitely better option?

I agree with your comments about the ending.

At the end of the reunion they showed some bush craft for 5 mins, was literally the best part and is the primary REASON most people tune it to shoes like Alone instead of Survivor. We aren't interested in the drama and gimmicks we want to see cool survival stuff, imagine if they had focused half the eps on everyone's unique knowledge around shelter building etc instead of the incessant 'argh I'm so hungry I wanna tap I miss my fam'.

Completely out of touch with the common viewer.

If that's what you think, then you really don't understand what Alone is all about. Alone is not just about survival, it's about being Alone - and people's ability to cope with that, both mentally & emotionally. Bush craft is nice to see, but it's a very, very, distant 3rd priority behind survival skills and seeing the mental/emotional impact of being alone for prolonged period of time.

Don't get me wrong, they probably spent too much time with some of the sob stories - and any airtime whatsoever given to Useless Leanne was a criminal waste of bandwidth. However, to suggest that this stuff isn't fundamental to the show, is to miss the point of the show completely.

 

[Sqotty from office works]

Hope SBS are reading this thread.

 

[Vader]

Hope SBS are reading this thread.

I doubt it. They're very happy with the TV and SBS on Demand numbers. It's the highest rating locally-produced show on the entire network.

 

[MrsBlueSky]

Choosing Hamish Blake as the reunion host was just bizarre. Surely Gina Chick would have been an infinitely better option?

I agree with your comments about the ending.

If that's what you think, then you really don't understand what Alone is all about. Alone is not just about survival, it's about being Alone - and people's ability to cope with that, both mentally & emotionally. Bush craft is nice to see, but it's a very, very, distant 3rd priority behind survival skills and seeing the mental/emotional impact of being alone for prolonged period of time.

Don't get me wrong, they probably spent too much time with some of the sob stories - and any airtime whatsoever given to Useless Leanne was a criminal waste of bandwidth. However, to suggest that this stuff isn't fundamental to the show, is to miss the point of the show completely.

I was there only to watch the survival skills.
I could not care less if they are missing their mum or are hungry and definitely don't want to know about Tamika's bleeding.
I want to see how they go about problem solving, hunting and building things.
Saw SFA about what I was watching for.

 

[Vader]

I was there only to watch the survival skills.
I could not care less if they are missing their mum or are hungry and definitely don't want to know about Tamika's bleeding.
I want to see how they go about problem solving, hunting and building things.
Saw SFA about what I was watching for.

Those are all PART of what they should be showing. However, the show is called "Alone" - and it's about how people cope with being alone, in the bush, with no (extremely limited) contact with other people for a prolonged time. It's as much about their mental & emotional states, as it is about their physical state.

 

[StingBitten]

Choosing Hamish Blake as the reunion host was just bizarre. Surely Gina Chick would have been an infinitely better option?

I agree with your comments about the ending.

If that's what you think, then you really don't understand what Alone is all about. Alone is not just about survival, it's about being Alone - and people's ability to cope with that, both mentally & emotionally. Bush craft is nice to see, but it's a very, very, distant 3rd priority behind survival skills and seeing the mental/emotional impact of being alone for prolonged period of time.

Don't get me wrong, they probably spent too much time with some of the sob stories - and any airtime whatsoever given to Useless Leanne was a criminal waste of bandwidth. However, to suggest that this stuff isn't fundamental to the show, is to miss the point of the show completely.

Maybe I was on a bit of a vent, naturally the mental anguish plays a huge role particularly in the latter stages - but there was almost no bush-craft focus this year.

For me it's actually interesting as it paints the unique personality traits each contestant has, for example I was surprised to learn most of the contestants thought K had the best shelter - seeing as he didn't eat any protein some people might've thought he was lucky to win it. But I imagine his shelter would've played a massive part.

 

[StingBitten]

Hope SBS are reading this thread.

Why would they read BigFooty? Lol.

They do read the Alone subreddit and some of the former contestant peruse/comment on it, particularly Kate from last season.

The trouble with Reddit is that like much of social media the shortest, most biting comments receive the most upvotes.

Anything with substance gets the TL;DR format.

 

[StingBitten]

I was there only to watch the survival skills.
I could not care less if they are missing their mum or are hungry and definitely don't want to know about Tamika's bleeding.
I want to see how they go about problem solving, hunting and building things.
Saw SFA about what I was watching for.

I imagine to really get into it you'd need to follow their socials/streaming platforms, I followed Mike after last year and found a wealth of knowledge that they really hone into.