Naked and Afraid

 A new season of Naked and Afraid started on the Discovery Channel last night.  As far as reality television programs go, you could not ask for more (or less if you are a fan of naked).  In Naked and Afraid, a man and a woman who have never previously met are taken separately to a remote location—say a jungle island or a remote desert— with no food or water.  Once at the designated rendezvous spot, they remove all clothing and are then released into the wild meet each other and attempt to work together as a naked survivalist team.  They must survive in the environment for twenty-one days.

The show really is pretty interesting.  A typical episode begins with a guy who is like “hey I get to be with a naked woman!  I hope she is hot.”   The woman is usually all “I hope the guy is not a total pussy and can start a fire.”   Within three or four days in the wild, the man often turns out to be a big cry-baby and has had something bad happen to his winky—as example a bug bite.  The women are often better at starting fires and are generally pretty hot.  Meanwhile, here at home on my sofa, I am still hoping the technicians who keep blurring the woman’s exposed body parts will fall asleep at the switch and accidentally expose something for me.

I will admit, at some point I honestly forget to concentrate on the fact the survivalists are naked and a kind of true concern for them begins to take footholds within me.  On a few episodes the man and woman have clashed and bonded poorly and struggled greatly.   I much prefer the episodes where the man and woman form a sold bond rather than when they clash.  Survival depends on cooperation.

Bottom line: naked TV is worth watching.

--Mitchell Hegman