Survival Shows
Which shows are good for information and which are just good entertainment
Netflix is quickly becoming the alternative to cable television. Personally, I have not had cable for over 5 years, and have used Netflix as an alternative without any regrets.
For those of us out there that like a good survival show, it may be hard to find one that is not all Hollywood hype and “reality” Tv. However, here are a few of the best survival shows on Netflix. Take them as they are, entertainment and a base point from which to build a skill set upon.
Sorry folks but this isn’t survival…
For those which are wanting the Walking Dead to be part of the survival list, I hate to disappoint. It is not a survival show and therefore will not be expounded upon. And let us be honest, if you really think that a zombie apocalypse is on its way, you probably have bigger issues to worry about!
Number One: Doomsday Preppers:
What I like about this show is not so much the fact that the show focuses on the extreme prepper, but rather on the variation of the things to prepare for. It sheds a bit of light on the fact that there are multiple scenarios which could result in a survival situation.
As the name would suggest, this is one of an many apocalypse shows on Netflix. Yet for the streaming content of the show it provides the following:
· What and what not to do
· Shows that although you may be prepping for certain event all events have a core list of needs
· Shows the viewer how it is easy to go to an extreme in prepping
While I do not like the negative “crazy” portrayal of characters on the show, I can applaud the prepper show for at least trying to show the need for abundant supplies.
Number Two: Dual Survival
More in line with the survivalist, and perhaps one of the best survival tv shows is dual survival. For the prepper and survivalist, it is a more realistic look at surviving in various situations.
What makes this show ideal for the survivalist is that the show’s focus is on demonstrating bushcraft skills such as fire making, water purification and gathering, shelter construction, fishing, gathering berries, etc.
There has been some talk that Netflix may not be streaming the show for much longer, so you may have to use HULU, Vudu, or another source to watch the show.
Number Three: Man, Woman, Wild:
This is much like the man vs. wild show which is so popular for the survival show genre. However, in this series there is a husband and wife team which tries to live in inhospitable situations.
The majority of the show is based upon a husband teaching the wife how to survive in the wild, so for those of you which may have problems with a show that depicts the main woman character as being a bit clueless, you may just want to stick with man vs wild.
Those which have no problem with it, you will find that Mykel Hawke and Ruth England give a nice performance. Though the drama can tend to get a bit too far in the reality tv realm.
Number Four: Surviorman:
This is our top pick in terms of a useful survivor show on netfilx. The show’s premise is around Lee Stroud who goes into the wild armed with just his camera and what he carrier (or so the show says). The filmmaking is set up to where is appears to be just him and the camera against the wild.
Now, there is a “monitoring” (aka the production team) team for him in case of an emergency, but the presentation of the show gives us the impression that he is out there working on his own in surviving.
Better still the show teaches the would be prepper and survivalist how to make it for at least a week in the wild (which is good as most bug out bags are only good for 5 days at most).
Don’t rely just upon the shows.
Common sense would tell you not to rely upon just the television for your survivalist information. You will need to take the skills which are presented and build upon them so that you will have a realistic grasp on how to survive in a catastrophic situation.
Where the shows may be labeled as survival shows, or prepper shows, the truth is that they are entertainment media. Do not build your skillset based on such alone. Instead, get some books, look at some videos, make your own plans and strategies and practice those so that you will be prepared.
Who knows, if you get good enough at it you may have your own show streaming on Netflix before long.