It is one of the strangest television shows I believe ever produced. Deprived of basic comforts, exposed to harsh natural elements; your fate is at the mercy of people you have never met. Stranded somewhere perhaps on a remote island or in the jungle, you are forced to band together and carve out a new existence, using the collective wits of all the people involved to survive in a rugged and primitive environment.

Different tests, from the elements, to the weather, to dangerous animals, tests the endurance of the group every day. Then every three days or so there is a one hour episode of this TV show in which the “survivors” must form their own cooperative society; building shelter, gathering and catching food, and participating in various contests for certain rewards. Those who succeed i…