In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

Last night, I watched the premiere of the Discovery Channel’s second season of “The Colony” ‘reality’ show. “The Colony” attempts to answer the questions: “What would you do in the wake of a global catastrophe? Even if you survived it, could you survive the aftermath?”

The show brings together an eclectic group of “colonists” and puts them down in a post-pandemic world (actually 10 acres of abandoned neighborhood on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana left decimated by Hurricane Katrina, a naturally occurring disaster zone that was slated to be bulldozed and turned into a public park.)

It is in that stark environment of empty buildings, weedy streets and the backwoods that the colonists will be working over the 10 episodes to scavenge essentials for survival from their surroundings while fending off threats such as wild animals and malicious outsiders without electricity, running water, government or outside communication.

The show also includes features on-going play-by-play commentary experts in homeland security, engineering, psychology and the medical community. Unlike the “Survivor” show, the colonists aren’t eliminated in a tribal council every week; instead, the emphasis on how they will work together as a team to survive.

I found the first episode pretty engaging. Of course, I will admit that I like — much to my wife’s consternation — a lot of reality shows. But at least this one (unlike “The Bachelorette” or “Top Chef”) I could tell her I was watching  for my work.

In fact, while it is heavy on the drama — about half the first show involved fistfights between the “colonists” and some interlopers — the show makes you consider how you would react in the event of a major catastrophe and think about your own self sufficiency. It will be intriguing to people interested in the topic of disaster response and survival skills. I probably will be checking in and out of the show of the next 10 weeks.

For more more information on “The Colony” including schedule information, click here.