I have my Direct TV box set to record the whole series, the last two seasons I did miss episodes through forgetfulness, this season if I forget it's on I can watch it when ever.
Last nights episode one was a wake up call for two of the competitors, Sam Larson had a momentary flash back of his first experience on Alone in which the stresses of the experience caused him to break down, the loneliness of missing his family, and guilt of not being with his wife when their baby was born all came together to cause him to push the Tap Out button, but he rallied and got back to building his temporary shelter.
Carliegh on the other hand (no pun intended) had a freak fishing accident right out of the gate, I say freak accident because I've never seen an incident where a fish caught a fisherman with a fish hook, she actually caught the fish, but in the process of trying to control the wiggling fish the hook came loose and buried itself deep into her right hand, after a full day of trying to get it out (it was buried in the tendon that controls thumb movement) she was forced to tap out to avoid any further damage to her hand and prevent a serious infection.
I felt bad for her, it's got to be tough to have that much of yourself invested in something and be disqualified in just 5 days because of something like that, on the other hand even though she stuck it out for a long time on her previous try (86 days), she's young and has a certain innocents about her that robs one of the confidence that she could make it to the finish line.
The survivalist that I have a tendency to route for is Nicole, she did well on her first try (55 days), like Sam, the loneliness and missing her family got to her, I also think her illness played a role in her decision to Tap Out and go home, though she had been lamenting over her continuing on, the decision to Tap came pretty quick.
The thing for me that separates her in my mind from the rest is her resilience and fight, back in 2003 she was diagnosed with MS, it's a debilitating illness, one that robs the person affected of motor skills, balance, speech, sight, and reasoning ability, most people who have it don't survive or function for very long, Nicole has taken an aggressive role in fighting the illness with diet and lifestyle changes, and has kept physically fit and emotionally strong, at 50 years old and having fought a debilitating illness for the last 15 years (a lot longer than most MS sufferers survive) she's competing in a contest that most young people with her survival skills wouldn't even attempt, and deserves a lot of credit.
Next week we get to meet more of the competitors and hear their stories.
