TV PREVIEW
“Alone,” 10 p.m. Thursdays, History
If you think "Survivor" is tough, the History channel has upped the ante with its new survivalist show "Alone," which debuts Thursday night. Ten men — including Blairsville survivalist Alan Kay — are dropped off in isolated parts of Vancouver Island by themselves with cameras, but no camera crew.
This is not about outwitting or outplaying others. There is no social game here. Whoever lasts the longest gets $500,000. That’s all.
If they decided to leave, they had a satellite phone to call but, as Kay noted, “it couldn’t be used for chitchat.”
He entered the game by taking a one-year leave from his job at the Georgia Department of Corrections, drawn to “Alone” by the simplicity of the idea and the challenge itself.
History didn’t tell the contestants where they’d end up. A wilderness survivalist whose expertise is in the North Georgia mountains, Kay had never faced a jungle-like setting like Vancouver Island.
“It was the wettest environment I’ve ever been in,” Kay said. “Even when it wasn’t raining, the ground was wet. … Sometimes, the weather would push you back into your shelter.”
The contestants in the 10-episode series had to create dry shelter, find food, make fire and ensure they consumed clean water while keeping predators such as bears and cougars at bay. No one like Jeff Probst ever popped up to provide food prizes. And there was nobody to cuddle with — or yell at.
But Kay said the toughest part was making sure he captured everything he did for TV viewers. They were given multiple cameras and plenty of batteries. “It divided your mind mentally and physically,” Kay said. “You had your task at hand and had to figure out how to film it, too.”
He said he tried his best to convey his feelings, how vulnerable he felt, the beauty of the forest, as well as the frustrations he faced. “I tried my best to stay focused and present,” he said, “and not think too far ahead.”
Kay has four children and a wife, Stefany, none of whom were surprised by his desire to do this. “We’ve been married awhile,” he said. “She already established I’m nuts.”
In the first episode, airing Thursday, one man, terrified by stalking bears, tapped out after just one night.
Kay said the predators didn’t bug him too much. “I know I’m not at the top of the food chain here,” he said. “I’m living in their backyard. I just tried to stay hyper vigilant, knowing where they were the best I could. They hunt for a living. They’re pretty slick.”
Kay said the two key elements to staying alive were hydration and keeping his core temperature up. “That helps keep your head clear,” he said.
Kay said he was kept in the dark about the other men’s whereabouts. Even after he tapped out, he had no idea how the other contestants did. He couldn’t say how long he lasted, but he said he honestly didn’t think he was out there long enough to pocket the $500,000.
He had met the other guys before leaving and thought they all had survival skills. “It really came down to how the environment gnawed at them,” Kay said. “It was a matter of how badly you wanted it.”
