Returning Series: “Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment”
March 31, 2009 by Healthy Shana
Could you survive the cold, frigid wilderness that is Alaska? Well these nine daring people who abandoned civilization to test their ability to survive in one of the most physically and mentally tough environments in the world said that they could.
Over the course of their month-long expedition they had to forage for food, find shelter, and just try to survive with decreasing daylight and encounters with wild animals.
They weren’t being offered a million dollar prize or seven-figure job at the end of their journey. Their reward was the chance to have a life-changing experience — the potential to never see their lives the same way again…they just wanted to take on the challenge that is the Alaska Experiment.
Stay tuned as I introduce you to the 9 volunteers over the next couple weeks.
Watch a clip below that I found on youtube for a potential contestant. Hopefully she made it.
And if you missed anything from Season 1, check out the “controversial” Wise Family. I believe they had they most commentary than any other contestant from last season.
Image Credit: Drew Nicolello / Discovery Channel
New Show Alert: “Dark Days in Monkey City” Animal Planet
February 17, 2009 by Healthy Shana
“Dark Days in Monkey City” is an intensely visual series that reveals intense tales of love, treachery, betrayal and triumph among several monkey characters including Portia, Lear, Hector, Gemini and Pandora.
A new series by Animal Planet takes the style of graphic novel animation and live action along with star voice-over talent, and brings a wholly unique primate drama to the smallscreen.
The channel described the premise as an adventure within the jungles of the isle of Sri Lanka - in the deserted city of Polonnaruwa, also known as Monkey City, where large populations of toque macaques live on the streets and have turned it into a savage battlefield.
The series will premier on Animal Planet on Tuesday, February 24th 10PM EST
Watch the Press Video for the new show below.
New Show Alert: “Jockeys” Animal Planet
January 30, 2009 by Healthy Shana
Have you ever needed to win so badly that you would be willing to break 50 bones just to do it? What about winning but never really getting any recognition? Well that’s what Jockey’s usually face when they compete and Animal Planet is now taking a look at this profession.
Jockeys are normally self employed, nominated by horse trainers to ride their horses in races, for a fee (which is paid regardless of the prize money the horse earns for a race) and a cut of the purse winnings.
I had not really gotten into the sport until the Kentucky Derby event in 2008 and all the publicity that was placed around the horse that was hurt. To be honest I still don’t know much about the industry but I can saw that some people might argue against the sport and the industry in itself and the cruelty that take place. I was browsing around and found blog by Adam Spradling where he says “however, it could also put a bad spin on the industry and misrepresent the majority of the horse world, jockeys, or horses. If the show is purely entertainment driven, then the episodes will be edited to squeeze in the most possible”.
Watch the preview for the show below which airs on Animal Planet on Friday, February 6th 9PM ET/PT
Image Credit: Donald Mirale / Animal Planet
New Show Alert: Heli-Loggers TLC
January 29, 2009 by Healthy Shana
TLC Announced a new adventure logging series called Heli-Loggers on its Thursday night schedule beginning February 5, 2009
Premiering at 10 PM ET/PT, Heli-Loggers transports viewers to the rain forest of Northern British Columbia, where a rowdy group of loggers risk their lives to provide the world with lumber, a resource often taken for granted. Performing one of the most dangerous jobs, the loggers use an enormous Boeing Chinook helicopter the only one of its kind in Canada as they work against the clock, battling perilous terrain and extreme weather. They do this all while maintaining an eco-friendly, environmentally sustainable mission.
Watch the video clip below which will demonstrate the process of Heli- Logging
Source: TLC Press Release
New Show Alert: One Way Out - Discovery Channel
January 22, 2009 by Healthy Shana
Tied to his kitchen table with a live scorpion trapped inside his mouth or locked inside a box on top of a shaking washing machine with his body covered in 200,000 agitated bees, Jonathan is always on the lookout for new and extreme ways to test the art and physics of escape and find that ONE WAY OUT. He is joined by his best friend and chief collaborator Mikey Nelson and master builder/engineer Terry Stroud.
The science of escape and the art of ingenuity gets put to the test as escapologist Jonathan Goodwin attempts to break out of bizarre and dangerous homemade contraptions in the series One Way Out, premiering Monday, January 26th @ 9pm E/P - only on Discovery.
One Way Out - Premieres January 26th @ 9pm on Discovery! * - A funny movie is a click away
Image Credit: Van T. Carlson / Discovery Channel
Treasure Quest premiers Discovery Channel
January 19, 2009 by Healthy Shana
When I saw this show title I immediately thought of the online game, “Jewel Quest” where you locate jewels and earn points. But this new show on Discovery Channel doesn’t have anyone earning points. Treasure Quest is a search for sunken treasure on the ocean floor and follows the undersea salvage work of the Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration.
The show consists of an 11-part series, which debuted back on January 15th at 10 PM EST. As a viewer we get to go along for the hunt for the Merchant Royal, a trading ship which was loaded with gold, silver and other jewels. The ship went down in the English Channel back in 1614.
Watch the video below of Odyssey Marine Exploration’s SS Republic shipwreck which was discovered nearly 1700 feet deep. The SS Republic was a Civil War-era paddlewheel steamer which sank in 1865 and was discovered back in 2003 by Odyssey.
Read more
New Show Alert: Whale Wars
October 31, 2008 by Healthy Shana
New show set to premier on Animal Planet on November 7th could be called a cross between “Deadliest Catch” and “Cops.”
Whale Wars follows the efforts of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as it battles alleged illegal whaling operations at the bottom of the world.
Here’s a post from the NYT’s Dot Earth blog about some of the tactics and issues that arose during the production.
Watch below as Rivr Media executive Lori Stryer of Knoxville (and former WATE news personality) talks about Rivr Media’s new Animal Planet project, “Whale Wars.” Video by Terry Morrow. Edited by Willow Nero.
New Show Alert: Destroyed in Seconds
October 29, 2008 by Healthy Shana
Ron Pitts, an eight-year veteran of the NFL and FOX Sports broadcaster, transitions from the world of high-impact collisions with 300 pound linebackers to the world’s most shocking and explosive catastrophes caught on tape.
He will be hosting Discovery Channel’s DESTROYED IN SECONDS.
Watch below as Ron takes us through a mid air jet crash
Image Source: Discovery Channel
Super Slow Motion w/ Discovery’s Time Warp
October 22, 2008 by Healthy Shana
Ever wondered how exactly a face contorts when punched? Or how someone is able to juggle things like chainsaws without injury? Discovery Channel’s new series TIME WARP makes the invisible become visible.
The new series premiered with back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, October 15.
The first two episodes of TIME WARP revealed the visual spectacle of extreme slow motion as a martial artist breaks a stone slab, an industrial-strength blender obliterates a video camera, and an acrobatic dog catches a Frisbee mid-air.
TIME WARP’s host, MIT scientist and teacher Jeff Lieberman, uses the latest in high-speed photo technology to capture and examine ordinary — and extraordinary — life on super slow-motion cameras.
This new Discovery Channel series captures everything from everyday events like a cat licking its paw or a cork being popped out of a champagne bottle, to not-so-ordinary events like a water balloon hitting someone’s face or a raw piece of chicken exploding — at up to 10,000 frames per second.
The series airs on Discovery Channel on Wednesday’s at 8PM EST. style="color: black; font-family: Batang">Watch below as mind bending slow motion takes a look at the skin after being punched.
New Show Alert: Living With the Wolfman
October 16, 2008 by Healthy Shana
Show Name: LIVING WITH THE WOLFMAN
Premieres Tuesday, October 21, at 10 PM ET/PT
Network: Discovery Channel
Shaun Ellis is a British wolf expert. To him, wolves are not only his work – they’re his family. For years, Shaun has been sleeping, eating and living with wolves at the Combe Martin Wildlife Park in Devon, England, successfully infiltrating the pack and becoming its peacemaker.
He has immersed himself in this social construct and his ultimate goal is to promote a greater human understanding of wolves while helping to re-grow wolf populations. Shaun had surrendered himself to the idea that he’d grow old with only the wolves by his side – that is, until Helen Jeffs entered the picture.
Helen is Shaun’s girlfriend – his “human love.” She completely accepts Shaun’s peculiar lifestyle and the sacrifices he’s made for the wolves. In fact, Helen has a passion for the wolves as well.
In the new Animal Planet series, LIVING WITH THE WOLFMAN, Helen, with Shaun’s guidance, changes many of human habits to make living with the wolves possible. She learns to growl, bark and bite her way to authority, holds a strict high-protein/no sugar diet. Find out about this strange couple this season on LIVING WITH THE WOLFMAN.
Watch below as Shaun and Helen practice howling.
Image Source: Wolf experts Shaun Ellis and Helen Jeffs with a wolf. Photographer:Brendan Corr / Getty Images