The Colony

[Guest FiddleDog]

I just discovered this show on the discovery channel. It's an interesting social experiment that take 10 strangers and psychshock them (36 hour sleep/sensory depro - not counting noise) and place them in a post apocalyptic scenario. The drama of personalities is pretty banal, but there were some good things learned. They show how to build a gasifier to produce wood gas to run a geri-rigged generator that was made out of an alternator and a pressure washer engine. Some cool stuff to learn. If you can stomach the people, there's some neat stuff. I'm about six episodes into the first season.

[Sandman]

There use to be a huge thread on both seasons. Use the search feature to find it if you want. I liked the show and wish it was still on.

[ryansf]

Sounds interesting, ill have to get in hulu.

[Guest HvyMtl]

Yes, there was limits to the show. Obviously, the colonists could not have firearms, and there were several other limits, so they would not get massive injuries. However, they did have good info on how to do and make things. Like water filtration, gassifier for running combustion engines, windmill powered generator, etc.

I am wondering if they will have a third season.

Side note: Remind yourself of the limits, and the fact it is an "exercise" often, as the colonists lack of survival knowledge (such as keeping a secure camp) is frustrating.

Edited November 14, 2011 by HvyMtl

[Guest FiddleDog]

I was really interested in the "low-tech" that was popping up. I think that the show relied a bit too heavily on an aspect of that lifestyle that they couldn't actually explore due to liability reasons. It did feel a bit scripted often, and I immediately was suspicious of a 23 year rocket scientist (that's a field that requires graduate work...at 23, the only thing that she could have been was a freshly graduated engineer student that either has no experience in the field or is at an entry level position whose responsibilities were limited to coffee and proof reading.)

The low-tech electrical system was awesome. I wanted to see more of that. I could do without listening to the do-nothings of the group constantly back bite and undermine the actual producing members of the show...but I guess thats a part or reality.

I did think that it was funny that the new-age techno hippy was the one who was all about battlewagons, cattle prods and flame throwers....

[monkeylizard]

I think Season 1 was better than Season 2. They built more stuff in 1, but had to roam around more in 2 which added something. All in all, Season 2 seemed too much like sitting around waiting for help/end of the experiement to arrive.