Castaway 2000

 

It is hard to believe that it has been 22 years since I avidly watched Castaway 2000, a precursor almost to reality shows. It is available through some streaming.

Thirty-six ordinary British men, women and children spent a year on the Scottish island of Taransay. Their goal was to build a self-sustaining  community. It was an experiment. They had buildings but not much else. They grew their own vegetables, raised their own animals, and learned to get along, more or less. 

A doctor and a teacher were among the castaways to fill some modern needs.

There was no production crew. Filming was done in a "dirty room" and regularly picked up by the producers to edit for the BBC.

People were not supposed to leave: but exceptions were made for family emergencies.

Mostly everyone worked well together, but tensions did arise, not to make good television but because that's how people are. There was an uprising and one family left before the year ended.

Because of where it was filmed, the weather was often unpleasant. I imagine on an island in a warmer clime, there might have been different issues, challengers, results.

Unlike the reality shows that followed, there was no winner. Succeeding in daily chores and relationships was winning. I like that. 

Later when I watched The Bigger Loser, I thought how much better it would be if the winner shared the prize with the runner-up. To me the concept of winning or losing is detrimental to development overall, not just on a TV documentary.

With the exception of Ben Fogle, the only participant that continued in television where he is a presenter, producer of different programs mostly documentaries. 

I would love to see more this type of "reality" show with life being the major competitor not people. It is interesting to see how people act out of their comfort zone and comfort zone can be social and physical.