I Shouldn't Be Alive
| I Shouldn't Be Alive | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Darlow Smithson Productions |
| Narrated by | Qarie Marshall and Eric Meyers |
| Country of origin | Britain |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 37 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Various |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Discovery Channel (2005-2006) Animal Planet (2010-Present) |
| Release | October 28, 2005 – present |
I Shouldn't Be Alive (also known as Alive in the UK) is a documentary television series that airs on multiple networks in America, the UK, and Australia. I Shouldn't Be Alive is made by Darlow Smithson Productions, a UK-based production company.
The show features accounts of individuals and groups caught in dangerous scenarios, presented both through interviews and dramatic reenactments.
Production
On October 28, 2005, the series premiered on the Discovery Channel. Season 3 also airs in high definition on HD Theater. All episodes can now be seen in HD on DirecTV, Dish Network, or Verizon Fios. The show airs on Channel 9 in Australia and on Channel 4 in Britain.
As of March 5, 2007, the Discovery Channel has canceled[1] the series and made it part of the "Discovery Classics" series. The show was broadcast on the Science Channel starting in early 2008. The show is currently broadcast on Animal Planet in HD as well.
The fourth season of I Shouldn't Be Alive subsequently aired on Animal Planet.
Episodes
Season 1 (2005)
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (1) | "Shark Survivor" | 28 October 2005 | |
|
In October 1982, five people got caught in a tropical storm. When their yacht sinks, they have to survive in the middle of the Atlantic ocean on a raft with absolutely no survival equipment. To their absolute horror, they find the area of the ocean to be infested with sharks. | |||
| 2 (2) | "Lost in the Snow" | 4 November 2005 | |
|
In December 1993, James and Jennifer Stolpa, and their five-month old son Clayton attempted to travel to a funeral. On the way there, they miss the sign that leads to the city and instead go into an uninhabited national park which is closed for the winter. | |||
| 3 (3) | "Escape from the Amazon" | 11 November 2005 | |
|
In December 1981, Yossi Ghinsberg (Israeli), Kevin Gale (American), and Markus Stamm (Swiss), are three young friends who went to the Bolivian Amazon, where they encounter Karl Ruprechter, a man with promises of an Indian village. After a brief river rafting trip, Markus notices he has trench foot and the group splits up. Kevin and Yossi continue rafting while Markus and Karl hike back into the jungle. Markus and Karl are never seen again. | |||
| 4 (4) | "Swept Away" | 18 November 2005 | |
|
Two friends went kayaking in the Strait of Georgia. When the tide comes in, one friend falls from his kayak and fears that he will end up in the Pacific Ocean. | |||
| 5 (5) | "Kidnap in the Killing Fields" | 25 November 2005 | |
|
In 1995, Chris Moon, a former British army officer involved in demining Mozambique, accidentally stepped on a landmine and blew off his leg. Two years earlier, he was kidnapped by a murderous group of Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. | |||
| 6 (5) | "Jaws of Death" | 2 December 2005 | |
|
In 2003, biologist Greg Rasmussen crashed his plane in the African savannah. With his legs broken in six different places and in a state of intense pain and loss of leg mobility, he has to make it alive past lions and other dangerous predators. | |||
| 1 (7) | "Trapped Under a Boulder" | 10 March 2006 | |
|
In April 1997, Warren Macdonald headed for the remote island (Hinchinbrook Island) off the coast of Queensland, where he met Geert, a Dutch man on a deserted beach. Halfway up a mountain, a one ton slab of granite hits the environmentalist and pins him down to the bed of a creek. The Dutchman must find help for his new friend before the rain drowns him. | |||
| 2 (8) | "Ice Cave Survivor" | 17 March 2006 | |
|
In 1995, a U.S. Air Force officer and his son went on a skiing trip to Turkey. When a snowstorm arrives, they lose their way, and the father has to choose between staying with his son or finding help. | |||
| 3 (9) | "Shipwrecked" | 24 March 2006 | |
|
Two cousins go on a fishing trip on the Gulf of California but a thunderstorm rolls in and they eventually become shipwrecked on a deserted island. | |||
| 4 (10) | "Alaskan Avalanche" | 31 March 2006 | |
|
Dave Nyman and Jim Sweeney are scaling a sheer ice-wall in an Alaskan mountain. Jim falls and is badly injured, and Dave is forced to ski down. Dave returns after a talk with tourists and they both survive seven avalanches together. A passing aircraft sees his SOS signal, but the pilot damages the landing gear while landing. | |||
| 5 (11) | "Lost at Sea" | 9 June 2006 | |
|
Two friends, who sought to repair their relationship with their fathers, planned a fishing trip with their fathers in Mexico. However, an unexpected storm leaves them stranded in the middle of the Gulf of California. | |||
| 6 (12) | "Crash in a Volcano" | 16 June 2006 | |
|
Three men, while filming a volcano in their helicopter, crashed after the helicopter lost control. Trapped in a crater of the Kilauea volcano and surrounded by unclimbable ridges and poisonous gases, they must send one of them to radio for help. | |||
| 7 (13) | "Lost in the African Bush" | 23 June 2006 | |
|
Five survivors of a private plane crash must survive the dangers of the desolate African wilderness. With two severely injured, some of the group must wander off to find rescue, even though there is no civilization for hundreds of miles. | |||
Season 2 (2006)
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (14) | "Nightmare Canyon" | 10 November 2006 | |
|
Justin and Jeremy Harris - two brothers - went canyoneering in Utah's Canyons. They expect the trip will take no more than 8 hours, but when freezing temperatures come, Justin breaks his leg and cannot continue, and Jeremy has hike out of the canyon alone to find help. | |||
| 2 (15) | "Frozen at 20,000 Feet" | 17 November 2006 | |
|
Three British climbers get caught in a snow storm near the summit of Mt. McKinley. After a night in a cave, one climber develops snow blindness and another volunteers to go down to base camp but breaks both his legs in a fall. | |||
| 3 (16) | "Trapped Under the Ice" | 24 November 2006 | |
|
In June 2003, Blake Stanfield and his aged dad Neil go kayaking in the Alaskan wilderness. Everything goes fine until they run into some ice on the river, and they soon find themselves swept underneath. They barely survive this only to be stranded in a wilderness of grizzly bears. | |||
| 4 (17) | "Into the Heart of Darkness" | 1 December 2006 | |
|
In 2002, a man and women, once dating, headed for the Amazon rain forest but got lost in the jungle. Crystal Ramsey, a sufferer of depression, tries to convince Dave Boyer, a 7th grade science teacher, that they have to slit their wrists so they won't die from the elements. They have to survive the dangers of the jungle and hold on to their sanity as they find their way home. | |||
| 5 (18) | "Blood in the Water" | 8 December 2006 | |
|
Arthur Taylor, Alistair Gellatly, Arthur's wife Fay and parents Clive and Brenda become stranded in the hippo- and crocodile-infested Zambezi River when their watercraft is rammed by a mad hippo and sinks. Arthur, Fay, Clive and Brenda become stranded on a submerged sand flat in the middle of the river, and the Alistair swims for the shore only to be mauled by a crocodile. Alistair faces driver ants and other nasty land predators, and the others have to survive for two days at the constant risk of being eaten alive by crocodiles and hippos. | |||
| 6 (19) | "Dive Into Danger" | 15 December 2006 | |
|
In March 2002, when filming for a documentary they were making, two divers, Melissa Armstrong and Captain David Tomlinson, became stranded in the Pacific Ocean when their boat drifts away from them. As they believe help is not coming, they make a decision to swim for shore miles away or die trying. | |||
| 7 (20) | "A Walk into Hell" | 22 December 2006 | |
|
In 1996, a group of five teenaged scouts and three adult guides hiked into the Grand Canyon during a heat wave. As their water runs out and the older members collapse in exhaustion, three of the teenagers set out on their own to reach the Colorado River. | |||
Season 3 (2010)
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (21) | "Trapped in the Canyon" | January 15, 2010 | |
|
In December 2006, two-time adventure racing world champion Danelle Ballengee suffered a pelvis-shattering 60-foot fall and two nights in sub-freezing weather in a canyon near Moab, Utah, accompanied only by her dog Taz.[2] | |||
| 2 (22) | "Date from Hell" | January 22, 2010 | |
|
In May 2006, Brandon Day and Gina Allen were going on a tour of the San Jacinto Mountains, but they wander off the trail and become stranded and alone for four days fighting for their lives. | |||
| 3 (23) | "Nightmare on the Mountain" | January 29, 2010 | |
|
Bram Schaffer, an 18-year-old elk hunter in Montana, was seriously injured by a bear. He must spend a night wandering the wooded mountain area in search of help before his injuries claim his life while his parents search for him. | |||
| 4 (24) | "Crushed and Alone" | February 5, 2010 | |
|
In January 2008, Ken Hildebrand was collecting beaver traps in the Canadian Wilderness. When he loses control of his quad bike, it topples over and crushes his legs. His survival gear is out of reach. He must survive for four days in negative temperatures. | |||
| 5 (25) | "Boys Adrift" | February 19, 2010 | |
|
In 2005, Troy Driscoll and his friend Josh Long attempted to go shark fishing in a less than seaworthy boat. When a riptide drags them into the Atlantic ocean, they face extreme dehydration, hunger, and weather for six days while awaiting rescue, watching helplessly as other boats pass by without seeing them. | |||
| 6 (26) | "Fear in Freefall" | April 2, 2010 | |
|
In May 2005, Will Slattery, his two friends, and the two other passengers and pilot suffered a freak accident during a skydiving trip. When their plane gets caught by a storm, it crashes into the shark-infested waters of Costa Rica. | |||
| 7 (27) | "Shattered on Impact" | April 9, 2010 | |
|
Four animal conservationists crash their plane into the Zambian wilderness. With three severely injured, one man treks off into the wilderness to find help. The others must fight against the elements and the very animals the men have dedicated themselves to protect. | |||
| 8 (28) | "Lost in the Outback" | April 16, 2010 | |
|
In July 2008, Theo Rosmulder, an amateur treasure hunter, wanders off into the Western Australian Outback after he found a gold nugget and got carried away. He must survive five days of physical exhaustion and the threat of heart failure. | |||
| 9 (29) | "Blizzard of Death" | April 23, 2010 | |
|
In March 2004, three amateur hunters and their twenty local guides become stranded in the remote mountain wilderness of Kyrgyzstan when their trapped vehicle falls into a large snow drift after their hunt. Then, just as they believe they have been saved, the rescue helicopter goes out of control and crashes not far from where they were originally trapped. The pilot and the guide tending the horses die in the crash and the others are left helplessly lost in a mountainous nightmare. | |||
| 10 (30) | "Avalanche of Terror" | April 30, 2010 | |
|
Ken Jones, a British climber, is caught in an avalanche and falls off a 75ft cliff. With a shattered pelvis and broken femur, he crawls for seven miles to reach the nearest road in temperatures as low as 5 degrees Farenheit (-15 degrees Celsius). | |||
Season 4 (2010)
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (31) | "A Dad's Worst Nightmare" | October 13, 2010 | |
|
Lost in the Outback for eight days after a camping trip, Matthew McGough and his daughter Shannon must fight off the unforgiving heat and cold with whatever supplies they have and await rescue that may never come. | |||
| 2 (32) | "Shipwrecked Family" | October 20, 2010 | |
|
John Silverwood, his wife Jean and his four children Ben, Amelia, Jack and Camille embark on the sailing trip of a lifetime. Halfway into the trip, they run aground on a rocky reef. Huge waves buffet the boat and flood the cabins and John is seriously injured when the mast collapses. | |||
| 3 (33) | "Trapped on a Ledge" | October 27, 2010 | |
|
49-year old Charlie Hench falls off the side of a mountain during a personal hiking expedition and lands on a small ledge at 9,000 feet. His friend Dave Grah's brother got lost in a storm thirty years earlier, hiking on the same pass, and Dave has a hunch that he is in the same spot. | |||
| 4 (34) | "Crashed in the Rockies" | November 3, 2010 | |
|
After crashing into a remote mountainside in the Rocky Mountains, pilot Justin Kirkbride hikes for hours in waist-deep snow (all the while looking for a cellphone signal) to save his two injured friends. The Air Force helicopter sent to rescue Justin crashes shortly after he boards it. | |||
| 5 (35) | "Death in the Sea of Cortez" | November 10, 2010 | |
|
Three men are stranded on a deserted island in the Gulf of California and attempt to hike to the northern shore for twelve days to attract passing fishermen. | |||
| 6 (36) | "76 Days Adrift" | November 17, 2010 | |
|
Main Article: 76 days at Sea Steven Callahan is shipwrecked from his boat and survives for 76 days on a small liferaft at sea. | |||
| 7 (37) | "Alone in the Amazon" | November 24, 2010 | |
|
After his canoe was smashed, Benedict Allen is stranded in the Amazon rainforest for 28 days. He is forced to kill and eat his dog Cashew with a machete to survive. | |||
| 8 (38) | "Vacation Nightmare" | December 1, 2010 | |
|
Brandon and Brandy Wiley, and six other people, are plunged into the Costa Rican jungle when their plane hits clouds and falls out of the sky. | |||