The Colony

[nicnap]

Is anyone here watching the Discovery Channel's The Colony? It is a reality show about survival after w major disaster. They have assembled a group of "survivors" and they are now trying to live without any modern conveniences. I haven't watched it, but it looks like it would be good. I am going to start, I think.

[Skyowl]

Is anyone here watching the Discovery Channel's The Colony? It is a reality show about survival after w major disaster. They have assembled a group of "survivors" and they are now trying to live without any modern conveniences. I haven't watched it, but it looks like it would be good. I am going to start, I think.

Try here. It's been going for a while.

http://www.xcolony.com/x/showthread....ghlight=Colony

[prkchp76]

yea its pretty good

[lady_banjo]

I think it's quite "Hollywood", but I'm learning about what not to do from it.

[Skyowl]

I think it's quite "Hollywood", but I'm learning about what not to do from it.

Obviously they have no idea what they are doing. You can learn tons about what NOT to do.

Indiscriminant use of what limited power they have available, i.e. using power tools without asking about the condition of the power source.

Not working together to get projects done, i.e. quiting for lunch and not telling anyone so the one guy on the roof is left alone wondering WTF, Over!

Failure to provide for their own security by leaving the hole in the fence until after they have been raided and losing two days of foodstuffs.

Not regulating the use of the limited "shower" water, i.e. leaving the water on for extended periods. Limited water must be conserved, so... wet yourself, turn water off, lather up, turn water on to rinse, turn water off. Conserves a very limited resource. I don't care how good it feels, if you have a limited resource, you don't waste it by letting it run. During Desert Storm we took baths in a small tub of warm water, approx 1 gallon, as the supply was indeed limited. Even then, if felt like a million dollars when we finished.

What are they going to do with the grey water, filter it for drinking later???

They still don't have a chain of command, i.e. a leader. Every group needs a leader or you have 10 different groups with different priorities all doing their own thing. BLUF, they are screwed unless something changes, and soon.

In our group, we have a leader for each area of concern, i.e. weapons, food, water, etc. with a senior leader overall. It's like in military units that have staffs for each area of concern. S-2 for security, S-3 for operations, S-4 for logistics (supplies), S-6 for communications, etc. Then there is the Commander over all the staff sections. Staffs prioritize their requirements, then the staff meeting to prioritizes all these requirements against each other.

Now, they have done some good stuff. Like the use of the alternator for recharging the battery bank. Plans for just such a device can be found here: (this was mentioned somewhere else in a different thread on this site.

http://theepicenter.com/cgi/order.cg....html&cart_id=

Scroll down until you see Universal Horizontal Shaft Generator Bracket, then look for Tip O'da Week under that.

I hope this has been a help to some considering this type of device in lieu of purchasing a generator or generators. Personally, I have a Generac 4500W and two Honda 2000i's. I'm covered in this area but am still gonna build one like in the show using the plans above.

Best of luck to all.:)

[lady_banjo]

Couldn't agree with you more Skyowl! Thanks for the tip on the alternator.

[Diesel]

great tip on the alternator bracket .. thanks!

[Skyowl]

OK, so tonight they finally work on securing the compound. But, as the trade unfolds, we clearly see that they still lack an overall leader. At least they have a S-2 (security guy). Also, bias rears its ugly head. Guess that was to be expected.

Did anyone else notice the "garden" on the back patio? When did they plant that?

[ryantx23]

I didn't see them plant the garden either, but I did see it on the back patio. The infighting is going to get worse I'm sure. I have to admit, I'm still a little disappointed with their weapons. They could have used the aircompressor to make a nice blow gun / air cannon of some sorts. They should have traded something for one of the barter mobile guy's AK's

[kenno]

IMHO this reality show was made on a shoestring and like a movie was filmed out of order, the baddies were all filmed at one time, the weapon mfg was made at another time, the garden yet another. There is supposed to be a person that makes sure each scene is not in conflict with the previous scene in the script, apparently there was a breakdown with that garden in the background. I havent seen a complete episode but would guess most takes place indoors or in a confined area outdoors where differances in daylight and weather can be minimized and corrected in post production.
Anyway, once all the filming is done it is spliced into episodes, apparently there was a breakdown in that process as well.

[ryantx23]

I was a little disappointed in The Colony "Stranger Among Us" episode tonight. I think they shot theirselves in the foot when they told them their ideas and especially when they let them raid the kitchen without swift and severe consequences. They should have made use of some of the handy dandy items they've been coming up with....

[firemanphob]

Above all, it is a tv show. These folks know that nobody is seriously going to injure any of them and they are not going to injure anyone either. They know they are not going to die no matter what. As real as they try to make it, it is still just a tv show. In a real situation, they would have been gone quick by any means necessary.

[Skyowl]

As I stated earlier, just watch to learn what NOT to do. Even if you learn nothing else, you can learn from others mistakes, even if just a TV show. In military parlance, conduct an AAR (after action review) after each show and make a plan that is better than what you saw.

[lady_banjo]

This last one irritated me so much, I didn't finish watching it. Have decided there's better use of my time.

[Centurion]

what annoys me is the so called experts that keep popping up with their opinion. They have an expert on psychology and security and other things that generally just state the obvious