National Geographic has a new show coming out February 7th called Doomsday Preppers. This is a series that shows actual people who are preparing for various end-of-the-world type situations and what they are doing to prepare. Each prepper is given an assessment by a professional preparedness group as to the things they are doing well and things they could improve on. Sounds interesting, right? Wouldn’t you like that kind of check up on your preparedness efforts?
What’s that you say? Not in front of a national television audience? Me neither, but that’s okay, some other brave prepper folks have volunteered for the Doomsday Prepper show–you and I can just learn from their experience. Check out the trailer for the show here:
Of course I have been interested in the progress on this show since I heard about it a few months ago, so when National Geographic sent me an advance copy of the opening episode we had to have movie night at the house.
After watching the show with the family, here are a few thoughts:
1. Wow. Some folks are amazingly prepared. Can I just say Wow again?
2. National Geographic has done a good job of gathering people from different backgrounds and prepping styles for their show. This episode featured a super bunker type group, a single guy able to live primarily off the land, and a young apartment dweller in a city. Checking the previews for upcoming episodes, it appears they continue to feature a variety of preppers. They each have their own challenges and plans for the disaster they deem most likely to occur.
3. The assessments are well done although brief, but the presentation of them is a bit awkward–maybe this will improve as the show progresses.
4. This is television, so some parts are a bit sensationalized, but it’s not over the top. Definitely watchable.
5. National Geographic didn’t make the preppers look like complete lunatics. They did point out the very small chances that these peoples’ disaster of choice would actually occur, but pretty much let the people do the showing and explaining themselves. It may not convince those who think preppers are fringe or crazy to join the ranks of the prepared, but at least this episode was a fairly positive portrayal of each prepper and their lifestyle. We’ll see what future episodes hold.
6. “That is SO AWESOME!” (that’s from my 12 year old son).
7. You can learn A LOT from other people’s preparedness efforts. To me, that is one of the great things about a show like this. I watched thinking, “What have they done that I could incorporate to raise my own preparedness level?”
8. It’s mostly family friendly. They bleep out bad words, but some mention of adult-ish topics like condoms and feminine hygiene do pop up. Pretty sure they were quick enough my youngest who was still awake (7) had no idea what they were talking about, though. By the way, her comment on the show was, “This is the show we’re going to watch? It’s boring!” I’d say about age 10 and up would find this show interesting, and depending on your children’s maturity level you may want to just put them to bed and watch it yourself.
9. I need to find a friend that has the National Geographic channel to hang out with on Feb 7th!
So here’s the show details: It will be airing with back to back episodes on February 7th 2012 at 9pm EST on the National Geographic channel. That’s 7pm my time. Then continue each Tuesday night after that. Each show is an hour long and features 3 different people who are preparing for an uncertain future. If you’re into preparedness, I would recommend trying to watch this show. You’ll likely find it interesting and entertaining and you may even learn something from it that will increase your own personal preparedness level.
Keep preparing! Angela
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I am programing this- into my DVR for recording as we speak. :) Thank you for writing about this so I would know the name of the show & the times.
I saw a bit of an mini-episode on Youtube and it was a bit more than (slightly over prepared) for mega attack-stuff like Chinese invasions etc. But really great information anyways. I guess that could happen too. But our military would be there-unless they were diverted over seas. Wow–almost 2/3 of them are over seas right now… Hmmm. Re-thinking this. lol
I think this has some benefit to the prepping world, but the potential downside is huge. Yes, I think we can get some good ideas from it, but if they make even a slight mockery of the idea then it will turn people off to the idea. Jack at The Survivial Podcast turned them down on their offer to appear on the show. Jack spoke with one of the Producers about the topics and what they were going to show and the conversation was this:
Jack: Are you going to show kids in gas masks or other extreme things that will make people really uncomfortable with the idea of prepping? Will you present it from a perspective that makes it obscure? Producer: If that is what the prepper being interviewed has possibly and if it makes better ratings, yeah, probably. Jack: Then I can’t be on your show, I won’t compromise myself. Producer: I compromise myself all the time for Hollywood, are you sure, I can get you an audience with 2,000,000 people. Jack: I would rather have 25,000 inspired and understand than your damn 2,000,000 that are only afraid and unprepared.
So, be careful. I thinkt that people need to be awakened to reality, but if you push too hard or make it seem too out there then you only push them farther away from the idea.
You are right Brian shows like these can do alot of damage and close the minds of the people we are trying to reach. I have gotten through to a few people using a day to day type experience of job loss and inflation. When you mention storing food or basics of survival, the first thing they say if they have seen these shows is- Ohh! Your one of them, sorry gotta go.It’s happened to me alot.
Very true Brian.
The “NEW Preppers” are people who are keeping the dehydrated food companies in business right now and they– are not nuts. They aren’t gung-ho extremist either. Sure they have some food storage, garden seeds and with skills they are learning they can even protect it with the weapons they are buying–but they aren’t nuts to the (survivalist extreme) at all.
This program seems to be utilizing some of the extreme (just for ratings)—and your right it will turn off some new people who were just thinking of getting started. Which is VERY sad.
Even though we can learn a lot from them–The gung-ho ones are going to ruin it for the new regular people wanting to do this. You know the ones I am talking about the ones that don’t wear any shoes (just because) or they make ALL of their own fabric to make clothes, or they catch and or kill ALL their own food- even frogs & rats and eat it without cooking it— just to prove how manly they are. It’s great to be able to kill/butcher a chicken or deer and to be able to grow your own family garden and to learn how to (can it ALL in jars)– But to hunt ALL your meat is extreme. They should be utilizing cheap store bought meat and can it or jerk it. To eat it raw just to prove they can on TV– is insane. If in a survival situation I can see doing this (if you had to)—but…. lol
Today’s get it quick people–Living with only 3 days of food in the house– is insane to me. Being prepared for months of (real-need) was the lifestyle our grandparents lived by and it was great for them—–it’s great for us too. :-)
Most NEW Preppers are Just regular everyday middle class people wanting to be able to save their families by being prepared. And most of us have had God whispering in our ears to do this NOW. I hope this show doesn’t turn people off to the wonderful world of getting prepared. But you are correct— it more than likely will Brian. :-(
Try nationalgeographic.com for full episodes after the original air date or maybe sidereel.com the next day. Sometimes liveTVcafe.com will broadcast simultaneously.
In any case, I intend to watch for any hints I can use. And of course NatGeo is going to go for the extremes – it’s ShowBiz afterall.
So, basically they weren’t happy with how the initial episodes, from June 2011, didn’t make the Preppers seem crazy and decided to create a second series to show them as even more crazy. Yeah NatGeo!
When I watch the initial series, with Southern Prepper, my first thought was: “Each of these preppers violated the first rule of prepping; letting other people know what you are doing.”
Granted Southern Prepper and the Garden Pool prepper aren’t giving out all of their secrets.
I think this is a great idea. Timing is also great. Myself, I am not prepping for a “particular” disaster. I’m trying to plan for several different scenarios. If this show turns the “newcomers” off then I wouldn’t have wanted them in my group anyway. Afterall it’s not going to be a bed of roses when disaster strikes. “You can lead a horse to water but you cant make em drink!”
If surviving in a post destructive world means living with the trash thats lurking about as in this show I would rather fall into the first crack in the earth. these people actually think that Texas can move to a different part of the world in a matter of weeks as opposed to the millions of years it would take. If these looney’s are doing this for money and the show I would understand however I truly believe they are serious which makes them the scariest people on the earth. I can only hope that they disappear before they become extremely dangerous
I just watched “David” on the show he believes an electromagnetic field will shut down America and that he can waddle around with his 400 pound overweight self and fight off anyone invading his farm that is protected with 3 doberman pinchers and his M16 rifle. Most likely within 24 hours of any dramatic breakdown in the world the American military will be able to take “Fat ass Daves farm” along with all the other clowns food storage facilities with no questions asked. Do they think our military will thank them for being the survivors that they are because their impressed with their abilities to survive or because they were stupid enough to think they could keep what they have wasted theirs lives on as if they were going to repopulate the world in there pathetic image.
Bottom line all you doomsday Heros, The American military will liberalize your farms and stored goods under the guise of national security. Like it or not they will probably kill you as well. Good luck!