Cartoon Network Survive This

If you've been watching the Cartoon Network, Survive This might just be one of your favorite programs! This reality show for kids takes eight teens and puts them in the wilderness to see how they will survive.

Survive This features wilderness survival skills.

The eight teenage participants on the show all undergo a week's worth of survival training before this reality show begins. During the first episode of Survive This, the teens are dropped off in a remote location and given a fictional story. For the first season, they were told that their school bus had crashed, and now they had to fend for themselves until help arrived.

For three weeks, the teens must create shelter, tend to injuries, and find food and water to sustain themselves. There are challenges to test their survival skills as well.

Les Stroud, who is known to television fans as Survivorman, heads up the show. He is on hand for the kids at the beginning of each episode, and appears throughout the program to assess challenges, check on everyone, and to see if anyone wants to give up and go home. He frequently checks on their physical and emotional health, and also acts as the narrator for the show.

Stroud is a Canadian survival expert. In his own show, he gets dropped off in remote locations and films himself as he shows viewers how to survive in dangerous situations in the wilderness.

Stroud is very well-respected as a survival expert, and has consulted with and produced programs for The Discovery Channel, The Outdoor Life Network, and The Science Channel.

The Cartoon Network Survive This was originally intended as a competition reality show that pitted two teams of kids against each other in survival-based challenges. The show evolved over time, however, and turned into a teen version of Survivorman.

Les Stroud, who spearheaded the planning of the show, refused to turn it into a competition like Survivor, as he thought the whole idea of voting kids out or granting them immunity would turn the show into a social game, which wasn't the intention. The kids would therefore have to learn to rely on each other, as well as themselves, to get through their time in the wilderness.

Survive This is filmed in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada, which is Les Stroud's hometown. The district is full of wooded areas, lots of streams, and native wildlife.

Since Huntsville is located on Georgian Bay, part of the first season was filmed on an island where the teens had to participate in a "stranded" challenge.

Survive This has faced some criticism from people who feel that the show puts kids in unnecessary dangerous and stressful situations that could have long-term effects on their mental health.

The truth is that the kids themselves are never unsupervised. There are camera crews following them all the time, a medical doctor and paramedic are available at a moment's notice, and Stroud himself is always on hand even if he can't be seen.

The first cast of Survive This was all Canadian, and included:

• Adam Deganis, 15 years old. Adam was scared of spiders, but applied to be on the show to meet Stroud.
• Becca Mehaffey, 17 years old. Becca was not used to the wilderness, and was nicknamed "Princess."
• Becky Tran, 17 years old. Becky was scared of most creatures she encountered, but enthusiastic about preserving the environment.
• Catarina, 17 years old. Catarina was willing to do anything the boys could do, and was a bit of a tomboy.
• Holden Adams, 16 years old. He tended to slack off and sleep while the others would go out in search of food and water.
• Jennifer Daub, 16 years old. Jen had lots of wilderness and hunting experience, and was a huge asset to the rest of the kids.
• Kareem Ali, 17 years old. Kareem was competitive by nature, and often pushed the others into working harder.
• Zac Siegel, 14 years old. Zac has lots of survival training, and knew how to do things like make a fire and find water. He got frustrated with many of the others who had no clue how to do these things.

To learn more about the show, the kids, and the episodes, visit the official Survive This site at CartoonNetwork.com.

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