The Colony TV Show

Discovery Channel’s The Colony TV show tests the survivalist abilities of its contestants. For ten weeks, the contestants must work together to create a self-sufficient society in the face of a series of obstacles.

Participants don't enjoy the usual comforts in this show.

The Colony centers around 10 contestants who volunteered for the chance to test their survival skills in a post-disaster world. Discovery worked with the Homeland Security Department and other disaster experts to develop a realistic environment that mirrors the world that people face in the wake of real life disasters. People with experience in working the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 attacks helped to devise the set and the challenges for the show so that the experience was a valid test of survivalist skills.

The setting of the show is a warehouse and surrounding area just outside of Los Angeles. Contestants do not have access to electricity, running water, food, communication with the outside world or any other supplies. They are tasked with creating a sustainable living environment where they could subsist indefinitely. They are permitted to scavenge their surroundings for supplies but at any time outside intruders can attack and try to steal their inventions and supplies.

The contestants for the show were chosen to represent a wide cross section of life and to also have some very important skills that could be helpful in developing their new society.

The show contestants are as follows:

• Vladimir Beck – 62 – Croatian oil engineer who now lives in Los Angeles. A former member of the military, Beck escaped from Communist Yugoslavia as a young adult.

• John Cohn – 50 – chief IMB scientist working on design automation. Cohn comes from Richmond, Vermont and lost his son in a car accident in 2006.

• George Fallieras – 34 – ER doctor from Tampa, Florida. Fallieras provided medical aid in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

• Morgan Hooker – 23 – Aerospace engineer living in Woodland Hills, California.

• Michael Raines – 47 – Born in Montenegro but now living in California, Raines specializes in solar paneling and alternate energy sources.

• Joey Sciacca – 37 – Contractor from Los Angeles. Sciacca spent six years in prison in the 90s after being caught smuggling drugs onto a train in Miami. His specialty is eco-friendly building methods.

• Leilanai Smith – 36 – Black belt martial art instructor who was born in Korea but moved to Los Angeles in her 20s.

• John Valencia – 37 – Conservationist and machinist from Covina, California. Valencia has experience building pipes for irrigation systems and developing hand cranked electrical systems.

• Amy West – 34 – Marine biologist from Durango, Colorado. West has done volunteer work around the globe and is trained in advance search and rescue.

• Allison White – 29 – ER nurse from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. White has worked as a travel nurse going from city to city working in some of the busiest emergency rooms in the country.

In every episode, the contestants face a series of challenges, or phases. These phases usually involve an obstacle and some kind of surprise to keep the contestants on edge. They included:

• Sleep deprivation – The contestants are deprived of sleep for 30 hours.

• Marauders – After the contestants gather supplies from their surrounding areas, a gang of marauders surprises the contestants and tries to steal the supplies they had gathered.

• River walk – Eight mile walk with 200 pounds of scavenged supplies.

• New arrivals – Two new people show up to The Colony and need refuge but refuse to pull their weight.

You can check out The Colony and the work of the contestants on the show home page on The Discovery Channel website.

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