A Brief Moment of Great Clarity

by Alan Mairson on September 23, 2009

“I can’t remember the point in doing this.”
— Ed Wardle

To: Tim Kelly, President, National Geographic Global Media
Re: Alone In The Wild

Any chance you remember the point of enabling what Ed calls a “soul destroying” experience? If so, please share it in the comments, below.

This “adventure” enabled & supported by your Society.

I. M. Bashful

There’s entertainment… and there’s profit. Sometimes they are partners-in-mission, and sometimes not so much. And on a bad day, neither occurs.

http://societymatters.org/ Alan Mairson

Yup, this show seems like a bad day. Or, more precisely, 50 of them. … Thanks for your comment, I.M.

I. M. Bashful

There’s entertainment… and there’s profit. Sometimes they are partners-in-mission, and sometimes not so much. And on a bad day, neither occurs.

http://societymatters.org Alan Mairson

Yup, this show seems like a bad day. Or, more precisely, 50 of them. … Thanks for your comment, I.M.

seth

This seems to be NG response to discovery’s survivorman/ man vs. wild. I think if anything, it shows a lack of creativity in competition with discovery. We like NG b/c they often do expeditions, research etc that no one else does. Creating a ‘me-too’ survivor show doesn’t fit the bill of what we like about NG.

http://societymatters.org/ Alan Mairson

Hi Seth,
Thanks for your comment — and for your details on Discovery’s shows. I’m not especially familiar with their lineup of programs, but titles like Man vs. Wild certainly suggests Alone In The Wild is a knockoff. … The problem with expeditions is that it’s increasingly difficult to dream up decent ones that don’t feel like stunts. As for research, the challenge is funding something that translates into a decent magazine story or documentary. Again, not easy. “Me too” may not be the best programming strategy, but it’s not a surprising one when new ideas are in such short supply.
Thanks again for your thoughts….

seth

This seems to be NG response to discovery’s survivorman/ man vs. wild. I think if anything, it shows a lack of creativity in competition with discovery. We like NG b/c they often do expeditions, research etc that no one else does. Creating a ‘me-too’ survivor show doesn’t fit the bill of what we like about NG.

http://societymatters.org Alan Mairson

Hi Seth,
Thanks for your comment â€” and for your details on Discovery’s shows. I’m not especially familiar with their lineup of programs, but titles like Man vs. Wild certainly suggests Alone In The Wild is a knockoff. … The problem with expeditions is that it’s increasingly difficult to dream up decent ones that don’t feel like stunts. As for research, the challenge is funding something that translates into a decent magazine story or documentary. Again, not easy. “Me too” may not be the best programming strategy, but it’s not a surprising one when new ideas are in such short supply.
Thanks again for your thoughts….