I have seen the original Alone series and thoroughly enjoyed it so I had to give this one a try. I was skeptical at first after seeing the lack of experience the contestants had. I underestimated quite a few of them and it was great to see them persevere and adapt to the unknown. I would like to see more experienced members take on the second season; many of them didn't seem to know what they were getting themselves into. The lack of research done beforehand was frustrating to watch. I think it would be more endearing to watch people that are skilled, enthusiastic and well equipped to succeed.
13 Reviews
I cannot give 0 stars
Shlomas17 August 2023
Alone US (the original) has a group of people who make their living on survival, hunting and living off the land. I've watched them all, and even the Australian spin off (which was a little disappointing as a first season goes). While this is filmed in the same location and has the same title...the contestants are just people off the street! What a waste of time. We've seen on 10 American seasons where people have lasted into the heavy winter, made various shelters and even had moose meat so it is a completely different show when you have a group of Brits who have no experience. Not even someone from a Services or conservation/wildlife background. It's a rubbish Big Brother style, watch-them-eff-up show. How can you really prepare for living in a completely different climate, different wildlife and vegetation, with only 9 days worth of 'training'? It really is a waste of effort. I am sure that there are Brits out there who do have some similar skills. There are already shows that plop Bob from Down the Road into new countries, but if you are using this franchise name, surely stick to the format? At least for the first series? Or how about filming it somewhere remove in the UK? Won't be as cold as Canada but it is about being able to sustain yourself. What a blooming shame. Also, there is an annoying ping sound that is over used throughout.
Poor excuse for survivalists
paulcroft4 September 2023
Wow compared to the original show, this is absolutely terrible! These people did not belong in the Canadian wilderness, they were so out of place. My wife and I spent much of the show laughing at how unprepared the contestants were. Sadly I have British heritage and my wife never let me forget it. All of these contestants should be embarrassed at the effort they put in, but I think the UK producers should be more embarrassed. The total lack of training that these contestants had made the show difficult to watch. I kept hoping it would get better but it didn't. I'm hopeful that IF they do a season two it will better follow the format of the original.
Two things I really disliked about the show. 1) the annoying "beeping" noise every time they started a camera and 2) the ending where they called the winner. I like the way the original series and the Aussie spin-off notify the winner.
Whether they're is a season two is yet to be seen.
Two things I really disliked about the show. 1) the annoying "beeping" noise every time they started a camera and 2) the ending where they called the winner. I like the way the original series and the Aussie spin-off notify the winner.
Whether they're is a season two is yet to be seen.
Like survivor
clodge-7280120 August 2023
I have not watched the American or Australian versions of this show which apparently have more experienced contestants however if you like to watch complete novices survive in the Canadian wilderness with bears coming into camp you'll love this. Contestants have basic skills as it would be pretty boring if they were survival experts. The whole point of the show is to watch them struggle to deal with the psychological effects of being terrified alone at night with wild animals roaming around the woods and hunt for food in order to stay as long as possible to win the cash not breeze through it like Bear Grylls as implied in other reviews. Best reality TV I've seen for a while. Ignore the negative reviews and give it a go.
Alone for Dummies
blakedarryldb18 September 2023
I wasn't 10 min into this show before things felt, "off". My first comment to my partner was, "Is she wearing make up?".
I had to go online and find out why. Random people with no survival skills see how long they last. But they all look like models, in shape, the typical cast you see in most reality shows.
The first episode we see two of them get naked, one to "get fresh" after half a day in the woods. Unlike Alone Aussie where people were gaining 30-40lbs.
In the entirety of the show Alone, I've never heard anyone complain about the taste of boiled water. Well you won't have to wait long to hear people here.
I think if they made this a spin-off show called, "Alone for Dummies", I'd be okay with it. But watching people with no skills flail about with comments like, "I heard something, it's definitely not human"....well duh, you're in the forest. I can't do it. Please don't do more like this in this formate and if you do, call it something else.
I have no interest in format for Alone.
I had to go online and find out why. Random people with no survival skills see how long they last. But they all look like models, in shape, the typical cast you see in most reality shows.
The first episode we see two of them get naked, one to "get fresh" after half a day in the woods. Unlike Alone Aussie where people were gaining 30-40lbs.
In the entirety of the show Alone, I've never heard anyone complain about the taste of boiled water. Well you won't have to wait long to hear people here.
I think if they made this a spin-off show called, "Alone for Dummies", I'd be okay with it. But watching people with no skills flail about with comments like, "I heard something, it's definitely not human"....well duh, you're in the forest. I can't do it. Please don't do more like this in this formate and if you do, call it something else.
I have no interest in format for Alone.
Amazing novice survival show
joshstephenwork21 August 2023
The characters are very relatable (being from a modern day background myself) and the show is very inclusive such as a survivalist with autism, another survivalist with mental health issues/ex addiction etc. This show is amazing! People with no survival skills are put into an environment they have never been with risk of predatory animals, starvation and cold weather.. can't go wrong for a TV show! I have watched three seasons of the American version of this show and I found this just as entertaining if not even better than the American version! If you enjoy bushcraft and wilderness survival (and don't mind occasional scenes of animal cruelty/death) then this show is for you.
17 producers and 3 directors and its still ruined
TheGMang19 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
They've totally destroyed the format. Instead of experts it's mostly vapid randos. It takes an absolute plank to mess up the formula of this show and they have done it with AloneUK. It's very simple. The editing is worse, the music is worse, the production values are worse. The casting is again worse. They cast people who can't use an axe or even struggle to start a fire... yes it's that bad. Worse they are all fairly uninteresting and very little backstory is provided. The stakes are the absolute lowest ever for this spinoff. The best part of UK tv is the cussing and nudity, here there's so cussing but the show starts with a man's bare buttocks. What a turn off.
Typical Channel 4 Garbage
pbrown-239086 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
If you have watched any of the original Alone series you will see genuine survivalists doing just that, surviving off the land in a punishing environment. What this channel 4 series does is take a load of lovies and wet blankets with hardly the moral character to survive in civilised society and drop them in the Canadian wilderness with predictable results. If I hear one more bleat about anxiety I will rip my own ears off, maybe this is a reflection of how pathetic modern British society has become. One poor chap lasted a matter of hours and a teenager not much more than a day, he even said his sum of survival experience was being left alone for a few hours. Pathetic and makes us Brits look pretty useless next to our American and Canadian cousins. I watched this so you don't have too.
Over Produced - I Just Can't Watch
kerrytattersall9 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I'm an 'Aloneaholic'. Before I got to the middle of the second episode I was officially 'off the wagon'. Nothing at all against the contestants (although why the hell is a contestant wearing makeup....), but the overbearing music being played over the top of the contestants talking for the bulk of the time is just totally unnecessary and to be brutally honest,...annoying and distracting. The narration is also very off-putting...and simply not required. I really wanted this to work as I loved watching all other seasons of Alone, including the US seasons, Aussie, Denmark, Finland....whatever I could watch....but sadly the overproduction of this UK version I just can't get past it - so I won't be watching anymore of it. Producers: It's not necessary to change the format of a perfect show, so unless it can be made like other series then really don't bother.
Changed a great format into garbage
ozarkenglishman16 September 2023
Although not every season of Alone USA was perfect, the vast majority made for compelling viewing and broke the mould of currently awful reality shows.
The format of using experienced outdoor experts and military vetrans worked perfectly for those shows.
Then along comes Alone UK placing completely inexperienced people into an environment totally outside their abilities.
While the original series produced characters that the viewer could empathise with, the UK show introduces characters who at best, the viewer feels sorry for, and at worst, prayed for them to tap out asap!
The addition of nudity and excessive foul language reflects badly on the UK and is really unnecessary.
Sorry, but Channel 4 has completely missed the point of the tried and tested formula used on the Original Alone seasons, and it can only be hoped they will change if there happens to be further seasons.
The format of using experienced outdoor experts and military vetrans worked perfectly for those shows.
Then along comes Alone UK placing completely inexperienced people into an environment totally outside their abilities.
While the original series produced characters that the viewer could empathise with, the UK show introduces characters who at best, the viewer feels sorry for, and at worst, prayed for them to tap out asap!
The addition of nudity and excessive foul language reflects badly on the UK and is really unnecessary.
Sorry, but Channel 4 has completely missed the point of the tried and tested formula used on the Original Alone seasons, and it can only be hoped they will change if there happens to be further seasons.
What happened to the quality Alone production?
winwoodstock11 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The whole series felt like it was just designed for each contestant to self promote their personal tragedy stories. Those that didn't have a tragic story hardly got any screen time. The elements that make Alone a great show all seemed to be missing, such as the reflective sound clips of contestants over idealic camera work, the montage of a camp disappearing after a contestant "taps out" and the quick debrief. Also, WTF was with the radio alert letting the last 4 know they where the last 4, the idea is that they never know if there is still 10 or 1 other alone contestant until they are given the last "medical check". This alone even robbed us of the emotional reunion at the end, simply a radio message to the final player "you have won, over". Pitiful editing, production, and direction for this, hopefully Channel 4 is never allowed to try this again.
Good reality TV show turned bad
scopesclare4 November 2023
What happened?
I've watched all the series of alone. When I discovered this series ages ago I was mesmerised. Firstly, the idea of the person actually being alone and trying to survive in the wilderness without cameras following them around is an excellent idea.
Secondly, the first seasons did not have some of the annoying things most reality TV shows have; One. Intrusive background music to evoke emotion. This UK version of alone is ruined by overly dramatic Music. So annoying. What I found refreshing in the earlier seasons was that the viewer was able to someone imagine what it might be like to be alone in the wilderness. The sounds of nature, or silence - Not being bashed over the head with Music better suited to a blockbuster action adventure movie. So annoying. Watching the show used to be a relaxing experience, now every two seconds a voice-over narrator tells us something about the contestant. Shut up! In the earlier seasons information was conveyed via subtitles. Now we have to put up with this annoying voice-over narration.
The other annoying difference is that the footage of the contestants in the wild is interspersed with footage of the contestants talking to the camera interview style. Why? So it looks more like all the other 5000 Reality TV shows? Very annoying.
Other reviews mention that the contestants are all very good looking. Looking back over all the seasons this is generally the case, you can't really get on TV if you're ugly. That has been a staple for at least a decade now.
I've watched all the series of alone. When I discovered this series ages ago I was mesmerised. Firstly, the idea of the person actually being alone and trying to survive in the wilderness without cameras following them around is an excellent idea.
Secondly, the first seasons did not have some of the annoying things most reality TV shows have; One. Intrusive background music to evoke emotion. This UK version of alone is ruined by overly dramatic Music. So annoying. What I found refreshing in the earlier seasons was that the viewer was able to someone imagine what it might be like to be alone in the wilderness. The sounds of nature, or silence - Not being bashed over the head with Music better suited to a blockbuster action adventure movie. So annoying. Watching the show used to be a relaxing experience, now every two seconds a voice-over narrator tells us something about the contestant. Shut up! In the earlier seasons information was conveyed via subtitles. Now we have to put up with this annoying voice-over narration.
The other annoying difference is that the footage of the contestants in the wild is interspersed with footage of the contestants talking to the camera interview style. Why? So it looks more like all the other 5000 Reality TV shows? Very annoying.
Other reviews mention that the contestants are all very good looking. Looking back over all the seasons this is generally the case, you can't really get on TV if you're ugly. That has been a staple for at least a decade now.
Wow
xtvpwnmb19 March 2024
The sound rape and unnecessary/ annoying commentary ruined an otherwise good franchise type of show. The corny music (worse) seemed like it was out of the 80s and how anyone thought it was a good idea has never seen the show and was probably high. I'm convinced they gave it to an intern that was a mutant satin seed that chose to torture us all. I haven't even made it through a full episode, the first season episode one. I have seen a lot of Alone and this is unsettling. I am going to push through knowing it's a mistake. It was probably not your fault, I'm sure you were possessed, or forced at gunpoint, possibly someone was kidnapped and you were coerced, who knows. But I can't put this on the series or one person but some type of freak abnormal event that doesn't fall on anyone but the mysteries of the universe and the unknown.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
