Ultimate Survival Alaska

Ultimate Survival Alaska was an American television reality competition series produced by Brian Catalina Productions that premiered on the National Geographic Channel on May 12, 2013.[1] The series was executive produced by Brian Catalina, Kristina Wood, John Magennis, Claire Kosloff, Victoria Levy, and Peter Goest.[2]

Ultimate Survival Alaska
GenreReality competition
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes37 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersBrian Catalina
Kristina Wood
John Magennis
Claire Kosloff
Victoria Levy
Peter Goest
Running time60 minutes
Production companyBrian Catalina Productions
Original release
NetworkNational Geographic Channel
ReleaseMay 12, 2013 (2013-05-12) –
March 22, 2015 (2015-03-22)

Ultimate Survival Alaska focused on survivalist men and women who were dropped off in the Alaskan wilderness where they compete with each other in various wilderness races.[3] The survivalists were dropped off by aircraft in the Alaskan wilderness where they compete in races through Alaska's unpredictable weather, barren landscapes, and hostile predators.[3][4] The series was cancelled after season 3.[5]

Series overview

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Season 1 (2013)

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In the first season, 10 episodes document the survivalists' experiences at specific location points during the 3,000-mile (4,800 km) race.[6] The main goal in each episode is to survive using minimal gear, and to reach a certain destination point within 72 hours.[7]

Cast

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Season 2 (2013/14)

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The second season had 13 episodes and focused on four teams of survivalists with different areas of expertise: woodsmen, mountaineers, military veterans, and endurance athletes. Each team had the task of reaching an extraction point faster than the other teams. There were multiple drop off and extraction points with different terrain for each leg of the contest. In Season 2, the time limit to reach the end of each leg was reduced down to 60 hours.[3]

Teams

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The contestants were divided into four teams of three.[8]

Contestant Team Placing
Dallas Seavey Endurance 1st
Eddie Ahyakak
Sean Burch
Grady Powell Military 2nd
Jared Ogden
Rodolfo Reyes
Marty Raney Mountaineers 3rd
Tyler Johnson
Thomas Ginn
Yote Robertson Woodsmen 4th
Tina "Timber Tina" Scheer
Jimmy Gaydos

Results

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Team Contestants Position (by leg)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 111
Endurance Dallas Seavey, Eddie Ahyakak, Sean Burch 2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st
Military Grady Powell, Jared Ogden, Rudy Reyes2 1st 4th 1st 3rd 3rd 3rd 1st2 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd 2nd
Mountaineers Marty Raney, Tyler Johnson, Thomas Ginn 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 3rd 1st 3rd 2nd 3rd 3rd
Woodsmen Yote Robertson, Tina "Timber Tina" Scheer, Jimmy Gaydos 4th 1st 4th1
  1. ^ The Woodsmen Team was eliminated after missing Extraction due to Jimmy's injury.
  2. a b Rudy left the competition after Episode 7 due to an injury.
  3. ^ Leg 11 was double-length, shown over two episodes. The placements listed in the first column reflect the order teams arrived at the leg's halfway point.

Season 3 (2015)

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Teams

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For season 3 the series remains with the format of four teams of three. Italicized contestants are returning contestants from previous seasons.

Contestant Team Placing
Ben Johns Endurance 1st
Dallas Seavey
Lel Tone
Scott "Cluck" McCleskey Lower 48 2nd1
Kasha Rigby
James Sweeney
Daniel Dean Military 3rd1
Jared Ogden
Grady Powell
Tyler Johnson Alaskans 4th
Marty Raney
Vern Tejas
  1. ^ Lower 48 & Military finished tied with 3 points each. However Lower 48 took 2nd place based on 2nd-place finishes: 4-3.

Results

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Team Contestants Position (by leg)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 131 Number of points
Endurance Ben Johns, Dallas Seavey, Lel Tone 1st 1st 3rd 3rd 2nd 4th 2nd 2nd 1st 4th 1st 4th 1st 6
Lower 48 Scott "Cluck" McCleskey, Kasha Rigby, James Sweeney2 4th 4th 2nd 1st 3rd 3rd 3rd2 1st 2nd 2nd 4th 1st 2nd 3
Military Daniel Dean, Jared Ogden, Grady Powell 2nd 2nd 4th 2nd 1st 1st 4th 4th 3rd 1st 3rd 3rd 4th 3
Alaskans Tyler Johnson, Marty Raney, Vern Tejas 3rd 3rd 1st 4th 4th 2nd 1st 3rd 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd 3rd 2
  1. ^ Leg 13 was worth 2 points.
  2. ^ James Sweeney withdrew from the competition after Leg 7 due to pain in his back and worry that he had damaged his artificial hip.

Episode list

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Season One

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No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date
11"Arctic Hell"May 12, 2013 (2013-05-12)
22"River of no Return"May 19, 2013 (2013-05-19)
33"Into the Void"May 26, 2013 (2013-05-26)
44"Sink or Swim"June 2, 2013 (2013-06-02)
55"Belly of the Beast"June 9, 2013 (2013-06-09)
66"Desolation Island"June 16, 2013 (2013-06-16)
77"Desperate Measures"June 30, 2013 (2013-06-30)
88"Ice Cold Gamble"July 7, 2013 (2013-07-07)
99"Beasts of Prey"July 14, 2013 (2013-07-14)
1010"Vertical Hell"July 21, 2013 (2013-07-21)

Season Two

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No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date
111"Arctic Battleground"December 15, 2013 (2013-12-15)
122"Savage Beasts"December 22, 2013 (2013-12-22)
133"Over the Falls"December 29, 2013 (2013-12-29)
144"Climb From Hell"January 5, 2014 (2014-01-05)
155"River of Fury"January 12, 2014 (2014-01-12)
166"Hell Hole"January 19, 2014 (2014-01-19)
177"Vice Grip"January 26, 2014 (2014-01-26)
188"Guts & Glory"February 9, 2014 (2014-02-09)
A recap episode covering the main events from the first seven episodes of the season. It also contains some sneak peeks of events that will occur in the final 5 episodes of the season.
199"River of Doom"February 9, 2014 (2014-02-09)
2010"Bear Kingdom"February 16, 2014 (2014-02-16)
2111"Deep Dark Woods"February 23, 2014 (2014-02-23)
2212"The Last Battle"March 2, 2014 (2014-03-02)
2313"Fight to the Finish"March 9, 2014 (2014-03-09)
2414"Game On"December 28, 2014 (2014-12-28)
A recap episode covering all of the main events from season 2. It also contains a preview of the new teams in season 3.

Season Three

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No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date
251"Back for Blood"January 4, 2015 (2015-01-04)
262"Deadly Descent"January 4, 2015 (2015-01-04)
273"Crash Course"January 11, 2015 (2015-01-11)
284"Deadly Tide"January 18, 2015 (2015-01-18)
295"Devil's Due"January 25, 2015 (2015-01-25)
306"Rogue Warrior"February 8, 2015 (2015-02-08)
317"Live Before You Die"February 8, 2015 (2015-02-08)
328"Savage Waters"February 15, 2015 (2015-02-15)
339"Kodiak Killers"February 22, 2015 (2015-02-22)
3410"Covert Ops"March 1, 2015 (2015-03-01)
3511"Long Way Down"March 8, 2015 (2015-03-08)
3612"Knockout Punch"March 15, 2015 (2015-03-15)
3713"Final Gauntlet"March 22, 2015 (2015-03-22)

Critical reception

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David Hinckley of the Daily News gave the second season a satisfactory review, saying "things do look consistently harsh and cold, which should satisfy most people who would watch a show about Alaska. The only thing that really looks warm is that big old bear in the brown coat, and he doesn’t look like he’s interested in sharing any of the insulation."[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Shows A-Z - ultimate survival alaska on ngc". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Ultimate Survival Alaska: Cast & Crew". MSN TV. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Ultimate Survival Alaska | National Geographic Channel". Archived from the original on April 22, 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Ultimate Survival Alaska - Series Overview - MSN TV". MSN TV. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Ultimate Survival Alaska Cancelled By Nat Geo After Three Seasons". Renew Cancel TV. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Ultimate Survival Alaska Episodes on National Geographic". TV Guide. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  7. ^ "'Ultimate Survival Alaska' to Premiere Sunday, May 12 on National Geographic". Zap2it. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Meet the Survivalists From Season Two". Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  9. ^ Hinckley, David (14 December 2013). "'Ultimate Survival Alaska,' TV review". Daily News. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
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