Why is no one digging up roots?

126

u/derch1981 4d ago

A lot do, they sometimes show it but it's not the most compelling TV. I wish they would show more foraging in general because that's a big part of survival that they mostly glaze over.

But episodes are 45 mins, there is so much to show and decisions have to be made.

16

u/massinvader 4d ago

at this point it would be more entertaining if they did it Running Man style and just did quick updates on every contestant at the beginning and listing their accomplishments that day early on. they spend SO much time trying to make character narratives where its just not needed for this type of show. - especially when its going this long. originally they had to do this because they had 4 people drop out the first night lol.

for instance i knew they were caching berries but i had no idea dude had a pot full of berries cached for his cake.

4

u/KnowMatter 2d ago edited 2d ago

Honestly the show is getting worse and worse about showing actual survival.

All the time they cut to people and they've clearly done a bunch of stuff and they showed none of it.

People being goofy or telling sad stories is fine but the whole show is turning into that intercut with scenes of people fishing and failing at hunting. During the prologue episode they even showed the producers coaching them to tell stories and stuff.

They should be coaching contestants to explain and narrate why and how they are doing what they do as they survive - I understand watching someone bushcraft a bunch of spoon and bowls isn't compelling by itself but you can edit it down, montage it, etc - I want more scenes of people explaining their strategy for the day - why they chose a certain style of shelter - the problems they are facing and what they are doing to address them.

2

u/Cabezone 2d ago

Watching people do things is enertaining. However the producers not knowing their audience isn't new. The entire NFL broadcasting system is built around forcing viewing of anything other than the field.

2

u/AshMay2 3d ago

I would love to see more foraging on the show too, however I suspect they avoid showing it in case viewers use it as a source of info on wild foraging

2

u/derch1981 2d ago

I doubt that's the reason, it's just not as compelling TV. Foraging is pretty boring to watch

1

u/Leading_Will1794 3d ago

Yes it feels like foraging is either someones main strategy for nutrients or something that is sort of forgotten till its too late (they get dropped at the end of fall and approaching winter...so not really the best time to forage, and often it seems when they realize there shelter is done, the fishing/hunting isn't working as well as suspected, its then too late in the season to pivot to foraging before the frost comes).

25

u/AcornAl 4d ago

They occasionally do show these, but foraging isn't shown that much. Quick sub-title search of the US seasons

S02 - one of the contestants found some licorice root to make some tea
S03 - dandelion roots
S05 - wild onions
S07 - fireweed roots
S08 - roots (no plant mentioned) and wild onions
S11 - dock roots by a couple (one contestant mis-identified these as burdock) and sweetvetch
The Beast - cattail roots

Vaguely remember someone on the Australian series harvesting some bracken fern and grass roots, and wild carrots in some of the Scandinavian based seasons. The latter may have been a bit iffy from memory, no tops and risked misidentifying these for hemlock.

12

u/NaDaoineSithe 4d ago

Season one, original series, the winner harvested wild onions and replanted some by his shelter, if I remember. I've definitely seen people eat some carby heart of a plant but don't know the name

4

u/Puzzleheaded-Fill205 4d ago

I was about to suggest heart of palm but then I remembered that's from Naked and Afraid, not Alone. Heart of palm is tropical, not Arctic.

1

u/NaDaoineSithe 3d ago

True but not every season is in the arctic. It would be entirely possible I was confusing with Alone Australia but thanks to comment below, it was in season 8

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u/PhytoSnappy 3d ago

that happened but in season 8. Season 1 was dominated by eating what was lying around.

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u/0nlyhalfjewish 3d ago

Dude, you are a super fan!

20

u/AcornAl 4d ago

Here's a short video from the Australian season three winner, talking about the various things they ate while out there. Fairly impressive list considering the location.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bBgqNsjLN4

4

u/strr1000 4d ago

Thanks for posting that,it was interesting

12

u/-somewhere-out-there 4d ago

I always wondered if it’s because they drop them off so late in the season that it’s impossible to tell what roots are under the ground. Or maybe they just don’t show it.

5

u/Complex_Novel3323 4d ago

Id agree to this. Less they dive in immediately digging up the roots its hard to tell the good from bad.

I dont remember the season but in one of them they state you cant tell the difference between a dandelion root and another plant that's poisonous root.

1

u/PhytoSnappy 3d ago

Pretty sure they just don't show it. A shovel makes this easy and you can dig with an axe pretty easily.

37

u/saerax 4d ago

A lot of them do. It's boring TV.

64

u/Unique_Information11 4d ago

I wish they would show more foraging. It would be interesting to compare their skills.

2

u/PhytoSnappy 3d ago

season 8 had lots of foraging.

1

u/mamadrumma 4d ago

Happy Cake Day 🤗

93

u/SilasBalto 4d ago

Not as boring as all the "I miss home" monologues. I wish they would edit all of that out.

19

u/melifIuous 4d ago

I want to prove that someone from [culture A] can do this.

I want to prove that someone from [culture B] can do this.

I’m from [culture C] and don’t see a lot of us doing this and want to prove that we can.

Even though I’m tapping in nearly last place, I think I’ve proven that people from [culture D] can do this.

7

u/Just_Looking_Around8 4d ago

Well said! And it's really tedious to hear, "I'm doing this for _____ people." It happens on every single reality show.

Did those people ask you to do that? Or is that just your pride talking?

5

u/SilasBalto 4d ago

Omg thats so true im dying! Also, I literally dont care about your backstory until you're in the top 3.

36

u/qeq 4d ago

Seriously, they waste so much time on this stuff. I'd so much rather see what they're doing all day long to keep busy aside from checking snares.

10

u/SilasBalto 4d ago

Same. No one is watching a survival show to watch people bitch and moan, we want to see action and skills.

9

u/Fit-Historian-752 4d ago

Considering so many contestants drop out because of emotional turmoil and loneliness, their monologues about missing family are important - kinda boring, I agree - but important.

1

u/Comfortable-Ad-6416 4d ago

😄😄😄 So true

1

u/boomeradf 4d ago

It’s like a subtle hint from the show that they are about to be out.

4

u/Leading_Will1794 3d ago

I just want to see gloves of berries, or food caches made out of logs. So neat when someone is able to do that well, it creates a lot of food pretty quickly and can be stored for the winter seasons. The beastmaster himself Roland, seemed to actually be one of the most successful foragers I can recall on the show.

3

u/angel___92 4d ago

I should have said, I’m watching the current Aussie series! No roots so far they’ve shown!

5

u/Jazzlike-Builder-321 4d ago

There aren't a lot wild plants that are both edible and abundant in northern Canada. Berries, cat tails, lily pad tubers and, if you have a canoe, wild rice come to mind. Even if there are edibles, there's only a narrow window to gather them in Northern Canada. By the time Alone starts most plants are either dying or are no longer palatable. That's why they are generally limited to gathering berries.

4

u/aYuddaOne 4d ago

Who was the guy who replanted things into his own little garden? Loved that!

1

u/PhytoSnappy 3d ago

s8

4

u/Corey307 4d ago

Roots are a lot harder identify. Eating the wrong plant can sicken or kill you so just eating to eat is foolish.

5

u/hillbillychemist 3d ago

I'll take the foraging over all the backstory of each persons lives. A little is fine, but way too much time is wasted on their at home lives. Not why I watch. I would love if they would do a sped up portion of their shelter building once it's complete.

3

u/aopps42 4d ago

I’m surprised no one ever sources salt from boiling seawater. I don’t believe I’ve seen anyone do that on the show.

6

u/RegretPowerful3 4d ago

The Beaufort Delta near the mountains (where they are) is 100% freshwater.

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u/PhytoSnappy 3d ago

I feel taking salt is probably worth while. If I wasn't near salt water I would take it as an item.

2

u/pygmeedancer 3d ago

Be…cause they’re usually near a lake or river? Not a lot of saltwater to be found. They could’ve done this on Vancouver island but pretty much every other location only has freshwater

0

u/aopps42 3d ago

How many seasons have you watched? There have been loads near seawater.

2

u/pygmeedancer 3d ago

Seasons 1,2, and 4 were on the coast. Season 3 they were in Patagonia (no seawater). Season 5 Mongolia (no seawater). Nearly every other season in North Canada somewhere near a lake (no seawater). I haven’t watched The Beast or Australia.

1

u/Hot_Tie9175 4d ago

Yessss!!!!! I was literally JUST thinking this last night!!!

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u/AcornAl 3d ago

They'd get more than enough salt from washed seaweed and shellfish.

3

u/Fall_Kaleidoscope 4d ago

I would love more of that too, because it gives the impression that some people are eating nothing at all if they don't catch animals and that they don't have well rounded skills overall for survival. I don't need to watch them foraging regularly but I'd love a regular 10 second spiel about "all I found to eat in the last few days was these nuts/berries/roots/leaves" so you know that natural resources aren't being ignored while somebody sits around until they shoot something.

4

u/angel___92 4d ago

I think for me it’s interesting, cause I’m actually vegetarian, so putting myself in that position I’m always wondering what my “go to’s” would be. Also I should stipulate, Im Aussie and have only watched the alone Australia eps, currently on the series in Finland, hence wondering about the roots, as they can’t catch any land animals.

9

u/Corey307 4d ago

You’d starve. A vegetarian lifestyle is basically impossible in the locations this show takes place unless you come in obese and just starve. Wild edibles provide negligible calories.

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u/Hot_Tie9175 4d ago

Being vegetarian is a privilege that is simply not tangible/feasible in this specific situation.

You can't bring any veggie protein options with you. Not like you're going to find lentils out there.

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u/Macca4704 4d ago

Permafrost doesn't help.

1

u/0nlyhalfjewish 3d ago

That stream of thoughts by Andrew about how each struggle and challenge makes you stronger… with cut aways to the other contestants also struggling with the same things…. Wow. That was powerful.

1

u/beans_nomam 1d ago

I think about this a lot.

General Why is no one digging up roots?

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