Discovery Channel strands two rival U.S. senators on deserted island in shark-infested waters



Two rival U.S. senators spend a week on a deserted island, courtesy of the Discovery Channel. (Photo from Discovery Channel) more >


By Jennifer Harper - The Washington Times - Thursday, September 11, 2014

It was inevitable. The old “survivor” reality TV template has gone political. The Discovery Channel has produced “Rival Survival”,which takes a pair of real world political adversaries and maroons them on a remote island for a week.

No, really. This is not a joke.

“Senators Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, and Martin Heinrich, Minnesota Democrat,must put their political differences aside and work together for six days and six nights to find common ground through compromise if they want to survive,” the network says.

“Polar opposites and often at odds in the Senate, these two men must come together to take on the island of Eru, Marshall Islands, an utterly unforgiving deserted destination where the reefs alone are fraught with dangers that include venomous stonefish, lionfish and scorpion fish,” the production notes say.

The program is produced by Renegade, the same creative folks behind Discovery’s hit series “Naked and Afraid”.

No, really.

“Our senatorial adversaries turned survival teammates are given a modest choice of items from which they can select only three. Using only these limited resources and their wits, the pair must work together as they attempt to spear fish, build shelter and find enough water to survive for one week. There is no natural source for fresh water on Eru, and what lives in the ocean will be their major food source.”

The program will be broadcast next month, and is a one-time deal - though it would seem a viable idea for a series.

“This unusual pairing will leave behind the daily life of congressional staff, senate hearings and committee meetings to navigate the rigors of surviving on an isolated island with no contact with the outside world to call upon for help,” Discovery adds.

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