Fat Guys in the Woods Season 2: Preview

Fat Guys in the Woods is back for seconds!  Premiering June 7th at 9pm EST on the Weather Channel, the hit survival series that debuted last year is returning for more fun in the woods.  And I got a sneak preview of this week’s episode.

We sat down to watch this as a family.  Yes, it’s family friendly television!  Like last season, survival expert Creek Stewart takes a group of ordinary guys into the wild to survive on their own for a week with very few supplies.  In the process, they learn survival skills, get some deep thinking time, and get a boost to their manhood and self esteem.  And really, who wouldn’t want to spend a week in the woods learning survival skills with Creek?

New this year, they are visiting various locations across the United States instead of doing all their filming in the Smoky Mountains.  This week they were in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.  This was particularly interesting to me because it is a lot more like where I live than the lush greenery and tall trees they had available last season.  Multiple locations is really going to help Creek showcase a variety of survival skills as well as help the nationwide audience relate to the show this season.  Love this new angle.

The premier episode features three fantastic volunteers, Jacob, Randy, and Peter, who the kids quickly renamed Red Beard, Black Beard, and No Beard.  Following Creek and a trusty military survival manual, they build a parachute shelter, struggle with fire starting and having enough water, hike 30 miles, experience temperature fluctuations only the desert can deal out, and eat so little that MRE’s are appetizing at the end of the week.

It’s pretty rough watching a show of any kind with my family of commentators, especially survival shows, and this one was no exception.  When the parabolic lens fire starter didn’t work, hubby says, “They have shoelaces and knives, why don’t they build a bow drill?” (It’s a TV show, dear, they can’t use all their fire starting techniques in one episode.)  He also wants one of those hoody things Creek was wearing–where can I find one of those?  And when it took until the end of the second day to reveal that the cactus they were stepping over the whole time was actually edible, my girls practically yelled, “FINALLY!!”  (Yes, we’ve eaten cactus.  Next time try it raw or fried or roasted on a stick–none of them are great, but boiling is the least appetizing!)  Then when they really did cook and eat that spider the four year old says with his sad voice (that spider was a potential friend you know), “Who would eat spiders in real life?”  So sad, buddy, but it had to be done.  As Red Beard said, “I can’t think of a better way to face your fear than to eat it.”

Even with the excess comments from the audience at my house, I connect with this show.  I laugh, I celebrate the victories with them, and I cry.  Every.  Single.  Time.

The survival skills demonstrated are practical, creative, and potentially life saving.  But the show is only partly about survival skills.  The other part is about people building.  Which is what makes this a show I want to watch.  Yes, they can build a shelter and build a fire, but in the meantime they’re building people.  People like Jacob, Randy, and Peter, who will leave this experience better men than when they started.  And people watching that think, “maybe I have that in me as well!”  Yes, viewer, yes you do.  And if you’re looking for a TV show that can inspire you to dig deep and become a better person, this is it.

Fat Guys in the Woods Season 2 premiers this Sunday June 7th at 9pm EST on The Weather Channel.  As an added bonus, they will be playing a Season 1 marathon just prior, starting at 1pm.  And you can always join in the fan discussion over at the official Fat Guys Facebook page.  Fat Guys in the Woods will be time well spent on Sunday evenings for the next 8 weeks!

Keep preparing!
Angela