I'm Alive

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Real-life survival tales are OK for kids but can be tedious.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this reality series features real people sharing their stories about life-or-death situations. Since the survivors are telling their own tales, there’s little doubt about the outcome -- though the details of these harrowing encounters with dangerous animals can be very dramatic. The incidents are often quite intense, but the reenactments are pretty tame, and young viewers may find the stories inspiring.

  • The show's inspiring stories showcase the lengths that people will go to save themselves or loved ones. Some people who were on the verge of death describe how they consciously chose to fight for consciousness and not willingly slip away.
  • Everyday people prove to be moving role models as they describe how they reacted when placed in real life-or-death situations.
  • All of the stories involve true life-or-death situations. The survivors recount their experiences, sometimes in graphic detail, but the reenactments don't show too much. There’s some blood and quick shots of injuries (and sometimes weapons, like guns), but nothing especially graphic.
  • Not applicable.

What's the story?

Life can turn in an instant, and an ordinary day can suddenly become a survival situation. I’M ALIVE explains, in often harrowing detail, how regular people react when they're suddenly thrust into contact with dangerous animals, ranging from the tiny black widow spider to massive elephants. Each episode of the show includes detailed interviews with the victims, as well as reenactments of the incidents.


Is it any good?

 

It’s hard to beat the drama of real-world, life-threatening encounters with wild animals, but I'm Alive drains much of the excitement from the stories by stretching them out too long. Hearing someone talk about being gored by an elephant in a remote part of China is fascinating; listening to his entire life story -- including his school years, travels, marriage, and a tragic loss -- is unnecessary filler that detracts significantly from his story.

The show also sometimes exaggerates the stories' drama. For example, one reenactment shows a man trying to smuggle illegal anti-venom into the country to save his dying stepson from a poisonous spider bite. It's nail-biting adventure, but as he approaches Mexican customs, he’s suddenly accosted by security guards wielding machine guns! Did they find the contraband serum? No, he was just afraid that they would -- and the reenactment brings his fears to life. In reality, he passed through the checkpoint without incident. It feels like TV bait-and-switch, falsely creating action when nothing actually happened. This show would be better at half its length, sticking to the facts and cutting out the fluff.


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about survival. How do you think you'd react in a life-or-death situation? Do you think the people in these stories acted wisely, or did they make any iffy choices?

  • How do the encounters described here compare to dangerous incidents in fictional movies or TV shows? Are they just as exciting? Do they seem scarier and/or more exciting because they're true?


This review was written by Will Wade
Kid, 12 years old
January 21, 2011
 
Totally wicked!
Awesome! There are good role models because people try to help the victim,and they'll do anything to save them.Two thumbs up!

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Kid, 12 years old
April 2, 2011
 
Not a Good Idea to Watch
Can I just say that the is the most gruesome reality show I have ever seen? It can be scary! As far as anything, I'd consider this show to be violent but yet it has good ro-modles and positive messages as the the other people help the victim of what had happened. I'd give it two stars because it's gruesome and disgusting but other than that :I

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Kid, 13 years old
May 7, 2012
 
Very tedious
I have only seen a few episodes of this, but so far it doesn't look very good. There was this episode where an Australian guy gets attacked by a Great White Shark, and almost the whole second half of the episode was filled with the guy talking about how he saw "this fin". The show is melodramatic and lots of episodes have dozens of things that never actually happened. I am a huge fan of I Shouldn't be Alive, another Animal Planet show about survival. But that show doesn't melodramatize things, and it's VERY entertaining. But I'm Alive is a forgettable mess.

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This review was written by Will Wade
TV rating:TV-PG
Network:Animal Planet
Genre:Reality TV

This review was written by Will Wade
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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