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* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted. The actors playing the survivors in flashbacks are realistically covered in dust, bruised, blistered, scratched up, peeling lips from dehydration and so on. Actual pictures taken of rescued survivors show that this is fairly accurate to real life.
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* HeroicDog: Danelle Ballengee's dog, Taz, who leads rescuers to her while she is unable to move.
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* Determinator: Otherwise known as "the drive to survive." Examples include crawling for seven miles with a shattered pelvis and broken femur in temperatures as low as minus fifteen degrees, scaling a cliff with a shattered pelvis and hiking for two days down a mountain with a broken ankle.
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* Determinator: {{Determinator}}: Otherwise known as "the drive to survive." Examples include crawling for seven miles with a shattered pelvis and broken femur in temperatures as low as minus fifteen degrees, scaling a cliff with a shattered pelvis and hiking for two days down a mountain with a broken ankle.
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* Determinator: Otherwise known as "the drive to survive." Examples include crawling for seven miles with a shattered pelvis and broken femur in temperatures as low as minus fifteen degrees, scaling a cliff with a shattered pelvis and hiking for two days down a mountain with a broken ankle.
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** In another, whilst stranded on a mountain in a storm, a woman has enough signal to ''text'' for help on her Nokia but not enough to make any calls and this ''does'' end up saving her and her companion's life.
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** In another, whilst stranded on a mountain the Swiss Alps in a storm, a woman has enough signal to ''text'' for help on her Nokia but not enough to make any calls and this ''does'' end up saving her and her companion's life.
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* HappilyMarried: A heartwarming postscript to "First Date Nightmare."
** Also in "Hell in the Desert."
** Also in "Hell in the Desert."
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** Linda Skvarna, lost in the Grand Canyon for three weeks, was accompanied by her dog, who she says was a great comfort to her. When they were separated, the situation she was in seemed a lot worse.
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** Matthew McGough in "A Dad's Worst Nightmare" states several times during his interview that he would have been ''less'' afraid if his five-year-old daughter Shannon hadn't been there with him. [[AdultFear Seeing her suffer and worrying about how she would cope on her own if something happened to him caused him much more stress than if he had been on his own.]]
** Similarly, Roger Sargeant in "Hell in the Desert" decides to strike out on his own for help, leaving his girlfriend behind with her two daughters because he knows he can make quicker time on his own.
** Similarly, Roger Sargeant in "Hell in the Desert" decides to strike out on his own for help, leaving his girlfriend behind with her two daughters because he knows he can make quicker time on his own.
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** Matthew McGough in "A Dad's Worst Nightmare" states several times during his interview that he would have been ''less'' afraid if his five-year-old daughter Shannon hadn't been there with him. [[AdultFear Seeing her suffer and worrying about how she would cope on her own if something happened to him caused him much more emotional and mental stress than if he had been on his own.]]
** Similarly, Roger Sargeant in "Hell in the Desert" decides to strike out on his own for help, leaving his girlfriend behind with her two daughters because they're quickly running out of water and he knows he can make quicker time on his own.
--> '''Narrator:''' Leaving is hard but they're miles from civilisation and he fears the kids won't be able to keep going.
** Similarly, Roger Sargeant in "Hell in the Desert" decides to strike out on his own for help, leaving his girlfriend behind with her two daughters because they're quickly running out of water and he knows he can make quicker time on his own.
--> '''Narrator:''' Leaving is hard but they're miles from civilisation and he fears the kids won't be able to keep going.
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** Matthew McGough in "A Dad's Worst Nightmare" states several times during his interview that he would have been ''less'' afraid if his five-year-old daughter Shannon hadn't been there with him. [[AdultFear Seeing her suffer and worrying about how she would cope on her own if something happened to him caused him much more stress than if he had been on his own.]]
** Similarly, Roger Sargeant in "Hell in the Desert" decides to strike out on his own for help, leaving his girlfriend behind with her two daughters because he knows he can make quicker time on his own.
** In "Till Death Do Us Part" Lynda Bosworth has to convince her husband to go on without her, reasoning that he can travel much faster without her. Tom eventually concedes but it clearly causes him distress.
** Similarly, Roger Sargeant in "Hell in the Desert" decides to strike out on his own for help, leaving his girlfriend behind with her two daughters because he knows he can make quicker time on his own.
** In "Till Death Do Us Part" Lynda Bosworth has to convince her husband to go on without her, reasoning that he can travel much faster without her. Tom eventually concedes but it clearly causes him distress.
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** In another, whilst stranded on a mountain in a storm, a woman has enough signal to ''text'' for help on her Nokia but not enough to make any calls and this ''does'' end up saving her and her companion's life.
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* BornLucky / BornUnlucky: Justin in "Crashed in the Rockies" has the best of luck and the worst of luck. He survives a plane crash unscathed, hikes out and manages to get help... and then the rescue helicopter crashes.
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* CellPhonesAreUseless: Zig-zagged:
** While it seems pretty foolish that most people do not carry cell phones, some of these stories predate the use of cell phones entirely, or took place in a time in which cell phones ''did'' exist, but [[JustifiedTrope the remoteness of the area they were in meant they would not get adequate coverage]].
** In one episode, the fact that one person ''had'' a satellite phone is what allowed them to get help in the first place.
** While it seems pretty foolish that most people do not carry cell phones, some of these stories predate the use of cell phones entirely, or took place in a time in which cell phones ''did'' exist, but [[JustifiedTrope the remoteness of the area they were in meant they would not get adequate coverage]].
** In one episode, the fact that one person ''had'' a satellite phone is what allowed them to get help in the first place.
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** Sea of Cortez. For everything that Joe and Jose do, [[spoiler: Lorenzo dies]].
** Arguably, [[spoiler: Lorenzo]].
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** Lorenzo in "Death in the sea of Cortez" is obese - but he clearly was trying hard. Unfortunately, he suffered ''two'' sprained ankles, and because of this, his two friends jerry-rigged a raft so they could move him around easier. At one point, Lorenzo actually gets ''out'' of the raft to take one of his friends in instead so he can push. [[spoiler: It does not end well, as by this point Lorenzo is so exhausted, he falls face-first in the water.]]
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** Lorenzo in "Death in the sea of Cortez" is obese - but he clearly was trying hard. Unfortunately, he suffered ''two'' sprained ankles, and because of this, his two friends jerry-rigged a raft so they could move him around easier. At one point, Lorenzo actually gets ''out'' of the raft to take one of his friends in instead so he can push. [[spoiler: It does not end well, as by this point Lorenzo is so exhausted, he falls face-first in the water.]] He doesn't make it.]]
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* TheLoad: Much more tragic examples.
** A rare justified example - many times, people are TheLoad not because of laziness, but because of injuries. If they exert themselves too much, they will actually hurt themselves more, and sometimes this ''actually'' happens. Multiple people have been forced to leave behind survivors in order to find help.
** Lorenzo in "Death in the sea of Cortez" is obese - but he clearly was trying hard. Unfortunately, he suffered ''two'' sprained ankles, and because of this, his two friends jerry-rigged a raft so they could move him around easier. At one point, Lorenzo actually gets ''out'' of the raft to take one of his friends in instead so he can push. [[spoiler: It does not end well, as by this point Lorenzo is so exhausted, he falls face-first in the water.]]
** A rare justified example - many times, people are TheLoad not because of laziness, but because of injuries. If they exert themselves too much, they will actually hurt themselves more, and sometimes this ''actually'' happens. Multiple people have been forced to leave behind survivors in order to find help.
** Lorenzo in "Death in the sea of Cortez" is obese - but he clearly was trying hard. Unfortunately, he suffered ''two'' sprained ankles, and because of this, his two friends jerry-rigged a raft so they could move him around easier. At one point, Lorenzo actually gets ''out'' of the raft to take one of his friends in instead so he can push. [[spoiler: It does not end well, as by this point Lorenzo is so exhausted, he falls face-first in the water.]]
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* DaylightHorror: A lot of the events happen in daytime, ''especially'' in "Horror in the Grand Canyon".
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* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Of a sort. In "Date from Hell", Brandon finds John Donavan's body and then goes berserk and starts a fire which helps get them rescued.
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* NoAntagonist: The stories are gripping survival stories, with no antagonist beyond "Nature".
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* UnreliableNarrator: Due to the fact that a few people had GoneMadFromTheIsolation temporarily, it's hard to believe how much could be true and how much is them describing their madness. Especially on Cozumel island.
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** Steve, Steven, Travis, Ross, and Joseph all survive, but Roger Stone [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificed himself]] to save the other two.
** Benedict Allen is alive, but he had to EatTheDog.
** Blizzard of Death - despite most of the group surviving, one of the guides and helicopter pilots died.
** Benedict Allen is alive, but he had to EatTheDog.
** Blizzard of Death - despite most of the group surviving, one of the guides and helicopter pilots died.
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* HeroicSacrifice:
** Roger Stone in Ocean Disaster. Two of the people are stuck in the capsized boat, and Roger pushes them out. He was never seen or heard from again.
** Mike unknowingly did this when he helped slow Jim Davidson down during the fall.
** Roger Stone in Ocean Disaster. Two of the people are stuck in the capsized boat, and Roger pushes them out. He was never seen or heard from again.
** Mike unknowingly did this when he helped slow Jim Davidson down during the fall.
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* TurnOfTheMillennium: A good portion of the stories take place around this timeframe, while some also take place in TheNineties and there are a few that take place in TheEighties or even TheSeventies. (Notable in that this is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Callahan#76_Days_Adrift Steven Callahan]])
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** An example of this is where, when they were lost and after the son broke his leg, his father had to leave him in a cave, and this was when it was very cold, and with the snow no less.
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** An example of this is where, when they were lost and after the son broke his leg, his the father had to leave him the son in a cave, and this was when it was very cold, and with the snow no less.
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* DwindlingParty: Most episodes depict some survivors that started off as a group when they got lost and have very few or no remaining members left by the time they are rescued.
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* ImAHumanitarian: When lost and gone days without food, several of the survivors will have contemplated cannibalism but neither are willing to go through with it.
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* ImAHumanitarian: ImAHumanitarian:
** When lost and gone days without food, several of the survivors will have contemplated cannibalism but neither are willing to go through withit. it.
** When lost and gone days without food, several of the survivors will have contemplated cannibalism but neither are willing to go through with
* {{Irony}}: In "Crushed by Quad Bike", it's noted that Ken packed plenty of survival gear in the event of an emergency, but said survival gear only ends up weighing him down and preventing him from escaping after he ends up trapped under his own quad bike.
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* NothingIsScarier: "Perfect Storm" presents this with Arden. We and the survivors don't find out what happened to him, so he's missing and assumed dead.
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* NothingIsScarier: NothingIsScarier:
** "Perfect Storm" presents this with Arden. We and the survivors don't find out what happened to him, so he's missing and assumed dead.
** "Perfect Storm" presents this with Arden. We and the survivors don't find out what happened to him, so he's missing and assumed dead.
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** A milder case in "Vacation Nightmare" but still pretty frightening. The survivors of a plane crash in the jungle recount that during the night they heard a large animal somewhere nearby but were unable to see where or what it was in the darkness. Eventually it moved on and left them.
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* TearsOfJoy: Many people's reactions on being found and rescue is to burst into tears with relief and joy.
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* ImAHumanitarian: When lost and gone days without food, several of the survivors will have contemplated cannibalism but neither are willing to go through with it.
** One pair of survivors contemplated eating their ill friend who succumbed to her wounds and died in her sleep, but refused due to the possibility that her whole body and flesh are full of the bacterial infection that killed her and instead decide to give her a proper burial.
** One pair of survivors contemplated eating their ill friend who succumbed to her wounds and died in her sleep, but refused due to the possibility that her whole body and flesh are full of the bacterial infection that killed her and instead decide to give her a proper burial.
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* OncePerEpisode: Every episode makes a point to specifically mention how one of the survivors' organs are "shutting down" as a result of their injuries.
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* AndIMustScream:
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* GoMadFromTheIsolation: As for some of the survivors depicted, starvation, dehydration, infection, etc, tend to do that to you.
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* BearsAreBadNews: In "Trapped Under the Ice", the father an son duo, after surviving their canoe capsizing in ice water, have to face a forest full of bears, and it's terrifying as it sounds, as they were practically defenseless. This also happens in "Trapped On the Mountain" where the elk hunter gets mauled by a grizzly.
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* BearsAreBadNews: AndIMustScream:
* BearsAreBadNews:
** In "Trapped Under the Ice", the fatheran and son duo, after surviving their canoe capsizing in ice water, have to face a forest full of bears, and it's terrifying as it sounds, as they were practically defenseless. defenseless.
** Thisalso happens in "Trapped On the Mountain" where the elk hunter gets mauled by a grizzly.grizzly.
** "Escape from Bear Mountain" has two friends end up stuck in bear country after a plane crash leaves them horribly injured. As to be expected, they run afoul of several bears during their travels.
* BearsAreBadNews:
** In "Trapped Under the Ice", the father
** This
** "Escape from Bear Mountain" has two friends end up stuck in bear country after a plane crash leaves them horribly injured. As to be expected, they run afoul of several bears during their travels.
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* {{Flashback}}: One episode is told from the [=POV=] of someone recalling their time after they were captured by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, while he's waiting to be rescued after having his leg blown off by landmine.
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* {{Flashback}}: One episode is told from the [=POV=] of someone recalling their time after they were captured by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, while he's waiting to be rescued after having his leg blown off by a landmine.
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* AdultFear: All over the place but this especially the case with stories that involve children. An example of this is where, when they were lost and after the son broke his leg, his father had to leave him in a cave and this was when it was very cold and with the snow no less. In much that same vein, we have the episode "A Dad's Worse Nightmare" where the father is stranded with five year old daughter in the Australian Outback.
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* AdultFear: All over the place but this is especially the case with stories that involve children. children:
** An example of this is where, when they were lost and after the son broke his leg, his father had to leave him in acave cave, and this was when it was very cold cold, and with the snow no less. less.
** In much that same vein, we have the episode "A Dad'sWorse Nightmare" Worst Nightmare", where the father is stranded with his five year old daughter in the Australian Outback.
** An example of this is where, when they were lost and after the son broke his leg, his father had to leave him in a
** In much that same vein, we have the episode "A Dad's
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* BittersweetEnding: This happened in "Horror In the Grand Canyon" where the group was rescued but, for one of them (Dave Phillips), rescue came too late.
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* BittersweetEnding: BittersweetEnding:
** This happened in "HorrorIn in the Grand Canyon" where the group was rescued but, for one of them (Dave Phillips), rescue came too late.
** This happened in "Horror
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Adding a few tropes
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!! This series provides examples of the following tropes:
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*AdultFear: All over the place but this especially the case with stories that involve children. An example of this is where, when they were lost and after the son broke his leg, his father had to leave him in a cave and this was when it was very cold and with the snow no less. In much that same vein, we have the episode "A Dad's Worse Nightmare" where the father is stranded with five year old daughter in the Australian Outback.
**"A Father's Deadly Dilemma" presents the father getting injured and, because he's injured, his daughter has to venture through the wilderness to find help.
*BearsAreBadNews: In "Trapped Under the Ice", the father an son duo, after surviving their canoe capsizing in ice water, have to face a forest full of bears, and it's terrifying as it sounds, as they were practically defenseless. This also happens in "Trapped On the Mountain" where the elk hunter gets mauled by a grizzly.
*BetterToDieThanBeKilled: A played with example happens in the episode "Lost in the Rainforest", where the woman (who has depression) suggests to her travelling partner that they slit their wrists so they won't die from the elements.
*BittersweetEnding: This happened in "Horror In the Grand Canyon" where the group was rescued but, for one of them (Dave Phillips), rescue came too late.
**In "Fear in Freefall", only Will survives being stranded off the coast of Costa Rica. The other five don't.
*EatTheDog: Not that the survivor in "Alone In the Amazon" had a choice.
*{{Flashback}}: One episode is told from the [=POV=] of someone recalling their time after they were captured by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, while he's waiting to be rescued after having his leg blown off by landmine.
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*NothingIsScarier: "Perfect Storm" presents this with Arden. We and the survivors don't find out what happened to him, so he's missing and assumed dead.
*SnowMeansDeath: A few episodes. For example, in "Frozen at 20,000 Feet", "Blizzard of Death", "Avalanche of Terror", "Snowmobile Nightmare" has the snow presenting obvious issues with not only their survival but their rescue as well.
*StayOnThePath: Quite a few episodes.
**This is how the episode "Horror In the Grand Canyon" happens. The group takes an off-trail route and get lost.
**This also occurs with "Date From Hell", where the couple go off the trail, even though there's a waterfall nearby.
** "A Dad's Worse Nightmare" has the father with his daughter go off the trail to go fishing.
*SnowMeansDeath: A few episodes. For example, in "Frozen at 20,000 Feet", "Blizzard of Death", "Avalanche of Terror", "Snowmobile Nightmare" has the snow presenting obvious issues with not only their survival but their rescue as well.
*StayOnThePath: Quite a few episodes.
**This is how the episode "Horror In the Grand Canyon" happens. The group takes an off-trail route and get lost.
**This also occurs with "Date From Hell", where the couple go off the trail, even though there's a waterfall nearby.
** "A Dad's Worse Nightmare" has the father with his daughter go off the trail to go fishing.
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* BodyHorror: Nearly being eaten alive (whether by crocodiles, sharks, hyenas, or driver ants), extreme sunburn, hypothermia, frostbite, dehydration, you name it.
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[[quoteright:334:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/uqi4l2j.jpg]]
''I Shouldn't Be Alive'' is a {{documentary}} series produced for Creator/DiscoveryChannel by UK-based production company Darlow Smithson Productions. As the title implies, it features accounts of individuals or groups caught in dangerous scenarios away from civilization in natural environments.
The show was compiled using footage of interviews and dramatic re-enactments of the situation. The main focus of the show was providing an explanation of how the participants survived the ordeal against typical odds and outlining the decisions they made that kept them alive.
NeedsWikiMagicLove.
!! This series provides examples of the following tropes:
* FailedASpotCheck: A lot of the scenarios portrayed in the series result from this.
* FightToSurvive: The central theme of the series, naturally.
* LandDownUnder: Given its notoriously unforgiving climate, Australia is unsurprisingly the setting for quite a few of the incidents portrayed in the series.
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''I Shouldn't Be Alive'' is a {{documentary}} series produced for Creator/DiscoveryChannel by UK-based production company Darlow Smithson Productions. As the title implies, it features accounts of individuals or groups caught in dangerous scenarios away from civilization in natural environments.
The show was compiled using footage of interviews and dramatic re-enactments of the situation. The main focus of the show was providing an explanation of how the participants survived the ordeal against typical odds and outlining the decisions they made that kept them alive.
NeedsWikiMagicLove.
!! This series provides examples of the following tropes:
* FailedASpotCheck: A lot of the scenarios portrayed in the series result from this.
* FightToSurvive: The central theme of the series, naturally.
* LandDownUnder: Given its notoriously unforgiving climate, Australia is unsurprisingly the setting for quite a few of the incidents portrayed in the series.
----
