Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

I Shouldn't Be Alive

 I Shouldn't Be Alive
type
TVTItem
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
label
I Shouldn't Be Alive
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
page
IShouldntBeAlive
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
comment
I Shouldn't Be Alive is a documentary series produced for Discovery Channel (seasons 1-2) and Animal Planet (seasons 3-6) 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.The series has a YouTube channel, with many of the show's most iconic episodes uploaded there.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
fetched
2024-03-22T21:17:39Z
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
parsed
2024-03-22T21:17:39Z
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
processingComment
Dropped link to JustInTime: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
isPartOf
DBTropes
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_109bc3e
type
Eat the Dog
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_109bc3e
comment
Eat The Dog: Not that the survivor in "Alone In the Amazon" had a choice.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_109bc3e
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_109bc3e
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_109bc3e
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_1869b4b1
type
Unreliable Narrator
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_1869b4b1
comment
Unreliable Narrator: Due to the fact that a few people had went mad temporarily, it's hard to believe how much could be true and how much is them describing their madness. Especially on Cozumel island.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_1869b4b1
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_1869b4b1
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_1869b4b1
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21af4dc3
type
Heroic Dog
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21af4dc3
comment
Heroic Dog: Danelle Ballengee's dog, Taz, who leads rescuers to her while she is unable to move.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21af4dc3
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21af4dc3
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21af4dc3
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21e5b9c7
type
Failed a Spot Check
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21e5b9c7
comment
Failed a Spot Check: A lot of the scenarios portrayed in the series result from this.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21e5b9c7
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21e5b9c7
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_21e5b9c7
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_22071825
type
I'm a Humanitarian
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_22071825
comment
I'm a Humanitarian: 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_22071825
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_22071825
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_22071825
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_2de495bb
type
Missing Child
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_2de495bb
comment
Missing Child: This is especially the case with stories that involve children: An example of this is where, when they were lost and the son unable to walk, the father had to leave the son in a cave to find help, and this was when it was very cold, and with the snow no less. "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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_2de495bb
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_2de495bb
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_2de495bb
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_32a1f455
type
Alliterative Family
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_32a1f455
comment
Alliterative Family: Mary and Michael Couillard, and their children, Mark, Matthew and Marissa in "Ice Cave Survivor."
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_32a1f455
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_32a1f455
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_32a1f455
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: 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. Steve, Steven, Travis, Ross, and Joseph all survive, but Roger Stone sacrificed himself to save the other two. Benedict Allen is alive, but he had to Eat The Dog. Sea of Cortez. For everything that Joe and Jose do, Lorenzo dies. Blizzard of Death - despite most of the group surviving, one of the guides and helicopter pilots died.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_40cc0c7e
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_40cc0c7e
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_40cc0c7e
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_44989f6f
type
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_44989f6f
comment
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Several of the survivors hang a lampshade that they weren't making the smartest of decisions, which usually got them into the situation in the first place. It's more prevalent with The Narrator however, as they often point out when a character makes a near fatal error and offers better advice on what to do if you find yourself in that situation.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_44989f6f
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_44989f6f
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_44989f6f
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_4f3c14ca
type
Go Mad from the Isolation
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_4f3c14ca
comment
Go Mad from the Isolation: As for some of the survivors depicted, starvation, dehydration, infection, etc, tend to do that to you.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_4f3c14ca
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_4f3c14ca
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_4f3c14ca
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_504a1991
type
Body Horror
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_504a1991
comment
Body Horror: Nearly being eaten alive (whether by crocodiles, sharks, hyenas, or driver ants), extreme sunburn, hypothermia, frostbite, dehydration, you name it.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_504a1991
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_504a1991
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_504a1991
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_506ffa51
type
Tears of Joy
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_506ffa51
comment
Tears of Joy: Many people's reactions on being found and rescue is to burst into tears with relief and joy.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_506ffa51
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_506ffa51
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_506ffa51
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_53c9fc92
type
Flashback
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_53c9fc92
comment
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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_53c9fc92
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_53c9fc92
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_53c9fc92
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_55180ce
type
Snow Means Death
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_55180ce
comment
Snow Means Death: 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. Narrowly missed in "Trapped in the Canyon." Danelle Ballengee knew she wouldn't survive another night in freezing temperatures but what she didn't know was that it would have snowed that night. If she hadn't been rescued then, she would certainly have died.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_55180ce
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_55180ce
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_55180ce
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_57a0fe29
type
Internet Stalking
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_57a0fe29
comment
Internet Stalking: A benevolent example that ends up saving their lives in "Chasm of Death," when the wife of one of the missing men manages to figure out where they are by going through her husband's internet history.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_57a0fe29
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_57a0fe29
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_57a0fe29
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_590f44cd
type
Improvised Clothes
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_590f44cd
comment
Improvised Clothes: Jennifer and Jim in "Lost in the Snow" know their shoes are insufficient for walking through snow so they wrap their feet in plastic first to offer some protection from the snow. It doesn't save them from having to have all their toes amputated due to frostbite.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_590f44cd
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_590f44cd
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_590f44cd
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_603f1a80
type
Pragmatic Adaptation
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_603f1a80
comment
Pragmatic Adaptation: Shannon McGough was five years old during the events documented in "A Dad's Worst Nightmare", but is given an Age Lift in the reenactments, played an actress who looked closer to ten years old.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_603f1a80
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_603f1a80
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_603f1a80
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_625031f0
type
Never Sleep Again
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_625031f0
comment
Never Sleep Again: Mundane example for Danelle Ballengee in "Trapped in the Canyon". She was trapped outdoors with a shattered pelvis in wintertime. Had she gone to sleep, she'd have died of hypothermia. This means that she spent two consecutive nights without sleeping...while being forced to lie down. She had to do crunches for hours on end to keep herself awake. The sleeplessness, blood loss, pain, and fatigue set in after the second night, making it outright impossible for her to go further.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_625031f0
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_625031f0
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_625031f0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6439de78
type
Heroic Sacrifice
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6439de78
comment
Heroic Sacrifice: 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6439de78
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6439de78
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6439de78
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6c3252ec
type
Fight to Survive
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6c3252ec
comment
Fight to Survive: The central theme of the series, naturally.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6c3252ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6c3252ec
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6c3252ec
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6f619fab
type
Let's Split Up, Gang!
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6f619fab
comment
Let's Split Up, Gang!: Depending on the situation, this can be a good idea or a bad idea. One person becoming split from the rest of the group is usually bad but other times, especially in cases where one person is unable to walk or when there are young children involved, someone (usually the father) will head on alone to get help. 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6f619fab
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6f619fab
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_6f619fab
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_74f57438
type
Cell Phones Are Useless
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_74f57438
comment
Cell Phones Are Useless: 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 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. In another, whilst stranded on 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_74f57438
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_74f57438
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_74f57438
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_812fc350
type
Turn of the Millennium
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_812fc350
comment
Turn of the Millennium: A good portion of the stories take place around this timeframe, while some also take place in The '90s and there are a few that take place in The '80s or even The '70s. (Notable in that this is Steven Callahan)
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_812fc350
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_812fc350
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_812fc350
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_89b8822f
type
Go Mad from the Revelation
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_89b8822f
comment
Go Mad from the Revelation: 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_89b8822f
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_89b8822f
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_89b8822f
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d0785d5
type
Didn't Think This Through
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d0785d5
comment
Didn't Think This Through: A number of accidents have gone From Bad to Worse because someone in the group of survivors makes a critical error in judgement that happens to jeopardise not only their own life, but that of everyone else around them. In Terror on the Zambezi, Alistair Gellatly decides to swim to shore to look for help after a raging hippo wrecks the boat he was travelling on with his friends. As he begins swimming, he sees a Nile crocodile, the most recent result of millions of years of evolution, and one of the most feared predators in Africa, swimming nearby, having not noticed him. Though he could attempt to sneak past it, he has the bright idea to chase it, then try to punch it, all while still in the water where the croc has an even bigger advantage than it would anyway. Needless to say, this very foolish decision doesn't end well. When Michael Couillard and his son get lost skiing in the snow, they try to hike back up the way they thought they came. When they realise they've gone the wrong way, they keep walking and end up miles in the wrong direction, far out of the range of search parties. Michael himself criticizes his actions during his interview, since the golden rule when lost in the wilderness is "stay where you are."
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d0785d5
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d0785d5
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d0785d5
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d718b9e
type
Bears Are Bad News
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d718b9e
comment
Bears Are Bad News: In "Trapped Under the Ice", the father 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. This happens in "Trapped On the Mountain" where the elk hunter gets mauled by a 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d718b9e
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d718b9e
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_8d718b9e
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_90c018ac
type
Justified Trope
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_90c018ac
comment
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 the remoteness of the area they were in meant they would not get adequate coverage.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_90c018ac
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_90c018ac
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_90c018ac
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_99298c71
type
Better to Die than Be Killed
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_99298c71
comment
Better to Die than Be Killed: 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_99298c71
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_99298c71
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_99298c71
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_a7d5e560
type
Exhaustion-Induced Idiocy
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_a7d5e560
comment
Exhaustion-Induced Idiocy: Played very much for drama as the frequent cases of dehydration and the like from the survivors being without water for days on end either causes them to start hallucinating and/or making bad decisions out of pure desperation. Things like dropping important items due to no longer being able to carry them, heading in wrong directions, or taking dumb risks are often common in the more insane cases of the show.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_a7d5e560
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_a7d5e560
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_a7d5e560
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ad1db87c
type
Oh, Crap!
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ad1db87c
comment
Oh, Crap!: "Lost in the Snow," a couple towing their baby in a makeshift sled have a brief moment of terror after they realise he's stopped crying, fearing that he has succumbed to the cold.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ad1db87c
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ad1db87c
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ad1db87c
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_b39b94da
type
Born Lucky
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_b39b94da
comment
Born Lucky: 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.... but he survives that too!
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_b39b94da
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_b39b94da
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_b39b94da
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ba9073e6
type
Land Downunder
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ba9073e6
comment
Land Down Under: Given its notoriously unforgiving climate, Australia is unsurprisingly the setting for quite a few of the incidents portrayed in the series.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ba9073e6
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ba9073e6
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ba9073e6
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_bec0417c
type
Happily Married
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_bec0417c
comment
Happily Married: Tom and Lynda Bosworth who break down in the desert, Charlie Hench who gets trapped on a mountain and his wife Julie, and newlyweds Brandon and Brandy Wiley who survive a plane crash in the jungle. A heartwarming postscript to "First Date Nightmare." Also in "Hell in the Desert."
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_bec0417c
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_bec0417c
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_bec0417c
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c335b9ec
type
Irony
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c335b9ec
comment
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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c335b9ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c335b9ec
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c335b9ec
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c3c18143
type
Hope Spot
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c3c18143
comment
Hope Spot: Twice in of "Walk into Hell". First one where one of the counselors recalls a water creek a few miles away from their resting spot, David goes to search for it, only to find that it has completely dried up. The second one occurs at the end where David collapses from severe heatstroke a few yards away from the Colorado River, forcing Mark and Jordan to rush to it to get him hydrated. When Mark came to the river, he spotted a group of off-duty paramedics kayaking and they came to their rescue. Sadly after hours of trying to revive him, David dies. Several in "Crushed by Quad Bike". Ken flips his quad and gets trapped underneath it, but he's got supplies on him... but they're just out of reach. As he looks around, he realises that he's near a farm. One of the farm dogs noticed that something's amiss, and barks like mad... but the humans at the farm don't give it any mind. Now he has no choice but to face the cold, the wind, and a menacing group of Coyotes alone until he can be rescued, without anyone to help him. Guttingly, there are lots of moments like this is the series: a plane passing overhead or a ship on the horizon that simply misses the lost survivors. One example is when lost hikers Brandon and Gina stumble upon a camp... only to realise it's the camp of somebody who, like them, got lost, was never found and died the previous year. In "A Dad’s Worst Nightmare," Matthew Mc Gough sees the headlights of a truck driving near where he and Shannon have stopped for the night. He lights an emergency light and begins waving it, screaming for help. The car stops for a moment… then drives away again.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c3c18143
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c3c18143
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c3c18143
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c4db6423
type
Yank the Dog's Chain
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c4db6423
comment
Yank the Dog's Chain: In the episode "A Family's Desert Hell," a family of four all get stranded in the Arizona desert, which prompts the stepfather Roger to leave the others to find help. Miraculously, he happens to come across a lone truck driving through the desert, to which he begs them for help. However, due to his disheveled appearance, the men in the truck mistake him for an undocumented immigrant. The driver taunts him with a water canteen, spits on him, and finally drives off, leaving him and his family to die.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c4db6423
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c4db6423
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_c4db6423
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_cdfe12c3
type
Nothing Is Scarier
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_cdfe12c3
comment
Nothing Is Scarier: "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. This is usually the situation from the perspective of the survivor's family and friends, especially if they didn't inform anyone of where they were going. While the missing person or persons are trying to find their way back to civilisation, their parents/children/spouses have no idea where they are or what's happened to them.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_cdfe12c3
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_cdfe12c3
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_cdfe12c3
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc579c91
type
Contrived Coincidence
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc579c91
comment
Contrived Coincidence: Gina Allen and Brandon Day got lost in the mountain wilderness of San Jacinto. They thought they found salvation when they found an old campsite, and a diary in the camp is the current date. Except then they realize that it's actually the previous year to the day. They both are in shock even in the interviews of how they managed to encounter this camp exactly one year after its occupant died.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc579c91
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc579c91
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc579c91
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc9b1fe9
type
Cue the Sun
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc9b1fe9
comment
Cue the Sun: At the climax of "Alaskan Avalanche", everything seems bleak. The pilot of the plane which crashed into the glacier and his wife are losing hope, Jim and Dave are on the verge of death after struggling to make it to the same glacier, and the low clouds mean rescue planes can't reach them. Then, miraculously, a break in the clouds comes just as one of the rescue planes flies over the glacier, and everyone makes it off the mountain alive!
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc9b1fe9
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc9b1fe9
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dc9b1fe9
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dd620f82
type
Too Desperate to Be Picky
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dd620f82
comment
Too Desperate to Be Picky: When faced with starvation, people will eat anything they can get their hands on, raw or otherwise. They will also drink from any water source available - including their own urine. It's pointed out that if it's a choice between drinking dirty water or not at all, you'll have a better chance of surviving if you do.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dd620f82
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dd620f82
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_dd620f82
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ddc4f035
type
Heroic Second Wind
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ddc4f035
comment
Heroic Second Wind: In "Nightmare on the Mountain" Bruce, growing rapidly exhausted carrying the injured Bram miles to camp, stops and prays for the strength to get him to safety.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ddc4f035
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ddc4f035
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ddc4f035
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e099f0de
type
I Will Only Slow You Down
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e099f0de
comment
I Will Only Slow You Down: 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 doesn't want to leave her but eventually concedes.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e099f0de
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e099f0de
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e099f0de
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e0aed924
type
No Antagonist
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e0aed924
comment
No Antagonist: The stories are gripping survival stories, with no antagonist beyond "Nature". A notable exception to this is the episode "Kidnap in the Killing Fields," which has the survivors kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge and trying to make it out alive.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e0aed924
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e0aed924
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e0aed924
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e567510d
type
Determinator
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e567510d
comment
Determinator: Otherwise known as "the drive to survive". Examples include crawling for miles when unable to walk in minus fifteen degrees, scaling a cliff with a shattered pelvis, fending off wild beasts with only one working arm after being mauled by a crocodile and hiking for two days down a mountain with a broken ankle, not to mention sometimes lasting weeks without food and over twenty-four hours without water. One women even forced herself to do one sit-up every five seconds for six hours to stave off hypothermia during the night. This quote by the narrator from "Climb Out of Hell," involving the man who scaled the cliff with a broken pelvis: "Jordan's four day ordeal would have finished most people but his stubborn refusal to give up saved his life."
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e567510d
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e567510d
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e567510d
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e68b72
type
The Load
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e68b72
comment
A rare justified example - many times, people are The Load 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e68b72
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e68b72
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_e68b72
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ed68bcc9
type
Dwindling Party
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ed68bcc9
comment
Dwindling Party: 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ed68bcc9
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ed68bcc9
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ed68bcc9
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f05444a4
type
Once per Episode
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f05444a4
comment
Once per Episode: Every episode makes a point to specifically mention how one of the survivors' organs are "shutting down" as a result of their injuries.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f05444a4
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f05444a4
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f05444a4
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f12d9d83
type
Promotion to Parent
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f12d9d83
comment
Promotion to Parent: When his father is injured in "Shipwrecked Family," sixteen-year-old Ben steps up as head of the family.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f12d9d83
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f12d9d83
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_f12d9d83
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_fe614133
type
Beauty Is Never Tarnished
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_fe614133
comment
Beauty Is Never Tarnished: 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.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_fe614133
featureApplicability
-1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_fe614133
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_fe614133
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_feea5139
type
Stay on the Path
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_feea5139
comment
Stay on the Path: 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. In "Lost in the Jungle", Ken Wilson first steps off the path to go and take a look at some Mayan buildings on Cozumel Island, and gets lost, but happens to be on another path that linked the buildings together. He then steps off that path as well, and becomes hopelessly lost, somehow ending up wandering the jungle for over 19 days without finding civilisation. What makes this example especially egregious is that, while Cozumel's tree cover is somewhat sizeable, it isn't impenetrable, with roads crossing it at regular intervals. With Cozumel also being an island, the best option would be to pick a direction and keep going until reaching the coast. This together gives the impression that the wanderer might have been walking in circles for almost three weeks straight. This also occurs with "Date From Hell", where the couple go off the trail, even though there's a waterfall nearby. "A Dad's Worst Nightmare" has the father with his daughter go off the trail to go fishing.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_feea5139
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_feea5139
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_feea5139
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ff7f34c5
type
Pet the Dog
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ff7f34c5
comment
Pet the Dog: "Terror on the Zambezi." After being attacked by a hippo, having his arm mauled by a crocodile and at threat from lions and hyenas drawn to the blood from his injury, a cape buffalo, one of Africa's "Big Five" megafaunanote The others being the Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros and Elephant comes across Alistair Gellatly in the bush in the middle of the night. Alistair is rightly afraid it might attack him, as cape buffaloes are highly territorial and can be very dangerous animals, but instead it just lies down beside him for the night.
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ff7f34c5
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ff7f34c5
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_ff7f34c5
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_name
type
ItemName
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_name
comment
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_name
 I Shouldn't Be Alive / int_name
itemName
I Shouldn't Be Alive

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
Cue the Sun / int_f3893ccf
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
River of Insanity / int_f3893ccf
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
Series of the 2000s / int_f3893ccf
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
Skyward Scream / int_f3893ccf
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
Stock Scream / int_f3893ccf
 I Shouldn't Be Alive
hasFeature
TV Documentary / int_f3893ccf