The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2 locals appear as ‘fish out of water’
Fox’s new ‘Kicking and Screaming’ is a survival show with a twist.
The whole concept of “fish out of water” is a standard trope on TV, from “The Beverly Hillbillies” to “Orange Is the New Black.” And it works in reality TV, too.
On “Kicking and Screaming,” Fox is pairing up survivalist specialists with folks whose primary outdoor exposure consists of walking from their car to the entrance of the supermarket. They compete in challenges in a Fiji jungle. The winning pair splits $500,000.
Two of the newbies are from metro Atlanta: a Powder Springs delivery truck driver, Mike Forbs, more comfortable in a Jacuzzi than swamp water, and Atlanta Hawks cheerleader Nakeisha Turk, who was a magnet for mosquitoes.
There’s also a professional chess player, an etiquette coach (“I don’t take out the trash or pump gas”), a former “Baywatch”
actress (Angelica Bridges) and a 2010 Miss Wyoming whose dog wears bow ties that match the color of her outfits (Claire Schreiner).
Here are mini-profiles of each of the locals:
Mike Forbs
Age :31 Residence: Powder Springs Job: Delivery truck driver
On the show: “I’m a big ol’ scaredy cat,” Forbs said in the opening moments of the first episode. He then freaks out when the “Baywatch” actress sticks a tiny frog on his shirt. Why he’s doing this (besides the money): He divorced his wife, who found him too unadventurous. This is a way for him to prove otherwise, especially to his two kids, ages 10 and 4. His survivalist creds: None. “I’m totally not an outdoors person. I’m from Miami. I know the beach. I don’t know nothing about being out in the woods. If you work hard to put a roof over your head, why would you go outside?”
What his survivalist partner Jessie Krebs says about him: “He’s having trouble with confidence and going out there and doing stuff. I’m here to build confidence. I think Mike and I are a perfect pair.” Best part of being in the jungle: “I thought there’d be all sorts of dangerous animals out there. There weren’t.” (Presumably, animals tend to avoid big congregations of human beings.) Where’s the grub? He said he honestly thought
they’d be fed. Instead, they had to fish and forage for their own food. “I thought after we built everything, they’d hook us up with a burger or something.”
Worse than poverty? “I grew up at times when we had no bed. We had to sleep on the floor. I thought that was rough. That was nothing compared to this. We were sleeping on tarp and dirt and grass and sticks. I was eaten up by bugs. After a while, I just gave up slapping at them.” Chance of winning: Doesn’t look promising. He appears out of shape and out of sorts in the first episode.
Nakeisha Turk
Age :26 Residence: Atlanta; born in Knoxville, Tenn. Job: Atlanta Hawks cheerleader First comment on the show: “I’ve never seen anything like this before with my own two eyes,” she said, marveling at the jungle surroundings. “Maybe on ‘The Jungle Book.’ “
Her philosophy :“Ican do anything for a month.”
Her advantages: “I am very fit and very competitive. And my partner helped find Saddam Hussein. How bad ass is that?”
Her outdoor creds: Zip. “I don’t like spending more than four hours at a time outside. And here we were, hungry 24/7, sleeping on the ground, having to wear the same outfits for weeks. That is nothing I ever do. I was hungry, stressed and tired.”
Lessons learned: “You have to be uncomfortable in order to grow. That was the case here. And I know I can live without my phone for a month!”
Chance of winning: Better than Mike’s. She appears sharp and in shape. Her survivalist partner, John McPhee, though, is older than most, so that could hurt her. Then again, he is identified as a “mercenary” and former U.S. Army Operations sergeant major.