Series II went to the Caribbean, Series III to South Island, New Zealand.

An entertaining documentary series in which a small team of scientists are transported to a remote location (deserted island, mountain valley, etc) and set various tasks that they must accomplish using only basic tools and supplies, and whatever materials they can extract from the environment around them. Previous challenges have included: the constuction of a wind-powered electricity generator, the production and use of textile dyes, and measuring the speed of a glacier.—[email protected]

Scientific reality-TV! Two physicists, a botanist, a biologist, and a chemist are taken to a remote Mediterranean island and set a series of challenges to test their ingenuity and lateral thinking. Removed from their laboratories full of high-tech instruments and extensive supplies, they must rely on their collective knowledge, ingenuity and cooperation to accomplish their goals. They are given three days to complete their tasks and, with the exception of a rudimentary tool kit, must use only indigenous materials, the natural resources of the island, to do so. The series shows the underlying principles that the scientists draw from in order to solve the challenges. These include making anti-bacterial cream, soap, toothpaste, insect repellent, and sun-tan lotion, making paper and ink, distilling salt water, making light-sensitive film for a home-made camera and building a radio, building a weather station and predicting the weather, charting the island and drawing an accurate scale map, and even making fireworks!—Fiona Kelleghan <[email protected]>