Thrill level high but tempers stay low

The Summit host James Gemmell

The scenery is dramatic and the challenges stern, but the adventurous local reality series The Summit is anything but extreme in the behaviour of its contestants.

It could be that after all those physically testing excursions - tramping up mountains and jumping off bridges into chilly southern lakes - the competitors are just too shagged to really get the daggers out back at base camp.

Sure, there are a few moans about each other to camera but the worst anyone's come up with so far is the typically Kiwi complaint that a fellow contestant loves the camera a bit too much. It must be hard making a reality show in a country where attention-seeking is regarded as a serious personality flaw.

The show's most appealing element are the touching scenes of generosity which you would never see on one of those more cut-throat versions of Survivor.

The instant death, one-on-one challenges at the end of each episode are fascinatingly civilised. Do contestants go for the jugular, using the chance to wipe out the weakest link in their team or decimate the opposition's star players? No, they seem to use them as an opportunity to demonstrate self-sacrifice and strength of character.

Last week's one-on-one turned into an improbable battle of the heavyweights, as the big guys on the team volunteered to be the risk-takers.

You could see the other team members thinking the weak links should have volunteered for duty, but everyone was too nice to say anything. Big Joe volunteered because he would rather risk dying by his own hand, than suffer the indignity of being voted off.

When it turned out that his opposition was to be Big Jay, instead of the weakling he anticipated, there was no tantrum-throwing: "It's not a perfect world so we'll just go with what we've got."

As for Big Jay, he wasn't going to follow his team-mates' advice to squash the little guys. "I listened to what they were saying, but there's no real honour in it."

Pardon? Did he say honour? How on earth did such upright people make it on to one of these shows?

Still perhaps it won't last. Jay paid the price for his principles, losing the challenge and getting sent home. "I'll just have to take it across the chin," he said. Yep, everyone is unusually stoic and philosophical about defeat in this game. Even an awful, chaotic performance by team Taurus resulted in breast-beating than blame-laying.

If the nice behaviour is a tad unexpected, there are other ways The Summit proves a cut about the rest. The challenges are actually exciting. Instead of the usual naff tests like standing on one leg blindfolded or putting giant jigsaws together, the contestants have to get through physically demanding tasks such as navigating through caves full of water.

In keeping with its tough but low-key nature, it's also low-impact on the environment.

There's no kitsch and garish tribal councils on this show.

Host James Gemmell has promised that The Summit is up with the best when it comes to bitching and back-stabbing. But the bad guys have yet to show their hands. "I can't say much bad things, they are all really nice," was the honest Jay's sign-off line.

On the other hand, perhaps the makers underestimated the therapeutic effect of getting out into nature.

The show demonstrates why outward-bound-style courses are such effective treatment for the wayward. There's nothing like the great outdoors for creating a bit of bonding. 

* The Summit, Tuesdays, TV3, 8.30pm