> TEOTWAWKI Blog: New Series: Doomsday Bunkers

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3/7/12

New Series: Doomsday Bunkers



There's not a lot info out there about Discovery Channel's new series, Doomsday Bunkers, but it looks to follow a small builder of bunkers/shelters through build and install on various projects. I've got a soft spot for bunkers and bomb shelters and am generally a big fan of Discovery--Survivorman, Dual Survival, even Man vs. Wild--so this could be good...or it could be a rushed-into-production copycat of Doomsday Preppers. We'll see the route they take.

Here's the synopsis from Discovery.com:

Discovery Channel is pleased to bring you Doomsday Bunkers, an all-new series premiering tonight, March 7 at 10PM e/p!

Doomsday Bunkers features the design and build of survival units with a reveal of the completed project at the end of each episode.

From sizable underground bunkers with safety measures that include outside hand rails with hidden flame throwers, to special safety structures that include the Pyramid and Tsunami pods, each unit is tested using a battery of attacks that include firearms, fire, and falling vehicles.

Each episode is a beginning to end “how to” and “why to” build the ultimate safety zone for those preparing for the worst.

I'll give it a watch and update this post later tonight with my thoughts!

UPDATE:

Pleasantly surprised with this one. They did a good job of representing the preppers featured and prepping in general--not the Looney Tunes vibe that's been common to Doomsday Preppers. The high price tag of one of these bunkers probably precludes many of the less serious/stable types--these ain't cheap.

Reminded me of Sons of Guns in many ways--follows the crew through the bunker build, some drama during the build, and then a demonstration involving guns/explosives. Overall, pretty good first episode.

Since they're solely focused on a bunker manufacturer, keeping the show fresh and interesting may be a challenge--how different will one bunker be from another? I also wasn't overly impressed with the actual bunkers...while they looked nice and homey, the blast door was not a real bomb shelter/blast door, the plywood tacked onto the wall was a concern and so on. Definitely some concerns if I was going to drop a couple hundred grand on one of these.

Anyone else catch the episode? Thoughts?