Some teammates find that connection that propels them to victory, while others fall apart completely, and dissecting where it all went right or wrong is a learning experience for viewers. The show is a fascinating look at spiritual fortitude, dominance and submission, triumph and defeat. As the days go by, and as food becomes scarce, and the surroundings become more hostile, the mental stresses become as pronounced as the physical ones. There is no struggle to be the sole champion. The survivalists must band together to achieve the singular goal of enduring 21 days in their inhospitable locations, and their success is dependent on their ability to find the symbiosis that will get them across the finish line. What really makes Naked and Afraid work, though, is its team dynamic aspect.

Without naked contestants, the show wouldn't be nearly as compelling. It's intriguing to witness how people fare when they're literally stripped of all the essentials one would take for granted in everyday life. The show's nudity, in fact, highlights its primal aspects. But beyond some bare buttocks on display, the last thing viewers would probably call Naked and Afraid is 'sexy.' The survivalists get dirty, get ill, consume maggots, become emaciated, and brush their teeth with charcoal - hardly the stuff of erotica. The survivalists truly are naked, a concept also likely inspired by Survivor's Richard Hatch, the contestant who famously shed his clothing in that show's first season. Certainly, there's a titillation factor associated with the show. By doing this, the show became a study in not only physical endurance, but in psychological stamina, ingenuity, and social synergy, a true anthropological experience. Inspired by Survivor, the long-running CBS series where contestants are dropped onto a remote location to fight to be the final victor and winner of $1 million, Naked and Afraid distinguished itself by replacing randomly picked contestants with trained, experienced survivalists, and by eliminating the 'dog-eat-dog' spectacle of competitive reality television. For 10 years, Naked and Afraid has gone from the deepest recesses of the Brazilian rainforests to the most arid deserts of Africa and taught viewers what it takes to survive the planet's most brutal environments with no resources, not even clothes on backs.

It's a rare entry in the reality show genre - a series that entertains and educates.

Fishing planet does not show challenge