The BEST episodes of I Shouldn't Be Alive
Every episode of I Shouldn't Be Alive ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of I Shouldn't Be Alive!
I Shouldn’t Be Alive is a series that documents incredible stories of human survival through accurate re-enactments of the scenarios that took place. Each episode takes the viewers into another nightmarish scenario with the commentary of individuals who have survived through the ordeal.
#1 - Death in the Sea of Cortez
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/10/2010
Lifelong friends Joseph Rangel and Lorenzo Madrid, both in their 50s, sign up for a five-day sport fishing trip in the Sea of Cortez. On their final day of fishing the two Americans and their Mexican guide Pepe are shipwrecked on a remote and hostile desert island. With no sign of a rescue mission and little in the way of food or water the three men are in dire straights. Their only hope of survival is to embark on an epic 12 day journey to the northern tip of the Island where they hope to attract the attention of passing fishermen. But the extreme heat and unforgiving landscape exacts the ultimate toll ... not all of them make it out alive.
#2 - Alaskan Avalanche
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/31/2006
Two climbers are scaling a sheer ice-wall in an Alaskan mountain when one of the climbers falls and is badly injured. A passing aircraft sees their SOS signal, but damages the landing gear in the process. Now, the people on board are also stranded on the icy wasteland.
#3 - Trapped on a Ledge - Edge of Death
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/27/2010
Charlie Hench has set himself a big challenge before he turns the big 50 - to fulfil his dream of a late-summer solo hike through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. But he underestimates the challenge ahead. Charlie is at 9,000 feet when an early snowstorm suddenly blows in. The amateur hiker is soon out of his depth, lost in the snow-covered landscape. A missed step on the treacherous boulders and he's crashes over the side of the mountain. Only a ledge, the size of a car bonnet, saves him from falling 500 feet to his death. Charlie is trapped and badly injured, with a shattered wrist and fractured spine. He's alone and there's no way up or down. He knows no-one will even know he's missing for days, but will he survive trapped on the exposed on the side of a cliff?
#4 - A Dad's Worst Nightmare
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/13/2010
Divorcee Mathew McGough is taking his five-year-old daughter Shannon for an overnight camping trip to Wallaroo Rocks, deep in the Western Australian Outback. It's Mathew's last chance to spend time with his daughter before he packs up and moves to South Australia to start a new life, so he's keen to make it a trip to remember. When Mathew takes a wrong turn it triggers a sequence of disastrous events that puts both their lives in serious danger. After 8 days in the outback Mathew is on the verge of death and confronted with an excruciating dilemma - kill his young daughter, or leave her to face a painful death alongside him, in one of the world's most hostile environments.
#5 - Shipwrecked Family
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/20/2010
On the final leg of an amazing two year sailing voyage, the Silverwood Family hit some stormy weather 180 miles west of Bora Bora in the South Pacific. It's no big deal, until a broken mast pin and a submerged rocky reef suddenly turns their adventure into a potentially deadly one. As the mast snaps, it falls on dad John, severing his leg. It's up to teenage son Ben, to become the man and help to save his family. He gets the family off the sinking boat, but as they spend a terrifying night on a reef in the middle of the ocean, will rescue get to them before Ben's father dies of blood loss?
#6 - Crashed in the Rockies
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/3/2010
Trainee pilot Justin Kirkbride takes two friends, Tommy and Larry, on a sightseeing tour of the Rocky Mountains, but crashes on a steep, snowy mountainside. Larry breaks his leg, while best friend Tommy is knocked unconscious. Only Justin escapes unscathed. He decides to hike 45 miles down the treacherous mountainside in search of help. As darkness falls he picks up a cell signal and manages to summon a rescue helicopter. He joins the rescue pilots in the search for his two missing friends, but their crash site is hidden by thick pine forest. The search is about to be called off when disaster strikes again - the rescue helicopter clips a tree and smashes into the mountainside. Can Kirkbride escape with his life for the second time in 24 hours? And will his passengers now succumb to their injuries during the freezing night?
#7 - 76 Days Adrift
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/17/2010
Steven Callahan departs from El Hierro in the Canary Islands, in Napoleon Solo - a sloop he designed and built himself. He's bound for Antigua as part of the Mini Transat 6.50 single-handed sailing race from Penzance, England. One night a ferocious storm severely damages his boat. He escapes the sinking vessel in an inflatable life-raft, nicknamed Ducky, with a meagre supply of food and water. For 76 days he is adrift in the Atlantic Ocean at the mercy of the currents and winds. During his ordeal he is battered by the elements, attacked by sharks and plagued by constant punctures to his raft. It's an epic story where one man's will to survive is put to the ultimate test.
#8 - Alone in the Amazon
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/24/2010
Fresh-faced twenty two year old Brit Benedict Allen embarks on an epic six-month expedition which will take him from the mouth of the Orinoco River to the Mouth of the Amazon River through six hundred miles of uncharted jungle. On the final leg of his journey Benedict meets two gold miners who steal his guides then threaten to kill him. Fearing for his life Benedict is forced to tackle the wilds of the Amazon with only his faithful dog, Cashoe, for company. His inexperience nearly costs him dear when he capsizes his canoe, losing virtually all his provisions. Embarking on the 100 miles journey through dense rainforest to safety Benedict is struck down by Malaria and a severe case of 'jungle madness'. On the verge of starvation he makes the drastic decision to eat the one living thing he can catch - his beloved dog. But will he ever find civilization?
#9 - Vacation Nightmare
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/1/2010
Newlyweds Brandon and Brandy Wiley are on a backpacking adventure in Costa Rica, when their 8 - person Cessna crashes in dense tropical rainforest. The pilots and one passenger are killed on impact. Of the five remaining survivors two are seriously injured, including American Michael Packard. With the plane's emergency beacon malfunctioning and the crash site obscured by thick cloud, the chances of rescue appear remote. When darkness falls, the group face poisonous spiders, swarming ants and jungle predators. By morning and with Michael's condition worsening by the hour Brandon and Brandy face a terrible dilemma - do they go in search of help or stay with the two injured men? It's a decision that could ultimately cost lives.
#10 - Shark Survivor
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/28/2005
1982. Five people get caught in a tropical storm and their yacht sinks. They have to survive in the middle of the ocean on a raft with absolutely no survival equipment. To their horror they find the area of the ocean to be infested with sharks.
#11 - Escape From the Amazon
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/11/2005
Three friends go to the Amazon for a trip but things get nasty when their guide leads them to jeopardy. As the four (three friends and guide) split into two groups, one pair faces disaster at every turn, while the other two are never heard from again.
#12 - First Date Nightmare
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/22/2011
Experienced climbers Rachel Kelsey and Jeremy Colenso are in the Swiss Alps descending the Piz Badille Mountain when they are caught up in a terrifying electrical storm. Anchored onto the mountain with their metal climbing equipment, Rachel and Jeremy have become human lightning conductors. They have a heart-stopping dilemma - risk it all climbing down through the storm or spend the night on the mountain, where temperatures dip to -20.
#13 - Nightmare on the Mountain
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/29/2010
An 18 year-old elk hunter in Montana is seriously injured by a bear and must spend a night wandering the wooded mountain area in search of help before his injuries claim his life while his parents search for him.
#14 - Christmas Horror
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/27/2011
Students Sonja Rendell and Marni Sheppeard are on a 3-day hike in Arthur's Pass National Park, staying in picturesque huts and planning to visit thermal mud pools, before returning home for a family Christmas. But when their path is blocked by ice, the girls take a detour. What started as a steep slope quickly becomes a sheer cliff - with Sonja clinging to the rock with just her finger tips. Returning to the trail is no longer an option as the girls fight to survive on a tiny rock ledge in torrential rain and wind. Will Sonja and Marni be able to climb their way to safety?
#15 - Killer Crevasse
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/12/2011
Mountaineer Jim Davidson and best-friend Mike Price embark on a mountaineering expedition to conquer the snow-shrouded summit of Mount Rainier in Washington State. On the descent disaster strikes when, without warning, Jim plunges into an 80 foot crevasse, pulling Mike down with him. Having survived the fall and an avalanche of snow Jim discovers that partner Mike has not been so lucky. To save his own life, Jim has to figure out a way to scale the sheer frozen walls, injured, without the right gear or a climbing partner. Can Jim overcome his grief and find the courage and skill to attempt the toughest climb of his life?
#16 - River of Fear
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/5/2011
Running through the majestic splendour of the Grand Canyon the Colorado River offers construction contractor David Whittlesey with just the kind of challenge he craves. He embarks on a 3 week, 280 mile white-water rafting expedition, opting to tackle some of America's most gruelling rapids on his own. Just days away from completing his journey David's raft capsizes, gets stuck and he loses all of his life-saving supplies. As he attempts to scale a cliff face, which is his only way out, he falls and injuries himself. He is trapped, alone and knows that hypothermia could kill him before anyone even knows where he is or that his life is in danger.
#17 - Blood in the Water
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/8/2006
Five boat safari goers find themselves stranded in the hippo and crocodile-infested Zambezi River when their watercraft sinks due to a mad hippo. Three get stranded on a submerged sand flat in the middle of the river and the other barely makes it to the shore. None of them are protected from Africa's deadly wildlife.
#18 - A Father's Deadly Dilemma
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/23/2011
In 2003, David Hunt and his 11-year-old daughter Leia, set off on a snowmobiling adventure in the Quebec back country. Disaster strikes when David's snowmobile hits a snow drift and crash lands into a ravine. Stranded miles from safety with a badly broken leg in sub zero temperatures; David's only chance of survival rests with his daughter Leia. It's the greatest test of her young life and one she can't afford to fail.
#19 - Lost in the Jungle
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/17/2012
Ken gets lost alone on a trip to Mayan ruins.
#20 - Blood on the Mountain
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/13/2011
British hiker Matt Briggs spends ten days stranded in the mountains of New Zealand's South Island following a crippling fall on a solo trek. With no sign of rescue and his supplies running low, Matt and his canine companion 'Little Dog' must fight horrendous injuries and brutal terrain to save their own lives.
#21 - Avalanche!
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/6/2011
Five young guys from Bozeman, Montana have got together for a back-country ski trip to celebrate New Year 2005. Sam Kavanagh, Blake Morstad, Jason Thompson, Chris Maki and Matt Schuyler have grown up together. They're close friends and expert skiers. On the final day of their trip they accidentally trigger a huge avalanche. One of the gang is killed and another is left critically injured. Miles from safety, a dream adventure turns into a living hell.
#22 - Volcano Vacation Hell
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/7/2011
Businessman and entrepreneur Dewey Gaedcke decides to check out the spectacular Kilauea Volcano, driving down a secluded local road, before hiking through the dark to a viewing spot. But in the dead of night, becomes disorientated - in the heart of a 330,000-acre national park, covered with deep craters, steaming volcanic vents and crusty lava fields. Dewey is faced with a five day battle to live in this arid, lunar landscape.
#23 - Chasm of Death
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/7/2011
School teachers and old friends, Ben Gowans, Jason Cox and Clay Craig embark on a 'guy's trip' to the remote wilderness of Utah. Ben has talked his friends into canyoneering through some of the states most beautiful slot canyons. But after taking a wrong turn the friends quickly find that they are in way over their heads. With no way out, Ben decides to climb 60ft up and out of the canyon. As he's nearing the top disaster strikes - the rock he's holding onto snaps and he freefalls back down the canyon. Severely injured and unable to move Ben's life rests in the hands of his friends.
#24 - Dive of Terror
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/14/2011
In 2006, ex-Navy diver Rob Hewitt embarks on a short recreational fishing dive off the Kapiti Coast near Wellington, New Zealand. A fun day turns into a living nightmare when he gets caught in a vicious rip current and gets dragged out to sea. Coming face to face with a huge shark and suffering dehydration and exposure Rob is driven to the limit of human endurance.
#25 - Escape from Bear Mountain
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/14/2011
In the summer of 2010 Texan Gary Nall and his friend Dave Akers take a trip in Dave's Cessna to the Knick Glacier deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Out of the blue they hit a pocket of turbulence and crash land into the mountainside. Seriously injured and stuck in the middle of bear country the two friends face a fight to survive.