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.

Last Updated: 2/2/2024Network: Animal PlanetStatus: Ended
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Death in the Sea of Cortez
star
9.67
33 votes

#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.

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Trapped on a Ledge - Edge of Death
star
9.36
36 votes

#2 - 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?

Left for Dead on Everest
star
8.60
5 votes

#3 - Left for Dead on Everest

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/16/2011

50 year-old Australian mountaineer Lincoln Hall attempted to climb Everest in 1984 but didn't reach the summit. Now, 22 years later, he has a second chance. Despite his age, Lincoln fulfils his lifelong dream, but on the descent is struck by a deadly form of altitude sickness known as a cerebral oedema. Unable to climb and suffering from hypothermia, Lincoln is left for dead at 28,000ft. His survival is nothing short of a miracle.

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76 Days Adrift
star
8.42
67 votes

#4 - 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.

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Alone in the Amazon
star
8.38
64 votes

#5 - 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?

Watch Now:Amazon
Vacation Nightmare
star
8.36
67 votes

#6 - 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.

Watch Now:Amazon
A Father's Deadly Dilemma
star
8.33
3 votes

#7 - 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.

Watch Now:Amazon
Crashed in the Rockies
star
8.32
69 votes

#8 - 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?

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A Dad's Worst Nightmare
star
8.28
71 votes

#9 - 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.

Watch Now:Amazon
Shipwrecked Family
star
8.26
62 votes

#10 - 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?

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Climb out of Hell
star
8.10
10 votes

#11 - Climb out of Hell

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/30/2011

Amateur photographer Jordan Nicurity is exploring a beautiful cove on Hornby Island in British Columbia when he falls 20ft from a cliff, shattering his pelvis and rupturing internal organs. Crippled by injury Jordan faces a life and death struggle only miles from where he lives. For 4 days his will to survive is put to the ultimate test.

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Blood on the Mountain
star
8.07
15 votes

#12 - 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.

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Boys Adrift
star
8.00
6 votes

#13 - Boys Adrift

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/12/2010

Two teenagers plan on going fishing in a less than seaworthy boat when a riptide drags them into the Atlantic ocean. They face extreme dehydration, hunger, and weather for 6 days while awaiting rescue.

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Hike into Hell Canyon
star
8.00
4 votes

#14 - Hike into Hell Canyon

Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/19/2011

Twenty five year old nurse Linda Forney and her pet dog Cocoa Gin set off to explore one of the seven natural wonders of the world - the Grand Canyon. On route to a native Indian village she takes a wrong turn and ends up lost, alone and with no food or water. Totally disoriented Linda hikes deeper into the maze of sub-canyons that make up the Grand Canyon. With temperatures exceeding 100 degrees and surrounded by exotic and dangerous wild animals, Linda finds herself in a real fight for survival. After weeks of little water, dehydration and starvation start bring her close to death. Then she finds herself trapped in a canyon, with no way out.

Watch Now:Amazon
Alaskan Avalanche
star
8.00
13 votes

#15 - 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.

Watch Now:Amazon
Dive into Danger
star
7.89
9 votes

#16 - Dive into Danger

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/15/2006

Two divers get stranded in the Pacific Ocean when their boat has to leave them. As they believe help is not coming they make a decision to swim for shore miles away or die trying.

Watch Now:Amazon
Jaws of Death
star
7.88
24 votes

#17 - Jaws of Death

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/2/2005

A man crashes his plane in the African savannah. With legs broken in a total of six different places, he has to make it alive past lions and other dangerous predators in a state of intense pain and loss of leg mobility.

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Crushed and Alone
star
7.86
7 votes

#18 - Crushed and Alone

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/5/2010

A man drives his quadbike in the Canadian Wilderness, loses control of it and he and the quadbike topple over and he ends up getting his legs get crushed by the quadbike and survives for 4 days.

Watch Now:Amazon
Escape From the Amazon
star
7.79
84 votes

#19 - 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.

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Trapped in the Canyon
star
7.75
4 votes

#20 - Trapped in the Canyon

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/15/2010

Two-time adventure racing world champion Danelle Ballengee suffers a pelvis-shattering 60-foot fall and 2 nights in sub-freezing weather in a Canyon near Moab, Utah, accompanied only by her dog, Taz.

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Lost at Sea
star
7.75
8 votes

#21 - Lost at Sea

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/9/2006

Two sons looking to repair their relationship with their father plan a fishing trip with their father in Mexico. An unexpected storm leaves them stranded in the middle of the Sea of Cortez.

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Nightmare Canyon
star
7.67
12 votes

#22 - Nightmare Canyon

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/10/2006

Two brothers go on a hike in Utah's Canyons. They expect the trip will take no more than 8 hours, but when freezing temperatures come, one brother breaks his leg and the other has to find help... and fast.

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A Family's Desert Hell
star
7.67
6 votes

#23 - A Family's Desert Hell

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/2/2011

Just three months into a new relationship, Roger Sargeant, his new girlfriend Shelly and her two young daughters Tiffany (9) and Michaela (5) are on a day trip in the Arizona desert. Things go badly wrong when they get lost and are then forced to abandon their car. In a desperate bid to walk out they become separated. Over two hellish days and nights, Roger and Shelly's family, independently battle to escape soaring summer heat, dehydration, hostile terrain, rattlesnakes and prowling gangs of people smugglers.

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Shark Survivor
star
7.66
111 votes

#24 - 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.

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A Walk into Hell
star
7.56
9 votes

#25 - A Walk into Hell

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/22/2006

A group of five teenaged scouts and three adult guides hike into the Grand Canyon during a heat wave. As their water runs out and the older members collapse in exhaustion, three of the teenagers must set out on their own to reach the Colorado River.

Watch Now:Amazon