Solitary (TV series)
| Solitary | |
|---|---|
 Solitary title card | |
| Starring | Revolving cast |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox Reality Channel |
| Release | 2006 – Present |
Solitary is a reality show on Fox Reality Channel whose contestants are kept in solitary confinement. It is the channel's first original series commission with its debut on May 29, 2006.
Premise
The show calls itself a "social experiment" in determining the physical and mental endurance of the competitors.
From the beginning, there are several mental challenges. The show's theme is based on solitary confinement; accordingly, the contestants are placed in isolated pods, with only an artificial intelligence named Val to communicate with. (In reality, Val's voice is a computer-modified voice.) Val is possibly a reference to HAL, the demented computer who takes over the spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
No contact with the outside world - or other competitors - is permitted, with the following exceptions:
- At the very beginning, a final two-minute phone call is permitted.
- In Season 1:
- The guests had a chance to send a letter to their loved ones
- Twice, the guests were allowed to speak to each other, but only through Val.
Beyond the social isolation, there is also isolation from time, with no clocks, watches, or other timepieces available to contestants. There are no environmental time cues (sunlight or moonlight).
The environment is completely controlled, from temperature, light, access to a restroom, food, etc. In addition, the room is roughly octagonal, adding an additional disorienting aspect.
Players are only referred to by their number, not their name. This is an additional separation from the world, as their identity is reduced to a number. (This is similar to The Prisoner.)
A Season 1 episode revealed that alcohol was not permitted.
Format
The show begins, if applicable, with the remaining contestants performing the treatment that ended the prior episode.
After the treatment concludes, Val observes the players and alters the environment somewhat, such as not permitting the players to sleep or eat or precluding access to a player's personal items.
Next is a test, a mental challenge which is made more difficult by the players' physical condition. The challenges themselves are somewhat difficult to begin with; deteriorating physical and psychological condition makes these challenges even harder.
The first player to pass the test is granted immunity from the subsequent treatment, a physical challenge which often contrasts with the conditions applied in the episode. Players are challenged with a bed of nails after being deprived of sleep, or an endless feast after starvation.
The first player to quit the given challenge, either voluntarily or through a bodily rejection of the challenge, is eliminated from the program.
The player who eventually wins the program is given $50,000.
Episode List - Season 1
Episode 0
Title: The Road to Solitary
Original airdate: 5/29/2006
The making-of episode.
Episode 1
Title: The Experiment Begins
Original airdate: 6/5/2006
9 guests enter Solitary and begin their new life of isolation. Their only contact with the outside world is a female computer, Val. They compete in a psychological game that tests their kindness or cruelty. Ultimately, a macabre sleep deprivation treatment causes one of them to break and quit the game forever. [1]
Eliminated: Player 9 (David).
Episode 2
Title: Bed of Nails
Original airdate: 6/12/2006
8 contestants continue on a grueling physical and psychological journey. They must use their wits to solve a mind-bending puzzle embedded in a horror film and then withstand endless hours lying on a torture table until one of them crumbles. [2]
Eliminated: Player 2 (Michelle), after nearly three hours on the bed.
Episode 3
Title: To Eat or Not To Eat
Original airdate: 6/19/2006
Val’s 7 remaining guests ride a vicious culinary rollercoaster. After days of near-starvation, they are forced to continue eating until at least one of them literally explodes. [3]
Eliminated: Player 8 (Danielle), who vomits after 19 courses.
Episode 4
Title: Brainwashing
Original airdate: 6/26/2006
6 remaining guests are told that everything they know is wrong as Val attempts to reprogram their minds. They engage in a battle of wills until someone cracks and leaves Solitary in the most surprising ending yet. [4]
Eliminated: Player 6 (Cliff) apparently suffered some psychological trauma during the show.
Episode 5
Title: Head Spin/Tailspin
Original airdate: 7/3/2006
The grand experiment continues as Val makes her guests’ heads spin. First, the contestants lose their marbles in a maddening test of concentration, and then they lose their equilibrium in the most turbulent treatment yet. All are pushed to the very brink, but only one will fall. [5]
Eliminated: Player 4 (Florin) vomits after spinning fifty revolutions in two minutes.
Episode 6
Title: Val Turns Up the Heat
Original airdate: 7/10/2006
The final four guests enter their own personal mansions of fear, and discover their inner demons. Then Val turns it up a notch with a fiery experiment that tests each person’s threshold for pain. [6]
The players are given vials of liquid that contain multiples of the heat content of a jalapeño pepper. They have six "soothers" to aide them, but may only use each once.
Eliminated: Player 1 (Pamela) (On the fifteenth vial)
Episode 7
Title: Everyone Goes Mad
Original airdate: 7/17/2006
After days without human contact, a test forces Val’s guests to begin raving like mad men. Then they face off in a grueling battle of physical endurance that isn’t over until someone collapses. [7]
The test was to memorize a long speech reflective of some of the player's feelings in Solitary. In order to see the speech, each player had to dunk their heads into a cubical container filled with water for 10 seconds. If 10 seconds had passed, they would be able to see the message. Player 7 was the first to guess correctly.
The treatment utilized the mysterious white buttons in the pod: each player had to push both white buttons, then the green button, to complete one circuit. They had a set amount of time to complete fifty circuits. Initially, Val adds weight to a backpack they are told to wear.
No elimination is shown at the end of this episode.
Episode 8
Title: The Final Experiment
Original airdate: 7/24/2006
In the most difficult challenge yet, the final two guests are locked in Extreme Solitary—and only one emerges with the ultimate prize: $50,000. [8]
After 30% of the players' body weight is put into the backpack, the time to complete fifty circuits decreases. Player 3 had to take two penalty rounds, quitting at the second.
Extreme Solitary is a black box containing spikes, a red light, and another Val screen and green/red buttons. As time passes, the walls close in, making it more painful.
Eliminated: Player 3 (Taralee)
Player 5 (Mark) quit first making Player 7 (Steven) the victor of Solitary. Player 5 was extremely upset with the treatment. During the treatment, Val forced them to re-watch the video they saw early on.
Although Player 7 won, he would not know this at the time (Val does not allow players to know about each other's status, except only who was eliminated after a treatment has ended). In fact, Player 7 discovers his victory in a different way from most game shows: Val eventually shows Player 7 a picture of himself in Extreme Solitary and is asked "who do you see?" He answers with a small description of himself and is given the reply "Incorrect." After numerous guesses, Val gives him one more chance. In that moment, he realizes that he had won. When he tells Val that expectation, Val accepts that answer, but instead of letting him out, turns off everything in both the pod and Extreme Solitary, leaving Player 7 locked inside (a sort of cliffhanger).
Episode 9
Title: Solitary Reunion Special
Original airdate: 7/31/2006
The nine former pod people, including the grand-prize winner look back on their time inside their octagon-shaped cells and reveal the inside scoop on what it was like dealing with their solitude and the infamous Val.
Guest Progress History
| Treatment | Sleep Deprivation | Bed of Nails | Gluttony | Sonic Assault | Headspin | Hot Pepper | "Light Relay" | Extreme Solitary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | Take Away (No winner) | Movie | Time Tracking | Brainwashing | Ball Counting | Exercise Puzzle | Submerging | None |
| Winner | N/A | 1: Pamela | 7: Steven | 4:Florin | 3:Taralee | 3:Taralee | 7:Steven | N/A |
| Didn't Quit | 1,3,4,5,7 | 3,6,7 | 1,4,5,7 | 1,3,5,7 | 1,7 | 7:Steven | 5:Mark | 7:Steven |
| Quit (in order) | 2:Michelle | 5:Mark | 6:Cliff | 6:Cliff | 5:Mark | 5:Mark | 3:Taralee | 5:Mark |
| 8:Danielle | 4:Florin | 3:Taralee | 4:Florin | 1: Pamela | ||||
| 9: David | 8:Danielle | 8:Danielle | ||||||
| 2:Michelle |
- Winner of the test, and is exempt from the treatment.
- First person to quit the treatment, therefore eliminated from Solitary.
- Voluntary quit outside a treatment, therefore eliminated from Solitary.
- Winner.
Solitary v2.0
Production of a second season began in March 2007. The season began with a behind-the-scenes look into the casting process as well as the development of the test and treatments with "The Road to Solitary v2.0", which aired on August 4, 2007. The season premiered on August 11, 2007. The tagline this season is "Welcome Back To Isolation."
The Solitary v2.0 players are:
- Stephen (eliminated)
- Deena
- Nikki
- Kimberley (quit)
- Leroy
- Michelle
- Tyler
- Phu
- J.P.
Episode 0
Title: Solitary v2.0 Pre-Show Event
Original airdate: 8/4/2007
VAL recaps Solitary’s previous season, shows what kind of crazies volunteer for Solitary v2.0 and gives a peak behind the scenes, with a sneak preview of season two.
Episode 1
Title: Welcome to Solitary...Now Go Home
Original airdate: 8/11/2007
The experiment begins as the guests are locked in confining boxes and plunged into darkness and sleep deprivation. One guest freaks out and quits before the first elimination treatment even begins, but when it does, the footbed-of-nails has everyone else suffering the agony of da’ feet. [9]
Eliminated: Player 1 (Stephen) and Player 4 (Kimberley)
The first test has the players locked in small black boxes. Their goal was to count out 3 hours in their head and with the provided objects (rocks, chalk that can be used to write on the boxes' interiors, etc.). Player 8 won the test by four minutes.
After the test, Val allowed the guests their phone call. They are deprived of sleep, and Player 4 becomes emotionally throttled, leading her to quit.
The treatment was to stand on a plate of nails for as long as possible. Player 1 was the first to quit. As the losers suffered, Player 8, a photographer, was allowed to use his camera.
Guest Progress History
| Test | Time Tracking | Mystery Message | Domino Chain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment | Footbed of Nails | Dead Man Dancing | Vile Smoothie | Grump Rope |
| Winner | 8: Phu | 7:Tyler | ||
| Didn't Quit (so far) | 2,3,5,6,9 | |||
| Quit (In order) | 7: Tyler | |||
| 1:Stephen | ||||
| 4:Kimberly |
- Winner of the test, and is exempt from the treatment.
- First person to quit the treatment, therefore eliminated from Solitary.
- Voluntary quit outside a treatment, therefore eliminated from Solitary.
External Links
 |
Series 1 individual player pages
Each player has a MySpace page. This is in line with News Corporation's ownership of that site.
- Player 1: Pamela (Eliminated Episode 6)
- Player 2: Michelle (Eliminated Episode 2)
- Player 3: Taralee (Eliminated Episode 8)
- Player 4: Florin (Eliminated Episode 5)
- Player 5: Mark (Runner up)
- Player 6: Cliff (Eliminated Episode 4)
- Player 7: Steven (Winner of Season 1)
- Player 8: Danielle (Eliminated Episode 3)
- Player 9: David (Eliminated Episode 1)