Combat Missions

Tired of reality shows where the contestants bitch and moan over a broken nail, we were thrilled to see the grizzled faces of the Combat Missions contestants. These guys aren’t sissy school teachers and artists thrown onto a TV show to pretend to be tough—they are the real thing: highly decorated members of the Green Berets, Marine Recons, Navy SEALs, Delta Force, S.W.A.T., and CIA special ops. Randomly put into four six-man teams, the guys test their skills in realistic military missions complete with simulated casualties. When they’re not blowing up tanks and avoiding gunfire, they compete for bonus points in exercises like the “Log Carry From Hell.” The losing team on each mission must vote someone off their squad, but rather than bickering like your average reality show folk, the losing squad in the premiere episode decided to avoid dishonor and let fate decide by drawing swords. 10 hours of Temptation Island could not bring us the joy of this one episode.