Solitary (TV series)

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Solitary

Solitary title card
Format Reality show
Starring Revolving cast
Country of origin United States
Production
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Fox Reality Channel
Original run 2006 – Present
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

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.

Contents

[edit] 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 human voice.) Val is possibly a reference to HAL, the demented computer who takes over the spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey. In season 1, Val was likely voiced by a male, whose voice was altered. In Season 2, Val is voiced by a female, with little computer modification. However, some "corruption" can be heard in the voice pattern where Val speaks a word or two in a similar voice to Season 1.

No contact with the outside world - or other competitors - is permitted, with the following exceptions:

  • At the very beginning, a final two-day phone call is permitted.
  • The guests had a chance to send a letter to their loved ones (in Season 2, Val did not tell them to when given pen and paper)
  • In Season 1:
  • Twice, the guests were allowed to speak to each other, but only through Val.
  • In Season 2:
  • During the auction in Episode 4, another phone call was auctioned off.

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.

[edit] Format

Each episode 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.

After the shows are over and done with, a "Reunion" special hosted by Todd Newton involves the guests meeting each other in front of a live studio audience. That show's format is similar to a talk show.

[edit] Season 1

[edit] Players

  1. Pamela: travel agent(6th eliminated)
  2. Michelle: personal trainer, mother of two daughters, one autistic (2nd eliminated)
  3. Taralee: fashion designer, the show turned her shyness into an outgoing personality (7th eliminated)
  4. Florin: Romanian author (5th eliminated)
  5. Mark: Buddhist martial arts instructor (Solitary Finalist, 8th eliminated)
  6. Cliff: stuntman, obsessed with hair gel and Chapstick (broke rules, 4th eliminated (due to breaking rules))
  7. Steve: break dancing Fairfax High School of Los Angeles teacher (winner)
  8. Danielle: beautician, once a member of a fight club, self-proclaimed masochist (3rd eliminated)
  9. David: Mensa member (1st eliminated)

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Episode 0

Title: The Road to Solitary

Original airdate: 5/29/2006

The making-of episode.

[edit] 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 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]

Upon arriving, the guests get two minutes to make their final phone calls. However, Val disconnects the calls early, and submits the players to their first test. The players get a taste of each other, and are told three things that they brought into Solitary. The other players then choose to "take away" a certain number of items - a cruelty test. The items are never actually taken away. Number 7 took away everything, while some took as many as 13 items away and four players took away nothing. No one was exempt from the treatment.

Val promises an increasingly long code that is required to stop alarms preventing them from sleeping. Number 8 does not react and thus is forced to endure the alarms for hours on end (she explained in the Reunion special that she used breathing techniques to survive).. Number 6 used his hair gel to keep track by taking it off his hair and using it as ink for the pod's mirrors. Number 9 quit the treatment thinking someone else quit by now.

Eliminated: Player 9 (David).

[edit] 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 hours of lying on a torture table until one of them crumbles. [1]

Val's code changes from increasingly long to increasingly complex as she changes how the code changes: first by multiplication, then by changing the digits, and then by other means. When the treatment finally ends, the guests are submerged into their next test.

Given popcorn and soda, they are told to watch a movie filled with horror details. Within the movie is an equation that becomes 168 when solved. It takes a few tries (some guests counted with popcorn), but Number 1 was victorious. Number 7 beat himself up for losing.

The treatment was to sleep on a bed of nails. They were first given 5 different-sized pillows to use as relaxation methods. One by one, the pillows were taken away, leaving the guests sleeping directly on the nails (with the exception of clothes, which provided little protection anyway). Eventually Player 2 quit. Guests later reflected that it was difficult to move because pain would shoot up to where the part of the body they moved used to be.

Eliminated: Player 2 (Michelle), after nearly three hours on the bed.

[edit] Episode 3

Title: To Eat or Not To Eat

Original airdate: 6/19/2006

The Test is to see which podmate can come closest to 3 hours using a diversity of odd items, fuzzy dice, a 12 second timer, water, etc. Number Seven won and therefore does not need to participate in the following Treatment.

Val’s 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. [1]

Eliminated: Player 8 (Danielle), who vomits after 19 courses.

[edit] 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. [1]

Eliminated: Player 6 (Cliff) apparently suffered some psychological trauma during the show.

As Number 6 is distressed after being forced to quit after vomiting in the previous treatment, he is removed from the test and forced to take the treatment.

All guests were asked to take a mental examination called "Val's self-eVAL", a "on a scale of 1 to 10" exam (with statements like "I am confident I am going to win", "I am clear headed and focused", "I am happy that I am participating", "I am free from worry and concern", and "I like you VAL"). Number 6 fills out the form with "I know you lost my chapstick so go out and buy a new one". As a result, he is asked to fill out a new one. The other guests are asked to decorate their pods.

Val has the guests memorize some incorrect facts (such as that Fidel Castro is a dog, a flower is a hand grenade, they have been arrested seven times, Dr. Phil wrote The Cat in the Hat, Enron is their employer, their grandfather is Dick Cheney, and they have eight fingers on their left hand). Afterwards, they are asked to answer twenty questions based on these facts. Both Numbers 4 and 7 got 20 right; they were put in an elimination round that Number 4 succeeded with. Number 7 beat himself up after getting the Dr. Phil question wrong (saying Isaac Hayes wrote the book). As the test goes on, Number 6 was forced to sleep.

In preparation for the treatment, the guests minus Number 6 are asked to apply facepaint to themselves to make a mask and shout a battle cry (Number 7's being "Dr. Phil!!" following by a break-dancing move). Although Number 4 was exempt from the treatment, he too made a mask (reminiscent of the ones worn by members of KISS).

Upon waking up, Number 6 is asked to make a video expressing his feelings and then draw pictures as the guests prepare. But when it is treatment time, Number 6 snaps, leaving his pod without permission. Val tries to calm him down in the Interview Room, and when she succeeds, Number 6 officially quits.

The treatment does not begin until the next episode.

[edit] 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. [1]

Everyone survives the treatment, which was a barrage of noise, ending with Val mixing the noises together. They are then told to decorating toy roommates, then are told to record stuff similar to how Number 6 did in the previous episode. However, Number 3 is too shy to do so.

The test is simple: count marbles that fall on the floor from the meal slots. When Val is not amused, she starts confusing the guests by spitting out random numbers, then has the lights go crazy. Number 3 eventually wins.

Number 3 decides to do her video, and goes crazy.

The treatment is equally simple: spin around on a chair until you vomit or quit. Number 4 eventually vomits, leaving.

Eliminated: Player 4 (Florin) vomits after spinning fifty revolutions in two minutes.

[edit] 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. [1]

The players are given vials of liquid that contain multiples of the heat content of a jalapeño pepper. They have five "soothers" to aide them, but may only use each once.

Eliminated: Player 1 (Pamela) (On the fifteenth vial)

[edit] 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. [1]

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.

[edit] 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. [1]

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).

[edit] 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.

It was revealed that the winner, Number 7 (Steve), had been kept in the black box, and was finally freed at that episode. After an interview with some of the members (filled with regrets, such as Number 9 regretting him being the first to quit), the big question is asked: What will Steve do with US$50,000? He and his wife decided to give some of the money to Autism Speaks to help Number 2, Michelle, whose daughter is autistic (this was her plan if she won). It is not revealed what the rest would be spent on. The show ends with Steve break-dancing for everyone.

[edit] 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
Test Winner N/A 1: Pamela 7: Steven 4:Florin 3:Taralee 3:Taralee 7:Steven N/A
Didn't Quit 1,3,4,5,6,7 3,6,7 1,4,5 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

[edit] 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."

[edit] Players

  1. Stephen (eliminated 2nd to leave) - Hurricane Katrina survivor, devout Baptist
  2. Deena (eliminated 4th to leave) - Accountant, "obsessed with showering"
  3. Nikki (eliminated 7th to leave) - Radio personality "Nikki Knight", self-proclaimed masochist
  4. Kimberley (quit, also the first to leave) - Recovering alcoholic
  5. Leroy (eliminated 3rd to leave) - Backyard wrestler, stuntman, video game geek
  6. Michelle (eliminated 5th to leave) - Marathon runner, mother of two
  7. Tyler (eliminated, Solitary 2.0 Finalist, 8th to leave) - Environmentalist, retired U.S. Navy sailor
  8. Phu (Winner) - Photographer, lives with parents
  9. John Palyok, shown as J.P. (eliminated 6th to leave) - High school football star, Survivor: Vanuatu contestant

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Episode 0

Title: Solitary v2.0 Pre-Show Event

Original airdate: 8/4/2007

VAL recaps Solitary’s previous season, and briefly profiles the contestants "volunteering" for Solitary v2.0 and gives a peek behind the scenes, with a sneak preview of season two.

[edit] Episode 1

Title: Welcome to Solitary...Now Go Home

Original airdate: 8/11/2007

Eliminated: Kimberly and Stephen

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 which makes them kind of crazy. Number 4, however, breaks down completely and quits. She is afraid that the program will make her return to alcohol.

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.

[edit] Episode 2

Title: Say Hello to Your Little Friend

Original airdate: 8/18/2007

Eliminated: Nobody, see below.

The prior treatment concludes. First, Val has the guests draw on their walls. Next, they are given a pet rodent, which is a connection to their loneliness. Finally, Val has the guests recite a poem describing their feelings in Solitary.

The test was to memorize a long message. To see the message, the players had to move 100 bricks from one end of the pod to the other. At first, the message would go by in 1.5 seconds. But the guests' prodding leads Val to show the message in four minutes. Finally, Val stops making them carry bricks. Number 7 won the test by under a second.

As the winner, Number 7 was allowed to handicap a player, or not handicap and lose his freedom from the treatment. He chose to handicap Number 9, voted off Survivor in Season 9.

The players had to make laps around their pods in a set amount of time holding 30% of their body weight in a mannequin. Number 9's handicap was to have the first round done twice. When everyone else started again, four of the guests had difficulty. Number 5 had to perform multiple penalty rounds, and eventually quit.

In a turn of events, Val decided that no one would go home from this treatment (likely because Number 4 left the first show before the first treatment; if someone had gone home, the season would have to have been one episode shorter), allowing Number 5 to stay.

[edit] Episode 3

Title: From Dusk 'til Dominoes

Original airdate: 8/25/2007

Eliminated: Leroy

The treatment ends after more contestants quit. They get the opportunity to spend more time with their pet mice.

The test was to have the guest set up 400 dominoes in a way that if one dominoes falls, they all fall. This was to be done on two tables and both the bridges provided for them. Number 2 (Deena) finishes and is the first to knock down all of her dominoes. Number 9 comes in second and celebrates a false victory before Val can finish saying "You are...the first to finish second." Number 2's prize is the ability to not compete in the upcoming treatment and the first guest to have a full meal.

All the other subjects start their next treatment, a "vile smoothie" drinking contest. the smoothies consist of their favorite foods. It starts with just drinking blended bananas, then adding yogurt to the mix. After every drink, more of their favorite foods are added, making it harder to drink and swallow. Numbers 6 (Michelle) and 8 (Phu) begin to loose control of their gag reflexes, but Number 5 (Leroy) is the first to vomit, meaning that he will finally be eliminated rather than in the last episode.

[edit] Episode 4

Title: Don't Let This Happen to You

Original Airdate: 9/1/2007

Eliminated: Deena

The treatment continues, with the remaining guests going until gagging. Despite Number 7 (Tyler) and number 9 (JP) correctly assuming they were the last two in the treatment, they continued on, until Number 7 vomited and was forced to quit at smoothie #19. After JP heard that he was the last one standing, he decided to go for smoothie #20, "just to spite #7."

The guests were then told that if they grated all of a container of onions, that they would be rewarded fifty thousand "Val-lers" (currency). All are successful.

The test was similar to Episode 2 of the first season: a scary movie is shown. This time, the guests have to arrange 60 photos in the correct order as shown in the movie. Number 8 repeatedly misses miserably, and fails the test along with Number 6. As for the others, Number 3 was the first to gain freedom.

Afterwards, Val performs the "Solitary Auction". Various items are set off on auction: deodorant, a muscle relaxant, two cheese pizzas, a chocolate cake, put a player in the black box for an hour, and to give someone an hour of sirens. and a phone call home (which Number 2 won, only V5,000 ahead of Number 6). Number 8 and Number 3 were the only two left with all their money, and they were each allowed to take away an item from another player - but do not get it themselves. They took away a cheese pizza and the muscle relaxant - both owned by Number 9, who had previously been given an hour in the black box and an hour of sirens by Number 7. Number 6 gives a slice of her pizza to numbers 8 and 3.The treatment is to jump rope with a rope used to tie ships to docks - dubbed a "grump rope" by Fox Reality writers. The players must complete a certain number of jumps in a set amount of time. Number 2 eventually quits.

[edit] Episode 5

Title: Open Wide and Say "Ouch" :

Original Airdate: 9/8/07

Eliminated : Michelle

The beginning of the episode shows the remainder of the "Grump Rope" treatment. The only guest other than Number 2, Deena to quit is Number 8, Phu. Numbers 6, 7, and 9 complete the treatment. Afterwards Val sets up an activity for the guests. She gives them a ball and tells them to bounce it as many times as they can. Val tells them to count the number of times they bounce the ball. After an hour, Val asks for the final tally. Most of the guest are honest, but Number 3 lies and says she bounced the ball over 3 million times. Number 3 wins a bowl of popcorn , which outrages the other guests. Nikki shares some of her treat with Michelle, who uses it to spell out "Cheater Go Home". When Val shows Number 3 the picture, she laughs it off.

The test involves the guest running the equivalent of 3.5 miles in sand on a treadmill in order to acquire pieces of tubing. The guests used these pieces to form a tunnel from the cages of their mice to the outside of their pods. The person who got their mouse to escape from Solitary the fastest would win the test. The three male guests are the first to break their mice out of Solitary. Val then announces that Number 9 has won the test and is safe from the treatment.

The treatment requires the participating guests (3,6,7,8) to strap on a black ball with holes in their mouths. The intended effect is to stretch their jaws and cause them pain. The guest take their seats and begin the treatment. The guests are frustrated by the discomfort, the inability to speak clearly and the inability to swallow. After two hours, Number 6 (Michelle) quits the treatment and leaves Solitary.

[edit] Episode 6

Title : Handcuffs Across America

Original Airdate:9/9/07, aired by accident at 7:00 AM. Intended date: 9/15/07

Eliminated: J.P

The beginning of this episode features the conclusion of the Gag Order treatment. After approximately 4 hrs., Number 8 gets frustrated (partly due to an inability to communicate leading to Val twisting up his "words") and quits the treatment. Nikki and Tyler complete the treatment after enduring the treatment for 6 hours. Soon after the treatment, Val gives her guests handcuffs to wear. They are given gruel to eat; all but clever Number 7 search through the gruel and do not find the key.

The contestant entered their pods and found many balls in a variety of colors and sizes. Val assesses weights to the balls (eg. a yellow golf ball weighs 48 pounds and 5 ounces.) To win the test, the players must find five balls whose combined weights add up to 211 lbs. and 12 oz. After Val threw astronomy facts out to confuse the guests, all the pod people become frazzled to the point where Number 8 quits the test. However, when Val gives everyone paint to work out their calculations, Number 8 gets back in the game and proceeds to win the test and freedom from the upcoming treatment. There is no rule against quitting a test, and it is not the same as quitting a treatment. Number 3 knocks down the pedestals on which the balls that will be checked for correctness down just in time for Val to record the sequence.

The guest are given a box filled with packing peanuts. They are told to look inside the box for a packing peanut containing a clue. After six hours of failure, Val becomes bored and gives the clue out, saying that the key is inside one of the "food bars" that the players must eat while in Solitary. Number 7 decides to cut most of his hair off, and is allowed to.

The treatment requires the guest to complete a set number of revolutions around a spinning chair (similar to the Season 1 episode "Headspin / Tailspin") and form a chain of colored blocks as Val instructs them in a set amount of time. Number 8 won the ability to handicap Number 9 (see Episode 2). Number 9 had to do a round of extra spins before the treatment began. The contestants started strong, but Number 9 started failing in the later rounds and forced to do penalty rounds. When Val announces that the players must perform 110 revolutions and reverse the chain of 21 blocks (plus switching the position of purple and yellow blocks) all in two minutes, Number 9 declares "this is asinine" and quits.

[edit] Episode 7

Title: All Locked Up and Nowhere to Go

Original Airdate: 9/22/2007

Eliminated: No one, see below

After many more complexities, Val gives the guests a complicated transformation on the formation of the blocks that never goes into effect; she ends the treatment at that point. Everyone is happy to hear that Number 9 quit.

The guests are then given ten decks of cards to arrange on the pod floor and are told to fill two of the decks with a specific order of cards. While all of the guests got the latter right in this activity, Val chose a winner at random. A slot machine on the screen shows Number 8 being the winner. VAL then tells the other two contestants their cards were incorrect, even though the others were correct. Number 7 became frustrated, saying his deck was right, until VAL tells him to look in the food slot, in which the deck seen is completely wrong. Number 7 becomes angry and throws the card deck back inside the slot. Number 8 wins a food bar.

The guests are then told to bounce a ball on their pod wall and (once again) count the bounces they make. Number 3 once again lies; while Number 8 catches on and lies as well. However, they are eliminated when their lies involve inexistent numbers, giving Number 7 a pancake meal.

The guests are then told to unlock fifty locks on a jacket. Number 3 finds this fashionable and imagines she is on a catwalk. Number 8 and Number 3 manage to move quickly, while Number 7 gets confused and annoyed. Number 8 wins the test by one lock, but just before winning, Number 8 suffers swinging moods, at one point crying.

The guests are then told to insult themselves, then Val would insult them back. This would help the guests face their weaknesses and negativity. Number 3 has a hard time feeling negative ("I won't beat myself up"). Val covers up Number 8's cursing.

Then, as a repeat of the Season 1 episode "Brainwashing", the guests are told to remember false facts, mostly related to Solitary itself. The person who remembers the most, Number 3, is not only given an hour of sleep, but also gives Number 7 an hour of sirens. Number 8 becomes upset with himself after answering "Lewis and Stevenson", when the answer was "Lewis and Clark."

The treatment assigned to Number 3 and Number 7 is to assemble a cube, stand on it, and place a small rubber ball into a tube a certain number of times. Number 7 initially did not arrange his cube correctly, thus he was given a penalty round: stepping exercises. The guests are determined enough to last through the entire episode without anyone quitting. At the end, VAL previews the season finale, hinting possible treatment more disturbing and painful than season 1's Extreme Solitary.

[edit] Episode 8

Title: Hell Night- Morning - Afternoon

Original Airdate: 9/29/07

Eliminated: Nikki and Tyler

Winner: Phu

Happy-go-lucky Number 3 is saving her energy for the penalty rounds, which she calls "bonus rounds," while Number 7 goes exhausted. However, this strategy is only exhausting Number 3 even more, leading her to quit, a turn of events (considering Number 7 was the more exhausted one in the previous episode). Number 8 is dismayed to discover that Number 7 is his final competitor; he wanted Number 3 to go against him.

Val has the guests sit and spin around once again. The winner, Number 7 got one hour of sleep; Number 8 won an hour of sirens. Next, Val makes a new version of her grotesque movie and the guests are told to arrange pictures of it again. The prizes were the same; with Number 7 winning once again and Number 8 getting the hour of sirens. Next is a repeat of the domino exercise; there is only one table and 100 dominoes to arrange. Both guests make similar arrangements; but Number 7 won again - the same prizes. Number 8 is now feeling depressed on losing and is contemplating quitting, but Val shows Number 8 videos of him saying that he is not a quitter. So he pushes on forward not knowing what will happen in the Hamock from Hell.

The final test before the final challenge: a puzzle with blacklighted letters that needs to be assembled in order to find an encoded message. The message: "Second Place is the First Loser". Number 8 denies himself, even though (and he does not know this) he is so far ahead and eventually wins this task.

The guests are asked to contemplate on their journey in Solitary. Next, the guests are told to communicate to each other via Val (like in the first season). Number 7 declares war against Number 8.

The final treatment: support oneself on three chains for three timed rounds: two definite and one indefinite. Rounds will only occur if necessary. For winning the puzzle task, Number 8 won a pillow for the first round. Round One ended early, and in Round Two the guests are told to remove their shirts. When that round ended, they are told to wait for the final, indefinitely-timed round.

The center chain, which supported the guests' heads and backs, was removed. The guests cannot grip the chains. The champion is the one that can last the longest without falling. At one point, Number 8 almost fell, but caught himself in time. However, it would be Number 7 that would fall down first, making Number 8, Phu, the winner.

Now it is time for Val's storytelling magic to reveal the news to the clueless Number 8. He decides to fall down soon after Number 7, but breaks down crying tears of joy when he finds out. But Val keeps Number 8 in Solitary indefinitely in accordance to the task, ending with "Welcome to Solitary 3.0", while Number 8 screams "NO" in the darkness.

[edit] Episode 9

Title: Solitary 2.0 Reunion

Original Airdate: 10/6/07

In this Reunion, the guests are introduced one-by-one in the order they quit. Upon seeing Number 9 (J. P.), Number 7 (Tyler) jumps on top of him, although not out of anger. Number 8 is the last to come out, but not from backstage, from his pod door, suggesting that the pods were moved to the stage area before the taping of the special. The host then asks general questions about the show. Number 5 (Leroy) was given the pizza he wanted.

At one post, the host brought out the bed of nails from the first episode and has Phu stand on it barefoot. He was able not only to talk but also to jump up and down on the nails. Next, family members and friends got a chance to ask questions.

Two diversions from the last season's special: first, the guests got to ask questions to Val, whose voice was amplified. When Number 4 (Kimberly, the first to quit) asked who Val thought would win, she started by saying she thought Number 4 would win, but then went on to say all the other numbers except Number 9. When J. P. asked why, Val responded that she knew he was not going to win because she knew about his history of losing reality television shows. After other questions were asked, the show ends with Number 8 being given the $50,000 dollar check, saying he'd spend it on various stuff for his family (such as to finish car payments), and the group hugs.

[edit] Guest Progress History

Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Test Time Tracking Mystery Message Domino Chain Solitary Cinema Rat Race Ball Addition Lock and Key Past Tests/Treatments
Treatment Footbed of Nails Dead Man Dancing Vile Smoothie Grump Rope Gag Order Revolutions/Chain of Blocks Puzzle Box/Ball Drop Hammock from Hell
Test Winner 8: Phu 7: Tyler 2: Deena 3: Nikki 9: J.P 8: Phu 8: Phu 8: Phu
Didn't Quit N/A 3,9 9 6,7,9 3,7 3,7 7 8: Phu
Quit (In order) 2: Deena 8: Phu 7: Tyler 8: Phu 8: Phu 9: J.P 3: Nikki 7: Tyler
3: Nikki 6:Michelle 6: Michelle 2: Deena 6: Michelle
9: J.P 2:Deena 3: Nikki
6: Michelle 5: Leroy 8: Phu
5:Leroy 5: Leroy
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.
     First person to quit the treatment, but was not eliminated from Solitary.
     Winner of Solitary 2.0

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Fox Reality – Home

[edit] External links

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[edit] Series 1 individual player pages

Each player has a MySpace page. This is in line with News Corporation's ownership of that site.

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