maintaining the distribution of Expedition Robinson. Samuel (2002) has stated that based on the success of this program, Strix has created a package of other reality format programming (e.g., Solidarity, The Farm, and The Bar) which employ a similar format. Most of the reality programs tend to employ feel-good escapism along with challenging social situations. An exception, according to Samuel (2002), is Solidarity, a new Strix reality program which sends 10 volunteers to spend three months with an international aid agency in famine or disaster areas. This program solicits viewer contributions for disaster relief and has been characterized as closer to a documentary program than a reality program (Samuel, 2002).
Strix sold the basic Survivor/Expedition Robinson format to Castaway Productions (Edmunds, 2001). The show is now being aired in one version or another in some 35 countries or territories around the world. In each of its various manifestations, the program takes on new cult
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