Corrections & clarifications: A previous version of this story misstated the first name of the presenter of 'River Monsters.' While filming television series River Monsters last November, a production ...

He was thrown into captivity in a pirate ship, which brought him halfway around the world before he managed to escape -- getting away only to spend 16 months as a castaway on a small Caribbean island.

It's one of the most enduring openings in television history: a "three-hour tour" gone wrong that strands seven people-soon to be known as the castaways-on a desert island. But for all its sunny ...