TVSquad

They haven't even begun filming yet and already there are problems on the set of the next Survivor.

Production on Survivor: Gabon, which starts filming later this month, has been hit with several problems during preproduction. Problem #1: shipments to the location have been delayed by 30 days. This means that the crew has to stay in tents and not a building. Problem #2: a crane fell over. Problem #3: $100,000 of food has gone missing. And Problem #4: dangerous animals are causing a problem.

Breathtaking vistas? Wild animals? Vibrant culture? Life Is Wild, the new fish-out-of-water drama on the CW promises all these things, and yet, doesn't quite deliver. It's more of a "Life Is Mild" -- a generic family drama set in a lush South African locale -- that strips all the color out of the scenery by weighing down its story with bland characters played by nondescript actors stuck in unoriginal situations.

For real excitement and back-stabbing familial drama in the South African wild, check out the spectacular Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet. My family may be late to the game (Meerkat Manor is now in its third season), but those meerkats have us absolutely riveted. And maybe that's why I had a hard time getting excited by Life Is Wild. There's no real sense of danger. Unfortunately, this fictionalized African drama just can't compete with the real life-and-death struggles of those photogenic meerkats.

Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, who died last year when a stingray's barb struck him the chest, is having a wildlife reserve in Outback Australia named after him.

Some of the animals on the reserve include quolls, a nocturnal, carnivorous marsupial; and speartooth sharks, river sharks that resemble the oceanic bull sharks (the Wenlock and Ducie rivers border the reserve). There's also a "gallery of dry vine forests," but vines don't chomp into the heads of rats and possums like quolls do, so they're not nearly as cool. Then again, maybe vines in Australia are man-eaters like Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors. That alone could convince me to fly to Australia and check it out.

Irwin's family will manage the 333,585 acre reserve. His wife Terri and daughter Bindi have continued his conservation efforts in the wake of his tragic death. Bindi can currently be seen on Bindi: The Jungle Girl on Discovery Kids.

Bindi Irwin, the daughter of the late Steve Irwin, will carry on her father's legacy. The 8-year-old sweetheart is currently filming a documentary series for Discovery Kids. The wildlife series is called Bindi, The Jungle Girl. People.com has a quote from her that will tug at your heartstrings, she says, "I'm trying to get across the message that don't be afraid of animals, they're just put here on this earth to help the environment and everything like that." Steve Irwin will actually appear in some of the 27-part series, which he was filming when he died, but Bindi is the star. In fact, his death will never be mentioned during the series. Just like her dad, Bindi plays a girl who is fearless when it comes to nature. Bindi, The Jungle Girl will begin airing on Discovery Kids in January 2007