Zeitgeist: Survivalist Reality Show Winner to Get Own Bunker (as survival condos sell out)

Well that ties a couple cultural trends together in a neat little package doesn't it.
From NBC Los Angeles:

"These are not people that you may think are living in a shelter in the middle of the woods," Spike exec says. "These could be your friends"

AP

This artist rendering released by Vivos, an underground shelter network, shows a design for an underground bunker. Spike TV will be airing a six-episode series called "Last Family on Earth" a competition in which survivalists will compete for an underground bunker in an undisclosed location. 

The Spike television network is airing a competition this fall to award a fortified bunker to a family that believes the end of the world is near.

Seriously.

The network said Tuesday that its six-episode series called "Last Family on Earth" will feature survivalists competing to show how tough and resourceful they are. The winner gets an underground bunker in an undisclosed location.

Sharon Levy, executive vice president of original programming at Spike, said the series doesn't necessarily coincide with the theory that the ancient Mayan civilization predicted the end of the world will arrive in December 2012.

Levy said polls show that many people believe that there will be some catastrophic event like an earthquake or epidemic that threatens civilization, and these are the people who will participate in the show.

"We don't think there's anything funny about that," Levy said. "We think it's a very interesting segment of the population that is very prepared, is highly intelligent....MORE

These things are apparently the hottest ticket in real estate.
From CNET:

Apocalypse-proof condos already sold out

You can survive the end of the world in this charming nuclear missile silo. The views aren't great, but there won't be anything to see outside anyway.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit the remnants of humanity.

(Credit: SurvivalCondo.com)

What's your favorite doomsday scenario? Epidemic? Nuclear fallout? The Rapture redux? How about the Mayan apocalypse?

None of these will ruin your day if you live in Survival Condo, a converted nuclear ballistic missile silo in Kansas. With supplies of food, air, and water, you can wait out Armageddon underground.

For years, developer Larry Hall, a former software engineer, has been working on a 1960s-era Atlas F missile silo in north-central Kansas, turning it into luxury lockdown residences in preparation for inevitable end-times (see cleanup photos here). He says all units in the complex sold out this month, and there's even a waiting list.

Why did he want to turn this 174-foot-deep hole into condos? "To have a safe place for the increasing number of threats that are occurring," Hall says. But why are people willing to pay $2 million apiece for the 1,820-square-foot units?...MORE

HT on the second story: Dr. Hazlett who emailed at almost the same time I was debating whether it was time for an apocalypse story.