Well, this is ridiculous

I gather this is a press release about the newest "reality" show shot in my town:

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2014/07/07/theres-anarchy-in-the-arctic-in-animal-planets-series-ice-lake-rebels-197314/20140707animalplanet01/#CZ2FPhJeW5X1zZ2C.99

So here's the annotated version:

(Silver Spring, MD) - Not all outlaw towns disappeared along with the Wild West. In Canada's Northwest Territories lays an isolated frozen lake where people reside free from taxation and the rule of law. 

// Not true. Okay, fine, it's frozen a lot of the time. But nobody is free from taxation or the rule of law. People who live in houseboats own no land, so they pay no property taxes. And areas outside municipal boundaries aren't subject to municipal bylaws. I gather this is a shock to Hollywood. //

The inhabitants of Great Slave Lake live entirely according to their own standards; however, their frozen utopia isn't always what it's cracked up to be - especially when the ice begins to crack beneath their homes. 

// Entirely according to their own standards...okay, yes. Like I do. I'm not wearing pants right now. And I'm not sure why anyone in a BOAT would worry about the ice cracking beneath the home. Heck, the ice melts and disappears every summer. Terrifying! //

The world premiere series ICE LAKE REBELS reveals a world free of regulations where fearless men and women battle hunger, perilous terrain and the constant threat of freezing to death just for the chance to live life off the grid.

// It is not even close to free of regulations. That's ridiculous. The houseboats aren't subject to municipal bylaws. The people who live there have to follow all of the same laws once they set foot on the shoreline a few hundred yards away from their doorsteps. And I bet they have to follow regulations about preserving water quality that I as a land-dweller never even have to think about. And battling hunger...sure. They need to order pizza just as desperately as I do. As for the constant threat of freezing to death, I suppose that's true, but no more than anyone else who lives in a cold country. If your furnace breaks down, you'll freeze to death. //

On Sunday, July 27, at 10 PM (ET/PT), the first of 10 one-hour episodes kicks off a few days before the lake's winter freeze. During this pivotal period, one wrong move could mean losing your home - or your life. 

// Yeah, okay. People who don't pay their bills do lose their homes. And people who fall in the water could lose their lives. But why limit the drama to freeze-up? You could die at any time if you're dumb enough. // 

But those who make it through the freeze still face extreme adversity: they need to find food and maintain their houses and heat sources to survive the ever-changing conditions on the five-foot-thick frozen ice sheet. 

// Going to the grocery store and paying your fuel bill has never been so exciting! //

The danger escalates when the seasons change, and spring brings the thaw. The surface of the Great Slave ice cracks apart, and everything on top of it shifts, leaving the rebels in fear for their homes and their safety.

// This is true. The ice does shift. If your houseboat isn't properly maintained, the ice can damage it. And if you're not careful, you can fall through the ice as you're walking to your houseboat. Some people stay with friends when the ice is freezing and thawing. I'm told others get to and from the shore with one foot in a canoe. //

For the denizens of Great Slave Lake, the only threat as daunting as broken ice and frigid water is each other as these modern-day frontiersmen compete for the most secure locations on the lake and for scarce supplies. ICE LAKE REBELS questions the tradeoff: is a lawless, liberated life worth the never-ending cycle of hard work, danger and uncertainty, or do the risks outweigh the rewards?

// I don't live in that part of town but I'm hard-pressed to imagine that the people who live there consider their neighbours to be threats as daunting as the possibility of freezing to death. And scarce supplies...okay, yes, you might need to use your laptop to order stuff and have it delivered to, at worst, the courier office near the airport a few miles away. It is not a lawless or liberated life; there's probably more freedom in apartments. I will agree that it can be hard work to have a houseboat. Houseboaters have extra home-maintenance duties: for example, they need to bring their sewage to a facility a few miles outside of town. It would be a nice life for someone with a part-time job who could consider houseboat maintenance to be his other part-time job. And who wanted to get famous in the process. //