It’s all the rage - reality television. Regular people in very irregular situations.

In a new show on The Learning Channel, “Escape from Experiment Island,” one of the northshore’s own tests his wits and ingenuity on the bleak, remote Isle of Rum in the Scottish Hebrides. Thomas Robertson, a mechanical engineer from Mandeville, competes in the episode scheduled to air February 12.

This is the last segment of the TLC series, which began on January 8. On each episode, a different group of eight strangers is divided into two teams. Using an eclectic combination of parts and clues, the teams have five days to construct handcrafted vehicles capable of beating their opponents in a head-to-head race on the final day. The vehicles change in every episode, ranging from an automobile converted into a seaworthy boat to an electric cable car made from an old bicycle and a wheelchair motor.

Robertson’s companions on the Red Team included a 31-year-old cancer researcher from Maryland (formerly a New Orleanian); a 30-year-old U.S. Army neurosurgery resident from Washington, D.C.; and a 43-year-old machinist from San Jose, California. Their challenge was to build a fire engine and navigate it across extreme terrain, including quicksand.

In an interview for Inside Northside, Robertson gives our readers the story behind the story ...

Inside Northside: Did you win?
Thomas Robertson: I won’t know until I see the edited show.

IN: What is the prize - money?
TR: The British Broadcasting Company, which produced this program for TLC, is not known for huge cash prizes. All you win is bragging rights and the opportunity to be shamed on national TV, plus a free trip to Scotland.

IN: Tell me about yourself.
TR: I am a 36-year-old mechanical engineer from New Orleans. I live in Mandeville with my wife, Theresa, and our two kids, Alex and Julianne. I supply contract engineering design work out of our home for various industries. I love to build and tinker. I consider myself the ultimate do-it-yourselfer. Theresa asked what I wanted for our anniversary; I said, “a welding machine.”

IN: How did you get on the show?
TR: It all started this past summer when I saw an ad on TLC for a new show. Hyped as a cross between “Survivor” and “McGyver,” it sounded like the perfect show for me. I can’t go a day without trying to invent or improve a product; it really is an obsession. My wife encouraged me to apply and helped make my audition tape. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be - I couldn’t stop laughing. I got a call in June for the audition in Jacksonville, Florida.

The interview process ended up with us working in groups to perform challenges using the items in small kits given to each team. The challenges in the audition, as well as the show, are scientific and mechanical. We had to do things like raise a five-pound bag of flour 10 feet for two minutes using rope and a chunk of steel or launch a water projectile using rubber bands and garbage bags — things like that.

After a long wait, I got the call saying I’d be part of the last show, filming in Scotland September 15-22. As you might expect, everything was very top secret. We had no idea what we were going to do until we arrived on the island.

IN: Was this your first time to visit Scotland?
TR: Yes, and it was beautifully rugged. It looked like postcards I had seen from the ’60s. The weather was pretty good by Scottish standards - three days of rain, three days of clouds, one day of sunshine. They say that summer is a pretty month in Scotland and now I know why.

IN: Is this new show like “Survivor?”
TR: It really is more like “Junkyard Wars,” another TLC show with a survivor theme. There was no “voting off” the island or “tribal councils.” We basically had to build a device that we would race against the other team for the privilege of being rescued off the island.

IN: What did you build?
TR: We built a fire truck consisting of a pumping trailer, hand-cast nozzle and a pulling device that resembled two hamster wheels hooked together. Of course, we were the rats...

IN: What was the most difficult aspect of your island adventure?
TR: Being totally sequestered from the outside world - especially from your family, which was very hard. The food was pretty terrible. However, everyone got a good laugh when I pulled a can of Tony Chacherie’s out of my rucksack; it really did help make it more palatable.

IN: Did you have to forage for food and shelter?
TR: The Isle of Rum is a small island off the west coast of Scotland. It is three square miles of rugged Scottish terrain with 22 permanent residents. We were quarantined in the community center as our new gear and uniforms were distributed. Suited up and ready to go, we hiked to base camp, where we met our “Tent Caretaker and Chief Contestant-Looker-Afterer,” Davie Austin. This man made life on the island bearable. He had food for us in the morning and evening, and provided the luxury of water.

IN: How well did you get along with your teammates?
TR: When you put four intensely competitive people together on the same team, there can be conflicts. On day one, we were all doing things that got on each other’s nerves. On day two, we lost an event by seconds due to one team member’s not taking the challenge seriously the night before. That was not a good day. That night we had our group meeting on camera and everyone was pretty somber. Later, off camera, is when the real discussion started. We were able to clear the air and find a way to work together without killing each other. One of my teammates said, “If they’d filmed the real discussion, we would probably have our own mini-series!” The most intimidating part is knowing that everything you say is going to be edited, and who knows how that could turn out. On day three, we suppressed our internal struggle enough to work well together in a long day of construction.

IN: Are you still in touch with your teammates?
TR: We all stay in touch via e-mail, mainly talking about the coverage we’ve seen promoting the show.

IN: Did you have the best team?
TR: Definitely.

IN: Are you excited about being on TV?
TR: How many times does someone get to be on TV without a “wanted” message behind it? We are very excited, and I am somewhat nervous. Hopefully, when the final show is put together we won’t have to move or change our names! We’re planning a big premiere party at Wall Street in Mandeville.

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