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Man vs. Wild
I'm just not sure we need another man v nature show. Handsome, strapping dudes with rippled abs heading out in to the wilderness to test their mettle against nature. The Amazing Race, the Croc Hunter (RIP), Survivor...even if this one has a vibe of authenticity, there's just something about all this that reeks of artificiality, of marketing and showmanship. In the upcoming program Man vs. Wild, "seasoned adventurer" Bear Grylls (really? His name is bear?) strands himself in places that tourists sometimes go and where danger lurks around every...um...Burger King. And then, Herr Bear finds clever McGuiverian ways to escape. For example, we learn from the show's site that he will escape quicksand in the Moab desert, he'll navigate dangerous river currents in Costa Rica, and build a snow shelter in the Alps. We also learn that Bear: "is a Karate black belt, served three years with the Special Air Service, a special forces unit of the British Army, during which time he broke his back in three places while parachuting over Southern Africa".I could be wrong, this new show could be great, but to me, the only way I would really be interested is if he could REALLY REALLY die. I mean, why go to all the trouble and pretense if we all know that he's probably never going to hurt himself. Yes, yes I know that Steve Irwin took one for the team recently and that helps make the case that these guys really do put themselves in danger, but I'm guessing that won't be the case with this show. I'm guessing that most everything will be preplanned and made as safe as can be. Yes, yes, that's fine. I mean, I don't WANT to see someone get hurt. It's just that when these shows market the notion to you that everything really is dangerous when we know it's really not, well, it just has the whiff of fast food.
Reader Comments (Page 7 of 7)
Jeremy Jan 13th 2007 9:42AM
It's a show people. And considering what is on these days, it ranks at the top for me. I enjoy watching Bear do his thing, it looks real to me and I believe he is doing it on his own. What does the guy have to gain by faking it? He's already done more in his few years than most of us will do in our entire life.
bernie castillo Jan 17th 2007 10:22PM
I like the show and am really impressed. He is showing us how to survive and what to do in situations we would find impossible to get out of. Man vs. Wild is a great show and I look forward to it every week.
Nick Jan 27th 2007 12:41PM
My god. Am I the only one that is a trout fisherman? Trout are one of the shyiest fish and are deathly frightened of fishing line that they can see and Bear catches one on thick rope-like string. No chance in hell. There is a reason why Les Stroud rarely catches any animals/fish in his shows.......its not easy to do so. And when Les does get something like a mouse or a rabbit its always by setting a half dozen traps for several nights and maybe if your are lucky you catch something.
I can't prove it of course, but I don't believe for a second that Bear caught that trout on that rig...the only rig he set.
My reasoning
A Healthy full-bodied trout (like he caught) will be much too skittesh to go near that rigging.
B Too short of line, the trout would have had great leverage to get off especially on those hooks that he made.
C His hooks. I could believe that his hooks could work but not the way he was using them. They would have to have thin thread attached to it so the trout could first swallow the hook and ge gut hooked........but that can't happen whey your are using thick rope for line.
D The rig has a slim to none chance of working and would only be believable if he put out lets say 80 or so rigs and then caught one sickly(ie - lost its mind) trout.
Jay Jan 26th 2007 9:46PM
I agree that in Man vs. Wild, articifially creating suspense and exciting footage seems to be the driving force. I've witnessed many instances of questionable survival acts, like going down the waterfall, climbing back up it, etc., that appear to serve no other purpose than to make the show more enjoyable to watch. I no longer watch it to learn so much as for entertainment. My guess is that every episode is pre-planned with locations, etc., so that he "stumbles" upon a house, dwelling at exactly the right spot and right time. Did you see the one in the African savanna where he was walking in a creek canyon surrounded by sheer cliff faces? He found a rope and climbed out of it. That was the most rediculous scene I've ever come across.... why don't you show us how you would have gotten out of it had not a rope been dangling down into the canyon for you to grab? I knew it was a farse from the first show I saw, where he was in the US (Yellowstone or Yosemite possibly) and after making camp and lying down, he abruptly got up and started running, claiming a bear was stalking him. It seemed a total ploy. Why, if in fact a bear was stalking him, would he leave camp and start running? Is running from a pursuant bear a wise course of action? C'mon now. If there were a bear stalking him, he would have ended up in the bowels of said bear by running away. Wouldn't you agree? In that episode he also happened to parachute into a tree and then cut himself or extracted himself from the chute. They probably hoisted him up there to begin with.
It reflects poorly on Discovery to host such a show and pass it off as "survival skills."
chris Jan 30th 2007 12:33PM
You people are missing the point of the show. It is not to prove that Bear is the greatest survivalist. The point is to educate people on measures they can take to stay alive if they are in a similar circamstance. As a survivalist myself I have a great deal of respect for what Bear is doing. I dont care whether or not he has one or fifty cameramen. The fact of the matter is, he is potentialy saving the lives of foolish, uninformed travelers. In light of tha; who cares if Bear Grils has a cameraman?
Nick Jan 30th 2007 1:58PM
^^^^^^ Have to totally disagree with you. Bear is not helping anyone. If you follow half of his ideas(set-ups) then you will die.
Climbing down a cliff in the throat of a waterfall is insane and begging for hypothermia.........if you don't want to march around the waterfall then just climb down the cliff but over 15 feet and out of the water. Not only do you not catch hypothermia that way but you also have nonalgae covered rocks for your footing/hands. The list goes on and on.
Bear's show is worth zero educational value and is only entertainment. And it would be more entertaining to see him out in the wild for a week rather than 3 days and being by himself.
He also posses a danger to the uninformed like the gentleman posting above be, because like I said if you try to emulate him then you will die.
Brandon Feb 1st 2007 12:21PM
I am a fan of man vs. wild I'm not saying I agree with everything Bear says or does but the things that he does like shelters and catching or finding food seem genuine to me like the episode were he kills himself a rabit with a simple throwing stick just as the native americans would have done. Now you out there that think that man vs. wild is set up tell me how they could do that. Come on now what you have done is watched survivor man first and then when another show with the same idea of survival came out you all went on the offense. I have tried to watch survivor man and to me if he is his own camera man and has to carry all that equipment and walks back and forth just so you can see him walk away from the camera isn't he working twice as hard. I know that someone out there is like "yeah he is working twice as hard that makes him that much better" but to me if he can do all that extra stuff out there then how much of a challange could it be with the strength to survive these conditions and be a director. Now before everyone starts fliping out about what I said I'm not saying that Les isn't surviving and working hard on his show. I just think that everyone is giving more credit to Les and taking credit from Bear just because of their camera ways. Try not to think so one sided!
April Feb 2nd 2007 11:09AM
I can't believe anyone would compare Les of Survivorman to Bear of Man v. Wild. From all that I have seen, Les tends to just either sit immobile for the length of his being stranded or when he does move all he does the entire time is moan and practically cry when someting goes wrong. I am sure that if we had a Les v. Bear show, Bear would come out on top.
Sarah Reed Feb 3rd 2007 1:27AM
I love Man Vs. Wild!!!
Vanessa Feb 2nd 2007 8:56PM
This show sickens me. Watching him eat water snakes alive makes me sick and sad. Here is someone who is killing wildlife to entertain the public. Watching him hitting rabbits over the head repulses and disgusts me. Bear is never in any actual danger and innocent animals are dying. I would like to get this show kicked of the air for good.
JULIE Feb 8th 2007 1:12PM
I BELIEVE THIS SHOW IS AMAZING! BEAR GRYLLS IS A VERY TALENTED INDIVIDUAL. NOT VERY MANY PEOPLE CAN DO WHAT HE DOES. I ESPECIALLY LIKE THAT I CAN USE THESE EXPLORATIONS IN MY CLASSROOM. WHAT BETTER WAY COULD I SHOW MY GEOGRAPHY STUDENTS WHAT IT'S REALLY LIKE? I CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH THE NEXT SHOW!
Jocelynn Wells Feb 11th 2007 12:53AM
I loved the show and it seems very real to me. But even if it is staged, the tips are real and its great TV.
CLM Nov 24th 2007 1:54AM
I have lived in Valdez, Alaska for 19 years. My family has been here for almost 100 years. I'm watching the Alaska episode right now and I know exactly where he is. About 10 feet from the high way in some areas. 60 feet away from two subdivisions in other places. The glacier he was on has a trail to Shoup Bay (where the seagulls were protecting their eggs) and there is a 10 mile trail leading from Shoup Bay to the city of Valdez. He is never more than 10 miles away from the city though. Other than the glacier, he's never more than 60 feet from the high way. I have a friend who works at the local hotel who says he slept there every night. I worked at the local grocery store and saw him while he was supposed to be filming. Just to through this in because it irritated me, there is no Chugacha mountain. Its the Chugiach Mountain range. Everything he said in the Alaska episode is untrue. You can't fight a bear. If you come across a black bear you don't move. I have them in my back yard all the time. Grizzlys' you lay down and cover your head. Moving WILL get you killed! They aren't after you. You just happened to cross their path or ran into their cubs. And just out of curiosity, where did he get the skiff? I don't care what he's done. He should have stuck to that instead of giving advice that could get someone killed. Anyway I know this episode is a load of crap, which makes me wonder if he's ever spent a night outside in any of his episodes.