I'd say that one aspect of Survivorman that holds such great attraction for many of us is the "make do" attitude of the show. Carrying a minimal of gear, not even as much as many in such environments would edc, Les manages to get quite a bit accomplished. He sometimes does things that can seem useless or even counterproductive. These failures add value because, while not really helping him or maybe even contradicting recommended behavior, they inspire us to think rather than simply react or follow programming. I think his efforts and suggestions are to lead us to try to solve the problem even when we may not be ideally prepared for it.

My impression of his show is that with a little knowledge and a stick to it attitude, you can get through what may seem like an impossible situation. It may hurt, you may not be comfortable, but you can survive. If it always went well for him on the show, I suspect we would learn less. Seeing what to do when it doesn't go like you want it to can help alleviate the stress of failed expectations later on. If it didn't work, try again, with some alteration.

I like the movie "The Edge" for much the same reason. They were ill equipped, unprepared, and in a tough spot. But because one man refused to quit trying, and had a little knowledge and was willing to think instead of complain and give up, they got out of it (at least he did), even after making a lot of really bad mistakes.