I like survivorman more than Man vs Wild...

One of the things I like about Survivorman, is that he's not afraid to confess that he's about to do something that he wouldn't really recommend to someone trying to survive. More than once, he's said something like "now, I wouldn't really suggest that you try this if you're stuck in this situation, but, heck, if I don't try it, we don't have much of a show do we?"

double post...

stupid computer (see below)

I dig him carrying around his own film equipment and not much else.

"If you are exposed to bacteria all the time your body will develop a natural resistance. That's probably the reason why tourists get sick all the time in third-world countries though the locals have no problem with the food and water."

That is probably EXACTLY the reason, in many cases. The people are probably full of parasites, too. Unless the chemicals being dumped on the areas have killed them off...

But there is a line between need and stupidity. I don't have TV, so naturally I don't see these shows, but this guy sounds like a real fool. And the people watching him from their sanitized world are probably going to "do as he does, not as he says".

I do miss Discovery and the History Channel, though...

Sue

Oh dear what to say about Bear Grylls. This TV Man Vs Wild series is just soooo annoying yet is remarkably entertaining in a 'No, NO , NO , what the f**k are you doing you t**t' shouting at the TV kind of way.

Other examples which have caused me to shout at the TV.


'Alright you've got your survival knife and 58 pattern water bottle and mug, but where is your PSK, you've forgotten it, haven't you, you t**t'

'Yeah, right, is that meant to be a deserted Island in Pacific, looks more like Barbados. The beach your stranded on looks like your only a stones throw away from Whitney Houston's pad'

'Why does your raft look like it actually on the back of another boat'

'There's something fishy alright about that shark circling the raft.'

'Why are you going to jump off a 50 ft cliff into water of an unknown depth, your going to break your legs or your spine, just calm down and just raise your hand to the bear and ask it to go away.'

'No, No, what are you doing, why are you trying to raft down that white water instead of walking around the rapids so that you can get out of the mountains safely, your now going to die of hypothermia or drown to death you fool.'

'Why would you want to swim across the lake, when you can see the long away round, your going to get drowned, you idiot.'

'Yeah right, lets try and see if you can get out of that icy tomb without that convenient hand help you have conveniently chiseled out of the ice 10 minutes before you jumped in.

'Oh my god, trust your life when hanging of a cliff with a single length of 550 paracord, No, No find another way down even if it means walking an extra few miles.'

Oh, please, don't eat the fish raw, it could have parasites in it. Its not Sushi. You should by now have learnt to build a fire. You are now just showing off you w****r.'

and I think I've only ever seen 3 episodes.

Follow this guys actions and you are going to either die from drowning, falling, hypothermia, exhaustion, or suffer a long slow agonising death from either water or food poisoning.

If real survival information is needed get hold of some Ray Mears not this 'Action Man'.

On that episode that he "floated" down the river.. I noticed something. Under his black shirt, he was wearing some form of flotation device (or insulation or both). Then it was "gone" when he "washed ashore"

"Follow this guys actions and you are going to either die from drowning, falling, hypothermia, exhaustion, or suffer a long slow agonising death from either water or food poisoning."

I wonder how much this guy has to pay for health insurance. Or life insurance. The production company is probably paying it, right? If he's still alive when the show ends, I wonder how much he will have to pay for it then?

I also wonder how much "star insurance" coverage the production company has on this guy.

"BEAR?"

Sue

You are absolutely correct. From http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/manvswild/chat/transcript_06.html:

stealther: What do you have to say to people who claim you used a flotation vest instead of your backpack when you rode down the river in your previous show?

Bear: That was the first show I did, and health and safety insisted if I wanted to get in that river with those rapids, I had to wear a thin flotation device for one particular shot. After that show, I told the producers if I'm going to do it, I need to do it on my terms, i.e. no vest. And the rest of the series, they've allowed me to do it all my way.

I’m not expressing an opinion in any way, as I already have elsewhere on this board, but I just wanted to point out the facts.

I guess it's pretty much inevitable when someone tries to turn survival into entertainment/reality show. After all, survival is all about common sense. If you look at people who really know the otudoors they make it all look very simple. But this would not appeal to the masses who want the cheap thrill and drama of fake "reality" shows.

Like somebody else pointed out, Ray Mears has done some great series on the outdoor survival. No macho fantasies or BS, just good, solid information. A refreshing thing to see these days.